Held by Magic by L.J. Swallow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Held By Magic is the first book in The Demon’s Covenant spin off series of urban fantasy series.

Syv custom steals magical artifacts. Her latest assignment is to retrieve a mysterious box from a warehouse. However, she is ambushed by, not one, but two groups. In the magical battle Syv loses the box while one of the teams whisks her to safety.

Preferring to work alone, Syv in unconvinced by this new group’s offer to work together to find the lost box. Nevertheless, a re-acquaintance with a character from a previous book persuades Syv to consider the offered help, especially as she needs help to remove a life-threatening demon mark from her arm.

I liked the range of supernatural characters that supported the storyline and I enjoyed the urban fantasy themes which I was keen to see play out. Good secondary characters added another layer, while the tale continues in the next book in the series.

I’ve not read a reverse harem themed romance in a while, but I found that I needed a little more convincing about the depth of Syv’s siren style call to her numerous suitors. The romance didn’t blend quite as well as the fantasy theme. Overall, a good start, even if I did feel like I was playing catch-up with events from the main books that preceded this spin off tale.

Book Description:

I helped the Four Horsemen save the world, but I can’t save my own life. 

I’m Syv. I like to collect sharp weapons, and my favourite activity is liberating magical items. My best friend is an immortal fae, and I love dogs.

I’m not enthusiastic about end of the world scenarios.

Okay, I’m a half-demon thief with an attitude that brings me more enemies than friends. But the fae part is true.

My life had returned to normal, but everything changed when my latest assignment ended in disaster. Somebody took the item I was ‘liberating’ and also decided to curse me with a death mark. If I don’t find the cure soon, I’m facing life as a lich under the control of a necromancer.

And I swear the demonic dog I rescued from the apocalypse is following me.

Now, three sexy supernatural guys have tracked me down in need of my ability to detect magic. They want to recruit me to work alongside them and under their protection. The guys need me to locate an item and also claim they know someone who can find a cure for my mark. So, we strike a deal: I’ll help them if they help me.

The problem is, I’m not sure I trust their so-called ‘secret organisation’. Another problem? They’re on the Four Horsemen’s hit list because they shouldn’t be in this world.  As my death is imminent and options limited, I’ve agreed to leave with them tonight.

But if they murder me, I’m going to be really pissed off.

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