WITCHBANE Book “Signs and Wonders” Brings More Supernatural Thrills and MM Romance!
Gail Z. Martin, aka Morgan Brice, continues to be one of those authors whose work excites me to distraction. Among the plethora of titles she has written, she is also responsible for her universe of the paranormal, which includes such series titles as (writing as Gail Z. Martin) DEADLY CURIOSITIES, SPELLS, SALT, & STEEL, and NIGHT VIGIL. Writing as Morgan Brice, we have TREASURE TRAIL, KINGS OF THE MOUNTAIN, and FOX HOLLOW. Each series has its unique charm and tone, making them wildly fun to read. They can also be quite thrilling and suspenseful, as has been her WITCHBANE series. With her latest novel of the series, “Signs and Wonders,” she continues to build in her amazing universe with adventures that may seem repetitive on the surface but are as diverse as they are exciting.
Our heroes are Seth Tanner and Evan Malone. Seth’s younger brother Jesse was killed as part of a century-long series of murders, and not long after that, his parents were killed in a car accident. He took it upon himself to track down all of the men (witches) responsible for Jesse’s death in the hope of saving the lives of these witches’ potential victims. He rescued Evan from such a fate, and in turn, they quickly became partners in this crusade and fell in love with each other.
Brice’s latest “Signs and Wonders” continues with the quest that both Seth and Evan are, and the subsequent potential victim of these murders is a young gay man in the hills of West Virginia named Cameron. He has a boyfriend named Tyler, and the two of them lead a clandestine life together because of the area they live in. Tyler (ex-military) is very protective of his boyfriend and is immediately put on guard when Seth and Evan arrive. However, it takes very little effort from our romantic heroes to get Cameron on board. It’s not long after that when Tyler also becomes convinced that an old and hidden evil has its sights set on Cameron. Our heroes call on some friends for help and, after finding themselves at a New Age-y type retreat, are in a race against the clock to save Cameron and eliminate the threat of the witch who wishes to sacrifice him.
As I thought about this review, it occurred to me that many of Brice’s books, especially the WITCHBANE series, have a common theme. Our heroes identify the next victim; they pledge to protect him (the victims are all male), and things go sideways before they pull a miracle and win the day. Yes, for the most part, that is the common theme. That is not a criticism. The very nature of Seth’s and Evan’s quest gives all of these stories that commonality. However, Brice has done a wonderful job at continuing to evolve our lead characters. They are not static as they try to balance romance with a quest that could end one or both of their lives at any moment. Even in “Signs and Wonders,” there is a reference to a prior story that put our heroes in some pretty serious jeopardy. Brice is also not afraid to borrow elements from one of her other series of books. In this case, she brings in her lead characters from the Gail Z. Martin series NIGHT VIGIL, Travis (an ex-priest who worked in a black-ops division of the Vatican), and Brent (an ex-soldier who has visions and has a ghostly twin brother named Danny), along to help Seth and Evan. Simply adding these two characters and the talents they bring to the table alters where the story can go, ranging from humorous to nail-biting during supernatural conflicts. This has always been the greatest strength of Brice’s stories. Her supernatural universe (which continues to grow with new books and series of books) is so rich and detailed that I sometimes wish I could live in it despite the terror and threats our heroes face. Once she adds these fleshed-out characters, the stories can’t help but take new and exciting directions, in spite of any repeating themes any of her series’ may contain.
Brice’s books, as well as when she writes as Gail Z. Martin, are written so that any of them can be picked up and read without knowing how each series began. Brice successfully writes just a few brief paragraphs that can bring even the newest reader up to speed without resorting to what I call “info dump.” She even does this when she introduces guest characters from her other books, as she did here with Travis and Brent. Even if this is the first WITCHBANE book someone picks up, they do not need to read any of the NIGHT VIGIL series to understand who Travis and Brent are and how they fit in with this story.
If I have any complaint, it is that these books sometimes feel too short. Despite the climactic conflict being fun to read, I wish the resolution to that climax and the action depicting how our heroes are winning could have been more drawn out. Nevertheless, “Signs and Wonders” was another triumphant book from Morgan Brice.
It is important to note that this book contains some extremely steamy same-sex love scenes and should only be read by those who are 18 and over.
I give “Signs and Wonders” 4 out of 5 Crests.
“Signs and Wonders” can be purchased at Amazon.com