Sandy M’s review of Going Under (Bound by Magick, Book 3) by Lauren Dane
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 5 Feb 13
Even with this being the third book in the series and I’ve not read either of the other two, I enjoyed the paranormal world Lauren Dane has created in her Bound by Magick series. I also really enjoyed the lead characters, Gage and Molly, both very strong, independent people who find attraction amid chaos, danger, and pure evil when their kind is outed and attacked just for being different.
Even though she’s grown up among humans, Molly has just lost everything, her friends, her PR firm she created from the ground up, her clients, her job, and eventually her family when she has to make some very difficult decisions. Though she’s worked with and has been friends with everyone affiliated with her firm, both her clients and her partners want her out because she’s a witch. It makes no sense they see her as a threat to their way of living, especially when she’s still grieving after losing so much during the Magister’s attack on all Others. With the intent to make those who refuse to stand by her pay more than they initially offered to see her gone, Molly does what she does best: picks herself up, finds something better, and moves to the other end of the country to work for the Owen clan.
Gage Garrity is head of security of the Owen clan, and they too are still reeling from the loss the experienced in the Magister’s path of destruction, and now they have to fight those who would see all Others extinguished from the face of the earth. Watching Molly in action, working to prevent further harm to their kind, raises his trust in and admiration for her, as well as the attraction that follows. Even through the bigotry, the hatred, the fear, and personal danger to them, Molly and Gage find something special between them. He teaches her how to be more in tune with her magick. They have a lot of intense and satisfying sex, some wonderfully emotional moments and some equally lighthearted ones, as well as times when all seems to go to hell between them. What I like best of all is they talk to one another to work through whatever comes between them at the moment.
Ms. Dane does a terrific job at drawing parallels between the Others’ current situation and that of the Japanese during WW2, the fear that makes humans do incredibly stupid and demoralizing things to their fellow man. You feel the hate and evil, but the loyalty, friendship, and love in the Others’ world overshadows those every time. There are a host of characters in this series, but you never feel the main couple and their romance are left behind as you either catch up with previous characters or get to know new ones. The tension between the humans and the Others grows chapter by chapter, more and more danger and evilness strikes out against them until even calm and centered Molly can take no more.
I’m sorry I haven’t read the first two books in this series. I like all of these characters and their plight is heartbreaking, pisses you off to no end that humans can be so ignorant. I do feel reading those books would be beneficial to the overall feel of the story, getting to know these characters better, especially in the wake of the Magister’s destructive swath through the Others’ world. I’d rather have lived their pain, anguish, and sorrow with them than being told about it at this stage. But this is still a great read that I highly recommend.
Grade: B+
Summary:
In the wake of the Magister’s rampage, chaos rules. Left reeling, the Others and the humans scramble to create a some sort of unity in the face of growing unrest and violence from anti-Other hate groups federation—and ruthless PR guru Molly Ryan is the witch who can do it. She grew up in the human world but there’s nothing left for her there. She’s lost her PR firm, her friends and she’s decided to put all her fight toward aiding the Others in this dark, new reality. If there’s anything left for her there, she’s going to fight for it. But Gage Garrity, one of the few Others who survived the massacre, fears that the crusade will expose Molly to greater dangers than ever before.
Now, together, with magick on their side, they’re on the road in a desperate struggle to unite a torn world. From state houses to television news to legislative conference rooms across the country, they’re fighting the good fight. And it’s bringing out a passion in both of them they never expected—one as volatile, intense, and all-consuming as their relentless battle for world unity. A battle that could be their undoing…
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
