Wild Magic by Alexandra Ivy
Paranormal vampire mage romance. Slow burn.
At sixteen, Peri Sanguis was forced to flee Wyoming when her mother and her coven tried to kill Peri because of her wild magic. Now the entire coven is dead and Peri must return to the ranch to find answers of who could have killed the twelve women. Cabel Vampire leader Valen won’t let Peri investigate on her own. Anything so evil that could kill a coven that easily should not be faced alone.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook. For some reason, the best option for me was the two together for this story for the first couple of chapters. World building and character cementing.
The audiobook is narrated by Elizabeth Russell who does a great job distinguishing between Peri and Valen. One character (Stella) has an intense accent and it was quite different from the main characters. There was an impressive conversation between Stella and Peri that had to be difficult to perform but came through very cleanly and clearly. This is one of the best things about listening to an audiobook over reading. Accent variations and emotional portrayal.

Vampire Valen hasn’t had a relationship in 2000 years but he can’t resist Peri. And he will do anything for her. Including putting his own life in danger. Swooning. He doesn’t notice or care about all the other women throwing themselves at him. He has eyes only for her now.
Peri is quite independent because she’s had to be. She has made family with Maya and Skye at the bakery where she works. She’s not alone, but she does know there is something different about herself and her magic. She is drawn to Valen but doesn’t want to be like every other female panting after him. There’s more than a spark in her heart when he’s near.
There’s lots more than romance here and in fact that’s probably less than 10% of the story, but it does factor into some important moments.

My biggest impression is that this is just the beginning and that there is a lot more world building to come. That is a bit of an educated guess based on advertising. And I’m intrigued to see where it could go and how the world will expand. And how the wild magic will expand.

🎧📖 reading vs. audiobook: generally I like both equally for different reasons. I’m busy and an audiobook will fit into my schedule easier. In this case, I felt the world building and the inflection of Valen’s personality was better through reading. For me, it’s a visual experience and while I was reading and listening together, I preferred my inflections of his voice, over how some of it was done in the audio. But as I said above, the audiobook for accents was phenomenal and I would have totally missed that had I only had the ebook at the point.
Go with your preferred in this case.
I will definitely continue the series if it should turn into one.
The writing is compelling storytelling and I was hooked into to magic world immediately.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher RB Media.

Wild Magic is a fast paced easy flowing entertaining paranormal romance with well developed quirky characters and a intense storyline with just enough romance drama twists and turns with a few surprises as the plot unfolds to keep the reader engaged and wanting more this is a good first in series I have high expectations for books two and look forward to it's release.

I received a advance reader's copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving this review.

I love paranormal romance so I thought a romance with a vampire and a mage would be right up my alley. Unfortunately this one didn't really work for me.

I don't think this book is terrible. It is getting one star because I didn't finish it. I try really hard to only request arcs that I'll enjoy but in this case I tried really hard and I couldn't get into this one. I read about 50% and was confused about the plot and not interested because their wasn't enough romance for me. What romance there was seemed very one sided and I didn't understand what abut the heroine the hero liked.

I think this one simply had too much fantasy for me. While I love a romance with paranormal elements, romantasy books don't always work for me. In this case, with the romance being slow to start and lots of characters and plots I think it will appeal to fantasy readers who like romance more than romance readers who may like a little bit of fantasy.

Woohoo, this new series by Ms. Ivy grabbed me and kept me riveted from start to finish. Vampires, Fey, Witches, and Mages populate this world. This is different than her Guardians of Eternity as well as her contemporary murder suspense books. I cannot wait to see what happens next in this series.

Peri is a mage who has issues with authority figures. What does she do? Catch the eye of one of the most dangerous paranormal creatures close to where she lives - the vampire, Valen. Peri likes to skate the line when it comes to following rules that will protect her and the two other mages she considers her family. Peri is an intriguing character as she is a bit wild, a bit reckless, yet deep down wants to be safe.

Valen on the other hand is controlled, disciplined, feared, and a bit jaded. He survived the last many centuries and amassed power, riches, and one of the most powerful places on earth to protect his people. And yet a little vixen teases him with snarky and an unhealthy lack of obedience. Peri doesn't mean to play hard to get. She just does not want to be under anyone's thumb and she has good reason.

