Annette Marie

Book source ~ Kindle Unlimited

Tori Dawson is a student, a bartender, and witch. Sort of. Okay, in name only, but if it keeps her employed at the Crow and Hammer then a witch she is. As long as no one finds out about the little white lie she can stay with her guild mage friends and continue with her non-boring life. Speaking of non-boring, when Tori gets word that her frenemy, Zak, AKA The Ghost (or the Crystal Druid depending on who you talk to) is in terrible danger, of course she has to show more rescue him. Because once Tori gives her friendship, she’s in it until the end. Even if her friend is an asshole most of the time.

Oh man, oh man. This one will gut you down to the bone. Don’t get me wrong, it still has humor and danger and all the things I love about this series, but the ending is…holy shit. The author has really cranked it up a notch and it shows. I have no idea where my favorite characters are going from here, but I can pretty much guarantee it’s not going to be pretty. Though I have no doubt there will be no loss of humor because even in the darkest of times, we still need levity. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in both this series and the companion one, Demonized. I love this world so much. show less

By far the most mediocre book by Annette Marie I've read so far. I was less than delighted by "Lost Talismans and a Tequila" already but this was so much worse.
It could be that the co-author is the source of the mediocrity.
Or maybe this might be a perfect example of an author starting as an idealistic enthusiast and ending in writing as just a job to earn a living?
I really can't tell.

The magic of the main character is the worst piece of magic in a book by Annette Marie I've seen so far. The show more power of it might be one of the strongest in the entire series but never makes it much above average in practice because of the lack of imagination in using it and on top of it all the mc has the gall to mock others for their lack of imagination in applying his power. I was really tempted to dnf right there.
This is not to say the magic in the guild codex world is particularly well defined but usually, all the possibilities of how a particular kind of magic can be used are held in check by admittedly sometimes somewhat contrived limitations. Normally, the author thought about it. You can tell there went a lot of effort into preventing plot holes.
It's usually a prime example of how to do a soft magic system right.
Not this one. The new magic in this one is a dumpster fire.

I couldn't have written a less original plot if I tried. Gone are the complex and nuanced characters and motivations, say hello to shallow and onedimensional clichées. All of them.
Gone are political intrigue and varying and clashing personal interests between individuals and groups.
Here is a spoilery list of eye-rolls.

- The baddie is bad, wants artefact because he wants to do baddy bad things.
- The misunderstood goodie-two-shoes is good but misunderstood and has to save the world anyway.
- The abusive police is abusive towards the poor MC for no reason except some extra sympathy points.
- Let's go instalove.
- The moment a critical situation is falling apart the unexpected reinforcement consisting exclusively of badass women shows up and saves the day.
- Maniac Villain laughs maniacally because he now can enslave humankind or something? (We never even learn his precise motivation apart from being evil.)
- In the final critical moment within the climax, the mc manages to extend his powers to a level he never had before and saves the day. (With the power of loves or something? oh, and special snowflake alarm!)
- And as a cherry on top the MC is being unjustly enslaved to work for the magic justice system under threat of death.
I am at a loss for words.


I just feel betrayed.
Usually, I am pretty guarded towards a new series because emotional investment really affects me.
If a book lets me down with careless and bad writing after I let myself be drawn into a world, it feels like the author trampled over my feelings. I lost this guardedness towards books with Annette Marie's name on it. No more. Not again.

Despite this scathing sounding review, it's not all that bad really.
It's on par with the average self-published UF novel but that's worlds away from what I expect from a book with Annette Marie's name on the cover. show less

All the story threads started six books ago finally come together in Lost Talismans and a Tequila, the seventh and penultimate book in the Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie. It's about bloody time! Tori continues her personal mission: Save Ezra from his demonic fate. Was it worth the wait? Yes it was.

Lots of action and magic to go around. The build up to that relationship for Tori which has been hinted at for three books is finally starting to pay off. Talk about a slow burn show more romance.

At this point I have to admit that I haven't read the Demonized sub-series and part of me wishes I'd read Robin's story in the proper publication order along with Spellbound. At the same time I'm super excited at all the things I learned right along with Tori about demons, demon mages and the differences in their magic. The final plot twist left me stunned. This is easily my favorite book in the series. I can't believe there's only one more book to go.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Kris Dukehart and Teddy Hamilton. That's right, there are some chapters from Ezra's perspective and a separate narrator for them. Talk about an unexpected surprise! Guess I'll pay more attention to the Audible descriptions in the future. show less

Druid Vices and a Vodka is the sixth book in the Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie. Tori has a moral dilemma when her favorite dark druid is caught by bounty hunters while he was pursuing private revenge on the witch who ruined his life. Meanwhile, rogue activity in the city has gone suspiciously quiet. Is it the calm before the storm? Yes, yes it is.

This ended up being one roller coaster of a story. The action starts almost immediately and there is barely any time to breathe show more as Tori and friends race from one emergency to the next. Tori is put through the emotional wringer as she is forced to face some uncomfortable truths about Kai, Ezra and Zach. I was impressed with the author for all the twists she crammed into the story. Even Twiggy gets a chance to shine and may be my favorite part of the book. While the main plot is set up for Ezra's demon problem, I did not expect the situation with Kai's family to manifest the way it did nor did I think Zach would end up as ruthless as he was. This gave the book an unexpected serious tone and left me feeling heartbroken for Tori at how it all ends. Tori is resilient so I'm sure she'll find a way through though I have absolutely no idea how it will all resolve over the remaining two books. It's also the first time I doubt that everyone will make it to the end unscathed. show less