Camilla Chafer

Book Description: More than three hundred years after the most terrifying witch hunts the world has ever known, it’s happening again.

When an attack by ruthless witch hunters forces twenty-four-year-old Stella from her home in London into the protection of the powerful Witch Council in New York, she has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive, yet she might not be any safer in their midst than the danger she escaped.

Hidden from the Brotherhood in an extraordinary safe house by the show more sea where she is sent to learn her craft, Stella finds there is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful warlock but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human?

One secret is important enough to kill for and it’s a secret so powerful it could destroy the fragile threads of Stella’s new world.

Review: 5 stars

General: This book caught me absolutely off guard and sucked me so far into the world I’m annoyed I have been unable to finish the series due to other readings lined up! As I’ve stated more than once I have a personal issue with first person writing from all the “teaching” in my undergraduate program. While sitting in a lovely bubble bath I heard the kindle voice say the first “I’m not…” and I immediately sighed. Wrong thing to do! This book could not have captivated me more and to the point where I completely forgot the point of view.

Stella was in for a whirlwind ride and I loved reading it. Her introduction into the world of magic comes fast and hard and at the hands of those who mean to harm her. But while she is learning magic she also learns herself- about her parents, about her heart and about how everything is not always what it seems in her world. The good aren’t always the good and there is way more than simply humans in the world she’s been living in. I literally sat in the bath for 2 hours transfixed listening to the book before I drained the water and jumped out to finish reading. The ending of this novel is a wonderful cliffhanger and I’m so glad that this is a series about the same characters as opposed to a series about different people tied together because I have definitely not had enough of these characters.

Characters- Stella- Stella is a wonderfully written character that I think readers of any age would easily be drawn too- once they get past the first chapter. Stella initially comes across as a very obnoxious woman who does nothing but complain. Then you get to know her, her tragic past and her conflicting emotions from that point on are so truthful. her confusion over who to trust and her frustration over her powers not manifesting to her control were so realistic. I think Stella still has a wonderfully long journey ahead of her and if this book was any indication I cannot wait to see how she matures and changes.

Marc- Marc is a character that throughout the whole book I kept thinking “Gosh he is flat.” But it didn’t bother me. You’re introduced to Marc at a spectacular high rise in NYC. He is written in a stock kind of way where he power, money and good looks are all you see. His attraction to Stella is questionable and his treatment of her is downright dirty as the book progresses. But I thought I was merely reading a story device- a character put in to advance the plot in a certain way and nothing more. Then the plot climax hits and I realize “HOLY SHIT! He’s important as hell!” It took me a few minutes of thumb twiddling to realize it wasn’t that he was a stock character, it was that he was written to almost blend away until he needed to be seen and it was perfect!

Evan- *Whistles* Where to start with that male? Evan is your brooding sensual male hero, with a secret. What good book hero doesn’t have a secret or a tortured past the heroine doesn’t know right away? I was cheering for him to get with Stella from the get go- not to mention wanting him to kick Marc’s ass very early on. Reading Evan was like falling for him myself. He has the caring compassionate thing mixed with dark and brooding down to an art!

Etoile- I am uncertain how much more we will see of her but to me she seemed a main character to the series. Etoile is the female that 90% of readers envy. She is perfect from head to toe. Perfect hair, fashion and manners. Add in perfect magic and you have the formula for sickening in most books. But I loved Etoile. She has all the power and perfection and the grace to leave you smiling. She is very much aware of how people see her but she does not view herself as more and is a beautiful addition to helping Stella survive in her new world. show less

First things first – I’ve heard tons of negative comments about this series. Why? Simply because some people feel that it is TOO much like the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. Since I am one that has read the ENTIRE series so far, I can say with certainty that Chafer has written very original characters with their own fascinating stories & plot lines. While I can see why there may be some comparison – it pretty much ends with her being conflicted a guy. Seriously though; name show more one time where you haven’t been conflicted when it comes to a male. Yea.. I’ll wait . (:

Lexi – I freaking love her. She reminds me of me sometimes.. Well; really just her smart-ass attitude, but still! She is smart, sassy, head strong and is completely aware of her flaws – yet she uses them to her advantage instead of letting them get the better of her. Yea. Smart Cookie. She works as a tempt at an Insurance Company. Why? Who knows – she comes from a family FULL of cops.. maybe she wanted to be different! Anyways – she’s working late one night in the basement library and on her way to drop some papers off on one of her bosses desk – she finds him dead on the floor . Thinking that the killer may still be in the building, she hides in the closer. To her surprise, she isn’t alone.

Enter Adam – Lexis direct boss. (Who, might I add – has a SERIOUS Swoon Factor going on!) He’s not exactly the person he’s been letting everyone believe he is. You know, typical, boring Insurance Company Boss Man. Nope. Not this guy . Try bad ass undercover cop trying to catch a fraud ring – and now – his lead suspect is dead. He’s having an AMAZING day. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, Lexi is now a key witness and it seems that someone wants her dead. The kicker? He’s got his hands full with Lexi since she has this uncanny ability to find dead bodies.

Then you have Solomon (working the Serious Swoon Factor himself!) – who is working the case with Adam, and now – Lexi. You also have Lily, Lexi’s best friend – who by all accounts is NOT being left out of the fun! With the four of them going at this, the book is filled with page turning hilarity . Watching as they tried to uncover this ring and who was after Lexi proved amusing – especially since Lexi and Lily decided 1 too many times to play detectives without the big boys.

Then you have Lexi’s family. Especially her brothers! They really know what it means to protect their sisters honor!

“Isn’t it safer if I go with you?”
“No. I don’t want you seen. Plus your family is ready to lynch me.”
“Seriously?”
“I told Garett you were in my custody until this was all over, and he promised to do scary things to my nuts.”

SEE! They are an epic kind of awesome!

The chemistry in this book is amazing. The story line flowed effortlessly. I LOVE me a good love triangle & it seems that this serious is shaping up to be just that! Seriously; it makes for some awesome story lines! In my opinion, Camilla Chafer has a hit on her hands. I can’t wait to read book 2 – Who Glares Wins – which I purchased earlier today! So be looking for that review! show less

Camilla Chafer continues this much anticipated series with another well written faced paced novel loaded with twists and an ending that literally dropped my jaw. I devoured this book in 10 hrs (another sleepless night) and now the most frustrating part of the book --- waiting on the next one.

Magic rising touches subjects of racism, letting go after a tragedy and true forgiveness while her characters engage in the political system of their world. Just be cause I used the word politics don't show more think for a moment that it is boring there are fast paced twisting mysteries while trying to bring a world together for the common good. All the while the main character learns that she can't learn to take care of herself and what all she is capable of if she is always waiting to be rescued.

In past book I have found several typos but this has certainly approved I would not say that it is perfect (I found maybe 5) certainly not enough to deny myself the experience of this story. show less

Sara Cutler loves her job as head librarian of the public library. But it's set to be torn down and the dead body she discovers in the rare books section probably won't help Sara as she tries to save the library from demolition. She's determined to find the killer. But she didn't expect Jason Rees, the big city developer who wants to get rid of her place of employment, to help her.

My only complaint about this book is that there are a lot of exclamation points. Everything else was great. show more Three-dimensional characters. I loved the setting with the old library and the history that surrounds it and Sara's determination to save it from demolition. I thought the mystery was well-done. I felt like I was involved in the story. This was an Amazon freebie and it was actually good! I'm pleasantly surprised. I look forward to reading about these characters and what's going on in their picturesque little town. show less