4.5 Stars

I loved this book and definitely reminded me of Ilona Andrews books, if you enjoyed the Hidden Legacy series I highly recommend you pick this book up. The main character is a supernatural private investigator she is complex,guarded and is slow to trust anyone. She has a dark past which we are given enough hints of to understand why she’s become the way she is but not enough details to be satisfied.

The secondary characters were a well developed from the love interest to the supernatural cops and the vampire bodyguards they all have their own personalities, histories and motivations. I particularly loved Malcolm our ghostly side-kick who has a dark history of his own!

The case Alex is trying to solve in this book is well contained in it self also instead of expanding Conspiracy in future books. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series and find more about Alices past and see what adventures she ends up getting sucked into next!

Alice Worth is a PI that specializes in the paranormal. She’s a powerful mage who lives under the radar, hoping to never be found by her grandfather’s cabal. This next case leads her into different territory as sh picks up a ghost as a partner and a potential new relationship begins.
I really liked this story. I loved learning about this new world and these new characters as I tried figuring out the mystery as Alice was going through it. My only disappointment is that it seems the sequel is still not really set to be released any time soon.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Heart of Malice is a great debut for Lisa Edmonds. The storyline was pretty creative and so full of action that you can't really be bored with the story. I think it's pretty funny that one of my favorite characters is a ghost! Malcolm the ghost had me quite entertained throughout this book. I loved Sean, the werewolf. He was a great Hero. He was protective but not overbearing. He genuinely just wanted to spend time with Alice and help her. Alice was a harder character for me. She is hiding a past and has never been able to trust, so I get why she was so standoffish, but I did want to shake her a few times. I was intrigued by her powers. Overall, this was an entertaining story and I look forward to the next one. ARC provided by NetGalley.
8 likes

This book starts out fast! As in once you open your kindle, don’t plan on getting any sleep. From the very beginning this story is constantly in motion. There is no down time, no moment that you might think you can close it and take a break.

Alice has a past that she has gone to great lengths to keep hidden. As a powerful mage she is a prize to those who would use her for their own gain. Running her own private investigation business, she takes on a case of a young woman who thinks she’s being poisoned by someone in her family. Man, once Alice steps into it all kinds of magical mysteries erupt.

Along the way is a whole cast of characters that I gave the side eye to because I didn’t trust anyone. But then again, neither did Alice. However, when Sean enters the scene, I begged Alice to set aside her distrustful nature and give him a chance. And she does. To a point. That point being very limited initially but gaining in strength as the story progresses.

Alice is one tough heroine who has learned to take care of herself and refuses to lean on anyone. Sean is an alpha hero who just wants to protect her and keep her. However, if he wants her, he’s got to let her have her independence. It’s a fine balancing act for him. I absolutely loved both of these characters. Usually the tough heroine can get on my nerves but I totally understood where Alice was emotionally. There was one part where I had to grit my teeth because she wasn’t thinking clearly at all.

This ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, which I detest, and a happy for now regarding Sean and Alice. I loved the story and the writing is incredible, but dang I hate it when an author does a cliffhanger. I definitely would read more from this author but I hope future books will be wrapped up and not left open ended.

ARC provided by NetGalley

Heroine POV
Safe from other women drama
No apparent triggers

Heart of Malice by Lisa Edmonds is a very compelling start to a new urban fantasy series. At times, it did seem like a bit of an info dump, but at times it was also unputdownable. It being the start of a new series, I’m willing to overlook the info dump and read on. Alice Worth is a character I can get behind and root for. I didn’t think there was a lot of romantic chemistry with the love interest(s) so I’m interested to see where that is headed.

