Thanks to Bell Bridge Books and NetGalley for the A Drop of Magic ARC.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book - it was a well-written page-turner and kept me engaged throughout.

This book is more focused on telling the story; and perhaps could benefit from “showing” us a little more. Also, there’s little in the way of character development and unfortunately, the heroine, Alex, is largely TSTL, so I’m really hoping that the series focuses on building her into a competent heroine that you want to root for.

It’s worth noting that while the ending isn’t a cliffhanger, there are several unresolved threads to be followed in future books, so don’t expect answers to all the questions raised.

This was a solid foundation and I’m keen to move onto book 2.

Note - I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you to L.R. Braden

This book is for those who like a strong female lead, urban fantasy intrigue and fast action packed scenes.

In this book we follow the story of Alex who is an artist, metalsmith and book sales woman.
Her best friend dies under suspicious circumstances and his last message is a strange voicemail which leads Alex to investigate further.
As she is coping she is violently attacked and the story takes a step in the fast lane with many quickly following reveals about Alex and the world she lives in.

I rated this 4 stars and have rounded up from 3.5. This is good for a debut novel and contains all of the checklist elements to make a good urban fantasy book. There is still quite some room for improvement. This was the first book I've read from this author and I will consider reading the sequel.

I liked the character and the setting but the protagonist did not really act corresponding her backstory. Some of the scenes were very dramatic and there was little to no time to reflect on what was happening before the next event.
Hopefully in the next book the side characters get a little more fleshed out.

A Drop of Magic by LR Braden is book 1 in The Magicsmith Series. This is a paranormal series about the fae. This book was definitely a very original and well written book. The plot was unique and well thought out. The world building was great and let your imagination wander as you read the book. I always enjoy when an author takes their time letting you get to know the character, letting you see them in different aspects of their lives. For example Alex, the FMC, is half Fey so as readers we get to experience the human and fey side of this character.
Alex is a metalsmith who keeps to who herself. When her best friend, who is somehow involved in the illegal artifact trade, is murdered by a serial killer she finds herself very involved in life. Now she needs to figure out who and what to trust.
I thought this was a well developed story and great start to a series. I look forward to reading the rest and more from this author.

This is the first in a series. The book follows a sculptor named Alex whose friend is murdered. The death and following investigation reveal hidden truths about Alex and her friends the book has good pacing and entertaining world building. As Alex learns about her past and her hidden skills she learns the value of friendship.

A Great book about Faeries and other creatures. The plot was interesting and I want to read the other books in the series.

I love anything that has to do with supernatural, fantasy, and magic. This book, what can I say about it. I LOVED IT. When I first saw it, I didn't read the synapses, I looked at the title and was like oooohhhh magic, I want to read this. I loved the characters, Alex, Kai and Cat. What is there not to love about the fae, I enjoyed reading a different take on Braden's fae. They seem to be so different then Hamilton's fae. I can't wait to grab the rest of the series, and binge read them.
I have received this Advance Readers Copy From Netgalley for a fair and just review.

I really like this book. It kept me entertained all the way to the last page. Good start to new series. A supernatural who done it. Best kind of combination.

Alex is a metalsmith, making art pieces in her rural studio. A pair of Fey show up demanding a trinket box that they are sure she possesses. When she defends herself, injuring one of the fey, she is drawn into fey based intrigue and murder. While I did enjoy the overall ideas of the plot, several aspects were quite contrived and clunky. The book definitely had the feel of "first novel" at times. The fight scenes in particular were not well done - I'm guessing the author has never been severely injured nor spoken to someone who has been- and pulled my attention out of the story. While not a bad book, I wanted to like this book more than I did.

I found this to be a great start to an urban fantasy series. Alwx Blackwood is a likeable character who is a metalsmith. I enjoyed the setting, the world the author created and the plot. I definitely will be reading this series! Thanks #netgalley and #BelleBooksInc for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

I will start by stating that this book had me emersed so much that I finished it in a day. This is a story with so many different aspects that you become drenched in this whole other magical world. The way it was written was nearly flawless. The character development was thorough and allowed for me to truly fall in love with the entire story line. This magical world that Alex discovers is right up my alley but this book is by far one of my favorite I've ever read! I cannot wait to continue this series. The author is so talented and I couldn't be more happy to have discovered her work.

