Tag: Poppy Dennison

DFRAT Review: Mind Magic by Poppy Dennison

Posted June 12, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 4 Comments

Magical species must never mix. According to the rules, Simon Osborne should ignore the children’s cries for help. After all, they’re werewolf cubs, and he’s an apprentice mage. But for once in his life, Simon breaks the rules and rescues the cubs, saving them from a demon intent on draining them of their magic.

Of course, all actions have consequences, and Simon’s bold move earns him the displeasure of his peers and the attention of the cubs’ alpha, a man named Gray Townsend.

The last thing Gray needs is a mage in his life, but Simon did save his son. Since Simon is now a friend of the pack, Gray doesn’t have much choice about it—or the forbidden attraction that goes along with it. Unfortunately for the alpha, he needs Simon’s help to track down the demon behind the kidnappings—before it strikes again. Simon and Gray must join forces to protect the pack, even as they struggle to resist the temptation that threatens to destroy them both.
Simon is an apprentice mage and one night hears children calling out in help. He knows he should mind his own business but he just can’t. He finds the children, who turn out to be werewolf children, in a home with 2 humans and what appears to be a demon. He manages to free the children and get them back to their pack. When he returns the children he meets their pack alpha, Gray. Almost instantly there is some sort of connection between Gray and Simon. Gray is especially grateful to Simon as one of the children that was saved was his son, Garon.
Gray is anxious to find out more about who took the children and why. Simon is a bit more leery to get involved as different paranormal entities are supposed to stay away from each other. Simon knows there will be some sort of reckoning with the mage high council but he knows he did something right so he isn’t too worried. One of the problems for Simon is that he can’t seem to stay away. He gets mentally contacted by Garon who Simon physically saves once again but by doing so he takes evil magic into his body. Gray and Simon are determined to find out how to get the evil out of Simon and keep the pack safe. They enlist the help of a vampire that was a friend of Simon’s family and they all work to discover who’s behind it all.
I really liked the different aspects of Mind Magic. The way that magic in general was described in this book as being almost like a triangle was incredibly interesting to me and a great take on it all. There was mind magic like a mage used, soul magic like a demon or vampire used and body magic like the were’s used. All three were represented in this story and I hope we’ll be reading more stories set in this world and reading more about he different types of magic.
Simon was a great character. I loved his inner strength as that’s what he used to beat the demon and get the kids back. He knew that he would get in trouble for mixing with other paranormals but he couldn’t let children just be tortured. He stood up for what he believed in and though a bit afraid he did what needed to be done – and that continued throughout the story.
Gray was an awesome alpha and a good father. He wanted what was best for his child and I loved that Dennison showed us the softer side of him with his son. He was still a stronger leader because he cared so much about his pack.
The story of the demon and eventually the other bad guy was a bit blurry in my mind. I know who all the characters were and what they did that was bad I just never really got a handle on why they did what they did. I thought that part of it could have been a bit stronger in the explanation but maybe that’s just me.
Overall I really liked the story and look forward to reading more from Dennison in the future.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5


Tagged: , , , ,

What I Read Last Week

Posted June 11, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

Good Afternoon!
How are you? Things here are good. Life has been pretty quiet with my oldest already out of school. She’s bored already and she’s only been out of school for a little over a week – oy. lol My youngest’s last day of school is Wednesday and she’s thrilled about that fact.
DFRAT 2012: Thank you to all the authors who are participating! We’ve had a great response to the Read-A-Thon and there’s definitely more to come with 3 weeks left of June. Lots of guest posts and giveaways!
I don’t have the schedule from other blogs that are participating in DFRAT but the schedule here on Tracy’s Place this week will include the following authors:
June 12th – Jeffe Kennedy
June 13th – Rita Henuber
June 14th – Daisy Harris – while not necessarily participating in DFRAT she is a digital first author – woohoo!
June 16th – Christine D’Abo
June 17th – Julie Korzenko
I’ll post the schedule for all the blogs as soon as I get it
This past week I read 4 digital first book. I actually didn’t pick up a paperback book at all this week as all my reads were ebooks but only the 4 were digital first. 🙂
So on to what I read:
First up for the week was Messenger’s Angel by Heather Killough-Walden. This is a series about the 4 favorite archangels who had mates that were made especially for them. They of course are searching for said mates and in this book Gabriel meets his woman – Juliette. The story had the angst of their relationship as well as the trials and tribulations of them running from the bad archangels. The story was a bit fantastical for me which seems weird to say since I knew there were archangels involved but beside that it was too contrived for my liking. I read this for Book Binge so I’ll let you know when my review posts. 2 out of 5
Next was Jacked Up by Erin McCarthy. Book 6 in the Fast Track series was a cute fun read. Eve Monroe is uptight and can’t relax – she starts dating her brothers jackman, Nolan Ford. The pair are cute together and I really liked their dynamic but I thought that there were a bunch of stuff that wasn’t resolved by the end of the book. Entertaining book, just a little frustrating for me. 3.25 out of 5 Read this one for Book Binge as well.
Next was Portside by Elyan Smith. This was the story of Iwan who lives in Wales and wants nothing more than to hang out down at the docks and get a little action from one of the guys – one guys specifically, Jonah. I’ll be reviewing this book this week so keep your eyes open to read more.
I’m Not Sexy and I Know It by Vic Winter was an adorably cute story about a guy who has no self-confidence when it comes to meeting guys and dancing. At a bar one night a guy comes up behind him and starts to dance with him and kind of direct his moves. This gives him a huge boost and makes him feel oh so sexy. The story is a good one about friends to lovers and well worth the read. 3 out of 5
More Than A Stranger by Erin Knightley is the story of Evelyn who is completely put out when her brother, who is her best friend, heads to Eton and his letters start to be filled with constant talk of a new friend, Benedict Hastings. Evelyn is completely put out that she might be replaced so decides to write to said new friend and let him know in no uncertain terms that he is NOT her brothers BEST friend – that would be her. Pretty big talk from an 11 year old girl. lol The two become correspondents for 5 years until Hastings breaks Evelyn’s heart. Now Benedict is at Evie’s home under an assumed name. The pair start to fall in love but Benedict knows that he can’t get close to Evie cuz he’ll just have to break her heart all over again. This was an interesting book. I loved the correspondence aspect of the book and many other things but the story really was told in almost 2 separate stories and not interwoven well imho. I read this one for Book Binge so I’ll let you know when my review post. 3.5 out of 5
Mind Magic by Poppy Dennison was a good paranormal read about a mage who saves some were cubs from death by a demon. He then meets the alpha of the local werewolf pack, Gray, and sparks fly. The story is about the romance as well as the them trying to find out who took the cubs and why. I’ll post my review for this one this week so keep your eyes peeled.
Last for the week was The Tin Star by JL Langley. The story of a 21 year old who comes out to his father and brother and all hell breaks loose. I read this one for my TBR Challenge read and will post my review for this one on Wednesday.
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Happy Reading!!


Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,