Tag: Angela Benedetti

Bits of Magic by Angela Benedetti

angela-benedetti-bits-of-magic-1400Title: Bits of Magic
Series: Hidden Magic Collection
Author: Angela Benedetti
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 68 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press (May 6th, 2015)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½ Hearts
Blurb: There’s magic in the world and its hiding in plain sight. Your friends, your neighbors, the guy who runs your favorite restaurant — any of them could be more than they seem. A man trick-or-treating with his son finds the courage to go after what he wants when he confiscates and eats some unwrapped candy. A park ranger who’s afraid of outing himself in public is reminded that his lover will — and can — protect him, no matter what. An apprentice mage learns that his master never forgets when he has a lesson to finish, and will always come for him when he gets himself lost in magic. And a boy from a mage-gifted family learns that life isn’t over just because the gift has passed him by.

Return to the world of Hidden Magic.

ISBN: 978-1-61040-912-4

Product Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4384

Reviewer: Prime

General Review: I found myself a little underwhelmed by this collection and I think part of the reason is that this would have made sense with the stories in a different order. These are shorts set within the universe of Angela Benedetti’s Sentinel series. But I’ve decided to give the benefit of the doubt and I am going to assume to get the full effect of the story, I should probably go back to the start of it all to get a real sense of the goings in on in this world.

Chasing Fear ♥♥♥♥3 ½ Hearts
Review: This one has an interesting setting – feels rather mystical and spooky. We meet Emilio and his lover Martin. Maybe I’m a little bit jaded when it comes to my MM book, but what this essentially boils down to is that on Halloween Martin wants to have sex in public but there’s this shady area of consent because of Emilio’s fears. Sure, it’s good, but I personally found it difficult to connect to the characters. Despite being set in the universe of the Sentinels series, I felt I needed a broader introduction about these guys who were otherwise unknown to this universe.

Catching Courage ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ Hearts
Review: In this second short we are back with Emilio and Martin. I think to some extent my comments of a broader introduction for the guys being needed still applies here, but this story was much easier to get into the characters. After having difficulty connecting to especially Martin in Chasing Fear I was more than relieved that I was finally able to connect to his character and relate. Now the guys are spending New Year’s Eve with Martin’s family in this charming vignette.

Reach Out and Touch ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts
Review: Third story and we now move onto a second couple, this time apprentice mage Cal and master mage, Aubrey, who is also Cal’s master. Okay, this is a different and certainly interesting story, but it is told by Cal because Aubrey is elsewhere and Cal decides to cast some magic he isn’t ready to do. In a funny way, it comes down to me thinking, this couple needs to communicate.

I wish there could have been more Aubrey because he appears at the end and other than being thought/ spoken of by Cal he doesn’t really get a good introduction. There’s some intriguing interacting between the couple, where Cal describes Aubrey as amazing I feel that we just don’t get enough time to see him beyond being a grumpy mage.

Unfinished Business ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Review: And we are once again back with Cal and Aubrey. Once again, this story is told by Cal for the most part. It is cute and sexy and, unlike the previous story, it was really easy to see the dynamics in their relationship. An interesting bit, I’ve discovered that this story is based on a scene in the novel that set up this universe, Hidden Magic, where it has now been expanded for the purpose of this story and now told from Cal and Aubrey’s POV.

Candy Courage ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ Hearts
Review: This is fun Halloween short. This time we meet Glenn, he’s divorced and wants to spend some time with his son, so takes him trick or treating. Glenn, like any adult, wants a bit of the lollies too, so swipes some of his son’s without the knowledge that they got it from alchemist who likes to add a bit of extra something. It’s the added courage that leads to the MM portion of the story, hence the title of the story.

It’s certainly a fun read especially once we meet Neal and see Glenn come out of his shell. I think it might be charming especially those that can relate to the shyness of flirting with someone they like.

Birthdays Suck ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Review: In this final story we meet Paul MacAllister, it is like a prequel intro to the novel Hidden Magic. In this, it’s Paul’s birthday and he doesn’t like them because he has not developed any magical powers which means he cannot be a Sentinel, protector of the mortal realm. Everyone has had a horrible birthday where things don’t go your way and that made it really easy to relate to.

