Bodies are turning up in the Olympic Peninsula. Each victim shows unmistakable signs of being murdered with dark magic. It’s clear that the most forbidden and dangerous of the black arts are still being practiced in the town of Port Hollow. Ancient sorceries that allow power to be stolen from innocent life. And Kathryn Silk plans to stop it, no matter the cost.Rory Garcia harbors deadly secrets. … deadly secrets. He has committed the ultimate betrayal against his coven, crimes that cannot be forgiven. And someone already knows the truth. It is only a matter of time before he pays the price.
But keeping secrets in a town like Port Hollow is dangerous work. And it might be the undoing of them all.
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This is one fantastic book. Glenn Williams did a stand-up job of scaring the bejeebers out of me. There is lots of action in the form of black magic, necromancy, sacrificial killings, rituals, telekinesis, and many other magical things. This story is perfect for anyone who loves plenty of action in their books. Highly recommended.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Sam and Dean, eat your heart out.
**Presented with an ARC via BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.**
This book draws you in from the very first page. The pace of the story, the fight scenes against the revenant, and the way the relationship is laid out between the two main leads—Rory and Gwydion (which I learned is pronounced Gideon)—reminds me so much of Sam and Dean that, for a Supernatural fan like myself, gets me so engaged without any effort.
And yet, that’s the beauty of it. An author who makes a story read so seamlessly, brings the reader so deep into it without even trying and makes it look so easy, is a true talent. What the readers aren’t seeing, and what I’ve been through myself from experience, is just how much time is spent agonizing over edits, over word usage, over studying a scene you’ve written and making certain that it has that perfect flow and the fast speed all while being just the right amount of danger and combat.
Fans of Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural, John Constantine from The Legends of Tomorrow, as well as Anna Dressed in Blood & Girl of Noghtmares by Kendare Blake, Ivy Cross and the Monarch of Darkness by A.D. Winter, A Girl Called Firedragon by Mary Fan, and the Gifted Fae Academy by Brittni Chenelle are sure to love this book.
This is the first book that I’ve read written by this author. The fact that it’s basically a cliff-hanger was not referenced in the synopsis. Had it been, I wouldn’t have even started it had I known. I just don’t do cliff-hangers.
The storyline is good, but maybe too long, as I found myself thinking “Is this ever going to end?” It was pretty easy to foresee where the story was going, and I was trying to figure out how the author would wrap it up in the space that my kindle said was left. Needless to say, he didn’t and I was left hanging. I can’t say I wouldn’t recommend it, however, make sure you like cliff-hangers before you start reading.
*Update*
Having just finished The Claiming, I felt I needed to add to this review by saying that although I still hate cliff-hangers….you really need to read The Claiming right after you finish Devil’s Bane. The Claiming says it’s Book 1 and that means that this book is actually a prequel.
Devil’s Bane is an action-driven story, and there is nothing wrong with that. Except that the story is so busy, it didn’t really allow time for character development, which made it hard to connect and really become invested in the characters. I’m all for a fast-paced thriller, but there is a limit, and this one is so busy that it is detrimental to the other necessary elements of a good thriller. That said, it’s not a bad story by any means, and the rapid-fire action certainly works for some people. In fact, I think this story would work very well on the big screen with so much going on. Glenn Williams does have talent and quite the imagination, so I would say if you like paranormal thrillers, I would say to give this one a shot. In the end, I found myself somewhere in the fair to middlin range. It’s not exactly what I was hoping for, but it was worth the read.