Customer Reviews

Wicked Enchantment (Dark Magick, Book 1)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I absolutely loved this book. Although do yourself a favor, don't start it right before you go to sleep because you won't be able to put it down. I didn't get much rest last night, but I guess that's okay if you spend your time with a great book, right?

Aislinn Finvarra has lived all her life in the Seelie Court of Piefferburg. Piefferburg is this big area of the United States that's been cordoned off to imprison all the fae. They're kept there by a group of druids called the Phaendir through the use of powerful wardings. Anyway, she's a member of the Rose Tower, the Seelie, but she's keeping a secret about the magic she can do, magic that might get her thrown out because it's too dark.

Enter the hero, Gabriel Mac Braire. He's from the Unseelie Court, the Black Tower. He's incredibly hot and is a half incubus, able to charm women with his magic to the point of addiction to him. He's there ostensibly to join the Seelie Court and Aislinn is appointed by the Summer Queen to be his guide while she's deciding whether or not to accept him. Aislinn detests this job and detests Gabriel. Right now a charming man is not what she wants. Even so, sparks fly between these two from page one.

Gabriel is not at the Rose Tower for anything like what he's told everyone. His purpose is much darker. Once he achieves his task, chaos is completely unleashed and it's non-stop action until the end. There are lots of surprises in this book, so I can't really say anything more without giving stuff away.

Anyway, loved it. I even bought copies for my friends. Not only does it have an incredibly hot romance, it has a wonderfully unpredictable plot, and it's set in an intriguing world. I'm really looking forward to this new series!

Is this kind of story now considered Urban fantasy? How would someone determine that from the reviews provided here? This book is erotic fantasy, period. The story is weak and poorly constructed. There was a lot of potential in the world created, I just think the author lacked the skill and details necessary to pull it together. There was too much emphasis and time spent on setting up the poorly formed loved scenes, and less time spent building the storyline. It was adhoc and disjointed. I don't really know how to describe it. It's just messy.

I'm upset to some extent, because I expected to NOT want to put this book down (based on other reviewers). Instead, it took four days to force myself to WANT to finish it. It is typical erotic fantasy; a story molded around erotic scenes. I've tried to curb my use of this word, but it is so appropriate here...this was a STUPID story. I feel misled by the other reviewers. If the word EROTIC had been used, I would have been better prepared for what would come. I certainly wouldn't have come down as hard on this story as I am. This is not Urban Fantasy, and it should not be included among recommendations for Urban Fantasy readers.

Aislinn's bloodline is documented to be pure Tuatha De, which is required to be part of the highest echelons of the Seelie Court. Aislinn can do 'regular' Seelie magic such as prophetic dreaming, but Aislinn suspects there is more to her heritage because of her secret magic to comminicate with the dead. The later being an Unseelie magic, which if known would be cause for exile from the Seelie Court in the rose tower.

Gabriel, a half incubus member of the Unseelie court, is sent by the Shadow King to find Aislinn and seduce her over to the black tower. The king claims she is a distant relative. Gabriel tries to befriend and attract her, but he's finding it hard to do since she's just getting over a break up with another guy. Gabriel has another secret. He is also Lord of the Wild Hunt, meaning that he led the nightly hunt to reap souls. While gathering a soul, he is surprised to see the soul speaking with Aislinn. He wonders about her secret and whether that means if she's a necromancer. And if that means she is more directly related to the Shadow King than the King implied.

Aislinn is bored with her life in the Seelie Court--the endless balls, teas, and other social functions. She would like a job or something to make her life have more meaning. In her deceased father's belongings, she had previously found a spell book (The Book of Binding) that she keeps hidden in a safe. As she studies the book and experiments with a spell, she accidentally calls her father's ghost from the Netherworld discovering that she is a necromancer. Years ago, Phaendir the ancient enemy of the Fae won the war and sealed them away in Piefferburg from humanity. Through research, she learns that the Book of Binding contains a spell that when combined with some special relics can free the Fae. She learns that her father isn't really her biological father, but only knows that her biological dad was an Unseelie Fae.

After Gabriel goes back to the Shadow King, enraging him because he has failed to lure Aislinn to them a major secret is reveled. Many, many more twists and turns occur before the climatic surprise ending!

