When I first landed a bartending job at the local guild, I didn’t know a thing about magic. These days, I’m practically an expert on the different magical classes, but there’s one nobody ever talks about: Demonica.Turns out they have a good reason for that.My guild is strictly hellion-free, but some people will risk life and soul to control the biggest bullies on the mythic playground. And now a … playground. And now a demon has been loosed in the city.
My three best friends are determined to slay it, but even badass combat mages are critically out-magicked. And that’s not all. The monster they’re tracking–it’s not hiding. It’s not fleeing. It’s not leaving a trail of corpses everywhere it goes.
The demon is hunting too. And in a city full of mythics, it’s searching for deadlier prey.
If we can’t unravel the demon’s sinister motivations, more innocent people will die, but finding the answers means digging into dark secrets…and learning truths I never wanted to know.
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Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn’t a reverse harem. It’s 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy.
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THE GUILD CODEX: SPELLBOUND
Three Mages and a Margarita (#1)
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (#2)
Two Witches and a Whiskey (#3)
Demon Magic and a Martini (#4)
The Alchemist and an Amaretto (#5)
more
Demon Magic and a Martini
The Guild Codex: Spellbound, Book 4
By: Annette Marie
Narrated by: Cris Dukehart
Trouble abounds with a rival guild, a rogue demon,and a powerful secret. Loads of action, suspense, magic, and romance. I really love this series!
The narration is excellent too!
Addictive, Intoxicating and spellbinding, this set of books always leaves you wanting more and reaching for the next part of the storey. Not just a Fabulous set of books but this series by Annette Marie is an Addiction!!!!! I loved everything about this series of books and just couldn’t put them down, fantastically written with stunning and captivating characters, Multi layers of sub plots that are easily followed and wonderful action with romance. A must read for so many reasons. I am sure you will love these books as much as I did.
The books just keep getting better and better! I don’t know how Annette keeps topping the previous books but she does! This book things came to a head, so to speak, as things got out of hand quickly. I love Tori stands steadfastly with her friends willing to do anything and everything it takes to keep them safe and for them to all stay together. Each relationship is unique and complex. Another must read from this amazing author! Cannot wait for the next installment!
So exciting
I have absolutely fallen for this series. It is a must pre-order for me now. Tori and Ezra always seem to have something being between them, and I love the way they care so much for each other. What a great series.
Amazing delighted fun
Smiling brightly, I fell into step with Kai. He squinted at me with instant suspicion.
“Hello, Kai.”
“No.”
“How can you not care?”
“Oh, I see. You think I’m a coward.”
“What? No, I don’t—”
“Then you think I’m selfish.”
“No, you’re—”
“Then what? Why do you think I would turn my back on you just because your inner demon is more literal than usual?”
Ezra gave his friends a long, hard stare, his expression inscrutable. “You know, the fact that I’m the sanest one in this house is extremely alarming.”
“This is fine. Better than a cupcake.”
“You didn’t try one, did you?” Ezra asked. “Nothing is better than those cupcakes.”
“Not helping, Ezra,” I muttered
These books keep getting better and I have loved every one. Tori finally learns what’s so special about Ezra in this one. It’s action packed and took off straight from the beginning!
I enjoyed the book (book 5 isn’t out yet at the time I read these). This one had some familiarity to it of some of the goings on in the background, since I read “Taming Demons for Beginners” before starting this series (that book led me to read this series), & that book takes place at a parallel time frame to the happenings in this book. It’s not a repeat, the happenings in the background (hunting an unbound demon) are the only common ground, the character interactions are all different. I liked Tori, she was funny & snarky -for the most part. Aaron, Kai, & Ezra were great in this book. They (Tori & the 3 guys) seem to have evolved into best friends instead of romance potential, though. I have to say, all 4 books don’t really read as romance. She has a few moments here and there, where she gets a little flutter -over any one of the guys (I’m not sure that it’s just because they are all supposed to be such great looking guys or what), & then I think maybe this is the one that will be her romance, but nothing really happens, other than the flirting. Great series, looking forward to book 5!
4.5
Book source ~ Kindle Unlimited
Tori Dawson is a college student, a bartender, and now a human witch. Well, her guild and everyone in the mythical community, including their ruling body MagiPol, thinks she’s an actual witch who was just a late bloomer. Like, really really late. But nope. She’s definitely human. Not a speck of magic except in the artifacts she carries. And her secret has to stay secret or she’ll be booted out of the guild and forced to go back to a mundane life. Not something she ever wants to do. So, now it’s Halloween and her guild is expecting a party at the pub. Tori’s not big on doing it, but for her guild, she will. Except MagiPol issues an emergency and the party is cancelled. There’s a demon on the loose and all guilds are to drop everything and hunt it down before it leaves a trail of bodies in its wake. The Crow and Hammer have no Demonica mythic, so Tori is about to get a crash course in demons. I can already tell you, this isn’t going to end well.
These books are so entertaining! I’m so glad I found the first one and that there were several more for me to devour. This is book 4 and I’m enjoying it just as much as book 1. There’s a demon on the loose and it’s terrifying. There’s more demon info in this book than the previous ones because there’s no demon mythic in the Crow and Hammer. Well, not officially anyway. With a scary demon on the loose Tori is about to get a crash course in them while her friends are out hunting and fighting it. I love the characters, the world, the humor, and the near non-stop action. I even love the danger to my beloved characters. How sick is that? lol Each book builds on the previous. While it’s not strictly necessary to read the first books, I highly recommend doing so to get the full experience. And after this one, I strongly suggest reading the 1st book in the Guild Codex: Demonized series, Taming Demons for Beginners, before proceeding to book 5 of this series. Go forth and enjoy!
