Reviewed by Vicki
SERIES REVIEW: Triad
AUTHOR: Poppy Dennison
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
BOOK ONE TITLE: Mind Magic
LENGTH: 200 pages
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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.
REVIEW:
I love a good shifter story! This is a new series for me and I really enjoyed this first one!
Simon Osborne is a young mage, not quite come in to his full powers yet, struggling as an apprentice, hoping to be a full mage soon. He seems a bit innocent, he’s aware of other magic users, shifters, demons, vampires and such, but the council of mages is pretty clear on their policy of non-contact. Simon begins to hear what turns out to be a handful of kidnapped wolf shifter cubs calling for help in his head, and he can’t stand by and ignore their pleas. Off he goes to rescue the pups.
Gray Townsend is the alpha of the High Moon Pack, and father of Garon, one of the missing wolf cubs. He is desperately seeking the cubs that vanished from class in the middle of the wolf pack’s compound, but is not having any luck. He is rather surprised when a mage shows up at their front gate with the missing cubs in the back of his car…
What a fantastic world Poppy has created with this book! It’s long enough that she has time to really give us some details. I love that there are different shifter mythologies to be found in different authors books, some I like and some I’m not as fond of. I like Poppy’s rules very well. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of contact between the various magical races, they know about each other but aren’t on speaking terms. I liked the tension that caused between Simon and Gray as a couple, but also their issues with acceptance. Gray’s pack is very ok with Simon, but Simon has problems with the mage council. Gray has a visitor from another pack that isn’t as trusting, and the man who comes to help solve the Big Issue (that I’m not telling you about!) isn’t too sure about Simon and Gray having a relationship. Even Simon isn’t too sure how this will all work out.
I like the rules, the magic, the shifting parts. Clothing falling off or needing to be removed, when and how they shift, the sense of family around the pack, Simon’s use of magic, and his struggle to learn and control it. Not everything is easy for any of them. It seems like a real and realistic world to me. There is magic obviously, but they have to work WITH the magic. There is instant attraction between Gray and Simon, and pretty close to instant love, but they aren’t “fated mates”. That concept bugs me a bit, I think it makes things too easy for a couple. Even with instant love they have to work a bit, and Gray and Simon do. Things are resolved at the end of the book, and we are left assuming everything is perfect for them, but there is just a bit of irresolution in their relationship. Well, not their relationship, they are together, but the details. Simon is concerned about where to live, what happens next for Simon and his magic, how will they work out living together as couple, life for Simon with a mate with a nine-year old… I was left wondering how those details worked out. Which is fine, I like that, and hope we see them in the next books.
I’ve read a couple of Poppy’s books, I like her writing style just fine. She does paranormal storylines very well. She gives us a great new world and characters I am looking forward to exploring!
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BOOK TWO TITLE: Body Magic
LENGTH: 206 pages
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REVIEW:
Yes! This is how you write a shifter book!
I was concerned just a little bit when I read the blurb for this one, I really wanted to see how Simon and Gray’s story continued, but they aren’t mentioned much. I was hoping we’d see more of them and not just have this book focused on Cade and Rocky. I am happy to say it’s about half and half.
Rocky is an interesting character, in some ways I didn’t care for him, he’s been sent by his asshole alpha to gather info on the High Moon Pack and he’s got some really twisted ideas about what is “proper”. He’s kind of a jerk, even though we learn it’s not his fault, but how he’s been treated. I had a hard time liking him though, for quite a while. So he’s been sent by alpha Malone to spy on Gray, so Malone can take over the pack. He’s a security specialist and is at the pack compound working on their security system after the big drama of the last book. He’s drawn to Cade, but doesn’t want to get involved anymore with the pack than he needs too. But Cade is a big beautiful shifter.
Cade has his own issues, he’s the only black shifter on the compound after his parents left for another pack. He has grown up with Gray and Liam, but feels he isn’t as smart as them. He is more muscle, less brains, or so he thinks. He is drawn to Rocky, and hopes maybe he’ll get a little “stress relief” from him, but doesn’t seem to be interested in more. Even though he looks at Gray and Simon with happy eyes, maybe wishing for a little more for himself…
So we have the story that developes between Cade and Rocky, they start to get somewhere, then Rocky pulls away. Cade is confused! At the same time, and all tied up in to it, is the continuing story from the first book. Let’s see… how much can I say without giving too much away… Something took out the demon that caused the shit in the first book, and that has everyone concerned. That storyline continues, the something bad takes out a pack of mountain lion shifters in this book, and eventually causes some serious trouble for our wolf pack. Then we have the council and their issue with Gray mating with a mage. On top of that, we have a stray mountain lion shifter cub showing up at the compound and being rescued by Simon and Garon, who now want keep him… This is a very complex plot, only a small part of which focuses on Cade and Rocky.
