Ungebrochene Magie

Bargains with Beasts #2

by Stacia Stark

Wie sich herausgestellt hat, bin ich seine Gefährtin. Als ich mich aus seinem Haus - und aus seinem Leben - schlich, dachte ich, dass ich ihn nie wieder sehen würde. Aber dann erfuhr ich, dass Kyla ins Reich der Seelie gegangen war, um das Schwert zu stehlen, das mit ihrem Schicksal verbunden ist. Alleine. Also schleiche ich jetzt hinter ihr her. Und der Werwolf-König? Er schleicht hinter mir her. Leider haben wir keine Zeit, uns zu streiten. Denn unsere Feinde haben zusammengearbeitet. Und wenn wir hier lebend rauskommen, unser Reich retten und MFG niederbrennen wollen ... müssen wir das auch tun. Ich werde kooperieren. Ich werde mit Nathaniel zusammenarbeiten, um unser Volk zu retten. Und ich werde mein Herz wegschließen, wo er es nicht finden kann. Ich hoffe, es gelingt mir.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Shapeshifters, Magic, Romance, Werewolves, Fae

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 13, 2023

About the author

Stacia Stark is a New York Times, USA Today, Sunday Times, and Amazon bestselling author of fantasy romance. Her books have been translated into over 16 languages, and her Kingdom of Lies series was nominated twice for Goodreads Choice Awards.

Stacia loves writing romantasy filled with found families, female friendship, self-reliant heroines, and brooding, grumpy heroes. When she’s not writing or exploring the world, she can usually be found sprawled on her sofa, lost in the pages of a good book.


Come say hi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stark...

Or learn more at Staciastark.com

Reviews

[Lucie V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

✅ Nathaniel
✅ Magic, werewolves, witches, and demons
✅ Pace
✅ Plot
✅ Action and fighting
✅(🆗) Romance
✅🆗 Evie

3.5 stars

The plot in this sequel was better and made more sense overall. After learning that not only is Nathaniel her mate, but her closest friends have been keeping the information from her, Evie throws a tantrum that results in Kyla leaving to get the sword without her. Evie rushes after her and they do end up working together again, but the heist is only the first part of the book. The second part of the book focuses on finding the HFE labs and shutting them down once and for all. Still, I feel that this book covered a lot of plot lines that could have been more expanded in a longer book. The fact that everything happened in less than 400 pages made things feel a little easy at times.

Once again, my biggest issue with this book was Evie. She continues to want to be a badass just like her sister, but then she turns around and acts like an immature child. She continues to blame Danica for abandoning her, even though Evie is the one who sent her away when she came back after years away. It also feels a little hypocritical that she is so pissed at people for lying to her, but she was willing to lie to her sister about the mission to get the sword and even steal Danica’s ring if need be. She also did not hesitate to hide things from Nathaniel in the previous book.

I will give her that though, she seems to be trying to get better and fight off her tendencies to blame others for her poor, sad life. She is getting better, but those books are so fast-paced, and so much is happening, that I feel we can't properly focus on Evie's growth in the middle of everything, so it is still hard for me to like her.

The romance between Evie and Nathaniel was cute, but it felt a little too close to insta-love. I know they are mate, and that would explain their strong connection once they both agreed to bond, but Evie has known Nathaniel for months now, and while she was physically attracted to him, it was never anything more than that, and now, after throwing a tantrum, she suddenly decides that she wants to bond with him and declares that he is the love of her life. It feels like a sudden change, especially for someone who is not a wolf and does not have the same instincts when it comes to mates. I do think that this spinoff series would have been more enjoyable if there was maybe one more book that focused on Evie and her plotlines. It would have allowed for a smoother relationship building, instead of rushing it, and it would have felt more believable and realistic.

It would have been nice to see Evie spend more time exploring her mysterious magic, especially since she can’t seem to always be able to control it. I feel that there is so much potential here that was not developed enough, so instead of showing the complexity of Evie’s magic and genetics, it only made her into this super powerful witch that can intimidate anyone and get out of any magical situation, without much explanation about her newly found powers.

