Gwen’s review of Witch Blood (Elemental Witches, Book 2) by Anya Bast
Contemporary paranormal romance published by Berkley 4 Mar 08

This second book in Bast’s Elemental Witches series was quite good.  I found myself staying up far too late to finish (5am! I’m too old for that).  It centers around a community of witches called the Coven (the good guys) and warlocks called the Duskoff Cabal (the bad guys) and the demons they summon (bad guys summon, that is).  Several facts about the origin of these witches is revealed in this book and it leads to some fun scenes in an alternate plane (plain?) of reality.

I grew to love the heroine, Isabelle, by the end of the book.  She is feisty, sarcastic, and rational enough to acknowledge how she feels and act on it.  I like the hero, Thomas (head of the Coven), though I never really warmed to him like I did Isabelle.  Perhaps that was Bast’s intention – to keep Thomas somewhat aloof and cool – and I can say she succeeded to an extent.  (The hero from Book 1, Jack, was the opposite.  LOVED him and all his fire (snort).)  The romance between Thomas and Isabelle developed thru the course of the book and it was fun to watch – Thomas’s declaration of love was really beautiful and made me very wistful.  (Hint to the guys out there – take tips from the way Thomas did it – it was downright beautiful and romantic and the right way to do it.)

This world is becoming increasingly complex and interesting.  The introduction of the alternate reality was an interesting twist toward the end of the book.  I didn’t like the re-introduction of a key character back into the normal plane of reality, though.  It seemed rushed.  The story and drama is interesting and resolves relatively satisfactorily, though it is left hanging somewhat because of the nature of a series.  (See my Ponderings post for my thoughts on that.)  The secondary characters, with the exception of the villain(s), don’t play as important a role in this book as in the first.  The HEA is very nice, if a bit rushed at the end.

I would recommend this book to fans of Bast and paranormal romance.  It’s enough of a love story that perhaps some mainstream romance fans may even like it – not too much ‘woo woo’ in it.  Witch Blood can stand on its own, though I recommend reading the first book because it was so much fun and will make this book that much more enjoyable.

Grade: B  (would have been higher if the ending hadn’t been so rushed)

Blurb: A water witch, Isabelle Novak has always led a chaotic, nomadic existence. But her life spins out of control when her sister—her only friend and emotional anchor—is killed by a demon. Driven by grief and a desire for revenge, she turns her back on the Coven and the rede they hold sacred: Harm thee none…

When Isabelle first encounters Thomas Monahan, she’s running on pure rage and sorrow, channeling her pain into power—and trying to freeze the life out of a warlock she holds responsible for her sister’s death. Together, they form an uneasy alliance to hunt and destroy a demon of tremendous power. As head of the Coven, earth witch Thomas must thwart Isabelle’s dark impulses, but his very presence stirs deeper desires she never knew she had…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:
 Read my review here.