Heart of Malice (Alice Worth Book 1) Kindle Edition
by Lisa Edmonds
I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and can't be happier to have done so.
Wow, just plain wow! Ms. Edmonds created such a unique character that you can't help but be drawn into her world. A world of Cabals, Mafia like magical organizations that use whatever mean necessary, from torture to near death experiences to force Mages to do their dirty and I do mean dirty work.
Alice Worth, a new identity and we never learn her real name, has fled across the country to escape her grandfather. That man is beyond evil, far beyond a sociopathic sadist. He was willing to use another blood mage to strip Alice's body of flesh and force an even more painful healing spell to force her to do evil. He has done this since she was eight years old and accidentally killed her parents with fire and blood magic while her grandfather watched. Since then, she withstood torture while she planned an escape.
Changing her name to Alice Worth and going through massive plastic surgery, she changes herself, to escape what `she had done, she tries to right the wrongs of other as a an MPI, a Maj Private Investigator.
She gets caught up in a family full of `secrets that nearly leads to her death but not before meeting the alpha werewolf of the major pack of the city and becoming his lover. Something `\she has never allowed herself before. She allowed herself more than a one night `stand, allowed herself a connection. And never having had anything resembling a real relationship, she doesn't know she is falling love with the him until it is too late and as has tied them together.
There is the `stereotypical vampire involved, but he is no Lestat or Jean-Claude. He at times is icy cold and other's burning hot.
Told entirely in Alice'`s voice, and from her point of view, we fall into her sorrow and root for her to find some kind of happiness. The mystery `she is involved in is more of a MacGuffin to give us insight into Alice'`s horrible past and her hope for the future. The MacGuffin is an object o pure evil power that will show us the true purity of Alice'`s soul.
I can't recommend this book enough. So original, `so deep and so powerful, the Book Nerd places it at the top of her new favorite character, `story and world. This book is deeply approved by the Book Nerd
It reaches the highest score possible, a 5 out of 5. I would go higher if I could. Truly put this on one your to be read pile and get to it as quickly as possible.
https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Malice-Alice-Worth-Book-ebook/dp/B071QZ6K3N/

Absolutely great book! Cover grabs your attention while the description pulls you in. The story does the rest as it takes you on a journey through the characters lives with all the twists and turns you can imagine. Highly recommend!

This is actually one of the first new urban fantasy series in awhile that I've really enjoyed. I think the world-building and the magic system is very interesting and all the characters were really great too. Alice has trouble letting people get close to her, but it's clear that she still really cares about them and wants to help. It's actually pretty funny because she's all brooding over in the corner like ~I work alone!!!~ and then she ends up adopting literally every supernatural creature in need that crosses her path like Batman scooping up Robins.

The only part I wasn't crazy about was the strong romance angle. I picked this up in the first place because there is literally no indication of romance in the summary, but of course I could never be that lucky. While I did find Sean kind of annoying with all his ~I'm an alpha~ nonsense and there were a couple awkward sex scenes to skip, overall it wasn't too bad and I appreciate that Alice at least always stood up for herself whenever he tried to boss her around.

I freaking loved this book. It was a super fast read for me i loved the storyline and the characters in the book were pretty awesome.

It's books like this that remind me of why I love Netgalley so much. Who knows how long it would've taken me to stumble across this little gem otherwise?
I can't believe this is the authors debut novel. Her writing is brilliant and refreshing.

This book was perfection - action, mystery, romance, magic, humor, characters.

Let's start with the latter, shall we?
Alice Worth, the heroine and narrator: sarcastic, funny, bad-ass galore, independent, proud, damaged, amazing. I loved her so much
Sean Maclin (love the name!), the love interest: hot alpha werewolf, protective, easy-going, a little bit nerdy, charming, determined. I wanted to lick him.
Malcolm, the wisecracking sidekick: recently deceased mage ghost, sweet, powerful, skittish and sooo endearing. I wanted to hug him.
Charles Vaughan, the... um... antagonist? .. nah, not really, I just don't know yet what to make of him: powerful, businessman vampire "whose ulterior motives have ulterior motives", inscrutable, delectable. I need more of him.

Actually, I need more of all of them.

This book has a certain Ilona Andrews vibe going on, what with the rather trashy cover, Alice being a sassy, kick-ass PI working on a mystery case, the swoon-worthy alpha hero who gives a good chase for the woman he wants, all the magic and excellent world building... It's not hard to see where Lisa Edmonds got her inspiration from. But that's all she took from Andrews: inspiration. This is not a carbon copy but a very unique story and characters that will steal your heart hands down.
The humor was exactly my kind, subtle and cynical, the banter was hilarious and there wasn't a moment I felt bored.

This book left me happy and giddy and so incredibly impatient for the next in the series.
Hurry up, please! I can't wait to see what awaits Alice and her adorable entourage next.

RATED 4.5!

Alice Worth is an M.P.I. (Mage Private Investigator). She took on the job to make a living and to continue to put her supernatural gifts to good use. Everything is going as usual, or something similar to it when Alice finds herself in a sticky situation. She finds out a ghost, Malcolm, has been bound to her, and he is a very powerful one at that. Alice needs to keep an eye on him, so she makes Malcolm her partner.

Alice must work against the clock for her new client, but little does she know what is in store for her or her new co-worker Malcolm. Malcolm saves her butt more than once, and a friendship even develops between them. Still, Alice must not let down her guard. Her latest case may be dangerous, but not near as much as the man Alice is hiding from, her grandfather, Moses. No matter what, Alice must always watch her back or she may find herself in his clutches once again... and this time she won't survive.