The final book in this spinoff series focuses on Kyla, and I am eager to see what awaits her, how she will be betrayed, and if she will finally decide to give Finvarra a chance (because it is obvious that something is going on there besides hatred).


1.Unnatural magic ⭐⭐⭐.5

Deal with Demons series:
0.5 Fool the Demon ⭐⭐⭐
1. Speak of the Demon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Dance with the Demon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Inner Demons ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Luck of the Demon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Demon’s Advocate ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
6. Play the Demon ⭐⭐⭐.5



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[Francesca ❆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
I really wanted to like this one....and while the plot was mostly enjoyable and the various cameos were lovely, the romance wasn't there for me after the blow out Evie pulled in the last book.
So while this one tries to repair the damage, it didn't feel like it pulled it off 100% so the whole romance felt off.
I believe that by giving this series a couple more books to expand and give proper space the plot and little sideplots and character developments would've made this series a lot more solid and enjoyable.

[AvidReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75🌟
I just wish there was more scenes with Lorcan and Evie and atleast one scene with Lorcan, Dani and Evie.
Loved the climax and Evie was a badass.

-fated mates.
-found family, forced proximity, adventure, prophecy.
-second in series, not standalone and safe.
-KU & recommended.

[Katyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a pleasant surprise - Evie had some refreshing growth, and apologized for her crap. And legitimately tried hard to battle her worst tendencies. It was great to see, and made this book much more enjoyable.

My only quibble is that the book was super fast - we ran through 3-4 major plot arcs in this book, and that made them all feel fast and easy. They could have used more time, so there was more weight and tension. It kind of feels like the HFE wrap up should have been in a 3rd book - the revelations about who all was involved, building the paranormal coalition, taking down all the labs ... this all happened in like the last 18% of the book. It was really, really fast, which was a little disappointing for something that's been a looming Big Bad throughout not just this spin-off series, but Danica/Samael's series as well.

But I enjoyed it. Looking forward to wrapping up with Kyra's book.

[netty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I like the others and I like the world- it’s just so choppy and not able to stand alone.

All the emotional beats are in the other book- why Evie is mad about the lies, why Vitus matters and his pain, etc. it just makes this book harder to read because I didn’t read all of them at once as an omnibus so there wasn’t a lot of weight.

The plot was a little skewy- sword quest that reminded me of HP and the sorcerers stone, bubbling Finvarra and Kyla tension— then back to the who evil mages plot, oh wait Nathaniel is book possessed, … it just didn’t have a straight line. Tying up old loose ends, cameos - pregnant Mer! …

Nathaniel and Evie are okay together, but it felt off with the whole ‘bond’ thing. She kept apologizing for not believing in their love when she’s been abandoned before and they haven’t been together that long.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute HEA for the main couple, but I found the overall story to be very surface-level action, the romance a little insta-love, and the final defeat of the villain (so far) to be very perfunctory without much drama. I didn't feel particularly emotional at any point compared to the previous books in the series.

However, I do look forward to reading more about Kyla's adventure and how her HEA will be like.
------
Ratings - completed series:
#1 Unnatural Magic: ★★★★☆
#2 Unbroken Magic (this book): ★★★☆☆

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alpha overload

In the real world, Nathaniel would be considered overbearing. Red flags would be waving everywhere but in the Bargains with Beasts world he's just what Evie needs. She has a lit going on with a lot of bad guys after her so she needs someone who is so protective, especially with how she runs straight into danger.

In previous books, I thought Nathaniel was a total Alphahole but I like him now.

The series is almost over. The last book features my favorite character of all, Kyla.

[BeautyAndTheBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the world this story takes place in.
I don’t like Evie that much. It does not dissuade me from loving the storyline itself.

I just feel like Evie is trying to be Danica.
And during Danica’s books I felt as if Danica was sort of blamed for not staying in Durham after their mother died, even though Evie told her to leave.
And I feel like it was made to sound like Evie has some kind of trauma of abandonment. Which I sort of get, but also…not.

[Malessa Danner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

Loved following the series and seeing what happened with the HFE and mages, but I would have enjoyed the way more if it weren't for the FMC. I didn't really like her in the main series, so I'm not surprised, lol. It was also super repetitive to the main series and the author tried to make this sister too much like Danica, and it just didn't work. I loved Nathaniel, though! He was hot!

I just don't think there is anyway to top Danica and Sameal lol

[Darian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! I would have loved learning more about Evie's abilities, though.

[Dew · Rating 2 out of 5]

too much sex, not enough story

The first book in any of Stacia Stark’s series starts with a great female heroine and the idea for an excellent story. At some point, usually in book 2, sex takes over the story. I eventually stopped reading the Danica Bananica series because the mystery gave way to explicit sex - unless one considered the imagination the author put into the vastly varied sexual positions or odd scenarios where the main characters were going to have sex to be a “mystery”. In this book, specifically, Evie goes on a very gross, protracted killing spree in which she massacres mythical animals one right after another, pausing only to have explicit sexual fantasies with Nathaniel. Truly, I wonder what kind of relationship Evie and Nathaniel if the graphic sex or and explicit fantasies were edited out.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

Evie became less obnoxious but Stacia did her best to make it as if everyone else was in the wrong and actually did anything bad. Yeah, she SLIGHTLY owned up to overreacting and how she could see why everyone did what they did but she never actually truly felt bad or sorry for what a b*tch she was. Not really. She just wanted everyone back in her life and accepted everyone ELSE’S apology even though they weren’t the ones that even did anything wrong. Talk about manipulative and narcissistic.

Anyway, she got a bit better throughout the book but I was just done with her BS.

Nathaniel was back to being the Alpha I enjoyed in the other books so that was a plus too. Granted, his relationship with Evie still irked me because she sucks so bad so eh.

Kyla is still going strong on being my fav. Let’s hope for the best in the next book! 😬

[SheLove2Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank God that's over. Evie is so incredibly unlikable that it ruins the book. I had hoped she would redeem herself from the atrocious way she treated her friends in the last book, but nope. Same whiny Evie. I felt sorry for Nathan being stuck with her. 2 stars

[Alaina]

RTC

[ky · Rating 5 out of 5]

no words just happiness

[Robin Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my least favorite in the series. Evie’s story is just too similar to Danicas. It’s just like reading the same story over again.

[Shanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than I expected. But I need to know more about Evie’s power.

[Lilith1323 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[No · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every person had the same personality. The snark sucks, the writing is forced and the pacing was fast. These characters and plots felt forced, uninspired, and recycled. DNF @ch 21

[Chels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, quick read. But I enjoyed the Deals with Demon series a little better

[Rachel Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbroken Magic begins with Kyla off after the sword, Evie chasing her, and Nate chasing them both. The Seelie king’s palace is full of traps and dangers for them, but their greatest challenge is their own emotions. Emotions which are tested as Evie, who’s furious at being kept in the dark regarding her status as Nate’s mate, is forced to work with those who lied to her, and grapple with her feelings for him while facing all sorts of dangers.

This part of the book was cleared up much more quickly than I expected! But it was needed, as the story is far from over. Once the sword is in hand and Evie accepts her love for Nate, they have a new challenge. With the information that the Seelie king is giving his people to HFE, they have a way to locate their base with a tracking spell on one of the prisoners. With Rose working in the background to figure out what they’re doing and where they are, they have enough information to plan to shut them down.

Evie meets her uncle who’s been looking for her father, and he finds some key info before being kidnapped himself, leaving Evie desperate to get him out. In the meantime however, we get a lot of cute pack dynamics. I loved getting to see more of the werewolves here. We’ve been with the demons for so long (and I do miss them here!) so it’s great getting to see how other creatures of this world live. After Danica set the precedent, Evie follows her example and gets all the factions of paranormals to work together. Wolves, demons, Seelie, and Unseelie. A witch even joins, and the humans are thrown a bone.

Figuring out what had been going on all of this time was fantastic. It’s all been weaved together from the very first book of the Deals with Demons series. This is (almost) the culmination of so many books of build up of conflict with HFE and the Mage Council. What they’ve been doing is horrific, and reading everything go down was immensely satisfying. I’m so glad everyone joined in on this. And the surprise Evie gets was touching. Though I was with her in feeling horrible for Danica as a result. It’s so unfair, but as Danica says, she’d never begrudge her or be jealous of her, it just is what it is.

Evie has mostly gotten her happily ever after with Nate, and it will certainly be filled with lots of smut, the lucky girl. But things aren’t yet done. The mages are still out there, with their backs against the wall, and Kyla has a sword to handle, or the world will burn. And this…this might change everything, and leave our favorites more separated than ever before.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was pretty predictable for me, and thus a bit boring. But not bad in general.

I was happy to meet Danica, Samael, Meredith and also Vassago in this book. It was nice to see all those people to work together.

I liked the dynamics between Nathaniel and Evelyn. I really appreciate that I could follow her healing process and how she slowly learned that not ALL the people in her life would abandon her. Nathaniel was patient enough to let her have this her own way. And when she finally discovered what the bond is for - it was amazing.

All the case with seelie book reminds me Ring of Power Sauron had in Lord of the Rings. You have ring, you crave the power. The more time you have ring, the more dangerous it is for you. Even the principle of giving the book away with free will is similar. Bilbo gave ring freely with no consequencies. He just started to getting old and looking directly as an old man. We all know what ring did to Glum and how Glum still craved for the ring. Frodo was not able to throw the ring to the fire of Mount of Doom and he never trully handled the fact ring was taken from him and destroyed.

Last at least third of the book was mainly chatting about nothing and it seemed that without these shallow scenes the book could be about 50 pages shorter. Seemed like nothing interesting left in author´s mind to give to readers. I found myself skipping through the pagesto find sections where something was really happening, where there was some progress to our story.

In context of previous seven books which I´ve already read, I found all that thing with Gemma and her dying not important. I could find nothing in me to care about this witch. Gemma disappointed me in many ways and for me, she was death as soon as the war with Lucifer was over (fifth book of Deals with Demons series).

Ok, and here goes one question about HFE. How exactly were the members of HFE able to kidnap all those powerfull paranormals. We have seelie king who handled his people freely. We MAYBE have some Alpha werewolves who did the same, but until the end of this book, it is only suspicion. I miss some explanation here. I know about Naud chains, but I am not able to believe that this was the only tool. Someone has somehow put the chains on the paranormal first. I can get some ideas thanks to the fact that now we know the source of the power mages have. But that could mean that mages were the only able to capture paranormals. I hope I will get some explanation in the final book.

[Spinneretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Note: This book brings Evie’s part of the story to a conclusion, the rest of the story will be Kyla’s. That being said, it is imperative that you read the Deals with Demons series FIRST, then the first book in this series, before you read this one. Most of the events in this series, are caused by those in the preceding books.

When Kyla heads to the Seelie realm to steal the sword on her own, Evie rushes after her, with Evie’s mate Nathaniel on her tail.
It’s not just a magical sword they have to deal with though, there’s also the Organisation that has been kidnapping paranormals and experimenting on them- an Organisation that Evie has vowed to stop…
And with her mate, and her friends beside her, it’s the one thing she is determined to accomplish.

This book has some very satisfying moments in it; and some people get the fate they have long deserved (I really hope certain others get theirs in the next book!).
That means the book, while being a quick read, is filled with action, and adventure. We do get to see some cameos from the Demons series, as well as many of your favourite side characters (Virtus once again stole the star of the book award).
A thoroughly entertaining read, this and it’s predecessor series, are great reads for the urban fantasy fan.

[Jewels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this world and the characters that are part of this world. I was definitely excited for this book after the way the first book added… I must say that Evie was difficult sometimes to like because she did seem immature about a lot of things. But this book really helps get to know her and why she was the way she was a lot of times mostly with her abandonment issues.

I love the friendships between the characters. And I love to see all the different groups of Supernatural’s work together as well.

