What would you do if you decided what you do, what you are, made you too dangerous for the person you love to be around? Would you give up that person or would you try to hide those things that made you dangerous? And if you left, could you stay away knowing that you had left your soul mate behind? Then, of course, what if your soul mate wasn’t all that you believed them to be? There is all of this and more in Ravyn Wilde’s new Christmas quickie Unholy Magic.

Franco was a werewolf and not just any werewolf, but one that worked for COMM, the world’s only preternatural police force. Controlling Creatures of Myth took the responsibility of policing the preternatural world seriously and Franco did the same. But he was planning on living a lie; he would take a leave of absence from his job and tell Tehya, his mate that he was an orphan, explaining his family was just way too complicated. He had already tried living without her, so now he would tell her anything to be back with her again. While he may give up his family during Tehya’s lifetime, he could never give up his job. He would become a traveling salesman.

Tehya knew coming back to the cabin in the mountains was a mistake after she got there. It didn’t bring her the peace and tranquility that it had in the past. Now it just bore all the memories of the times she and Franco had spent there. Why had he left her and without a word? Just that bit of overheard phone conversation told her it was his job that took him away but for six months?

While it took Tehya a few minutes to realize that not all the pain she felt was hers, it was more than her Native American background that put her in touch with Mother Earth. Mother Earth was suffering and it was the taint of unholy magic, of being used for evil that caused Mother Earth’s suffering. No one in her family knew that the Mother spoke to her or that at the age of twelve Tehya was given a totem animal to call upon. Tehya knew that someone needed to check out what was going on and that it was going to have to be her. It was time that her family saw her for what she was: a full-fledged member of her clan with all that entailed.

When Tehya finds the source of Mother Earth’s suffering, she realizes that she needs help. She decides to gather up as much information as she can and find help. Franco having made it to the cabin follows her trail into the mountains. He arrives at the caverns in time to help Tehya escape the guards there.

Now it’s not only Tehya and Franco’s future on the line but maybe the whole preternatural world. Will Tehya’s family accept Franco? Can Franco accept Tehya into his world as someone to stand at his side? Can Tehya get both her family and Franco to accept her abilities and not treat her as someone too fragile to live in the real world?

On one hand, I’m not real fond of the quickie type story. They are always too short. On the other hand, I love Ravyn Wilde’s stories so I was truly debating on whether or not I should get Unholy Magic. Let me say that I'm sincerely glad I did. This was one of the best quickie type stories I have read in a long time. In some ways I didn’t feel that this was a short story in that the plot had enough movement and twists so that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. On the other hand, the story was short enough that I went “damn, it’s over already!” and wanted more right away.

In my case, I get to go back and read the previous two books since I some how missed them. So yes, this is one of those books I’m going to recommend to all my friends and if you’ve missed it, grab it up as soon as you can. Fast action, hot sex, and a sweet love story; what more can you ask for?

 
Reviewed By Theresa
© November 2006