I thought this story would be a sexy chase between a powerful male and a less powerful female. There might be some fated mate thrown in. Boy was I wrong. Instead, I'm treated to a mystery, betrayal, power hungry magic users, and a terrible evil. I like it! From a character perspective, I thoroughly liked both Peri and Valen. I want to learn more. I anticipate more back history in the next book, even if they are not the focus of the story. From a plot perspective, I enjoyed how Peri's mother shows up in the story. I liked how Peri's history is exposed in a painful yet cathartic manner. This creates more questions I have and hope to have answered in future books.

What I like about this story is how the sexual tension permeates the story and enhances the world building as well as the character development. Peri doesn't deny her attraction. She acknowledges it and provides logic reasons why being with Valen is so bad for her. Still, she succumbs to his sexiness and I cannot blame her. Ms. Ivy does create a deliciously powerful male.

This paranormal romance is recommended to readers who like a bit of mystery and mayhem.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, what a wild ride! Peri does not trust any vampire but she is attracted to Valen and he definitely has his eye on her! They are forced to work together and combat an evil that could take over the world. Add in some past emotional damage from Peri's past and this new threat and she is ready for Valen's help.

This was non-stop action and I could not put the book down.

And what a teaser at the end of the book for the next book in the series!

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.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

✔️Enemies to lovers
✔️Mystery
✔️Slow burn
✔️Fae, Demons, Mages, Witches, Vampires

I enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and entertaining. It took a couple of chapters to get invested but the characters quickly had me interested and wanting more. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters. I love how strong willed and stubborn Peri is and how she challenges Valen. I look forward to learning more about the other characters in the next book.

3.5⭐️

Mages and witches and vampires, oh my! This was a fantasy mystery book that I really enjoyed. I haven’t read many fantasy books where the MC is a mage, usually they’re a fae/faerie or a vampire so this was a refreshing change. I really liked the magical mystery that was central to the plot of this book - it was fairly predictable for the most part but it was fun enough to keep my interest despite this.

I’m knocking off half a star because this book contained what is quickly becoming one of my least favourite romance tropes of all time - super old ancient immortal MMC and young FMC. Thankfully the woman in question in this book is 30, rather than a teenager as so often seems to be the case. Honestly, I probably would have let it slide if it wasn’t mentioned SO OFTEN just how old the MMC is. At a certain point it crossed over into ick territory for me.

I wish that the characters were a bit more fleshed out, many of them had potential to be really interesting but I feel like we only really got to know them on a superficial level.

Overall I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an easy-to-read fantasy book with mystery elements. Wild Magic is out today!

#book #bookreview #arcreview #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #tbr

I am a huge Alexandra Ivy fan and have been for years. I was so excited to receive this ARC from NetGalley. What a fun way to finish out my year of reading. This book had everything you could want. Magic, bookstores, vampires, secrets and mystery and don’t forget the passion. This was everything all rolled into one great story. I love the way Ivy writes. She really has a talent for details and makes her characters and their worlds come to life. They jump out from the page and real you in. You will want to let this one grab you, but be ready you won’t wanna put it down. I will be adding this to the collection. Enjoy this magical adventure.

💜Urban Fantasy
💜Paranormal Romance
💜Enemies to Lovers
💜Murder Mystery
💜Found Family

I LOVED the characters and their complex feelings! The chemistry between the main female character, Peri, and a thousand year old vampire, Valen, is spellbinding in itself! It's the perfect combination to keep the story intriguing. So much so that I definitely will be waiting for the next book in the series! Not to mention the power of Peri's magic makes her a force to reckon with and weave in a mysterious murder that could possibly effect the entire world-the perfect ingredients for the perfect book!

Wild magic is the first volume in Alexandra Ivy’s new series titled Magic for hire. For now, there should be 3 books.

The book tells the story of Peri Sanguis, a mage, and Valen, a vampire. It takes place in a contemporary world, different from her Guardians of eternity series, where paranormal creatures and humans hang out with each other. The latter don’t know about the others.
This universe is composed of many species but only one of them rule them : the vampires. The reason for this hierarchy is explained in the book, so I won’t say more about it. What I can say is that the world is split into several territories, and each one is ruled by a vampire. They are all part of the Vampire Cabal and creatures who live in their territory have to pledge allegiance to them.
Peri works for an agency where mages are for hire. They established their quarters – a bokstore-cafe – in an independant territory which is near the one ruled by Valen, so they often see each other for their business. But, contrary to other creatures, none of the mages have pledged allegiance to him. Of course, there’s a main reason but we quickly understand that it’s the attraction Valen feels for Peri that also explains his indulgence.

