Drowning in a Dream - By Lila Veen (#COYER)

Blackwater Series - Book 2

Leah struggles with her emotions as her heart is torn in half by the two men who ignite her. As she battles her feelings for Theo and Ash, she searches for her father who may hold the answers to the history of the Coven. Eleanor and Drew search for their kidnapped son in the heart of the Louisiana wilderness, while uncovering some family connections between Eleanor and Gabriel Locke. Erika tries to cover her tracks after Ash reaches out to her for assistance. She is still heartbroken but her journey reveals that perhaps she doesn’t have to be for very long. Olivia discovers there is a world waiting for her outside of Blackwater, and breaks out of her protective barrier to uncover it. Follow the four women who were introduced in Book One of the Blackwater Saga, as they craft their way through the dangers that go hand in hand with being a part of the Coven.

After the last book I was eager to sink my teeth into this story but the four different female perspectives threw me off a little. There had been no switching between characters in the last book and the single chapter for each character came as a slightly unwelcome surprise. All of the four stories are written well and connect with their character - Leah, Olivia, Eleanor or Erika - but my main issue is they were hugely distracting. With the cliffhanger in "Burning for You" I was eager to know what would happen next with Leah, Ash and Theo and so every chapter I had to spend away from Leah was irritating. I couldn't give any of the other characters my full attention  and they were essentially irrelevant to the developing overall plot of Leah's story. While there were aspects within Eleanor, Erika and Olivia's stories to connect back to Leah the majority of their chapters were extra pieces could have been a whole different story. I would have preferred these three extra stories as novella's and kept the focus on Leah. This is just my opinion as I have difficulty switching from one character to another, especially when they haven't been the main focus of previous stories. Olivia is still my most disliked character and in this book her wallowing takes an all time high. I have no sympathy for her whatsoever. She is thirty three and needs to get her act together instead of playing innocent victim of circumstance - cry me a river, girl. Despite loving Leah more than anyone I have to say that Erika has wedged herself firmly in my favourite characters with a take no bollocks, less inclined to sit and mope attitude. I would be interested to see how her story with her criminal catalyst works out.

I was sad this book didn't deliver as much of the awesome-ness I expected after reading book one. Aside from the narrator switches Veen still has the magic addicting touch. It's very well written typical of Veen and Leah's story still had me by the balls at the end of the book so of course I read the final story in the series "The Air that I Breathe." See my other reviews: Burning For You (1). The Air that I Breathe (3).

3/5
xxx Literary George
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Burning For You - Lila Veen (#COYER)

Blackwater Series - Book 1

When Leah Holt returns to Blackwater, she crashes into Ash Lavanne. He is her catalyst, a fire elemental from a strange family of crafters who control the Blackwater Coven. Leah is ignited by Ash. She can build, destroy, create and damage, making her one of the most dangerous crafters in existence. Blackwater is a town with a dark past. Four hundred years ago, the witch trials that happened have left a deep impression on today’s inhabitants, splitting the town into two rival groups – the Coven and the Order. Then Leah discovers that Ash isn’t the only one who ignites her. She is torn in half in a love triangle and learns just how powerful she has the potential to become, but could lose Ash if she dares to find out.

Leah literally crashes into Ash, she rear ends him at the lights while flipping off police cameras when running a yellow/red light. It was in that moment I knew I was going to love Leah and this book. When Ash kidnaps Leah from a date with weirdo Gabe, I knew I was going to like him too. They both have a lot of reckless energy, sass and their chemistry is ridiculous. I loved Veen's world of crafting - it's another way of saying magic - and the way she has created the powers revolving around the four elements. It's not your typical I have the power of fire, burn baby burn. Veen relates the elements to how they interact with the world so fire is the power to change - build, destroy, create etc. I LOVED this new take on elemental powers but Veen doesn't stop there she adds catalysts to the mix! Catalysts are like the magic version of a werewolf mate - it's them or no one and once you find them, you just know - but there is an added twist - children of catalyst's usually inherit crafts, children of random couples can turn out evil.... Dun dun DUUUUUUHHHHN. The twists and turns the story takes makes Burning for You a literary rollercoaster I was waving my hands in air screaming, "THIS IS AWESOME." All the characters are well thought out, layered, imperfect humans. You felt like you knew them even as they continued to surprise you and the relationships are realistic while still holding on to a fantastical edge. Veen creates complexity in her characters and their relationships which rules out typical emotional extremes of love and hate - Veen allows them to have back stories, to have reasons and to have the best intentions while committing heinous deeds.


If you can't tell I truly loved this book! I adored the world, the crafts, Ash and Leah, everything! I was a little thrown by the triad relationship and the connection to Olivia. I couldn't feel comfortable with how quickly Leah shifted to someone else but I guess that comes with being a catalyst. I was super mad at Ash for being a coward but you'll have to read to see what I'm talking about. The ending is definitely a cliffhanger type - you will WANT to buy the second book to have some closure unless you care nothing for Ash and Leah (which I 'm sure you will) so just be aware. This book is a breath of fresh air in the world of paranormal witch romance and it's like nothing I've read before. I highly recommend Burning for You and the Blackwater series, it is worth every cent! Click the buy link - you know you want to!

5/5
xxx
Literary George - See my review of Book 3
A HUGE THANK YOU to Lila Veen for the copy in exchange for an honest review!
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Discovery - By Brina Courtney (#COYER)

Teagan is a budding artist and in love with her boyfriend Jason. But Jason goes missing and there are no
clues to his whereabouts or body. Teagan decides to move in with her Grandma after months of grieving for the man she thought she would marry. Moving to Salem seems like a great idea for Teagan until weird things start happening and people seem to know more about Teagan's past than she does.

This story is a typical witch novel - Teagan doesn't know she is a witch and no one has taught her to use her powers etc. Initially I was really excited about the book, it has a very sexy opening scene but after that scene I became more and more irate. While the novel ages Teagan at 21 and the listed genre is new adult fantasy, it reads like a YA novel even with the single implied sex scene. I knew Teagan was some kind of witch with a guardian protector after the first "overheard" conversation. That conversation and the many others were glaringly obvious pointers to Teagan is a witch with powers (also it's set in Salem - duh) but these less than subtle conversations, hints and clues weren't what irritated me the most. No, it was the second to last scene.