The Captain’s Log – the first half of the Spellbound Series series (Annette Marie) – It’s Wryd & Wonder Month!

Ahoy there me mateys!  The crew knows that I don’t read much urban fantasy.  This one caught me eye because of the silly titles.  I binged the first four books of the eight book series:

three mages and a margarita
dark arts and a daiquiri
two witches and a whiskey
demon magic and a martini

The books follow Tori, a human, who can’t keep a job because of her attitude and temper.  She accepts a bartender job in a skeevy part of town.  Her customers give her attitude and she ends up throwing a martini on the three men who are annoying her.  To her surprise, she doesn’t get fired.  She gets the job.  Then she finds out the three men are mages, magic exists, and she works for a guild that deals with the supernatural world and not letting it infringe on the normals.

I actually really enjoyed the characters in this.  I was able to suspend me usual eye-rolling at the fact that Tori becomes attached to the three gorgeous special guys (Aaron, Ezra, Kai) in four seconds.  I loved Tori’s snark and pure stubbornness.  I loved that romance was not here.  I enjoyed the world-building that there was.  I particularly enjoyed the characters of Twiggy and Zak.  I did think that the magic system (especially the naming conventions) were a bit weak and that Tori is a human whose abilities to survive in the magical world were crazy and unbelievable.  There are also physical descriptions of people and beings that are awkward.

But it didn’t matter.  I particularly enjoyed books one and two (me favorite) but found that the next two were slightly less enjoyable.  Book four’s plot took a turn that really wasn’t to me taste and I had me fill.  I won’t be reading the rest of the series.  That said, I recommend it to actual urban fantasy lovers because I think lovers of the genre could have a lot of fun with this series as long as ye take it for the light fluff it is and don’t think about it too hard.  Arrr!

Goodreads has this to say about book one:

Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig.

It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview – to see if I’d mesh with their “special” clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That’s the definition of fitting in, right?

I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they…offered me the job?

It turns out this place isn’t a bar. It’s a guild. And the three cocky guys I drenched with a margarita during my trial? Yeah, they were mages. Either I’m exactly the kind of takes-no-sh*t bartender this guild needs, or there’s a good reason no one else wants to work here.

So what’s a broke girl to do? Take the job, of course – with a pay raise.

To visit the author’s website go to:
Annette Marie – Author

To buy the book go to:
three mages and a margarita – Book 1

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List

It is WYRD & WONDER Month!