Bound as one to love, honor, or burn.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.
3.5 Stars
“There was only one way such a story could end -a stake and a match.”
4 Stars for the first half of the book, 3 Stars for the latter ... guess I'll go in the middle with 3.5 Stars! I really enjoyed the start of this novel. Mahurin was onto something special with this world she created. The alt-France setting was intriguing, as were the witches. Lou and Coco were badasses, witch hunters were burning witches, and witches were casting cruel spells on the townspeople. There was action, drama, and never a dull moment. I couldn't put the book down. Add in the factor of our witch Lou and witch hunter Reid being tied together in marriage, and I was eagerly flipping through the pages. But then we got roughly to the halfway mark and things kinda... stalled for me. I feel like the magic from the beginning was fading as we got more into the romance between Lou and Reid. Where were the badass witches, the heists, the magic? The book started to drag for me, and even when it picked up at the end, it was a struggle to finish. One thing I do love is the witches' magic. Nature demands balance, and no spell can be cast without something of equal value being traded. This was really cool and interesting to me. We were constantly faced with the question, is this trade worth it? Is the harm my magic does to me in return for its use a fair trade? I just really liked that part of the magic, although I do wish we had more details and background to the magic and the different types of witches in this world. Lou and Reid are an interesting pair. They are forced together under less than ideal circumstances, and the hate-to-love relationship was so fun to read. I loved the banter and back-and-forth between them. Reid is very uptight, and Lou teaches him to be more carefree, to enjoy things in life. And Reid teaches Lou that she can trust and lean on the people around her, that she is not alone. They are an unlikely pairing, but they work so well together. Even though the scenes between them got a tad boring around halfway through, I still enjoyed getting to read about the growth of their relationship. There is a great cast of supporting characters, too. I really like Coco, even though I was unsure of her intentions at the start of the novel. Ansel, so often overlooked by his peers, stole the spotlight with his loyalty and friendship. Beau, well, I wish we got to know more about him. I think there's more to him than what's on the surface. There are a lot of twists throughout this novel, some that were surprising, others that were predictable, but it was still good fun. Maybe if the book was around 400 pages instead of 500, the magic would have survived throughout the whole novel. But I really did love the start of this, and am intrigued where the sequel will go. I just don't think I'll be in a rush to get my hands on it.
About the Author
Shelby Mahurin grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wands and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn't fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches the Office and obsesses over her Twitter feed. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband, semi-feral toddlers, two dogs, and one cat.
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