Anya Bast

Kidnapped by an infamous playboy and introduced to a world she never knew existed, Sarafina, a witch with an untapped gift for creating fire, finds things getting even hotter when she is rescued by the seductive leader of a coven duty-bound to fight the forces of darkness. Original.

Witch Fury

Michelle Xu

Maybe not 4 stars but higher than 3.5 as well... Because it's better than Witch Heart but I think I still liked Witch Blood more.

This is the concluding novel in a quartet that started off weak but ended up strong. I disliked the first novel, but I'm glad I continued reading as the world and plot lines expanded and grew. That really kept me reading the series.

A few things I enjoyed about this novel:

For once, the hero and heroine did not sleep with each other right away. In the last three books, less than a quarter of the way in, the two main characters are having sex, with obvious feelings for each other, but masking it as sexual tension. In this novel, however, Theo tries to hold out... This not only goes well with his personality and character actions in the past book, it makes it just slightly more believable.

While that was nice touch, it was weird to me that Theo would just slip--teasing and foreplaying with Sarafina--throughout the beginning of the book. It seemed to me that the author just added Theo's lapse in control to add in steamy foreplay scenes. So again, while it was nice that Bast delayed the sex and intimacy because of his personality, the execution of it was poorly tacked on.

I found this to be a fairly similar story to Mira and Jack's at least in the beginning: both women had no idea they were witches and were basically abducted by the Coven and placed under the protection of one male. What differentiated Witch Fire from Witch Fury was the fact that Sarafina was slightly more relatable. She struggled with her powers in the beginning. In fact, she sucked! It took weeks of practice to even get somewhere.

A big thing that drew me to this book was that it kept me guessing. There were a few plot twists and minor surprises that kept me intrigued throughout. The other three novels basically allowed the readers to comprehend what was happening. They didn't have as much of an element of surprise. This story held out a bit more on the plot which added to the suspense.

Sarafina was okay. There were moments where she made stupid decisions and said stupid things (or wouldn't shut up) but in general I found her to be fairly likable. I liked that she was her own person and tried to take things into her own hands. She didn't need any men to command her around. But that still lead to her stupid and impulsive decisions. I think my favorite heroine in the series has still been Isabelle.

I think the author did a great job at keeping the integrity of Theo. Obviously she created him and can change him to her liking, but based on his personality in the past books, she stayed close to that in this novel. She didn't magically change his personality to fit the new heroine; you could see his struggle between slipping to his elusive, stoicness, while opening up to Sarafina.

Last thing I liked: "Now we have you and your little dog, too" --great allusion to Wizard of Oz. I laughed.

Now onto the problematic parts:

This series has just gotten so repetitive... it is ALWAYS the guy protecting the girl then getting attached and being like "I must protect her! She is MINE!!!" While the plot picks up where it left off in the last novel, the premise is generally the same and it's getting old. Probably a good thing this series is ending here at 4. I think the author could have benefitted from picking a different archetype. If Ingrid hadn't died, it would have been great to see Ingrid as the main hero and then her dealing with a different witch who doesn't need constant protection.

Another issue with repetitiveness is that ALL FOUR MEN WERE THE SAME IN THE BEDROOM. I swear to god the fact that the guy "grabbed her wrists...before pressing them to the mattress above her head" happens in ever book. The guys ALWAYS need to be in control and the girls always accept it and get off on it. It would have been great if they had different kinks and if the women were more in charge, at least some of the time.

ONE THING THAT BUGS ME IS THE CONDOMS--or lack of. Like, okay fine about Isabelle and Claire since Isabelle couldn't have kids and Claire had her earth magic to tell her about her cycles. Both Mira and Sarafina are stupid though... come on. "I'm no where near that time of month where I can get pregnant" .... literally, pull out method would have worked better.
(Yes, I know she later gets a birth control charm, but still. This lack of basic sex ed bothers me to no end)

Lastly... I thought parts of the end after the final battle could have been cut and skipped. I thought it was stupid that Theo and Sarafina got into the fight and she added the whole part in of them fighting and her in her apartment. It was completely unnecessary and ruined the mood. Yes, I know her and Theo had to work out his issues and what not, but it baffled me that she didn't give him a chance to talk. She just babbled on at him and left. Then the make up was so out-there. There was a complete 180 and suddenly Theo is ready to throw everything behind him for her, even popping the question after I don't know how long, but obviously not that long. They're engaged before they really ever have the time to grow together as a couple beyond fighting for their lives. (Though I guess this is almost always a problem in books like these, so I should just accept it).

Either way, fast and entertaining series to read. While I had my problems with every novel, I loved loved loved Bast's world and plot creation.

Witch Fury

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