Urban fantasy that is an interesting murder mystery. Felt incomplete world-building wise but that could have been purposefully constructed as this is the first in the series. I know many stories where you do not find out everything about the fantasy world, situation or people until you're further into the series... so there is still interest in the world building as you move along with the series.

This story takes place after a human-fae war. The fae have to register and get visas to visit and stay in the human world.

Alex Blackwood who is a metalworker has a friend that turned out to be half-fae who has fae artifacts that causes his murder. While Alex is trying to understand why she didn't know about Aiden she has to confront the fact that someone is trying to kill her because they think she has info on a particular fae artifact.

I really enjoyed this world which is different from others that include Fae or Fairy people. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Just an OK UF read. I didn't find Alex or the world the author built very compelling or interesting. I have started the third book (don't have the second) to see if it kicks in high gear or if I find the characters more interesting.

I received my copy of A Drop of Magic from Netgalley in echange for my honest review.

I was given an eARC book of this series by Bell Bridge Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review

This book is about Aly Blackwood who is an aspiring metal worker who's work was recently commissioned. She is mostly a loner who has only 2 friends. David and Aiden. Aiden is murdered and Alex becomes an amateur detective in order to discover who is responsible and bring them to justice.

This book has numerous twists and turns that keeps you guessing the entire time you are reading. The author has done a great job with world building and all the magical beings that she included in the story. I loved Alex! She has had a tough life but holds her friends near to her heart. She is afraid to trust and i loved how she began to do that within the story. There are numerous characters in the plot that are introduced and I look forward to seeing where their stories go.

This is book one in the Magicsmith Series and there are 3 additional books that have been published.

3.5

I like to say that my favourite genre is Urban Fantasy, and when I look deep into my heart that is where my love lies. I love the interesting twists and overlays that authors put on a contemporary world. Then I love to see the stories and characters that the authors plonk down into the world they crafted. However, when I look at my reading history, you could be fooled into thinking that I barely have a passing interest in the UF genre. This is why I decided to pick up A Drop of Magic by L.R. Braden, I need to start trying new UF authors rather than just sticking with the ones I know and have an unhealthy level of love for.

Part of what attracted me to this book is that our heroine Alex was a metalsmith and an artist. I loved the concept of a heroine in a UF not being a warrior, but having a more creative bent. Like most UF’s this book is told in first person. Which means that it is essential that you like the protagonist. However, although I didn’t dislike Alex, I also didn’t particularly feel a strong attachment to her either. I found her very…tepid and reactive. This did mean it took me while to really get invested into this book and it definitely suffered through a very slow start.

It’s depiction of the fae was very similar to that of Patricia Briggs with them as ruthlessly sly and extremely clever. The fae are key aspect of the world that Braden has created and I can’t wait to see how she uses them in this series. In fact, one of the things I liked about this book was the world that Braden created, there are a lot of possibilities and I look forward to seeing these come into fruition in future books.

Now, let’s talk about romance. My favourite type of UF is UF where romance does play a role. In this book it looks like we may have the set up of a love triangle…maybe even a love square judging by how the book ended… I have mixed feelings about this. One half of me is really happy that there is a prospect of romance in the future, the other half is dreading having to put up with a love triangle. I don’t like them. They never reflect well on any of the characters involved and I find myself getting very frustrated with the whole thing. However, maybe I am seeing things that aren’t there, but I do plan on reading the next book in the series so I can find out.

The premise for the book was excellent, but I didn't enjoy the book as much. Most of it was because of Alex. She was contrary, inconsistent, unlikeable, incompetent and not relatable. Her background and choices were not at all believable.

Also, the plot and the world building felt incomplete. There were just too many characters introduced without any context. For a woman who was supposedly alone, she had too many friends.

Overall, I didn't have the best experience with this book and I am not going to continue with the series.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this free copy in exchange for an honest review*
It was a great first installment (so much that I can't believe it was the debut novel of the author). I'm excited to read the next one.

Very well written and engaging. I had a great time reading this and look forward to more in the series. I would recommend this to patrons.

Entertaining read and engaging strong protagonist. I would recommend for a quick unputdownable read.

Set in a our world but with magic, fae and shifters. The leading lady Alex is a metalsmith who gets roped into helping a Fae solve a series of seemingly unconnected murders, which include the murder of her good friend. As a character, Alex feels so normal, but steps up to help solve the murders even in when confronted by the extraordinary, and along the way she learns many secrets about her friends and herself. I enjoyed this series starter and was happy to discover that books 2, 3 and 4 are already out.



ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley