The Banshee & the Blade

Sam Quinn #5.5

by Seana Kelly

Half-demon Dave is searching for his banshee girlfriend Maggie. The two men who knew where she was being held have both died quite horribly. With information from a certain sea wicche and a priceless weapon from his father, Dave begins a quest to a forgotten castle with far too many secrets.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Demons, Romance, Paranormal, Novella, Witches

76 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2023

About the author

She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, and one fish. When she's not dodging her family, hiding in the garage and trying to write, she's working as a high school teacher-librarian. She's an avid reader and re-reader who misses her favorite characters when it's been too long between visits.

She's represented by the delightful and effervescent Sarah E. Younger of the Nancy Yost Literary Agency

Reviews

[Mary Heron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave goes searching for Maggie.

In the last Sam Quinn book the demons who were after her and Clive also kidnapped Dave's love Maggie as punishment. Dave has been searching for her ever since but can feel no sign of her on earth or in hel l and he isn't able to access faerie. Desperate he goes to the Sea Wicchie for help and finally has a place to look but rescuing Maggie will not.be easy.......

[Spasticnontastic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this world.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Banshee & The Blade is a short novella set after book 5 in the Sam Quinn urban fantasy series (Biergarten of the Damned) which also introduces the author’s new heroine Arwyn (The Sea Wicche Chronicles.) This one is about Sam’s friend and employee Dave, a half-demon cook, who has been trying to find his missing girlfriend. You definitely need to have read the preceding books to understand who’s who and what’s going on, this does not work as a stand-alone. Even having read all the previous books, I struggled to understand why Maggie was taken, how Dave’s father fits in and what the point was, but I did like how Dave’s character is fleshed out and that we finally learn why he’s been so horrible to Sam. A nice freebie for fans of the series.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a great short to connect the 2 series by this author and give you more on a character that has been around in the background. I loved that Dave was successful in finding his love.

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I realised that it makes sense to do a new review in a series, when the POV character changes (& its not done with every book being a new POV).

I like the various characters in this world, so it was nice to see a book from the POV of one of them rather than the normal MC.

First time read the author's work?: No

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Perri Calix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was a fascinating read!

Dave is a bit of a mystery character in this world. The last Sam Quinn book, we got to learn about Dave's history and find out who his mother was and who is father is. At the end of that book we found out that the evil demons had kidnapped Maggie and hidden her. That is where this novella picks up.

Dave meets with Arwen the Fae/Wicche artist that made the magic chest set for Sam, to look for Maggie using her psychic abilities. When he gets the location, he asks his father for help and gets what he needs to break Maggie's prison and destroy her prison guards.

It was a interesting situation with the Ancient ones and the different rings to the prison. But Dave saves Maggie and shows her just how much he truly loves her. I did not think it was that serious a relationship, but I was WAY wrong.

This was a lovely novella and I highly enjoyed it. I love learning more about Dave, not a big fan of Maggie's though. I love, love, LOVE Dave's dad, Abaddon! That man is scary, powerful & awesome all in one. I hope we see him again in the Sam Quinn series.

All in all, this was again, very well written. If you are a fan of the Sam Quinn series, I would definitely recommend reading this.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story is definitely not a required read to understand the whole Sam storyline, but it helped to fill in some gaps in the timeline. It takes place after Dave has already revealed his horrible truth to Sam, about his involvement in her mother's murder. Dave and Sam are still trying to find a new normal together, but Dave is also hyper focused on finding Maggie. After he sent her away "for her own protection" she somehow got snatched up. This story is short, but details Dave's quest to find her and all the twists and turns along the way. There's even a bit of father/son time thrown in as a bonus!

[Vannessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short novella, which focused on Dave, the half demon, half wicche cook at Sam Quinn's bar. In the previous book, Biergarten of the Damned, Dave's girlfriend Maggie is kidnapped. This book tells his story of how finds her and gets her back! It also introduces us further to Arwyn Cassandra Corey from the Sea Wicche Chronicles series, which I am going to jump to next!

A quick, fun read. I loved Dave's determination and all the different levels of the prison he had to work through!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story that let’s us get to know more about Dave

This novella brings us a resolution to Maggie’s kidnapping and lets us get to know more about Dave. It also introduces us to Arwyn and her spin off series.

It’s a quick read with a sweet ending and another nice bite of the Sam Quinn world.

[Emmalynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave and his Banshee

This saws a quick and wonderful story in Sam Quinn’s world with a brief crossover into the wicche series. Dave is on the hunt for his girlfriend Maggie and calls in the big guns aka dad to assist. This was a qiock fun little tale and it was great to see a softer(ish) side of Dave

[westlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story!

I think it takes a particular kind of skill to write a novella or short story. This author has it. While it helps that most who read this are familiar with the main character, it still takes skillful crafting to weave this tale together. I loved it. With grateful thanks to the author.

[MELISSA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read with the demon, Dave, about losing what small patience he owned searching for his girlfriend everywhere. Where did his two demon enemies hide her and once found how will he save her. Really enjoyed Dave’s determination and never giving up. This is a short story in the Sam Quinn series with some good insight into Dave.

[Shana Pare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative! I loved it!

In this small story, we learn more about Dave, his past life, and his dad and his friends and foes. The steps he must take to find Maggie are ingenious and creative but make absolute sense. I call it a must read.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

So happy Dave and Maggie had their own story and we found out what happened to Maggie. Enjoyed it all and his encounter with the the sea witch. It was great

[Donna Dufault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read by this writer. I love the side characters own story.
Check this writer out and you will Not be disappointed!

[Abi King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect short story

The world of Sam Quinn is so full of life. This short story about her half demon chef and the love of his world may be short, but its packed full of feels.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short story. Novelette length maybe?

[Illana Halliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet. enjoyable short story

Dave finds Maggie and Arwen enters the story
This wad a cute little diversion and I look forward to more Maggie and Dave v

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★½

[Waverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Sea Wicche. Please, write more about Dave and Maggie for us in the future, too!

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 Stars:)

[Siyka · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quite an adventure to read a part of Dave's story.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half-demon Dave is searching for his banshee girlfriend Maggie. The two men who knew where she was being held have both died quite horribly. With information from a certain sea wicche and a priceless weapon from his father, Dave begins a quest to a forgotten castle with far too many secrets.

Heather's Notes
I enjoyed seeing more of Dave. I liked that he wasn't just brawn. I also like the fact that he seems to be getting along better with his dad. I hope we get to see more of them both.

[Storm]

Placeholder - Currently reading or will be scheduled to be read in 2025. I cannot wait, since this is a story about Dave and his messed up Banshee girlfriend!

This novella set in the world of Seana Kelly's Sam Quinn Series is entry #5.5, which means it takes place between Biergarten of the Damned and The Viper’s Nest Roadhouse & Cafe.

Possibly use for Reddit Fantasy's 2024 Bingo Square TBD.

Note: Use for HM, Food or Drinks Bingo Card as this has a food and drink word in the title and the story does contain elements of food/drink since it is set in a Bookstore and Bar.

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[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

must read

I really enjoyed Dave’s POV because it was at times confusing when reading the series with Sam. Dave is totally in love with Maggie and we get to see how their relationship started. I really am kicking myself that I didn’t read this sooner.