Since ancient times, every Halloween, the ritual of Sanun is performed, freeing the dead to interact with the living for one night. One Evil Soul discovers a way to hide from the Return, remaining on Earth to meddle with the fates of the living. As the centuries pass, It begins to search for the High Priestess, intending to force her to do its bidding, no matter the cost. Appearances can be … can be deceiving, even in Regency England. To most, Elizabeth Bennet is simply the second daughter of an insignificant country squire, but in truth, she is High Priestess and leader of an ancient cult secretly co-existing alongside British society. Confusion reigns when she learns that the man she despises, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is her Soul Mate, assigned to protect her from Evil. Can they work together to preserve the future?
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“I was born on the night of Samhain, when the barrier between the worlds is whisper-thin and when magic, old magic, sings its heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hear it.” Carolyn MacCullough, Once a Witch
It’s October and the time for stories of old magic and paranormal activity. Take everything that you have ever known about the Bennet family and throw it out the window. It is all smoke screens and mirrors. They certainly are not who or what we thought they were. In fact, the Bennet family is an old family with a profound heritage that few know of.
Our author did an excellent job in setting up and describing the universe of a secret cult living within the confines of British society. On the one hand, Bennet is an insignificant country squire, but in truth, holds a title within the society of his cult. However, it is his second daughter that holds the highest rank.
Elizabeth Bennet is High Priestess and leader of their cult. Her word is law and she holds an important position at the end of every October, the ritual of Sanun. During this one night, when the boundary between the worlds is thinnest, the souls from the otherworld can, through her ritual, enter the real world and converse with the living. As the guardian to the gateway, she only allows good souls to enter.
It is then the responsibility of the Priestess to perform the Return song that compels those souls to return to the otherworld. There is only one problem. Centuries earlier, one Soul [and an evil one at that], managed to resist the Return song and has remained in the real world ever since. It has possessed the bodies of various people over the centuries and his one goal throughout that time was to find the reigning High Priestess and force her to do his bidding. In his present possession [guess who], he will cause innumerable problems for our Elizabeth and her Soul Mate and protector [guess who].
“The Harvest Moon glows round and bold,
In pumpkin shades outlined in gold,
Illuminating eerie forms,
Unnatural as a candied corn.
Beware what dare crawls up your sleeve,
For ‘tis the night called Hallows Eve.”
Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes
In order to keep the local populace from delving too close to their secret activities, Mrs. Bennet and the younger daughters present a silly demeanor in order to keep people at a distance. When you are silly, no one pays attention to you or takes you seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this plot before. This was really interesting to see what they were like behind the façade. I really liked them.
I also liked this Darcy, our dear Colonel and his brother the Viscount. These guys were so awesome.
Our Villains were the usual suspects.
Caroline Bingley: I must say this lady [used lightly] was beyond the pale. She was horrid and uncontrollable and despicable. Charles Bingley certainly had his hands full with her. She was awful. Now here was where I seriously wanted someone to cast a spell on her or turn her into something horrid.
Wickham: OMG!! I’ve never seen this side of him before. Wow! This puts a new light on his situation. Dang, I wanted to hate him like forever and now—what a different twist. His crew was surprising and the twists and turns with them was certainly different. Didn’t see the reveal on a couple of those guys.
Lady Catherine: OMG!! This was worth the read for sure. She stormed Hertfordshire, looking for Darcy, in order to make her sentiments known. And she certainly did that, All I can say is—just—wow! So, what happened when the termagant from Rosings encountered the High Priestess? Well now, that would be a spoiler and I’m not going there.
Rating: PG-17 due to the suggestive discussion of sexual innuendos. Nothing graphic, just licentious behavior, and discussions. This story does not reference witches or black magic. However, white magic is still magic even though there were no spells cast on an unsuspecting populace. Herbs were used a lot and many have medicinal properties and they were explained in detail.
There were a few places where I wondered why all the preparation. Somehow, the plot lost me a bit and I wondered at the reasons for a few things. I really enjoyed the story. I liked the epilogue and what happened to everyone. There were a few threads that I wondered about, but overall, a very enjoyable story. I love a D&E HEA.