Customer Reviews

Counterfeit Magic (Women of the Otherworld)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was sold more as a collector's piece rather than as a book in itself, as the page count would be very low. The previous installment that Subterranean Press released, Angelic, cannot be found for less than $150 for the trade edition and well over $300 for the limited. So, when I saw that another one would be coming out, I had to snatch a copy of both versions before they sold out. That being said, I wasn't really expecting a whole lot on the story end as I bought it for the collecting aspect. After reading the novella, I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised. It packs a surprising amount of emotion in small amount of pages and is a nice companion story to the rest of the series. That being said I don't recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the rest of the series as there is no setup at all in relation to the characters.


For those not interested in this as a collector's aspect, don't worry as nothing major happens that will make you feel like you are missing something in future books. It was just a very nice "bonus" story. The cover itself is gorgeous as well as the illustrations inside. The limited leather bound version is especially nice well worth the extra price. All in all, this novella was definitely worth purchasing if you are an avid Kelley Armstrong fan, and will make a great addition to your shelf.

This year Subterranean Press has published several novellas written by authors who've been on my radar but not necessarily at the top of my To Be Read stack. These little books are a perfect introduction to such writers because they're easy to read in a few hours and I can get the "feel" or "flavor" of the authors and their worlds without spending a lot of time engaged in a longer novel, one that may not even be the end of the story.

Kelley Armstrong's Counterfeit Magic is a perfect example. This 140ish page story takes place in Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld setting and features some of the characters from that world. Though I haven't read anything by Armstrong before, I had no trouble jumping right in and immediately connecting with the same characters that Armstrong fans already love: Paige, Lucas, Savannah, and Adam.

The quick plot ostensibly involves a murder mystery at a supernatural fight club where Paige and Savannah infiltrate by setting up Savannah as a fighter. Those scenes were fun and the novella offers some sexy full-page black and white illustrations, some which portray Savannah in the boxing ring (see these on Sub Press's website).

But the real plot goes deeper and affects the characters more personally. Some of the "bad guy's" reasoning seemed a bit illogical, and the tension wrapped up a bit too quickly, but I didn't really mind this in a novella. More importantly, even though these characters were new for me (and the story was short), Kelley Armstrong succeeded in making me care about their lives. I liked them from the start and am interested enough in their past and future histories to pick up a few more Women of the Otherworld novels.

"Counterfeit Magic" is the latest installment in Kelley Armstrong's fabulous Otherworld series. It's not a full length novel, but a limited release novella. The narrator in this installment is Paige, an independent and optimistic witch, who runs an PI agency with her sorcerer husband, Lucas. It's great to have a Lucas and Paige story. We've seen the evolution of their nine year relationship since the very beginning, with "Dime Store Magic." And I've always rooted for them.

Anyway, the story begins with a lovely young woman named Ava, coming into the agency, asking for help getting to the bottom of her brother's death. She believes it could be tied to a supernatural fight club she brought him to. Ava had participated in the fight, hoping to win money to help him pay off his debts, but she lost her fight. When she found out her brother bet against her, she stormed out. She didn't see him again until his body was found a month later.

Ava is really only interested in Lucas handling the case. Paige and Lucas both tackle it, but split up to do the job. Lucas plans to look into the people the brother owed money to, while Paige and (sort of adopted daughter) Savannah check out the fight club. Savannah poses as a fighter and they get in the door with ease. It doesn't take long for the women to discover that there have been a couple of unexplained deaths affiliated with fighters --and there is definitely something going on.

*****SPOILERS******
*****SPOILERS******
*****SPOILERS******

A distance is growing between Paige and Lucas. One that began with the deaths of his brothers in "Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld, Book 8)." He has become more and more involved in his family's cabal. And throughout the course of the novella, Paige notices the distance more and more. The climax of the book comes when she tries to connect with Lucas on the phone, only to have Ava answer. She convinces Paige that Lucas is in bed with her. And it's done so convincingly, that my heart broke a little. Then, Adam moves in to seduce Paige... which is wrong, wrong, wrong, as we know he is the obvious HEA for Savannah. Fortunately, we find out that this is all a ruse --a counterfeit magic-- to convince Paige to stray from Lucas. Everything has been orchestrated by his only living brother Carlos, who hopes Lucas will leave the cabal to save his marriage. Carlos is behind the deaths at the fight club too; he set that up to help pay off a debt to another club that viewed it as competition. Using Ava's real connection to the club was a way to draw in Paige and Lucas, so he could kill two birds with one stone.

*****SPOILERS OVER*****

I really enjoyed this novella. I'm used to reading stories even much shorter than this one with this series, as Armstrong has created several internet offerings and two anthologies. I was prepared for the length and not disappointed by it. Like many others, I pre-ordered it, knowing that it's darn near impossible to get your hands on "Angelic," the last limited release novella. You don't have to read this one to continue on with the series. And you don't have to have read the previous books to understand what's going on. But honestly, this was written for those of us who were already Otherworld fans. A bonus offering. One with a fast, interesting story --and a surprising emotional punch. 4 stars.

Even though I am a big fan of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series, I passed on Counterfeit Magic when it first came out in hardback, since I thought it was on the expensive side for a novella and I am not a collector. However I was interested in the story itself, so I was delighted to find this as a much more reasonably priced ebook. There are some illustrations, about 6 to 8 of them (which are pretty but probably don't have the same impact in black and white), but Counterfeit Magic is not a graphic novel, however, it is a nice little standalone short story for fans of the series.