And holy hotness… Nathaniel, oh my goodness he is one hot alpha! I really love their relationship as I love how patient he is with her, and that they have a good communication with each other. I think that’s always important in romance books to have good communications between the characters that seems authentic. I can’t wait for the next book, but so sad to see that it’s going to be the last of the series. I’ve grown to love this world and all of these characters. It’s definitely a series I will read more than once.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting overarching plot line but the romance felt a little flat for me.

3.5⭐️

This book picks up right where the previous book left off. The action doesn’t let up and I enjoyed all the reveals and discoveries along the way.

This book continues with Evie and Nathaniel’s journey. There are so many plot plates spinning and different storylines unfolding. I didn’t expect to have a big part of their relationship woes solved so early on in the book. While their relationship grew and changed throughout, it wasn’t the driving force of the story and it somehow made the story feel a little anticlimactic to me. I liked Nathaniel (hot, slightly morally grey, werewolf alpha) but Evie, while she grew on me, just wasn’t my favorite. The story was definitely carried by the overall fantasy plot, solving a mystery and fighting evil and I am interested in how everything wraps up! This book does conclude Nathaniel and Evie’s portion of the story while the last book in the trilogy continues the overall plot line but with the werewolf, Kyla and Finverra, the Unseelie King.

[Anastasiia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it was slightly better than the previous one but not by much

The plot was all over the place and cramped in such a tight space that at times it felt disjointed like we have a rant between Kyla and Fin the next minute Evie slaughter yet another mythical creature and literally the next second she's imagining Nate fucking her, geez give me a minute here.

The romance here hmmm let's say almost none existent. It didn't feel real and substantial. We all remember the ending of the previous book and Evie's exaggerated-as-hell reaction and now imagine this, here she went from that devastating shock and yada yada to barely entertaining the thought of having sex with Nate to the 'love of my life' in mere pages. Yeah, it doesn't sound great.

IMHO the most interesting part was the epilogue LOL

[Mr D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, That is an impressive cliffhanger! **NO SPOILERS**

Evie is angry it seems that people she loves have been keeping a really important secret from her because finding a mate is a big deal. Then again this is a woman with so many commitment issues that there might as well be a picture of her next to the definition.
That’s one of the problems with saying things when you’re angry, you can’t control your own emotions let alone anyone else’s. All of a sudden Evie uncovers some vital information about her search for the human hate group. It’s enough to shock people into action but bigger secrets lie waiting to be uncovered. It all links into Kyla’s ongoing struggle to steal ‘that sword’ twice.

There is epic plot here waiting to pounce. If you’ve read this far then get the next book pronto.

[Mrs. Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I had moments in this book where I was unsure which surprised me as so far I've found all stacia stark books to be brilliant. The book covers a lot of interconnected story lines and answers questions from previous books. However all in all I really enjoyed this book. Is it my favourite from stacia stark probably not but it certainly won't stop me giving it 5 stars and I can't wait for the next book. I did like the Nathaniel/evie story, I still love how the story is woven and so much happens. Love seeing characters from earlier in the series, definitely want to see how whole story line wraps up in the final book. Seriously hoping next book isn't quite the final book a certain witch is missing and I'm sure there's a seelie who cares!!

[Sandy Schleich · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

I love this series. It had been a while between the first and the second book so it took me a while to get back into this series and remember everyone. I like that Evie doesn’t let her alpha mate push her around. She is a powerful witch, and they are continually learning what kind of power she has. At the beginning of this book it was very fast paced, and a lot of action. Fortunately, that was not the end of the action. It did kind of go into a little bit of a lol after the first action scene but it picked up when they found the labs. Evie finds more in the labs than she expected. I am excited about the next book and I can’t wait.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is for both books 1 and 2 as it follows Evie and Nathaniel and their story. I really enjoyed the original series so it was nice to be back in the "world" so to speak; however, that was where most of my joy ended as I just didn't care much for either of our love interests in it so I wasn't invested in their stories or their relationship. It was fine, but it was a lot like every other milquetoast nothing special paranormal for me. Honestly, I would probably come closer to a 2.5 or 2 star rating but I read this directly after Wanted by Linsay Buroker (Excellent 5 Super Stars, btw) so I wanted to make sure I was being extremely fair minded and not a ...little salty. 😐