*~~*ARC kindly provided from the publisher/author to me for an honest review *~~*

Full review to come

4 stars

The prologue was excellent and I thought I was going to love this. It just all went downhill after that. The book got worse as it went on. I was over it by about 75%

Too much sex and too little character development. Too bad cuz the overall plot was pretty good. I got bored having to skim through all the sex to get to a few pages of plot and action.


*Review copy received through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Witchbane is about two brothers out on the town ending in the gruesome murder of one of them. The surviving brother vows to revenge his brother’s murder. The problem is the murderer has been dead for a hundred years. Bring in ritual killings, and a dark warlock and you have a paranormal mystery in the making.

Unfortunately as much as I enjoy a paranormal mystery, I find it hard to like this book as it does not take enough time to work out the supernatural elements of the story. Also, it’s unbelievable to see Seth​ and Evan saying they love each other so soon when they have not even known each other that long.

Evan’s character is definitely not likable which I guess is alright, but not if he is having a relationship with Seth.​ Since Seth’s character is one of a kind man it’s hard to see him with Evan.

Also, although this is a fast paced action novel I think they spend too much time on sex scenes.​ I believe it needs a bit more work before it can be considered a great novel

​I was provided this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

I GIVE IT A 3 STAR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed the audiobook and story a lot. Kale William’s narration was a pleasure to listen to and expertly paced. The conflict in Seth and Evan’s relationship was believable. Because they fell in love at first sight and developed feelings rather quickly, it wasn’t easy for them to trust each other.

Evan was skeptical of magic, and his last ex was a stalker. To make matters worse, Seth had searched for Evan and tracked him down with magic and by skirting the law. It was difficult for Seth to convince Evan that Seth just wanted to protect him from an evil witch who had killed Seth’s brother and Evan’s relatives as well. Evan suspected that Seth wasn’t telling him the whole truth, and Seth was afraid that Evan would balk if he knew everything.

The supernatural elements were well-written, and served the romantic arc by both causing conflict in Seth and Evan’s relationship and bringing them together. I appreciated the solid world-building and enjoyed the action and adventure the murder mystery brought to the story. Morgan Brice has become one of my favorite m/m fantasy authors, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Another great story by a new to me author who quickly won over my heart! I'm always enjoying her characters and magic elements. The story itself was entertaining and had me turning the pages!!!

Highly recommended! I'm looking forward to more by Morgan Brice!

Question? Why hasn’t anyone clued me in on Morgan Brice? I’ve now picked up two books from this author that were initially released over a year ago and I had no idea. NONE! Well, I guess the important thing is that this new to me author is now on my radar.

Witchbane was intense… and the opening chapter was heartbreaking, so prepare yourself. The events of that night changed Seth forever and led him right to Jackson, hoping to break the cycle that started a century ago.

I loved the characters as much as I liked the premise. The danger kept the pages turning and the rest of the series promises to be just as action packed and intriguing. Needless to say, I’m going to be tracking down the rest of the books in this series. Burn is the next novella, followed by the second book in the series, Dark Rivers. Stay tuned!

I had high hopes for this. Sadly, it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be.

Witchbane would have been more effective if it spent more time establishing the occult elements instead of trying too hard to be steamy. It was annoying how Seth and Evan’s almost every other thought drifted to boning each other instead of putting more effort at finding that witch which kills the momentum of whatever chilling suspense Morgan Brice was setting up. I also found the writing repetitive at some points.

I wasn’t convinced Seth and Evan should be using the L-word already given that they hardly trust each other and have known each other barely a week. Also, Evan was TSTL which is ironic for somebody who ran away from home and should have honed his stranger danger radar already. I was amazed at how easily he trusted a stranger simply because that person was a cop. Around these parts, we never trust cops. I know it’s a cultural difference thing but still, after what he had seen, why is he still doubting Seth?

I liked Seth and I could see he was really trying hard to do his job. He has no compunction about lying or hacking or breaking the law which at first glance makes him suspect but monsters don’t follow human laws and the necessities of monster hunting calls for creativity and an open mind. I want to see Seth becoming a sort of MacGyver because heck, I haven’t seen a MacGyver type of character in MM so far.

This is another series where the world is more interesting than the execution of the plot. The Witchbane world is interconnected with the Badlands worlds and I really liked Badlands. I’m hoping for cameos in both series although, TBH, I would probably stick with Badlands at this point.

P.S.

review of Badlands here

I received a copy of Witchbane from Dark Wind Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like

Soundtrack: Small Town Witch
Artist: Sneaker Pimps
Album: Bloodsport

I absolutely loved this book.
Witchbane was a fast pased mystery/suspense/supernatural/dark fantasy with tons of action and a super sweet, but not cloying, and very believable romance. Seth and Evan have a lot of chemistry, and they don't fall into a happily ever after trope, but instead have a real relationship with rocks, fights, and trust issues. It was so refreshing to read a romance that had real flaws. Both have their own baggage too, which makes the characters more real and identifiable. I am very much hoping for more from this author, and this series in particular.

I will keep spoilers to the end of the review. I never go into a lot of detail in my reviews because why would you read the book if I told you everything that happens with my personal bias that you may or may not agree with if you’d have read it yourself?

It’s been quite some time since I’ve read a book with the sole purpose to review it so I wanted to choose a book that sounded intriguing. I was first drawn to the beautiful cover art by Lou Harper. And, of course, the genres. Reading the description I was a bit confused but decided to delve in nonetheless. Better to have a slightly confusing description than one that gives away the entire plot.

Our main characters were Evan aka Jackson aka Sonny and Seth. All of the characters save the antagonist had very average names. Indeed I have nephews named Evan and Seth. I find this disappointing and uncreative on the author’s part. I’m not a fan of using very popular names in fiction. For me, reading those names always brings to mind the many people I know with it. For example, Mike which I can name several offhand including my ex.