I really enjoyed seeing more of Paige and Savannah, along with a bit of Lucas and Adam, when the Cortez-Winterbourne agency takes on an investigation on behalf of a gorgeous young teleporter demon who has a serious case of hero worship for Lucas. As part of the investigation Paige and Savannah infiltrate a supernatural fight club where they uncover a series of suspicious deaths(and near deaths) and realize that they have another possibly related mystery on their hands.

While it seems like a lot of Women of the Otherworld fans don't care for Armstrong's books if they don't have werewolves Elena and Clay in the lead, but I am exceptionally fond of the ones with Paige and Lucas - I really love Lucas even though he's geeky and not overtly alpha - and now that Savannah has grown up she ups the entertainment factor with her sass. So I really enjoyed Paige and Savannah getting to the bottom of the conspiracy and Paige's subtle solutions to problems with the Cortez Cabal. I am glad I stumbled upon Counterfeit Magic, it was a nice little bit of Armstrong to carry me over until the next Women of the Underworld release.

It was brilliant. As ussual Kelley was able to take you through a world of mystery and wonder while keeping you in the real world all at the same time. The way Kelley Armstrong can bring together her make believe world and the real world is amazing and definately worth reading. Her characters all have personalities that I'm sure you could say "I know someone just like that, if not for the supernatural ability" or even "that character could be me if I were a supernatural!"

Counterfeit magic has a bit of everything from jealous family members, loving couples, family secrets, magic, mystery, suspense and or course the general fact that once you pick it up you just can't put it down!!

Kelley Armstrong has a magic power of her own; her stories can entrap anyone who reads them. Counterfeit Magic is the latest in the Paige Cortez series. One of Armstrong's talents is not losing new readers by relying on past narratives to keep readers involved: the plot here is original enough to stand on its own. She also writes cliffhanging chapter endings that force the reader to keep going.
The book is about a young woman who hires the heroes and a magical fight club where death seems to linger. While chasing the murderous fight promoters, Paige's marriage and patience are tested. That is the true plot of the book: Paige's marriage and her undying love for her husband, Lucas.
Counterfeit Magic falls short in just a couple of places: secondary characters feel flat and unimagined; and the main storyline is solved by Paige thinking internally and then summed up in one line. That's right, the storyline is never physically solved and it cheats the reader out of a satisfying ending. It is not a crime to demand that the author write more of her own story, and a couple of extra pages would have made for a better book.

*Originally published for San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review*

Great companion story to the Otherworld series. These books are short novellas, but they give a lot of backstory and are entertaining.

I loved this little glimpse back into the world of Paige and Lucas. We haven't had anything from Paige's point of view in a long time, and the recent book features Savannah but Paige really isn't around at all.

This is really a book for fans rather than for new readers as it was published from a small press. There isn't really enough time to give the proper background for new readers.

The story itself deals with some of the issues of Paige being the wife of Lucas as he delves into the world of the Cabals, which was a dimension I enjoyed. The fight club thing was also a great extension of the world Armstrong has created. Basically, fans should try to get their hands on it if they can, but it's not essential.

Paige is back in the most current edition of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Other World Counterfeit Magic. Mysterious deaths are happening at an underground fight club, and Paige is determined to solve this case regardless of her client's obvious interest in her husband. But Paige trusts Lucas. Doesn't She? Trouble is brewing in martial paradise for Paige and Lucas.

The story picks up a few years into the future like Waking the Witch where Savannah is fully legal, Adam is a partner in her and Lucas' PI firm, and Lucas is trying to balance the life he wants with his responsibilities to the kabal. A beautiful young teleporting half demon wants to have her brother's death investigated and she only wants Lucas to work her case. With their new client hell bent on seducing Lucas, Paige is questioning their relationship and highlighting the fractures that are becoming more apparent in her and Lucas' marriage. The closer Paige gets to solving the case the least she's trusts her husband.

But all is not what it seems. There's a twist to this case. Someone's manipulating things behind the scenes trying to rip Paige's life apart for their own gains. Will their plan work, or can Paige manage to figure out what's really going on before it's too late.

I found this book lacking a bit as compared to others in this series. I got the audio book version thinking I was getting a pretty good deal on the price, but realized it was less than three hours long. And it was unabridged. This is more of a novella or an after thought. It would have been nice to know beforehand, but it wasn't stated in the audible and itunes overview. Plus it seemed too good to be true that another release from Armstrong would come so soon after Waking the Witch, and I guess it was. I definitely don't think a book of this size would be worth the cost of a hardcover edition. I found the story to be ok but nothing spectacular. More or less just an after thought.


FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN ANYTHING AS FRIVOLOUS AS CONTENT DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. IF YOUR REAL INTEREST IS COVER ART THIS IS THE ONE FOR YOU. I find it disheartening when the actual writing in a book is secondary to the packaging. As one of my fellow reviewers put it, " I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised." I take it the bar was set really low in the first one Angelic. I find nothing collectible about a throw away piece. The most disappointing part was that this story had the bones for a good solid novel, but instead was used in a way that makes me feel like the publisher is more interested in turning lead into gold by dressing up mediocrity. I personally would rather invest in collectible books that are not only beautiful on the outside but well written and engaging on the inside. One of my comments mentioned that they enjoy little stories about their favorite characters and I agree but Counterfeit Magic is the kind of back story authors provide as freebies on their sites. If you are interested in more than a cover do yourself a favor and don't buy this in any form wait for Armstrong to post it free on her website or check it out at a library. It's not worth the money.

Please note: this is a novella set in the Women of the Otherworld universe. Keeping this mind, I very much enjoyed this short foray into Paige and Lucas's business life. However, as it is in any world, things are not as as simple as they seem on the surface. With just a short 141 pages, Ms. Armstrong has you in her grasp. I read this book in one sitting and if you are a true fan of the series, please find a copy to buy or borrow and lose yourself in it's pages!