This was my first Anya Bast book and I enjoyed it. I liked the main characters and the storyline moved quickly. The world building around the Fae was interesting. It was a little predictable at times and a bit too simliar to some other fiction books I previously read about the Fae. But all in all, it was an entertaining read.

If you are on the hunt for more books featuring the Fae, check out my list of favorites...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/R1S54O9EDUFM57
(copy and paste into your browser window)

There seemed to be a lot going on in this book, but there was no emotional development or depth to the plot or to the characters. So I didn't really care about the plot, other than how ridiculously simple and contrived it was.

A woman giving up the comfortable life she's known her entire life based on a one-week acquaintance with a man she despises and distrusts immediately?

Riiiight.

There was too much happening too fast without enough time getting to know the characters. The author very much has a "tell" instead of "show" writing style. "Gabriel's friends risked banishment and the ire of a very scary person to come to his rescue." Okay...why? Not enough history, detail, character development, etc.

Please don't listen to the other rave reviews. If you're a fan of Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Ilona Andrews, etc., this just doesn't even come close.

(See the Comments on this review for a list of my alternate recommendations)

The writing is adolescent. The plotline isn't terrible, but it isn't done well. The author is in love with dirty words, and the "romantic" scenes are pure porn for women who don't want to be seen renting a smut film but still want the sticky-finger "benefits" of porn. Don't label it romance -- call a spade a spade. FWIW, I have no issues with pornography. I like it, actually. But I wasn't expecting it when I got the book. Admittedly, I haven't read a romance since the 70s.
At one point one encounters something like four pages of graphic porn, two lines of plot, four more pages of porn with three lines of plot, a few more pages of graphic porn ... I think there were four graphic sexual encounters when there should have been plot. Just space the events out a little! When the main characters are running for their lives with the enemies bare moments away is no time for four separate sexual encounters while saying "Oh! Bad guys! We should leave! Let me touch that again!"
Pure, brain-dead stupidity. I knew there was a reason I haven't read "supernatural romances" (or any other kind) in decades.
If you like this, just go rent Deep Throat and at least get a visual to go along with your dirty words.
Like I said, I have no issues with graphic sex. I just think this is really crappy writing, and the excessive sex pretty much destroys any pleasure to be gained from the story itself.

This is a very different take on fae legend. The fae have been rounded up and relocated to--what I can only compare to as--a reservation called Piefferburg. It's a small scrap of land where they are trapped and allowed to live their lives behind a thick and magical wall. As with most fae stories there is the Seelie court, who live in the rose tower, and an Unseelie court, who live in the black tower.

The mysterious half incubus Gabriel from the black tower comes to petition the Summer Queen for residency in the white tower. The queen orders Aislinn to act as his guide while she contemplates his request.

It turns out that Gabriel has been ordered by the Shadow King to lure Aislinn to defect to the black tower. Gabriel, being an incubus, is known for his magical ability to cause women to become addicted to him, and his goal is to seduce Aislinn from the start. Unfortunately Aislinn has just had her heart broken and is wallowing in her own bitterness and anger toward the male species. As a result Aislinn seems immune to Gabriel's advances.

The banter between the two characters was entertaining, and their relation progressed at a good pace. I enjoyed reading this book and will continue the series.

The only problem I had was the long-hard-to-pronounce names, for examble: Gabriel Cionaodh Marcus Mac Braire. I understand saying the characters full name once or twice for effect but sometimes it became a little much and I just skipped over everything after the first portion of the name.

Wicked Enchantment is the first book of the Dark Magick series. Aislinn is a fae in the Seelie Court. She lives the life of luxury, spending her days shopping, gossiping and attending balls. Her life doesn't have much meaning and Aislinn feels like something is missing. She has special "powers" that she is afraid to use for fear of being exiled from the Rose Tower. She feels that her power is Unseelie in nature but is too afraid to take the next step to find out. Enters Gabriel, a half-incubus from the Black Tower. He's defecting from the Unseelie court and Aislinn is picked to be his guide. Aislinn does not trust Gabriel or his motives.

