By Emily Rath
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the audiobook producers for the opportunity to listen and review this advanced listening copy.
I have not read any of Emily Rath’s previous novels but when Shane East and Gregory Salinas are the two male voice actors I’m going to say “please” right away. I didn’t read too much in the blurb, it’s a paranormal, it’s got witches,it’s got ghosts and it’s a why choose, so those are all good things when it comes to what I like in a romance.
The novel starts out like many romances, contemporary or paranormal. Our female protagonist, Birdie is a History grad student at a university in a place not unlike Massachusetts and finds out that her summer tutorial program has fallen through. It was supposed to provide her with tuition, teaching experience, a place in residence and a small stipend to get through the summer. Last minute and in a panic, she’s offered an internship with a professor in another department, so she can get her credit and tuition paid and her best friend, who grew up on Burr island, is more than willing to give up her summer job and small apartment since she’d much rather go to Germany.
The island is only accessible by ferry and fills up with summer tourists, while the few families that live on the island are tight knit and keep to themselves. Birdie just has to convince her BFF’s uncle Jasper to let her work in his ‘occult shop’, which is actually full of cards and crystals and books and plants and other cute touristy woowoo witchcraft stuff. And uncle Jasper turns out to be not that much older but also really hot. Jasper and Birdie are instantly attracted to each other, although Jasper is NOT happy about her being the replacement for his niece because he’s grumpy.
Ok, as a regular romance reader I know where this is going. Cute cozy island romance… Birdie and Jasper will circle each other for a few weeks, drawn together but unwilling to make a commitment. Add in the eccentric island residents and, since this is a paranormal, a little bit of magic as the island is home to a old witch coven – in fact her professor is there to dig in an old grave and find out some truths about some witches persecuted maybe even earlier than the Salem witch trials.
I’ll just grab my frappucino and go with the flow, right? Cue the life saving move that Birdie throws to save Jasper from a wraith determined to devour his soul and we find out that Birdie has some magical ability of herself! Which tracks because she was adopted so she doesn’t really know where she comes from.
Turns out the wraith is coming back to haunt Jasper and Birdie, because they may be able to free him from the hold of the evil witch who commands him. Dainn, our wraith, is also attracted to Birdie as he’s never met anyone with a soul quite like hers. And well, Jasper is quite a treat himself.
But here is where our cozy paranormal takes a decidedly darker turn. The stakes get raised a bit higher than just a rival coven leader The coven of Burr Island have access to a powerful magic source and now the lives of the Coven, Jasper, Birdie and even Dainn are all at risk.
And as the plot thickens, the relationship between Jasper, Birdie and Dainn also becomes more heated as they find themselves in each other. The poly relationship with dom/sub elements is much more intense than a typical summer cozy Romantasy. For readers that are not into unconventional relationships this may not be your cup of tea. It is not what I would call a dark romance, but it may be too much for some readers. I enjoy when authors push the envelope on what makes a relationship
The audiobook is quite lengthy at 20+ hrs, but there is a lot of story so it never feels like its dragging or getting caught up in monologues due to indecisive main characters. This is the first book of the series and it does end on a cliffhanger. I will definitely read the next one – or listen, because all three of the narrators are excellent.
I rated this 4.25 on Storygraph, and 4 stars where partial stars are not allowed.
