What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

An interesting book and characters that you will definitely have an opinion about. The Fantasy is the fun part.

This first book is not the best, Cat makes so many stupid mistakes that you wish you could slap her. She is a lone witch who was cast out of their community for hurting a man who tried to harm her (witches have a strict “do no harm” rule, which is kind of stupid in itself). Since being cast our she has been working as a waitress when her ex, Lex, who is also the one that turned her in to the council shows up, turn up to tell her that the Tatiana is dead and she needs to run for Tatiana so other unsuitable characters won’t gain the position. After practically being forced to agree she finds herself in many difficult and dangerous positions many which could have been avoided is she had better judgement and impulse control.

Although the first book is somewhat disappointing, there series does get better in the subsequent books. I didn’t start the series until there I had the first three books so all the characters and plotlines have remained fresh in my mind. I’m glad that these are being released a quickly as they are because if Ms. Bachar was waiting a year or longer, I don’t think I would be following the series. There are typos, run on sentences misspelled and missing words but it’s not so bad that it distracts the reader, although some readers set a bigger store by this that I do. If I can read the book and enjoy it without having to analyze it to understand it then it doesn’t bother me and I don’t deduct points from the review.

3.5/5 STARS: **This is an honest, unbiased review. I would like to thank the author and/or/publisher for providing an ARC through Netgalley, all opinions are mine.**

So many loveable characters and some you just want to punch in the face. It was a five all the way to the half way point. One choice and it’s like banging your head against a wall at Cat’s stupidity. As a main character she’s strong and feisty but her judgment...is lacking and slightly on the cliche side. Overall I did really enjoy this book and look forward to reading more.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked Cat a lot - she has that snarky attitude, full of piss and vinegar that appeals to me. Lex is sufficiently rugged and swoon worthy but also possesses a strong sense of honor which is so important for the love interest. The secondary characters were interesting as well. I look forward to reading more of this author's books.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for giving me a change to read this book! I am really on the fence with this one. There are parts I found funny and refreshing and others that drove me crazy. Sometimes I wanted to strangle Cat and I desperately wanted her to find some self confidence. It also reminded me a little of the Sookie Stackhouse series which are some of my favorites so it was hard to get that out of my head. I really wanted to like it but the story became a little muddled for me toward the end. The world building was interesting so I might have to check out the next in the series just to get a better feel. Overall it was entertaining so that is always a positive in my book.

Really enjoyed this book, strong characters, evil dad and a heroine who gets to prove herself without needing a man but also happy to accept help from him too. Mind you, not sure I believed the vampire bit given the build up but happy to wait an see what happens next in the series as I assume that part of the story was part of next story arc

Overall great book, enjoyed the writing style and descriptions. Would rate 3.7 stars.

Cons: book cover and character poor choices that where cringe worthy.

Is there a second? PLEASE tell me there's a second. I really liked the fact that this book had twists right off. Lots of good beginnings. Possible RH situation? While I felt the main character was a little flighty and undeveloped this is a "first in series" so I'm more interested in whether the story has potential, and I think it does. I loved the interaction between Cat and Lex and I'm curious to see where things go with Zach - which means I want to read another book! The writing was easy to understand and flowed well, no editing issues.

A big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I think this is a reprint or new publisher? First time reading this author. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I rate this a 3.5. I had a love/hate relationship with Cat. What was up with the smoking?? Why did they treat her like she was stupid, yet ok for an apparently very important job?? I thought it was fairly convoluted, and I was often confused, with not enough knowledge. Yet at the same time I was curious. Different take on magic for me.

I read this before when it was previously published. It is a great beginning to the series. It a little dark and the hero/heroine are both bad*ss.

I really enjoyed this story though I’m not sure I’d have forgiven Lex as Cat did, there would have been way more groveling involved. Liked the different view and take on the world of magic in this story and look forward to reading more by this author.