This first introduction to Peri Sanguis was so fun. I loved her opening scene and really set the tone for how her character was going to be for the rest of the book. She was so calm and confident in her ability to get her job done and do it with flair. Everything about the scene was perfect. This story is a really unique urban fantasy concept, I hadn’t read anything really like it before. The hierarchy in the different regions and the way magic works in and out of Gyres was just really cool and I loved learning about a system that was unlike any world building I had read before.

Following Valen and Peri as they endure forced proximity in order to solve her mother’s suspicious death was fun, but I felt like their chemistry fell kind of flat through the development of the story. It just seemed kind of rushed and I was more interested in the mystery aspect of the novel than the romance because it just didn’t really feel integrated with the plot at all. I think if the development of their relationship was spread out over more of the series I would be more invested in it, but instead I just felt like I was being given a happy ending immediately whether it felt right or not.

Overall, I really like the story and the world. I hope there will be more books in this series since the ending of this one definitely set us up for more books. I have a lot of unanswered questions that I really want answered.

CAWPILE score: 8.14/4.5 stars

While I don't usually read contemporary fantasy, this book combined the fantasy elements with the advancement of the real world in a pleasant way, with the immortals talking about how the world changed and the adopted the new techs.
The pacing was okay, I didn't feel like the story was dragged or rushed, all in all, I enjoyed the story and its characters

WILD MAGIC is the beginning of a new series called Magic for Hire by Alexandra Ivy and it is an absolutely amazing read, set in a world where magic, witches, mages, vampires, and various paranormal beings live side by side.

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction.

Complete review: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=85149

A whole new world of magic comes alive in this book. What is most impressive about this book is it starts off light with explosive diarrhea and painful male parts, but the book doesn’t stay light forever. The contrast between the treatment of the first demon and the murders shows how strong, powerful, and frightening the magic they discover came be. Peri is the perfect leading mage to handle both problems. She is tough and a little reckless, but it works for her, and it clearly works for Valen as is smitten with her. He is the quintessential alpha male lead wanting to protect her and help her whether she needs it or not. That he learns to rely on her to get them out of a hot situation shows real promise for their slow burn relationship.
The magic that Peri and Valen fight is like something out of a horror film which kept me turning the page to see if they stood a chance. I do feel like the book got better as it went along. Like the romance, the story itself was a bit of a slow burn taking a while to find its footing. I wondered early on in the story if I would stick with it but the initial buildup was enough to make me curious. That curiosity kept me invested in the book. I had to know what happened in Peri, why her mother was such a witch and if something so evil could be defeated.
I feel like maybe the author left a few things on the table in this story but perhaps that is for another book. Skye, Maya, and Ashton felt like they should have been more than bit players. I would have liked to see those characters a little more developed but maybe in future books. I still have question on what comes next so I guess I will have to keep reading if this story continues. We need to know more about Joe and the Benefactor. Overall, this book is about a 3.5 to a 3.75 but I must round up so it gets a 4.

I lOVED LOVED LOVED this new world by this author. Modern times but paranormal. Witches and vampires and demons. Great paranormal lore.

I loved Peri. She was such a strong female lead. I loved Valen for her. He was very patient--letting her come to her own conclusions in time.

Nice get to know you slow burn in this one. A bit of suspense. Great sisterhood vibes. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

Wild Magic reminded me why I LOVE paranormal romance novels. There's something about an ancient being falling to his knees over a powerful woman that gives me the warm fuzzies!

Peri is a mage with incredible power she often uses to exact revenge for a price. She's introduced in just such a scenario and I immediately fell in love with her. She's impetuous, snarky, and stubborn, and she makes no apologies for it. In fact, she even makes fun of herself on occasion because she realizes she can be too bull-headed for her own good.

Valen...what can I say about that man. Er...vampire. He's kind of a big deal. He's in charge of an entire territory where he keeps the supernatural beings in line. He is feared by all, adored by many, and follows Peri around like a lost puppy who could maul anyone who dared look at her cross.

In short, I love him. He's this big bad alpha who growls while also being madly infatuated.

Wild Magic has a lot of mystery, suspense, and family drama in it. The romance is always there, lurking in the corners, but it's executed in a way that wraps around the rest of the plot without being the primary focus. I LOVED that about this book! It kept the pining high and made the reward oh so sweet.

Thank you, Lyrical Press, Alexandra Ivy, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is book that was an enemies to lovers with a slow burn that exploded towards the end of the book. The storytelling started slow, but as you read further within the book you understood why the author took their time to give each character their moment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Boy oh boy do I hope this series continues! I have so many questions to explore! And want to see so much more of the relationship, which is a definite slow burn but the tension is *chefs kiss*.

Excellent story and unique take on common paranormal tropes and characters. Recommend!

WILD MAGIC (Magic for Hire book 1) by Alexandra Ivy
This is the first book of the new paranormal series by Ms Ivy. Once again, she has a strong well written start with Valen, the vampire and Peri who is a mage. She was 16 before she came into her power, fleeing her home when she realized her mother was trying to kill her to absorb her power. Valen is in charge of the Gyre. When all the witches in her previous coven are dead including her mother, Peri goes investigating and Valen goes with her. This is a good start to this series and I am looking forward to the 2nd book. This is 4 stars.

This is my first Alexandra Ivy book but won't be my last. I definitely want to read the second book in the series. I always enjoy getting into new paranormal worlds and see how different authors portray their supernatural species and I hope the second book gives us more insight into this world. I liked the story and concept but do wish the book had been a little longer and spent more time on the relationship of the two main characters. It is a slow burn as most the book is spent on solving the mystery of her old Coven's murder, not so much the relationship of the characters.

Slow burn. Talk about wild take a ride on this sexual tension paranormal romance. A very good storyline that held my attention from beginning to end. Can't wait to read the next book in this series. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an utterly bewitching, action-packed fantasy romance.

Wild Magic presented a slightly different slant on vampires, witches, and mages than what you would normally expect. It was all very interesting, but took a bit to get used to, and I have some lingering questions about the world building. I hope there is more to come that will make everything clearer.

Right from the start Peri and Valen were circling each other, and they both accepted it as inevitable that something would happen between them, whatever that might look like. I enjoyed their repartee a lot. Both were well-developed characters and I certainly hope we will get to see more of them.

The plot progressed at just the right pace and I loved that both Peri and Valen used their magic effectively when it was called for, though it took a while before we got to experience Peri in all her magnificent glory.

I can definitely recommend this if you like urban fantasy with magic and suspense.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you haven't read the first book of the Magic for Hire series, Wild Magic by Alexandra Ivy, you are missing out!

I am always excited when a new series is started by one of my favorite authors, and this book was a delight to read. As per usual, since this is the first book in a series, you can of course read it as a stand-alone. However, you will be looking forward to book 2, Ancient Magic (due out in July!) with great anticipation.

In this first book we are introduced to Peri Sanguis, a wild mage who had to flee her mother (mom tried to kill her) and is living her best life with friends and mentors far from home. Years later, her mom's coven is murdered, and suddenly Peri has to deal with all of the ramifications that implies. Plus, her local vampire boss, Valen, is determined to be part of this mystery. Watching Peri deal with Valen while figuring out what happened to her mom's coven is both engrossing and entertaining.

As this book is a paranormal romance with some spice, I didn't really expect a ton of world-building, but I was pleasantly surprised that I had no trouble imagining and understanding the world Peri lives in. The writing sucked me into the story and I had a hard time putting this book down. I'm looking forward to book 2 and I'm excited that I don't have to wait a whole year to find out what Peri and Valen do next!

Thank you Kensington Books for this copy of Wild Magic!

#WildMagic #NetGalley#KensingtonBooks

This is an awesome read! The story starts with quite a bang. I had to laugh at the curse put on that odious goblin. Peri has a great personality and she utterly refuses to back down. It has a surprising ending and I enjoyed it immensely.

*Goodreads review posted 1/5/24, see link below

3.75 stars, 1.5 spice

Wild Magic by Alexandra Ivy is an urban paranormal romance novel that clocks in at around ~330 pages on my phone screen. I have to admit I am kind of unsure if this is supposed to be a standalone or the first in an either connected or interconnected series, but if I had to guess, with the side characters introduced and some lingering threads open, this is just the start of a new world. I hope it is!

There were things I liked and appreciated about this book on the whole, but when you get into some of the nitty gritty, I do have some thoughts; and you know what they say, the devil is in the details.
I know worldbuilding, particularly in fantasy, paranormal, and scifi genres are a massive undertaking that requires a deft hand to be done well, to be done so flawlessly you don’t even realize you’re being introduced to a whole new world until you already pretty much understand it.

There were slight blips of that here in Wild Magic, like a newly turned vampire trying to crawl its way out of its own grave. I saw the fingertips multiple times, but somehow the body never seemed to quite emerge. There was great potential in some of the worldbuilding I did see, and with a bit more nuance, hopefully in a second book, we can get a deeper exploration of the setting of the story, as well as all its intricacies. There were a few different setting changes in this book, New Jersey, NOLA, castles, coffee houses, but the words on the page didn’t make them feel any different to each other. I would love more detail and more nuance.

The plot as a whole was well done and made sense, however, some of the character actions that led to the plot moving forward grinded on my gears a bit. In particular, the FMC, Peri, was pretty cool overall, but I hated her tendencies to go headlong into traps knowing they were traps but having no secret plan, or even a plan at all, in her pocket. We love a badass, but we also love a clever, cunning, and prepared badass. I would’ve loved to have seen Peri go into these situations with more planning involved, so her escapes and triumphs would feel more organic and earned to the plot.