I LOVE this series! Tori has really come into her own and Ezra…le sigh.
Annette Marie is the proverbial pot of gold: an author who consistently delivers high quality well written, well edited, grammatically correct, original, entertaining stories. She invites you into her worlds and you never want to leave.
Every time I finish one of her books, my first thought is to read it again, to savor the characters, their development, and their relationships. The relationships developed in her books, both friendships and romantic, develop gradually, revealing layers and connections that strengthen over time. She creates people, not tropes.
Her plots are strong, complex, and keep you riveted. The worlds she creates are internally consistent and vividly imagined.
I realize this is a generic sort of review, but I plan to leave it for all her books. From the Red Winter series (mythic Japan); to the Steel & Stones series, including Piper and Ash, and the Lyre and Clio books; and the Guild Codex series, now including the Robin Piper demon-training: I have yet to find anything less than pure enjoyment, and great respect for her talent.
I really love this series so i couldn’t wait to be up to date and ready for book 5 this fall but i admit that while i love it this is my least favourite so far. It’s wonderfully written full of action, humour and emotion a real page turner read in one sitting but 2 of our favourites mages disappointed me.
Aaron and Kai were really disappointing …they know Tori and they know how she reacts so accusing her not to care was totally out of character . They protect Erza yes but he is the only one acting normal towards Tori ( bonus point for him)
That being said this story was fabulous and we see a new side of Darius too…..i loved the tarot cards as welll because let’s be honest ^^ Tori and the magical artefacts is a funny tale, i do wonder what she will get each time as we can’t accuse her not to be practical. Tori is as always loyal to her friends and taking risks for them and that include fighting demons.
i loved to see her reactions to some new characters and that include one named Zylas i do hope to see more interactions between them.
We are learning quite a lot about Erza and lot of others topics in this book which makes me just more impatient for next one. A series not to be missed!
A small note, we can see part of this story from other characters point of view in the spin off Taming Demons for beginner, you don’t have to read it to enjoy the Spellbound series but it’s really a funny addition and it can also be read as stand alone so in any case you wouldn’t regret it, it does deepen this story
And absolute thrill ride! This one had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through it was darker and more intense I couldn’t put it down! I loved learning more about the characters and watching them grow along this journey. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment!
This book was great! It answered a lot of questions but not fully so I’m painstakingly waiting for the next book to come out in October. Tori and her new relationships with the guys has me rooting for her and a different mage than Aaron. Hopefully they get together in the next book.
Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers. I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions contained in my review are my own.
Annette Marie has really upped the ante in the fourth installment of The Guild Codex: Spellbound. Emotions, stakes, and shock factors could not be any higher in this book! I have been waiting for this book for so long and I could not have been more pleased with it. Each book in this series gets better than the last. If this book is the middle of the series then I can’t even imagine what a blowout this series will have.
The thing that I love most about this book of the series (besides more EZRA, because yeah…) is the very strong representation of friendship. Friendship has been a theme throughout the series, but I love how important it becomes in this book. Tori hasn’t had the best childhood and she has trust issues. She runs from things and closes herself off from things as a defense mechanism. (At least, it seems that way to me.) In this book, she has to choose between that part of herself and her friends. She has to meet that part of herself head-on and make some important decisions about herself or risk losing her friends forever. The lengths that Tori will go to for her friends in this book is inspiring. I love Tori so much. Not only do we get to see a beautiful portrayal of friendship, but we get to see Tori take on her personal demons. I was so waiting for this to happen and I am happy with how it played out.
Everything that we learn about this world with each book makes me that much more obsessed with this fantasy world. I love every bit of it and I am forever hanging on the edge after I finish each book craving more like an addict. Getting a deeper look into demons and Demonica in this book really made the world feel more real. We finally get to see what Demonica is all about and it really brings this world to life when mixed with all of the other mythic classes that we’ve seen in the other books. Annette Marie is the queen of creating complex worlds and characters. She introduces her readers to her worlds much the same way as she does with her slow-burn romances. She intrigues us with enough to get our hearts pumping, but she doesn’t overwhelm us either. With each book in the series the world grows.
With the expansion of the world also comes more development in the plot of the series. I like how each book in this series has a self-contained plot but also builds upon an overarching series plot. The plot is engaging, exciting, and much more intense than the previous books. This book definitely has a more serious tone, though it isn’t without the humor and snark that you have come to expect from the other books in this series.
I mentioned Tori’s character development earlier, but there is also a lot of development for Ezra’s character. Though there is still so much to learn about Ezra, we do get to learn about his big secret and how it affects the mages and their friendship. The three of them have such a strong bond. It’s really beautiful. They have each other’s back no matter what. And Tori is now a part of that so it goes from three mages to the four musketeers. I loved getting to see Ezra on a more personal level. I can’t wait to find out more about Ezra’s past. I also liked the addition of new characters and how they played into the story. I am excited to see more of them in future books.
Overall, I am beyond impressed with this book! It obliterated my expectations and left me with a powerful need to start writing fanfiction just so I don’t have to wait any longer for more. =P If you haven’t started this series yet then I urge you to. This series is spectacular! It has an exciting world, amazing characters, and a plot that will keep you reading until the end. I am overjoyed with the news about the expansion of this world. Now I keep asking myself what demon do I have to summon to bring myself closer to the release of the next book?
I’ve run out of superlatives for this series. I love the characters, especially the heroine, Tori. She’s so well-written. She’s strong, stubborn and funny yet makes mistakes that cause big problems. Without any spoilers, we learn a big secret about one of Tori’s three mage friends in this story. The guild fights demons and gets some interesting new members. You can read this book alone, but do yourself a favor and start with the first book, 3 Mages and a Margarita and enjoy the whole series!