Fire Possessed (Twin Rivers Possession, Book One)

SEPTEMBER STONE

Goodreads synopsis: Sophie has done her best to avoid the magical world for fear of the havoc her abnormal ability wreaks on other supernaturals. As a silencer who mutes the powers of those around her, she’s spent her life among the mortals her defect can’t harm. But when Mother Nature pushes her from her home to do her bidding, Sophie has no choice but to venture to the magical town of Twin Rivers. Instead of viewing her presence as a curse, four men see Sophie’s arrival as a blessing. Carrigan, a psychic who hears everyone’s thoughts at all times. Hagan, a bear shifter who transforms at the slightest provocation. Jonas, whose losses have left him isolated and jaded. And Valor, a vampire without conscience or remorse. Drawn to Sophie, these irresistible men find themselves caught up in a dangerous whirlwind of magic that runs deeper than they can imagine. But Sophie can’t allow her mounting attraction to keep her from her mission—because Mother’s wrath destroys everything it touches. 

Stats for my copy: Kindle Edition, 1/14/19

How acquired: Hidden Gems ARC Program

First line: The moment the stench of freshly-burning wallpaper creeps under my bedroom door and smacks my nose, my dream where I'm mapping out future lesson plans comes to a blunt stop.

My thoughts: Billed as a “full length reverse harem urban fantasy adventure”. What isn't mentioned is that it just abruptly ends with no resolution to the plot. Grr.

Now that that gripe is out of the way. It's really the only gripe I have. Well, that and the cover, which looks like it belongs on a completely different book. I can't even begin to picture Sophie dressed the way the cover model is. Anyway, I used to read a lot of paranormal, and got a bit burned out on it. But the synopsis for this book sparked my interest as it sounded a bit different. And it very much is. In the world of this book, there are magical creatures, most of whom live in Twin Rivers. Sophie is a witch, but her magic is quite different than other witches, in that when she is around, other's magic disappears. Obviously, this makes her presence a bit unwelcome to others in the magical community. So Sophie's father raised her away from Twin Rivers, in a community where magic is unknown.

Sophie has a connection to Mother Nature that I'm still a little unclear about. Mother Nature uses Sophie for her own purposes, and if Sophie refuses her bidding, Mother Nature retaliates by, say, burning her house down in the middle of the night. Mother Nature wants her to seek out a mage in Twin Rivers who can restore a lost river. So off Sophie goes, where one by one she meets up with the four men who I guess make up the “reverse harem”.

I was a little afraid that this book was going to devolve into just a bunch of sex scenes between Sophie and the four men, with some loose storyline to connect them (I'm looking at you Anita Blake!). I'm happy to report that did not happen. In fact, there's not really any sexual action until midway through the book, and did not involve every character. But even then, the story still took precedence. The connection between Sophie and each of the other characters was clear, or if not clear at first, became clear as you learned more about the characters. And the characters are well written. Of course they are all quite different from each other, what with one being a shifter and one being a vampire. A couple of the men do not make good first impressions, but as the author peeled away the layers of their personalities, they become more liable, more vulnerable, and more welcome to the party.

I read this book in two sittings. I probably would've read it straight through in one sitting if company had not shown up at my house. It did start out a little slow, but once Sophie met the first two men it picked up with some of the dialogue making me laugh. Also, I was on page 75 when it suddenly hit me that the narration is in present tense. My least favorite tense, and I didn't even notice until 75 pages in! Score one for the author, and I look forward to Book Two.