Toni's Review of Blood and Magick by James R. Tuck - 4.5 Stars

Taking out hellish creatures—not a problem. Armed with blessed silver hollow-points and the ability to manipulate magick, he’s ready for anything—except betrayal he never saw coming…

Deacon Chalk knows the biggest danger in fighting monsters is becoming one. Just another day at the office for your friendly neighborhood occult bounty hunter. If keeping three helpless were-dog children safe means battling a malevolent trio of witches by any means necessary, so be it. If that means partnering with a ruthless government agent to stay one step ahead of the allies and friends he must now suspect, he’s not going to cry about it. The only way Deacon can save humans and shape-shifters alike is to embrace a power beyond his imagining, putting his team at stake—and his soul on the line…

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What the heck just happened?  Is nothing sacred? Nope, it appears not and you know what…after reading Blood and Magick, I just don’t care!  All I can say is DAYUM!

This story rolls on out several months after Blood and Silver ends.  In my opinion, you cannot read Blood and Magick and get the same WTH response if you don’t enjoy the two prior novels first.  I can’t give an opinion on reading the novellas, but I have a feeling they would only improve the experience.

Life is calm and relaxing.  There is nothing like a quiet evening out with your friends, sharing great times and having a tranquil meal.  Your friends are excited about something, but what it is….BAM.  Yes, that is the moment the cart bars slam down over your lap and you best hold on tight, because this book is a roller coaster ride to hell.  You can almost feel the blood spatter and see the gore.  Mr. Tuck doesn’t hold any punches.  Like I said, nothing is sacred.  I’m not saying this to scare you away.  Just be prepared, this hero is a killing machine and the monsters are scary as all get out and evil to boot.  Blood and Magick is pure adrenaline reading.

For the next, oh ten hours, Deacon and his crew must battle all kinds of creatures.  Yes, you read that right, this book spans less than half a day.  That is a lot of action packed into a novel.  It is nonstop I tell you!  I don’t want to give away all the fun, but the central theme for this book is witches, and let me say, they are not of the pointy hat, cackling variety.

There are hints of bigger and nastier things to come.  How in the world can Mr. Tuck amp this series up more?  Beats me!  But if anyone can do it, he can.  His momentum has built from the very first in the series to this one.

My only complaint for the book and the series is Mr. Tuck’s repetitive writing.  Be it Deacon’s past or his reactions to situations.  This character is amazing and I feel that the repeating of the same emotions and responses takes away from his awesomeness.  This offense is minor, but notable to me.

For a romance loving girl, the change of pace is amazing.  The pacing is fast, the action is bloody and the characters are engaging.  I never knew who was going to go down next in the fight, making the unpredictability of the plot, flat out top notch.  Mr. Tuck is a fantastic author, an amazing story weaver and a person to watch.  Blood and Magick is another winner!

Here are my reviews for the first two in the series:

Thanks for reading ~ Toni