Peri and Valen have known each other for 9 years when the story begins. But Peri, who has a complicated past and an instinctive distrust toward vampires, prefers to stay as far away as possible from Valen.
A tragic event will reunite them for an investigation which is going to lead them to other territories where we are going to meet other vampires who could become heroes themselves. Valen is there not only to cover Peri from the other members of the Vampire Cabal, but also to protect her.
As the action goes on, our heroes are going to drop their guard and give free rein to their feelings.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book. On the one hand, the cover is different from the others by the author, on the other hand, the synopsis is vague. I only read the book because of Alexandra Ivy. In the end, I was so right to trust her. I spent a great time with all the characters.
As always, I loved the relationship between our heroes, the action in the book, the suspense. Peri is a strong heroine and Valen doesn’t hesitate to let her be in charge when he knows she can do it. He’s just her shadow and he’s there when she needs him.

When we close the book, we have all the answers to our questions, even though it leads into a new intrigue, which sets a story arc up for the sequel of the series.
The second volume will be published in July 2024 with different heroes and I will be there although the synopsis is vague, once again. LOL

For now, I highly recommend Wild magic, which, I insist, is a first volume in a new paranormal world by Alexandra Ivy.

Loved it! The world building is excellent. The characters are complex and intriguing. The romance is a sexy slow burn that you become wrapped up in. Then you get the magic. There is also more than one mystery happening. I was gripped from the start. Peri and Valen are going to be hard to top. I'm really excited for what comes next. That ending! Wow!

Alexandra Ivy once again brings us a strong sexy hero and smart independent heroine who are well matched and balance each other. this book starts a new series with new world building that has an emphasis on magic hidden all around and those that feel, live and work with it. the world building is done steadily so as not to overwhelm the story being told. Peri (a mage) and Valen (a vampire who oversees/rules a large region) have been warily circling each other in part due to and in part despite the mutual attraction between them for several years. when a major event causes Peri to revisit the past she'd as soon leave in the past, Valen also goes to investigate. Ivy does an great job of showing the the relation evolve as trust slowly and steadily develops as they work together to uncover the mystery and each other's hidden depths. the plot is interesting with various twists and includes the touch of both humor and wit that the author often brings to her stories along with side characters that are interesting and have me looking forward to future books to learn more about them and this world.

Wild Magic is an engrossing tale of Peri, a mage who's powers turned out to be much more than what even she imagined they would be. Powers that could lead someone to murder in order to harness her gifts. Valen is a centuries old vampire, leader of his gyre and an alpha in every sense of the word. Those in his gyre kneel to him but suddenly he's convinced that there's one whom he would probably kneel before.

Peri gets news of her mothers slaughtered coven and some ancient evil connected to it. She knows she must chase it down and eradicate it. Peri may not want Valen tagging along but she soon realizes that the vampire won't be letting her out of his sight and the sooner she accepts it the sooner her can show her all they can be to each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wild Magic but did feel that some of it could have been expanded upon to give a deeper understanding of some events. Can't wait for more!!

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

**Note: Review will be added to Instagram and Amazon upon release day, then I will update with links.

This was a fun, fast-paced mystery, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance all wrapped in to one book. I did not know what to expect going in to this read, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The shortest summary is: Peri, a mage, and Valen, a vampire, work together to solve the murders of a witch coven and develop undeniable chemistry along the way. The romance is a super slow burn, but worth the payoff in the last few chapters. The mystery element of the story was engaging and the magic system compelling.

A note specifically about the audiobook: the narrator did a great job. I enjoyed her portrayal of Peri and most characters, but subjectively did not love the way she voiced Valen.

This was book one in the Magic for Hire series. The story is mostly resolved at the end, but there is just enough of a cliffhanger to make me excited to continue the series!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
🌶️ 🌶️

Thank you to Alexandra Ivy, RB Media, NetGalley, and Kensington Books for providing me with digital and audio copies of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

Peri Sanguis life changed when her mother decided to kill her, trying to steal peri magic from her, its then that peri wild magic came about, she survived that attack but she ran into the night away from her mother and her followers

peri life now is full she helps in Witch’s Brew bookstore-cafe which is owned and run by a powerful mage

but the one thing that is in her life she isnt happy about is valen a powerful vampire

when peri mother and her followers are murdered peri has to go home for the first time in years and what she find there is very disturbing, what could have killed her mother and the others

and its not long before peri has a clue and sets off the race of her life

not a bad read.... hope to rejoin and learn more about these characters they were interesting

I was excited to be awarded this ARC to read, but as I was reading this, I kept wondering if this was part of an already existing series. If it is, I couldn't find any mention of it. But, there are many times during the story that it just FELT like there was more that the reader SHOULD have known. Relationships that were existing that felt like there was background that should have been realized.
Oh well, if there is, then I am not, nor was I aware of it at the time.