I love our MMC, the vampire Valen, as a character probably the most. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and was very sweet, while still having alpha tendencies, but I did feel that sometimes Valen’s feelings for Peri overshadowed her own for him, and Peri’s feelings only fully switched when it was relevant to the plot. If we see their relationship again in future books, I would love to be a more balanced portrayal of love between the pair.

This is me being picky, but Wild Magic would’ve worked SO much better if this was truly a Book 1 of a connected series, where the main couple and the main plot weren’t resolved at the end of Book 1 and continued to build tension and angst and feelings through the course of a series. While this does feel like a beginning to a world, it also kind of felt like the end of Peri and Valen’s main story. But we’ll see where this goes, I hope to be pleasantly surprised!

Overall, the writing was digestible and engaging, and I had a lot of fun reading it, particularly during the interactions between the main couple, Peri and Valen. There’s a lot of potential for things to come, and with some additional nuance to the worldbuilding and fleshing out the characters and their relationships, I think this could really turn into something special.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc, as always!

I loved this book! It had Bargainer meets Bewitched meets vampire Diaries vibes. The female mc was soo good! I loved that she was independent and didn’t need a man but still ended up with one that understood her in all the ways women want to be understood. I love that he took care of her in the ways she needed but was able to admit she didn’t always need that. I loved all the witty banter and the twists and turns that made this story really unique but also familiar feeling. I could not put this book down!

Peri Sanguis’s is trying to keep a low profile. She lives with 2 other mages and together they run the Witch’s Brew bookstore-cafe. The death of her mother and the entire coven, sends Peri to a Wyoming ranch. She hasn't been back since her mother and the coven tried to kill her. Followed by an all powerful and mysterious vampire, Valen, Peri must lay to rest whatever monsters her estranged mother has released.

Why I started this book: Requested a copy from Netgalley because I love a good paranormal romance series...

Why I finished it: Solid book but strangely uninspiring. Clever world building was enough to draw me in with delight, but the characters felt disconnected from their world. Actually the character motivations didn't match the epic world building available. I'm describing this badly, it just felt like there was a new world to explore but the elevator only went to the 4th floor, and not all the way to the penthouse. A good story that could have been so much more.

This was a very well-written, entertaining book. It was fun, suspenseful, action-packed and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and will look for the next book in this series as well as other books by this author.

This is a brand new series by this author, and it definitely sounded intriguing just by the blurb alone! There was a time when demons reigned. That was before they were forced to retreat to the shadows. Today, in hidden corners across the globe their evil blood still pools, and the authority of their new rulers—the Vampire Cabal—must never be challenged. Leave it to a Jersey girl to change ancient history. At sixteen, when Peri Sanguis’s wild magic first appeared, she was forced to flee her Wyoming ranch—and her suddenly murderous family—to save her own life. On the East Coast, tutored by mages who run the Witch’s Brew bookstore-cafe, Peri’s world seems magically tranquil—until her estranged mother and a coven of witches are slaughtered. Now, to solve the violent mysteries of her past, she must put her trust, body and soul, in a sensual immortal who is every woman’s darkest fantasy. The golden-eyed vampire, Valen, has never wanted more than to claim an untamed female like Peri. Lured into each other’s orbit, and working together against a resurrected evil brings them intimately closer—to danger, blood betrayals, all-consuming passion, and to sacrifices that must be made to save themselves and the world.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was a great start to this series with a lot of world building so the reader understands how everything starts. Peri's character is great and I definitely enjoyed her and the way she thinks about things. She doesn't put up with anything and isn't afraid to voice her thoughts. Valen is this tough as nails vampire but he seemed to have a soft side to me. I loved the back and forth between him and Peri, and it definitely fit with their personalities. My only issue, and why I knocked it down a star, is that the romance is super slow to me. The rest of the story is fast paced and seemed to get right to it, but the romance was almost like an after thought? That was the only downside for me, but the rest-I absolutely enjoyed and I can't wait to see how other books will play out in the series!

Thank you very much to Kensington books and netgalley for the E ARC.

⭐️ARC REVIEW⭐️

💫Wild Magic💫 By Alexandra Ivy

Publication day 02/01/2024

RATING ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

💫Review💫

When old-world demons, modern-day mages, and irresistible attraction collide, desire becomes the most powerful and dangerous weapon of all, in this spellbinding new series from New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy . . .

Wild Magic is an urban, paranormal romance featuring vampires, mages and witches.The concept for this story was really great, and I was, therefore, really looking forward to getting stuck in. Unfortunately, the execution was not brilliant. The pacing is fast, not always a bad thing, but in this instance, it felt a bit rushed, and lacking in substance that could have been added had more time been spent on it. The characters and story itself felt flat to me. There wasn't a point I felt I was actually engaging with or connecting with any of it, and the writing style seemed a bit juvenile for an adult book. There were also a few occasions where the plot felt a bit all over the place, and it was hard to follow. I did therefore end up DNF about 2 hours in. And I really hate doing that

The concept for the magical system was good. I don't want to say too much as I don't want to give spoilers, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy fast-paced, easy reads.