Wicked Enchantment is about the fae, a subject I am not that familiar with. The book contains a glossary that I didn't discover until I finished the book. I was reading the e-book so I didn't immediately flip to the back like I normally do when I read paperbacks. I had a little trouble keeping the terminology straight and trying to pronounce the words. What drove me crazy is that many times, when referring to someone, the character would say the person's entire name. And each character had around 4-5 names. In the beginning the book didn't flow for me.

Gabriel is a hot sexy hero. His motives are not genuine but it's easy to forgive him for the deceit because he redeems himself pretty quickly. It took my a while to warm up to Aislinn because I couldn't figure out what why she was appealing. She lived a spoiled and privileged life so in the beginning, she was a little on the shallow side. As she learns more about her past and her powers, we see a new, tougher Aislinn that I began to appreciate.

Flutter Factor:
It took me a while to warm up to the book. The pace was a little slow and I had problems with the terminology. But once the drama unfolded and the conflict was revealed, the pace sped up and the plot kept me enthralled. The sexual relationship between Gabriel and Aislinn was hot and if possible, I wanted even more. Check out my buddy Bells' Monday Smutty Goodness: Book Boyfriend Edition and you'll know what I'm talking about. All in all, Wicked Enchantment was a good book with great world building and character development. I look forward to reading the next book in this series, Cruel Enchantment.

Favorite quote:
"So, do you use magick when you make love or is the...goodness...just your innate incubusness?"

While this book is far from being my favorite book, it's not that bad.

The book's conflict took awhile to develop what was only a semi-good plot. I'm looking forward (a little) to see how the characters grow in the next book. My main problem with this book is that the romance between the two main characters was rushed. It was less than a week before shes switching courts to be with him (i can't remember any names wich is telling of how fast this book was. Also, the world of Fae could have been a lot more ....other? it was pretty human.

I am a fan of Anya Bast's Elemental Witches series so I knew I had to give this new series a try. I have to admit....it was a bit slow for me at first, but the book grew on me and I ended up liking it. In the beginning the story took place mostly in the Seelie side therefore it was a lot of parties, gossiping, etc but once the plot of the story became more clear, the story became more appealing for me. Will definitely buy the next book in the series.

Summary:
Aislinn as a documented pure blooded Seelie Fae has resided in the Rose Tower all of her life, but Aislinn has been hiding a secret... a dark secret. Gabriel is a half incubus Unseelie Fae who has "tired" of life in the Unseelie court and is trying to defect to the Seelie court. Aislinn has just come off a very public and very humiliating break up to a man that has used her to further his place in court and now the Rose Queen has demanded that Aislinn become Gabriel "guide" into the Seelie court. Aislinn wants nothing to do with Gabriel, which certainly throws him for a loop. Gabriel is used to woman throwing themselves at him, so he has to resort to actually seducing the delectable Aislinn the old fashioned way, by getting to know her. Gasp! You see Gabriel's intentions are not exactly honorable; he is actually on a mission to bring Aislinn to the Unseelie court. It is suspected that she is not a pure blooded Seelie like everyone thought, but actually a very powerful Unseelie, with the Kings blood flowing through her veins. Gabriel is able to throw enough discontent with the Seelie court for Aislinn that after he leaves to go back to the Unseelie court, but little did either of them know that the King was really out to kill her, for her power threatens his very throne. It looks very unlikely that these two will make it out alive, so they better enjoy each other while they still can.

Review:
I thoroughly enjoy this series! I read this book after I read the second one in the series so it better explained some of the things I didn't have a firm grasp on from the 2nd book, so where as you don't have to read in order, I would recommend it. Aislinn as a woman grows amazingly, from a quiet discontent Seelie piece of fluff to a fierce, confident, powerful woman! She takes a hold of her destiny and fights for what is right. Gabriel is SMEXY! You know that man that you know you should not mess with but just can't seem to help yourself? That's him! Being half incubus you just know he can put all of those talents to good use and he does. What you don't expect is for him to fall for Aislinn, Gabriel is not the type to fall, but he does and hard. But Aislinn seriously makes him work for it! Their courtship is not an easy one. It is fraught with danger at every turn. They don't just have to worry about losing their hearts; they have to worry about losing their heads as well.