4.5 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 242 pages. Published February 11th 2021 by Independently Published
Blurb:
Ryan O’Byrne has rules: 1) no using his magic, 2) no getting dragged back into his family’s craziness, and 3) no dating supernaturals of any kind, especially shifters … in other words, nothing and no one who will tempt him to break rule number one.
But what if the gorgeous wall of muscle he can’t seem to stay away from just happens to be a shifter? Well, it is only a short-term thing, and he isn’t a master of denial for nothing.
Leo Holt can’t help it if he has a teeny tiny weakness for bad boys—not really bad, just a little prickly around the edges. Even for a unicorn, all sweetness and light, all the time, can get a little boring. But, falling for the eldest son of the dark witch family who runs his little West Virginia town might be getting his fingers too close to the fire, even for him.
For Ryan, it was supposed to be a simple trip back home to show support during a family crisis. But when hexes, secrets, a family demon, and the O’Byrne witches are involved, nothing is ever simple.
Likes:
- Hooked me fast.
- Good for a standalone.
- Leo’s a unicorn shifter.
- Both Leo and Ryan, together and separately.
- Good smut.
- Happy, fluffy read.
- The side characters, especially Mo and Kaia.
Dislikes:
- Chapter one didn’t explain the setup as well as it could have.
- I wish Ryan’s family had suffered more.
- Could use a follow up short story or novella.
- I want more.
Since this entire series is a set of standalone books by different authors, I read this one first and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I tend to stay away from standalone fantasy/magic books because I usually feel like the world building is lacking. But not this one. There was plenty of information about the magic, especially about why Ryan didn’t want to use his. Could it have used more world building? Sure, but then I almost always say that because I want to be truly immersed in the world.
Ryan’s feelings towards his family and his reluctance to be back in his hometown hooked me straight away. As did his determination not to start using magic again. I liked that Ryan had conflicted feelings towards his family. He doesn’t like a lot of what they do, but they’re family and he can’t turn his back on them. As a queer person with some intensely racist and homophobic family members, I understand completely.
Leo also has a complicated past, though that has more to do with his shifter side and trusting nature. When I started reading, I’d forgotten that the blurb reveals that he’s a unicorn, so it came as a pleasant surprise. The fact that he constantly had to be on the lookout for people wanting to capture him made me feel bad for him, but he didn’t live in fear.
Leo’s bright, cheerful attitude worked wonders on Ryan’s troubled soul. It was sweet watching Ryan open up to Leo. Both of them had secrets, but they were a good match. There were some good smut scenes, and the romance was fluffier than the non-romantic plot, which did have some angst to it.
The non-romantic plot was good, and moved at a nice pace. I liked when the Magic Emporium showed up and how it affected the plot. I do wish that Ryan’s family had gotten a more intense punishment. With everything they’d done, all the pain they caused, not just in the immediate time frame but for decades, I wanted to see something big happen. This is part of why I think there needed to be a novella of some sort after the book. It needed to show what was going on a few months or years later.
Mo and Kaia were great side characters. Again, I wish there was a follow up novella showing what happens with Kaia’s magic. I’m looking forward to the other books in the series. Hopefully they’re all as much fun.
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