Saturday, June 6, 2015

Witches be Burned ( Magic & Mayhem book #2 ) by Stacey Kennedy with Review by Samantha

 
 

Witches Be Burned
Magic & Mayhem # 2
By: Stacey Kennedy  
Releasing May 19th, 2015
 
 
Loveswept
 
 

 
In Stacey Kennedy’s steamy paranormal romance novel, a rookie guardian sworn to combat the undead risks life and love in a world of violence, witchcraft, and seduction.

Nexi Jones has lost her family, she’s been stripped of her guardian duties, and she’s still learning the ins and outs of white magic. At least she has Kyden, the
smoldering hot elite guardian who’s been there for her every step of the way. But just as Nexi completes her training, tragedy strikes the Otherworld when a fellow guardian is murdered by a group of rogue vampires. Ready or not, she and Kyden trek into the Earthworld to hunt down a killer—and Nexi alone will be put to the ultimate test.

Although Kyden knows that Nexi must fight her own battles, his guardian instincts are raging as he struggles to keep her close. The ruthlessness of these vampires is like nothing he’s ever seen. And at their helm is the Black Witch Astoria, a demon with one burning desire: to shed Nexi’s blood in the name of vengeance. What troubles Kyden even more, though, is the warlock who covets Nexi’s heart. Let the devil do his worst . . . all Kyden can do is love and protect Nexi until his last breath.
 
 
 
'I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review'

Nexi with the help of her boyfriend Kyden was able to defeat the Vampire that killed her human family's he is still trying to adjust to life in the Underworld and with Kyden's caveman ways. When an abundance of killings are being made by newborn Vampires Kyden tires to get Nexi to stay behind but she is not having it. Nexi feels that if she doesn't stand her ground with him, he will have her just sitting at home doing nothing except wait for him.  When guardians start being killed it becomes personal for all of them. It's more personal for Nexi than she realizes, because there is a Black Witch who wants revenge against Nexi. Add that in along with a Warlock who keeps showing up and makes it clear that he wants Nexi and a very mouthy familiar showing up on the scene and Nexi definitely has her hands full!

I absolutely loved this book. I love Nexi's story. I read the series when the author first wrote it and she quickly became a favorite of mine. When I found out that she was re-releasing the series I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. I definitely recommend reading this book. It is part of a series but I honestly feel that you won't be seriously lost if you start with book 2, although some things will definitely click if you have read the first book.
 
 
 
 
Buy Links:  Amazon B & N iTunes | Kobo | Publisher
 


 
Stacey Kennedy is the USA Today bestselling author of the Club Sin series. Growing up, Stacey’s mind wandered the path less traveled, and that path most often led to love. She has always broken rules and she continues to feed off emotion—always staying true to her heart. Those traits are now the bones of her stories. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, who puts any of the heroes in her books to shame, and their two young children. If she’s not on Mom duty or plugging away at a new story, you’ll find Stacey camping in the summer, hibernating in the winter, and obsessing over Penny Dreadful, Game of Thrones, and Sons of Anarchy.
 
 
 
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
 
 
Rafflecopter Giveaway (Loveswept Mug, Flirt Mug and Select Ebook Bundle)

 
 
 
“Thank all that is holy,” Haven exclaimed the second she opened her front door. “You’re back.”
 
Standing outside of the modern-designed apartment, Nexi raised her brows at Haven’s unruly hair and her bloodshot eyes. Red-hot irritation rushed through their bond, sending Nexi spiraling into a dizzy spell. Not once had Nexi ever seen Haven so flustered—she’d always been a ball of sunshine.
 
Haven had been the first supernatural Nexi met in the Otherworld. She knew why the Council had set that up—their soul-bond had instantly brought comfort to Nexi, while Haven explained where Nexi was, that her adoptive mortal parents were dead, and that Nexi was actually a supernatural living in a mortal’s world.
 