One criticism though, this collection would have been better off if this was the first story and acted as the introduction to the piece. Not only is it a prequel to the novel these shorts are based around, it is also a really helpful prequel to the world that we meet in the rest of the short. After reading this all of a sudden things fell into place and the previous five stories finally made sense to me.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

Bits of Magic by Angela Benedetti Book Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Angela Benedetti - Bits of Magic 600x600Banner

Hi peeps, we have Angela Benedetti popping in today with her newest release Bits of Magic, a collection of short stories from her Hidden Magic universe, we have a tasty excerpt, and a brilliant giveaway so enjoy the post and click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~

Angela Benedetti - Bits of Magic 1400

Bits of Magic

by

Angela Benedetti

There’s magic in the world, and its hiding in plain sight. Your friends, your neighbors, the guy who runs your favorite restaurant — any of them could be more than they seem. A man trick-or-treating with his son finds the courage to go after what he wants when he confiscates and eats some unwrapped candy. A park ranger who’s afraid of outing himself in public is reminded that his lover will — and can — protect him, no matter what. An apprentice mage learns that his master never forgets when he has a lesson to finish, and will always come for him when he gets himself lost in magic. And a boy from a mage-gifted family learns that life isn’t over just because the gift has passed him by. Return to the world of Hidden Magic.

(Note from the author: Note that this is a collection of short stories. All the stories take place in the same fictional universe, but they have different themes and devices. Only one story has BDSM elements, for example. And only one is erotica. One is romantic but has no sex that’s meant to be titillating.)

Continue reading “Bits of Magic by Angela Benedetti Book Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!” →

Captive Magic by Angela Benedetti

captivemagicTitle: Captive Magic     

Series: Sentinels 03

Author: Angela Benedetti     

Genre: Paranormal     

Length: Novel (307pgs)     

Publisher: Torquere Press (4th September 2013)    

Heat Level: Moderate     

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts    

Reviewer: Pixie     

Blurb: Teleporter Breck Bayes made a deal with a demon to save the life of his little sister Amanda, who was dying of cancer. The demon expects Breck to work off the debt — as a thief who can get past any walls or locks. If Breck balks, Amanda’s cancer will come back, and she’ll die. Breck’s a good guy, but a few trinkets versus Amanda’s life? It’s no contest.

Manny hears about Breck’s popping around town and uses his own talents to find and confront him. Sentinels are supposed to prevent the mage gifted from using their talents to steal, by force if necessary, but then he gets the whole story. Manny understands family, and he decides that his Sentinel persona is going to have to suck it up and deal while he helps Breck get out from under the demon — even if it means becoming an accomplice to the thieving while, they plot Breck’s escape. But then the demon notices Manny, whose true sight and seeking would be very useful in its quest to own things that don’t properly belong to it, and suddenly it’s not only Breck who’s in trouble.   

Purchase Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3978    

Review: This story is part of a series and is best read in order. Breck has landed himself in trouble, he made a deal with a demon to save his sister’s life, and all he has to do is use his teleporting abilities to get objects for the demon in return… objects that belong to others. Manny hears that there is a teleporter popping up around town and decides to check him out and see if he understands what he is, but things take a strange turn when Manny discovers the trouble Breck has landed himself in and the reason. As Breck and Manny try to discover a way out from under the demon, the demon sets his sights on Manny, and Manny and Breck decide to fight fire with fire. 

This is a great story that explores just what a teleporter could be capable of, while twining it with a touch of danger and a manipulating demon. When Breck made a deal with a demon he never thought he would be stuck chasing down trinkets, or being chased down by someone who has an ability or their own. Manny just wants to make sure that the new guy isn’t up to anything illegal, but when a life is on the line, he can’t say he wouldn’t have done the same thing. Working together, they discover that there are no limits when it comes to teleporting but they have to do some dodgy dealing if they are going to save Manda (Breck’s sister). 

I really enjoyed this story with its dimension jumping and puzzle solving, watching as Manny and Breck begin to enjoy a relationship and how they save the day. I liked how they worked together to figure a way out for Breck and how they managed to fix things when everything went wrong. Their relationship was forged during a really difficult time for Breck, and you can see him being pulled in two when the demon gets impatient and begins pulling his strings…. do what the demon wants or be there for his mother and sister? Manny being with him and helping him really saves Breck in more ways than one. While Manny is a large part of this story, I couldn’t help but feel that it was really Breck’s story and although their relationship is special, it is really Breck’s trials that make this story great.

I recommend this to those who love paranormal abilities, dimension jumping, interesting beings, a relationship forged in hard times and a great ending.