Despite my annoyance with their names, I did grow to like both Evan and Seth. But, it wasn’t until at least halfway through the book. I even thought to myself at one point that they were a bit boring. I know, how could magic and evil witch stalkers be boring? But that’s the outlying threat, not their individual personalities. It wasn’t until they began to struggle with their relationship and the circumstances that I started to get a real feel for their characters.

I enjoyed the way they met anticipating that first meeting is my favorite part about romance books. They had chemistry from the start and it was quite steamy indeed. The author gave them a very good basis for a relationship beyond just physical chemistry and went as far as to show the readers how great they were together before Seth discovered that Sonny is the person he was there looking for in the first place. How convenient. Fate perhaps? The romance scenes were steamy but not overdone. Although, I wouldn’t suggest this to a reader new to the genre as a first gay romance.

There weren’t really any supporting characters save Seth’s employer and fellow paranormal beastie hunter, Toby. There are some of Seth’s cohorts mentioned once or twice that I expect will pop up in following books. Evan’s boss and co-workers are barely mentioned after the beginning into type part other than the one who shows up in the very end.

Overall, the plot was well done and fairly seamless. The author gave just enough information about the history and current struggle to not confuse the reader with needless details. Save one thing that I will mention in the spoilers. It was fairly fast paced with romance and such interspersed with the overall conflict. There were very few grammatical or punctual errors and I was shocked to see it mentioned in someone’s Goodreads review. I’d say less than a handful. I’ve seen more in some very popular author’s books.

I was quite pleased with the ending and feel this could be the start of a very good series if done well. There is a novella and a second book in the series already both of which are highly rated. The author Morgan Brice also has another m/m paranormal romance series called Badlands.

Favorite quote: “The knife will fall on the stroke of midnight. That’s how magic works” -Toby

Onto the spoilery part:

[I suppose I should start with the part I mentioned above in which the details got a bit confusing. In the beginning, with Seth and his brother Jesse, there was something to do with a train. Later, when Evan began talking about a train derailment that apparently happened in Richmond I got confused. Was there two train derailments? What on earth does that have to do with anything? Are trains somehow linked to the overall plot and I missed it?

Another thing that bothered me was the duffle bag. I know I know what a weird thing to fixate on but that’s the type of reader I am. When an author mentions something more than once I assume it has something to do with the plot. Supposedly, the duffle was packed for a camping trip with “friends.” It’s also mentioned when in Evan’s apartment that there are pictures of him out on various excursions with “friends.” But, no friends are ever mentioned save a few from work that I’d say were more acquaintances than anything. Indeed, near the end of the book, Evan has a sort of revelation that he has no friends holding him there in Richmond. Personally, I’d have made the duffle there in case he needed to leave quickly if the stalker ex showed up.

Next was something you’ll likely find so silly but I feel like the author missed an opportunity to add a bit more mystery to the plot. At the very end, when the ritual was about to take place, items were put out onto the altar from all of the previous victims. Things like pocket watches and trinkets. And, as Evan’s contribution, a wallet. What? Seriously? Why not something more important to him that he lost at the beginning of the book and looked for and was disappointed he couldn’t find it? Instead, it’s his wallet which must have been taken from him that day as it had never been mentioned that I could remember as being lost.

Yes, I know, silly things niggle at me when I read. Perhaps, upon re-reading the book, some of these things would make more sense.

Really enjoyed this one! I actually realized a few chapters in that I had actually read another book by this author [Badlands] when a character from that book was mentioned in passing. So far I've really enjoyed both books I have read by this author and she is definitely someone to watch out for in the M/M urban fantasy genre. I really liked both of the main characters in this book and I think their interactions and developing relationship were really fun to read. The magic plotline was also very engaging and action packed and the sex scenes were really great too [seriously, it's so rare to find such good sex scenes in books like this] and I thought there was a good balance between the plot and the romance. I will definitely be looking into the next book in this series.

This review is based on an ARC.

Definitely recommended for fans of paranormal with a dash of mystery. The characters are generally likable and relatable. My only issues were at the end of the book. The villains had a lot of really cheesy over-the-top lines and the phrase "Gimme that sugar" made me cringe. A strong start but feels a bit rushed toward the end, but all in all definitely an enjoyable read.

This book had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning. Seth and his younger brother Jesse run into an evil spirit that is seeking revenge from the descendants of the men that killed him many years ago. This unsettled ghost teams up with a serial killer witch that is granted immortality for slaying these distant relatives. Jesse is murdered and Seth bares this burden. Teaming up with members that have different knowledge and skill sets dealing with paranormal beings Seth learns this demonic creatures habits and has vowed to stop the sacrificial killings. He learns the next victim is a man named Jackson Malone. Searching for Jackson he meets a cute bartender who is going by his nickname Sonny. Seth feels attraction to Sonny which is reciprocated. Sonny turns out to be Jackson the next hit for the demonic duo. Seth uses all of his past military skills along with his studies of spiritual beings to try to save the first person since his brother's death that makes him feel alive. This author has a talent for making this surreal happening very believable. I have read her other paranormal series and highly recommend her work.

this wasn't a bad book, it had an interesting plot and was written well, it just didn't quite work for me. pace was a little too slow and couldn't "connect" with the main characters (felt when weren't angsting over either worries or their unworthiness they were either thing about or having sex -- got a little old for my taste with both of them like this throughout the book). I like her Badlands series, this didn't have some of the quirky or humor of that one and I missed it.

This was a fantasy/paranormal novel with LGBTQ aspects and I loved it.
I'm trying to read more about fantasy LGBTQ books