Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Witchbane
SERIES: Witchbane #1
AUTHOR: Morgan Brice
PUBLISHER: Darkwind Press
LENGTH: 246 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 19, 2018
BLURB:
Seth Tanner and his brother Jesse’s fun evening debunking local urban legends ends with Jesse’s gruesome murder. Seth vows revenge on Jesse’s killer – too bad the murderer has been dead for a hundred years. Seth uncovers a cycle of ritual killings that feed the power of a dark warlock’s immortal witch-disciples, and he’s hell-bent on stopping Jackson Malone from becoming the next victim. He’s used to risking his neck. He never intended to risk his heart.
REVIEW:
Jesse and his ex-army brother Seth reminisce over childhood pranks and ghost stories while on their way to get video footage of an urban legend. They intend to either prove or disprove the tale.
It says in the blurb that Jesse is murdered, so I’m not giving any spoilers when I say that the moment is relived, and it broke my heart. Rarely have I cried so early in a story. When Seth lost his brother, fate intervened, ensuring he lost everything. He learned the hard way, what lurked in the shadows. Jesse’s death was linked to a warlock whose immortal coven renewed the blood pact every year.
Seth becomes the combined (in training) Buffy and Willow of the Paranormal. He joins a group who seek out the bad and send it to where it belongs. From then on, Seth’s mission is easy, and I quote – ‘figure out who was the next sacrifice. Stop the murder. Save the victim. Destroy the witch-disciple. Avenge Jesse.’ Easy to say, not easy to do. When Seth finds himself as protector to the next offering to those wanting immortality, he didn’t expect he’d be putting his heart as well as his life on the line.
For some time, Sonny has been running away from an ex-stalker boyfriend. When he encounters Seth, there’s an immediate spark, and he takes a chance. Their night of passion is invaded, and Sonny is thrust into a world where the impossible happens before his eyes. But both men come with a ton of baggage which, causing uncertainty which could ultimately, cost one or both their lives.
Witchbane is a story that I greatly enjoyed. Given his background, Sonny is a conflicted man. He wants to trust Seth, yet there is always niggling doubts as to the man’s sanity – something Seth can’t blame him for. The element added that bit of will he stay, won’t he, to the drama. The life and death situations Seth and Sonny find themselves in translates to the bedroom, too. As a result, the tale is extremely sexually charged.
The story is told in the third person with chapters from Seth and Sonny’s perspectives. Technically, it’s not brilliant. However, it was so engrossing that I hardly noticed when things went astray. There was some repetitiveness, but I may be seeing that more because I holed myself away and read the book from start to finish over a couple of days. If I was a more recreational reader, I’d read a few chapters leave it for a few days and go back to it. Then, I would probably need the reminders. The only part I cringed at was the use of the dreaded line ‘come for me’ which firmly belongs in my room 101.
The scene-setting and extended cast were well written, especially the ghostly encounters. Seth is a warrior still in training and it was nice to see that element carrying through. There was plenty of action of the fighting and bedroom variety and I look forward to the next in the series.
RATING: 
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