Counterfeit Magic Review

Counterfeit Magic

-       Kelley Armstrong

Kindle Book

The first rule of a supernatural fight club? Don't kill your opponent.
When the fighters come with lethal spells, werewolf strength and half-demon powers, that can be a lot tougher than it sounds. It's hard to attract talent if they know they might not leave the ring alive. So when fighters at a California club start dying -- it's bad for business. Witch detectives Paige Winterbourne and Savannah Levine take the case. Going undercover in the power-heavy arena of the fight club is a welcome change of pace for Paige, relegated to the role of The Wife as her husband struggles to find his place in his family's Cabal--the corporate Mafia of the supernatural world. As Paige is drawn deeper into new and dangerous corners of her world, she quickly discovers the greatest threat isn't the killer in her sights. It's something much, much closer to home. And this is one fight she can't afford to lose. 

Any regular followers know that I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong. Bitten was the first ever Urban Fantasy book I ever read and still one of my favourites. So I get very excited whenever a new Otherworld book is released – and disappointed when I can’t get my hands on them straight away. Counterfeit Magic isn’t a full novel, but a novella that was originally a limited edition release complete with beautiful art work. I wasn’t able to get my hands on a copy, but a couple of years later and the magic of e-books means I can finally read this story, set shortly before Waking The Witch with the focus on Paige and Savannah – two of my favourite characters!

While we spend the most time with Paige and Savannah, this equally has both Lucas and Adam in starring male roles. I’ve always liked Lucas and the emotional core of this story is how Paige and Lucas are adapting to his unique role in the supernatural world – heir to one of the most powerful sorcerer cabels – but would prefer to be fighting for the underdog. Together they have always been a favourite couple of mine because I could always relate to them. And this time their marriage is struggling to cope with real life.

While the initial investigation was interesting, it was soon dropped in favour of the relationship exploration and afterwards solved off-screen which was a little disappointing. I would really like a full length novel based on one of Paige and Lucas’s investigations! In general though this was a great taster of one of my favourite series and has only made my more desperate to pick up the latest book!

As a side note - the kindle versions does include some of the original artwork and can I say even in black and white they are beautiful. So gorgeous. I love them so much.

Recommended for fans of Patricia Briggs and Rachel Vincent. 7.5 out of 10.

Go Team Witch!