HEART OF MALICE is a very interesting paranormal read! I love all the different directions that the story went while still circling a very important one. I could not put HEART OF MALICE down. Alice and her antics constantly had me on edge. Poor Malcolm! He had no idea what he was getting into when he became bound to Alice. I love her client, Natalie, and hope to see much more of her. I also hope to learn more about Malcolm, the ghost, Sean, the werewolf boyfriend and even Agent Lake. It may just be me, but I definitely think there is more to Agent Lake's interest in Alice than there appears!

The premise sounded interesting - but I was blown away by the story. Alice is running from her past, specifically her power hungry grandfather. He had her use her magic to help keep him in power. She faked her death and ran.

She changed her name and appearance in her quest for freedom. She is now a private investigator that deals with the supernatural. Her associates around her are a varied cast of characters. She is trying to find an object of power that can control - or kill - thousands.

I found I could not put it down. There was lots of twists, but were not so many it seemed as if it was thrown in as filler. All worked with the story and really developed the characters. Great start to an urban fantasy series!

I loved this book. I read it quickly and I just couldn't put it down.

I can't wait for the next book.

I do highly recommend.

Heart of malice by Lisa Edmonds.
For twenty years, she was a prisoner of an organized crime syndicate, forced to use her magic to make Moses the most powerful and feared man on the East Coast. To escape his cruelty, she faked her own death and started a new life as Alice Worth. As a private investigator specializing in cases involving the supernatural, Alice walks a precarious line between atoning for the sins of her grandfather’s cabal and keeping her true identity hidden.
Fantastic read with brilliant characters. Loved Alice. She was my favourite character. I love anything to do with magic. 5* . Netgalley and city owl press.

When I read the description of this book, I thought it sounded like a good book and was eager to read it. I am happy to report that not only was it a good book, it was a great book! Alice was such a great character, with her being emotionally-removed and -scarred because of her violent past. I found myself feeling so much for her and found her to be very fascinating and wanting the best for her. Added to that, there was Sean, a werewolf Alpha who seemed to really care about her, who has the makings of a great romantic interest, even if Alice is still too gun-shy to really trust anyone. Don’t think, though, that this book has just a great romance, because it doesn’t. The mystery had me guessing and wondering what was going to happen next, especially adding in Charles, a vampire who seems to care about Alice but doesn’t seem 100% trustworthy. And, let’s not forget the great ghost side-kick Malcolm who complements her magical sleuthing very well, and I can’t help but think he has some kind of connection to her past. Speaking of that, I can’t wait to learn more about Alice’s past, and I just know that we will one day meet her grandfather. Add everything together, great writing, great characters, interesting pasts, and great plotting, I can’t wait to read more! Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and City Owl Press for the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed. This exact review will be posted on both Amazon and Goodreads.

Heart of Malice is the first in the Alice Worth series by Lisa Edmonds. Alice Worth is a powerful mage trying to stay hidden from her ruthless grandfather. Lisa Edmonds magically weaves a new urban fantasy world that sucked me in from page one. I've been searching for a new urban fantasy series to fall in love with and I found it! A bad ass heroine, a sexy werewolf, a friendly ghost, and a powerful vampire = one fantastic read! I'm looking forward to more in this series.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Almost so so so very good - and then it just all went down hill so very quickly. This book had so much promise to be an actual NEW urban fantasy and then bam! We fall down the same old rabbit hole and drink the same kool-aid that all the other kiddies are drinking and the entire story, concept and characters flatline. But hey, if that's your thing, be my guest - the kool aid is in the fridge.

Kate Prospero meets Kit Colbana in this new series about Mage Private Investigator, or MPI, Alice Worth. The magic takes center stage in her latest case, which starts out as a search for missing books from her client's library. And I loved seeing Alice use her magic! That green glowy thing on the book's cover? That's her cold fire whip, conjured using her earth magic. She's also adept at air magic (and blood magic, but no one likes to talk about that.)

As if her magic weren't cool enough, she also has a new ghost sidekick with magic of his own. I loved Malcolm! The afterlife in Alice's world seems a little bit like the one in Beetlejuice with long lines and lots of beurocracy. Alice knows why she's being haunted but neither she nor Malcolm know why he was the ghost assigned to her. I wish they would have made some effort to find out by the end of the book, but I'm willing to wait for answers.

I have a few other, not exactly issues but things I wonder about, like "Why did we never see another member of the werewolf pack when their alpha played such a big role in the story?" and "Why didn't Alice ever go back to her office after chapter one?" but I enjoyed the book so much that I'm trying not to hold them against it. The only thing that bothered me is that I didn't love the way the mystery wrapped up.