The story introduces us to Peri Sanguis who is a mage in a world where mage's are the exception and not the rule. This is a world where the knowledge of the paranormal is restricted to only those actual paranormals. There are vampires and goblins, all under the label of demons. On the paranormal side, the paras are ruled by a few Vampires who compose the powerful Vampire Cabal. There are also things called gyre's which are locations where magic is prevalent - so powers are amplified. There is one Vampire ruler per each Gyre.

Witches and mages are a bit different. Classified as humans, they do have access to magic, but they are as different as night and day. Witches need to band together to be able to accomplish any grand magic or magic of any scale, but mages, well, they have true magic - called "wild magic" which makes them formidable. Normally, the mages have to pledge their loyalty to the lead Vampire of their gyre. In this case, that has not happened.

We meet the female mage -Peri - who lives with two other mages at a business called the Witches Brew. They are "found family" and have some sort of protection from an unknown Benefactor (at least unknown to us). These are three powerful women and the Benefactor is more powerful than the three of them.

Then there is Valen. He is the head Vampire of the region where Peri lives and he has taken notice of the three women, especially Peri. He has not demanded their fealty because he feels it would be better to have them come and pledge willingly once they realize what his protection can offer (I'm not sure if he knows about the Benefactor).

Okay, so the story begins when Peri discovers that her mother - a witch and leader of a coven - has been murdered at her ranch in Wyoming. Actually, 12 of the 13 witches were all killed at the same time. Things become complicated for Peri because she escaped from the coven 10 years ago when they tried to murder her (her mother initially tried to steal her magic with a dagger through the heart) when her magic awoke and it became known that she was a mage and not a witch. Her mother was NOT a nice person.

Either way, Peri feels some responsibility to investigate and Valen decides he is also going to go along because this impacts Peri - which in turn impacts him. He has been intrigued by her for many years and through this investigation, the two of them become much closer.

The story itself is a bit out there. There are a lot of twists and turns and eventually we see the attraction grow between Peri and Valen. The mystery itself is just okay. I felt like it tried a little TOO hard, but it still did hold my interest. The story also plants the seeds for future stories within this world - there ARE two other mages and another Vampire leader (Gabriel) we meet during all of this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

I am not big on vampire stories but I am not opposed to them either hence why I got this book to begin with. What I didn’t like about the book is not that there were vampires but because I don’t believe Perry was a vampire I believe she was a witch or a mage and having said that I really liked her I didn’t like the Insta love and as I am new to supernatural paranormal adult fairytales I believe I’m learning about myself I like them in a more historical setting as opposed to the modern-day dance club this book started in. Again, having said that it still held my attention with a clever mystery that move the plot along and makes for a nice fast read. I do love most of this authors books and so thought I would love this one as well but you can’t win them all… Can you? I want to thank the publisher and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

First of all, the cover is absolutely stunning and it is what drew me to the book in the first place. But the storyline was amazing to follow up the beautiful cover.

I read this book pretty quick and it was so easy to read it all flowed really well. I thought some aspects of the story were rushed through but overall it was a really enjoyable read.

I loved the 2 main characters and their blossoming romance, I thought it was the perfect “he falls first” romance. I loved the magical system that we started to explore in this book and cannot wait to explore it more in the future books.

Overall this book was really good read.

4.25 🌟
1🌶️
Wild Magic was a fast-paced, exciting read. I enjoyed the way this urban fantasy was set up and how the different "beings" in this world had their magic, for lack of a better word, balanced. Peri is a mage who essentially straddles the world between humans and the other creatures who inhabit Earth. But magic is tangible and only accessible in gyres (pools of magic). Those pools are ruled by a vampire cabal and are run by their servants, demons. The world-building was fascinating and added to the story building in the book. Peri's gripping story, friendships, and romantic entanglement drew you into her world. I am glad more books are intended for this series because I want to know more. I am definitely keeping an eye out for this author!