I think I liked this one a bit more than the first book, because the story is continuing and I’ve had more time to really get my teeth in to this world. That is not to say at all that I didn’t like the first book, but it was setting the groundwork that really came to life in this one. I love the little details, the relationships between the characters, the love and the hate. I liked that shifters can be bigoted assholes as well, that not all magical creatures get along or accept each other. Cade sees a bit of discomfort directed toward him due to his skin color, Rocky is beaten down by his old pack based on his pack standing. The shifters don’t like the mages, the mages don’t like the shifters, the vampires don’t like anybody. But in all of these groups there are some that go against the norm and are accepting. There is a great message intermingled with a really cool paranormal romance.
I’m so excited to read the next one!
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BOOK THREE TITLE: Soul Magic
LENGTH: 220 pages
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REVIEW:
Wonderful! I love involved continuing stories….
Soul Magic picks up right where Body Magic left us, deep in the battle against what they are now calling the triad. A being that has all three types of magic, body, soul, and mind. A being that shouldn’t exist at all, according to all of their research and legends. But one that has been seen and felt.
This story is again split, like the last one. We have a new relationship forming between Liam, the beta of High Moon Pack, and Cormac, the vampire/mage relative of Simon’s. Plus the ongoing story throughout the books of the battle against the big bad something that is stalking them. This time we also get an additional player, Arthur a mage of some ability comes from the mage council to see what is going on. He is a bit of an asshole and doesn’t believe anyone, until he confronted by the triad and forced to accept the reality of their situation. He and the werewolf council members seem to do nothing but add drama and stress to the rest of the characters, but don’t really help with the situation. The jerks!
Cormac is having a rough time lately, his hunger is more out of control than it has been since he was newly turned, he discovers he might know more about the triad than the others believe, and he can’t protect Simon as he had hoped. In to the mix comes Liam, a stubborn werewolf who won’t leave Cormac alone. Things get nice and naughty between them one night, and Cormac is able to satisfy his needs in at a one stop, werewolf shop! But Liam keeps some secrets from his alpha and nearly gets his ass kicked for it. They have a sneaky relationship forming, the story is so focused elsewhere that I would occasionally forget about them until they would have a nice moment together. At one point they read poetry over a steak dinner, it was one of the sweetest moments of the series. Then I cried when they had to go their separate ways due to a confrontation with Silas, that may not end in a good way…
We also see some very sweet moments with the alpha family, Gray, Simon, Garon, and Riley, as they fight to keep together. I love that so much of the story continues to focus around them, you don’t always get them with series like this, they tend to focus on a different couple and ignore the couples from earlier books. That is not the case with this series at all. We still see Gray and Simon, and Rocky and Cade in this third book.
So it all does come to a head in this book, I won’t give anything away, but the big battle is pretty cool! I was not only happy with the outcome, but I was happy with who turns out to be the hero. Then the epilogue… This seems to be a thing with me, crying during epilogues! I just read the end to another fantastic series and cried my way through the epilogue, only to repeat that with this book! Happy tears, but still, more damn tears! I loved how Poppy wrapped it all up and gave us a lovely glimpse of the future for this family and pack. So fantastic!
I am a little concerned about the next book to be honest, the story very clearly ended with this book. I’m not sure why there is another one, but I’ll give it a go!
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BOOK FOUR TITLE: Wild Magic
LENGTH: 108 pages
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REVIEW:
Hmmm… I have mixed feelings about this book.
Joseph is out for a hike in the woods one day, and hears a scream. He gets to a clearing in time to see a mountain lion turn in to a woman and die, leaving two small boys alone. He knows the woman, she’s his old friends sister, and just before she dies, she asks Joseph to find her brother Dominick, for her sons.
Mountain lion shifter/US Marshall Dominick Levent receives the worst phone call ever, his sister is dead and his old best friend has her sons. He rushes home as fast as he can. He finds a very confused Joseph with two grieving little boys. Dominick has some explaining to do….
Which he does, and we get a nice little story about the reuniting of old friends, and the forming of a new family. All of that is just fine, and I did like Joseph and Dominick. But. This all relates to the last three books very vaguely. Dominick and his sister were part of the mountain lion pack that the triad wiped out, Dominick leaving long before it all happened, and his sister escaping, with her sons, just like Riley did. There is the mention of the boys at the end of the last book I think it was, very briefly. It has none of the passion or excitement of the other three books, it almost felt like a few chapters that could have been part of one of the other books, integrating the characters fully in to the full story. It wasn’t bad at all, I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure it worked as a book on its own. It’s also half the length of the other books. The series felt complete at the end of the last book, this confused me a bit. It was good, and if I hadn’t just read the other three that were so strong I may have rated it higher.
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OVERALL RATING:( I really want to say 4.25!)
I am so glad I read this series! I love shifter books and this was a really fantastic world with great characters. I liked the plot and the writing, and loved the creative twists to traditional shifters that Poppy had in the series. Very well done!