Branded by Fire (Blood & Magic, book 4)
by Danielle Annett
October 17, 2017
Publisher: Coffee and Characters, LLC
Genres: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Word Count: 60,000
Aria Naveed can’t decide what’s worse—being mate-bonded to Declan Valkenaar, the Alpha of the Pacific Northwest Pack, or owning up to the fact that she’s developing feelings for him.
Her bond to Declan is the one thing keeping her grounded and preventing her new power from destroyer everything and everyone around her.
If Aria doesn’t tread carefully, especially where her heart is concerned, she’ll learn the hard way that if you play with fire, you'll always get burned.
Well, I usually check to see if the story I am reading is a stand-alone or series edition but this time, in a time crunch, I just dived right in! No wonder I spent the first few chapters going: "What.....?" My bad!
Since this was the 4th book in the series I had to just persevere and try to fill in some pieces myself. I got the fact that Aria Naveed is a human with powers of fire she is learning to control, who was "saved" by Declan, an Alpha of the Pacific Northwest Pack of "were"s. Apparently, in previous episodes, they were not exactly in a cozy relationship! No wonder she is spending this episode trying to decide how to handle her attraction to a previous adversary. Not only that but she now has to find her place in a group that questions her loyalty. Rocky road to navigate for sure.
I eventually just went with the complicated love story that we all are familiar with if you read a lot. A previous "suitor" (for lack of a better word), a bonding with a strong alpha male and a struggle to find her place and harness her powers with fire give Aria plenty to work through in this edition. That gave me enough fodder to read with or without the background.
I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. There were some action pieces but most of my thought process revolved around the relationship of Aria and Declan. This situation has not been fully resolved so I am sure there will be more to come for those that are following this series. It rather felt like a "bridge" book to me, something to connect the first 3 and what is to come in future episodes. I definitely say it's worth the read but start with the first in the series and don't try it as a stand-alone.
Getting 4 "don't get burned" sheep!
Jeanie G
About the Author:
Danielle Annett is a reader, writer, designer, and the blogger behind Coffee and Characters. Born in the SF Bay area, she now resides in Spokane, WA, the primary location for her Blood & Magic series. Danielle writes about kick butt heroines in volatile settings and like her, most of them have some level of addiction to coffee.
When not writing, Danielle can be found hanging out with her two children whom she fondly refers to as her little monsters, or catching up on the latest episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and Game of Thrones.