I did love most of the supporting characters though, like the mysterious federal agent who keeps crossing paths with Alice. I definitely want to read more in this world and see where it all goes.

I was a little skeptical at first. A powerful blood mage who is held prisoner by her own grandfather, tortured and forced to do terrible things, fakes her death in order to escape and changes her face. In the beginning scenes she chases a criminal and defends herself forcefully. Then......she almost gets herself killed twice doing dumb amateurish stuff. It didn't make sense. Then the same extremely secretive Mage, meets a guy and opens up like a flower, reluctantly, but she still does it. It seemed opposite to what I think the character was trying to be, but I guess it also made her human. The book had a little 'Kate Daniels' feel to it, and I love Kate Daniels.
The storyline kept me guessing and was action packed, though the ending happened quickly, was explained quickly and then forgotten. All that wind-up and it kind of fizzled in the end. I was intrigued by Charles and what his end game is. He is almost as creepy as the vampire in J.C. Daniels books. I was worried about a love triangle, but now I wonder about his motives. Overall, a great read and can't wait for the others.

Heart of Malice, Alice Worth Book 1, Lisa Edmonds
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, Sci-fi and fantasy

What a cracking read this is, and it seems to be Lisa's debut book! 
I love when I find an author who can write books like this, with so many multi layers of plots, with interesting and varied characters that it keeps me gripped to the end. 

There are so many paranormal reads out right now, and it seems 90% are one plot romances; those where its a meets b, and there's just one plot making - or preventing - that happening. Clearly that's what many readers want, they sell really well, but some of us want that bit more. A story where it isn't obvious which way its going from the first chapter, and Heart of Malice delivers that. 

There's a clear and solid story-line in this first book that wraps up, but there is so much more going on in tandem with that, that its easy to see its going to make a fabulous and gripping series. 
My favourite Fantasy authors are Patricia Briggs, Jeanine Frost, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Rachelle Mead, Debbie Reynolds and of course Sookie's creator Charmaine Harris. Those reads are what I love, ones where the world settings are clear, the plots multi layered and always imaginative, and there's so much more going on underneath the main plot in each book.
I read and reread them finding more each time I devour the content. They kind of build up an over-arcing story-line, while delivering individual ones, and the Alice Worth series feels that way. 

Clearly Alice has a gruesome and terrifying history, she's escaped for now but the dangers are ever present. We get glimpses of her past from her memories and nightmares.
Then there's the world as it is, where supernaturals are open and out, mixing with humans, but as ever there are some vigilant, at times over vigilant, official organisations policing them.
We've ghosts, shifters, vampires, mages, in the supernatural types, SPEMA and SPERA gov orgs and I'm sure more will come out in future reads. 

Alice is a Mage PI, working alone, always trying to keep her head down, avoid any hint of her past being exposed. That means she tends to be very self contained, doesn't have freinds, and when Malcolm the ghost comes into her life he's kind of the first person I feel she really talks to.
She's careful with him too though, but his help in this current investigation is invaluable as it gets ever more complex and brings her into real danger.
Natalie, her client was a great girl, and I felt a real rapport between her and Malcolm. Will anything come of that in later books? Who knows...
Then Alpha wolf shifter Sean comes in. Alice meets him in a bar, and he tries to persuade her they can be more than just a one night stand. The chemistry they have is incredible, but is he really trustworthy? Its far too soon for Alice to let down her defences, however beguiling and persuasive he seems, and she keeps him at arms length. Except for those scorching times when he's not ;-)
And what about Vampire Charles, over 200 years old, suave, good looking, perfect charm and manners, very well respected by the Vampire Alliance, and full of his own vampire intrigues...what's his interest in Alice?
He's held back so far, keeping her in a kind of loose acquaintance field which suits her. She trusts him, just a little bit, a very, very little bit, but she isn't letting her defences down for a pretty face and a few vampire wiles. She's wary as to what his end game is, vampires aren't known for altruism...He's never yet hinted at wanting more from her but it feels like there's an unspoken text whenever they meet. 
Of course we can't forget Agent Lake either, comes into the book early and turns up again at the end. I get the feeling he's got an interest in Alice, but why? What sort? What does he want from her? 

Its a cracking read, ages since I read a new fantasy story that's gripped me like this, that I so enjoyed.
Its up there with my favourite reads and I hope Lisa is hard at work with the next book. 
 
Stars: five, a fabulous read, fast paced, solid plots great characters, and will join my favourites. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers