Enter the Witching World… britches.
Who ever said magic would be ordinary?
There’s nothing quite like this world of witches and wizards…
This collection includes:
Magic Awakens
A girl with dormant powers. A sorcerer with a mysterious past. A forbidden path in magic.
Clara’s parents have her life all planned out for her. It’s the 1800s and she’s a daughter of the aristocracy. Her duty is to marry the man her parents choose for her, hold her tongue, and practice needlepoint.
Clara has no intention to marry into a life of misery. But she isn’t looking for a life of magic either. Magic is dangerous. Her parents have worked hard to keep her from it.
But magic is coming for Clara, whether she likes it or not. When her powers awaken, she can choose the safe path and pretend it isn’t happening. Or she can claim her power and face all the dangers it comes with, including the dark stranger with a secret past.
The Five-Petal Knot
A prodigy pygmy owl. A possessive firedrake. A booby-trapped castle. Gargoyles come to life. Who said magic would be ordinary?
No one can access magic like Clara does, but her powers are unpredictable and dangerous. She has to learn how to control them.
When she falls into one of the castle’s many traps before she can, becoming a prisoner of the merworld, there’s only one person who can save her. And he’s already fighting for his life.
But that’s not the worst of their problems. An immortal count, with a heart fueled by darkness, intends to claim the souls of everyone within Irele Castle. The castle and all its creatures come alive to defend it, but will it be enough to defeat the count’s army of gruesome creatures and save Clara before it’s too late?
The Merqueen
A demonic satyr. Rogue pixies. Diminutive dragons. Phoenixes and imps. No one ever said magic would be boring.
Clara barely survived the dark force that attacked Irele Castle. One of her teachers didn’t. But the number of dark magicians hunting her and her friends has only increased.
She still doesn’t understand the extent of her powers, and her foes are cutting off every opportunity for her to discover it. As if the immortal count weren’t terrifying enough, now Clara’s former fiancé and a magician she believed dead have combined their efforts to kill her.
And it gets worse. The Merqueen’s already stolen three years of Clara’s life. But she wants more, and she’s as powerful as the Count. They’re racing to claim her soul. Will Clara, who’s still new to the magical world, be able to find the way to stop them in time, when the many forces of darkness are converging on her?
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Magic Awakens is book one in Lucia Ashta’s Witching World Series. This is the first book I have read by this author and I was not disappointed.
Clara is a young woman in a world dominated by men and traditions. To further expand their wealth and power the Count and Countess of Norland arrange a marriage for Clara with the eldest son of the Count and Countess of Chester Samuel. Hesitant at first both Samuel and Clara bond and find they don’t mind each other or the idea of marriage, Samuel is kind, understanding and friendly. But things are not to go as they hoped and the marriage falls through and instead of marrying Samuel, Clara is to marry Winston the cruel, brutal and evil younger brother. When Clara’s health takes a turn and all the doctors have no hope for her survival, the only person who has a chance of helping her is Marcelo, a magician. Magic is evil and anyone who uses or possess it must be executed, but desperate for the marriage to still take place the Count of Norland pays Marcelo to take Clara to their Lake house and heal her. But healing Clara from the fever is only the beginning.
I was so intrigued and addicted to this book, from the beginning I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. The characters and plot is so interesting. Watching Clara slowly grow and except who/what she is, even though she still is unsure i can’t wait to watch her to continue to grow and flourish. Marcelo is very mysterious and interesting character, he is full of secrets and history and I am looking forward to the bond between him and Clara to grow.
The Five-Petal Knot is book two in Lucia Ashta’s Witching World series. This book continues on from where book one Magic Awakens ends.
Finally at Irele, Clara is unsure of the fate of herself and Marcelo. After being attacked by Winston and trying her best to get to Irele to save Marcelo, Clara has been running on adrenaline with the only thought of getting to Mordecai and Albacus for help. Clara’s training into magic is about to begin but the future is unclear with darkness approaching.
I really enjoyed this book, it was so much more exciting then book one. Clara grows and matures in this book, her acceptance towards her magic abilities is admirable. The bond and connection between Marcelo and Clara is beautiful and strong, with everything going on around them they are able to except what is going on between them and not question it. The brothers Mordecai and Albacus were bit of a mystery at the beginning but as the book goes on they become role models and father like figures.
This book was filled with action, suspense, mystery, magic, love, revelations, battle and death. I was hooked from the beginning and read it in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down and was disappointed when it ended, I rooted for the main characters and was shocked at the end of the battle. I can’t wait to see what’s next for these characters.
The Merqueen is book three in Lucia Ashta’s Witching World Series, this continues on from book two “The Five-Petal Knot”.
After the battle and loose of Albacus things are going to get a lot harder for Clara, Marcelo, Mordecai, Sir Lancelot and Sylvia. Now without his brother Mordecai is struggle with grief and loss, but a houseful of unexpected and unwanted guests is the last thing they need with darkness still out to get them. Clara must learn everything she can before Marcelo’s nephew and Count Washur come back to finish what they started. But something is always getting in the way delaying her lessons. Marcelo must go back home to Castle Burdy to claim the Counts role after his fathers death, but leaving Mordecai behind with his grieving is the less of his and Clara troubles that they must overcome.
I love the mythical creatures in this series. The characters continue to grow and flourish, as well as the storyline. I did find Clara a little irresponsible and childish at parts in this book, I understand she is powerful and eggar to learn, but at the end of the day she is new to this world and doesn’t understand the risk and ramifications is spells go wrong, but she would listen to what Marcelo was trying to tell her. (As proof of the Terrance scene) But the bond and connection between Marcelo and Clara continue to grow as they look forward to building a future together.
So many questions, I have so many questions after reading this book. What is Count Washur up to? What happened to Salazar growing up? What is Mirvela trying to accomplish? Will Marcelo and Clara ever marry? What is Clara capable of? How did Gertrude get mixed up in this? Hopefully some of these questions will be answered in the next book.
I’ve read, and separately reviewed, all of the books in Lucia Ashta’s Witching World series. They were, quite frankly, superb. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to have missed them then you’re in luck as this boxset of books 1-3 is a great collection. Trust me that these are so addictively fun that you will not be able to simply stop after each book. Highly recommended.