Now she couldn’t quite imagine her life without Haven. Their relationship wasn’t sisterly, it was similar to that of what twins experienced—but possibly even closer than that. A connection of hearts and souls.
 
The second supernatural to visit Nexi on her first night in the Otherworld had been Drake, the guardian who gave her life, and who had been a complete stranger to her. Nexi wished she had spent more time getting to know him than the few months she had with him before he died during the fight with Lazarus. Yet life was what it was, and there was no sense hoping for a different outcome. Besides, she believed Drake felt that he finally helped avenge his wife, the mother that Nexi had never met.
 
She ignored the pang in her heart, refusing to return to that dark place of sadness that was still so fresh, turning her attention back to her friend. “What in the world happened to you?”
 
“Your damn cat hasn’t shut up,” a low, angry voice bit off.
 
Haven opened the door farther, showing off her boyfriend and fellow guardian, Finn, sitting on the couch. The deep frown on his slender face was so unlike him that Nexi’s brows rose higher. In all the time she’d known him, he had never lost his cool—Finn was always the calm, collected one. Now his crystal-blue eyes reflected grave annoyance, and his jaw muscles were twitching.
 
Nexi slid her glance to the kitten sitting on the armrest of the couch, staring and swatting at Finn. While she appreciated that apparently the kitty had been bothering him, and perhaps was driving him mad, she was also silent. “When did the meowing stop?”
 
“The moment you knocked on the door.” He looked to the kitten with a viscous glare. “She’s here. Get out.”
 
The kitten glanced to the doorway and Nexi swore the kitty smiled before jumping off the couch and trotting over. “Come on, how can you hate her?” Nexi said, grinning at the kitty. “She’s so stinkin’ cute.”
 
“Easily,” Haven snipped, reaching for the kitten. “You weren’t here for the past hour, listening to her cry and whine for you.” Those trickles of annoyance increased through their bond as she shoved the kitten in Nexi’s arms. “Have fun with that one.”
 
Haven began to shut the door, and Nexi called, “Wait. You need to tell me about her—”
 
The door slammed shut.
 
Sighing, Nexi looked down at the kitten and frowned. “You sure know how to make
friends. Guess you’re stuck with me, even if I have no idea what you are.”
 
The kitten purred, rubbing her face into Nexi’s neck. She laughed, turning away from
Haven and Finn’s apartment and strode along the hallway in the Witches’ House, located in the west side of the Otherworld’s castle. Each species had its special place in the medieval castle, or at least that’s what it resembled.
 
From what she’d learned, the castle had been built sometime in the 1700s after the two worlds merged and made the treaty. The need for the Council meant they needed a headquarters, and no one had renovated it since. Nexi didn’t mind so much; she thought the castle had charm, and it reminded her of old Scotland—which she learned was where the leaders of Earthborn supernaturals were located back in the 1700s.
 
While Nexi could stay in either the Witches’ House or Guardians’ House, because she was technically both, she had gravitated to the Guardians’ House, since she had trained as a guardian first. But she appreciated her witch magic just as much.
 
As a Spirit Witch, she was blessed with all four elements: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. All other witches other than Sprit Witches gained one element, like Haven, who exceled in the Earth element. Through the training over the few months, Nexi had mastered Air and Fire, and she had the feeling the other two elements were pretty much of no use to her. Or they hadn’t been so far. The witches in the Otherworld coven had told her through training that some Spirit Witches gained all the elements in the beginning, and when the stronger elements developed, the others eventually faded away.
 
Lucky for her, the elements she did possess—conjuring Air and Fire without touch—were seriously kick-ass.
 
Holding the kitten in her arms and continuing on down the hallway, she passed a couple witches who strode along the hallway. One smiled. The other looked at Nexi with something close to disdain, but Nexi let it roll off her back. She supposed she understood—she was different from the other witches, being of two races, and she’d discovered that while most accepted her, some of the older generation didn’t. She wasn’t normal, but she couldn’t please everyone—and she didn’t try to.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 





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