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A Coven of Four #1
Familiar Feeling
Drew never believed in magic. Then three years after his wife’s unexplained death he unearths a book of spells in his attic. Reading the first ‘stupid poem’ seems harmless, until he acquires his very own familiar, Felix.
Drew and Felix soon realise an attraction that goes beyond their magical bond. However, there’s a coven of demon-worshipping witches out to steal Drew’s newfound power. If they want to survive long enough to see where their mutual desires take them, Felix must teach Drew the art of witchcraft. But will he be ready in time?
Drew and Felix soon realise an attraction that goes beyond their magical bond. However, there’s a coven of demon-worshipping witches out to steal Drew’s newfound power. If they want to survive long enough to see where their mutual desires take them, Felix must teach Drew the art of witchcraft. But will he be ready in time?
107 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2015
34 people want to read
About the author
Daniel A. Kaine
9 books127 followersDaniel Alexander Kaine is a writer of gay fiction, who is proud of his British-ness and correct spelling of doughnuts.
Born and raised in the northeast of England, Daniel found himself struggling for work after graduating university with a degree in Applied Biology. It was at this time he stumbled upon fan-fiction, and decided to try his hand at writing one of his own.
Since then, Daniel has gone on to write original fiction, preferring the hard, gritty nature of serial killers, vampires, and dystopian realities.
When not writing, Daniel enjoys a variety of activities, including reading, running, music, going to the gym, and playing video games.
Daniel lives with his four loveable furballs - Mik, Ash, Spidey, and Flash - and one very greedy leopard gecko named Harry.
Born and raised in the northeast of England, Daniel found himself struggling for work after graduating university with a degree in Applied Biology. It was at this time he stumbled upon fan-fiction, and decided to try his hand at writing one of his own.
Since then, Daniel has gone on to write original fiction, preferring the hard, gritty nature of serial killers, vampires, and dystopian realities.
When not writing, Daniel enjoys a variety of activities, including reading, running, music, going to the gym, and playing video games.
Daniel lives with his four loveable furballs - Mik, Ash, Spidey, and Flash - and one very greedy leopard gecko named Harry.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 29, 2015
Why I read this book:
When I was younger, Iwas a big fan of the TV-Series ‘Charmed’ and ever since loved anything about magic, witches, books of shadow, etc. I could not resist reading this story as it had all that and promised to be a nice M/M Romance story.
Cover:
The cover model is not really my type, so in my head the main character looks a bit different. However, I do love the background color and the tiger and think the overall cover design is very appealing!
Title:
The title is a play on words, as Drew’s love interest is a witches familiar. It is short, easy to remember and references the book, so it works well for me.
Story:
I was surprised how light-hearted this story was. There’s death, demons, action, magic, but the novel didn’t feel dark or angsty at any point. That makes ‘Familiar Feeling’ into a wonderful short, light read for the summer and in-between books. I’m used to darker stories from this author and while I loved those, I really enjoyed the light-hearted tone of this book as well.
I think part of it is Drew’s personality. He has lost his wife three years ago, but is ready to move on. He loves his wife and has grieved for her, but we meet him at a point where he has gotten over the loss and keeps her in his heart, without letting the loss cripple him.
Everything that happens to him he accepts with an open mind and deals with it calmly. He is a very nice guy and is very easy to like. A great MC to carry this story. I think I would have connected with him even more, if we had seen more of his grief and more emotions like that, but it is a very short story and the focus on light-heartedness and action work well.
I really enjoyed that both Drew and Felix are bisexual and their chemistry worked well for me. Felix is like another connection to Drew’s wife and can show him a different side of her. He respected her and was her friend and I think that is a very important connection they have from the very beginning. With the mutual attraction, they made sense to me.
Felix used to be Linda (Drew’s ex-wife) familiar – her magical guide and through some magic and fate is now Drew’s guide, as he is learning the ropes about the magical world. I liked Drew’S friends and it will be interesting how they deal with this new world and the dangers lurking ahead as well as how their romantic journeys with their respective familiar will turn out. I love that the familiars are exotic shifters and I hope to see more action of the friends together in the future.
The action was fast-paced and interesting. Like I said, I love magic and I’m really interested in how this series continues. Book one did a great job to set-up the rest of the series with an overarching storyline, while still finishing ‘Familiar Feeling’ in a way that feels complete.
I really enjoyed this story and liked both MCs. It’s a nice, quick read and I’m looking forward to the rest of the books.
Rating:
8/10 Pots of Gold (80% Recommended). Compares to 4/5 stars.
When I was younger, Iwas a big fan of the TV-Series ‘Charmed’ and ever since loved anything about magic, witches, books of shadow, etc. I could not resist reading this story as it had all that and promised to be a nice M/M Romance story.
Cover:
The cover model is not really my type, so in my head the main character looks a bit different. However, I do love the background color and the tiger and think the overall cover design is very appealing!
Title:
The title is a play on words, as Drew’s love interest is a witches familiar. It is short, easy to remember and references the book, so it works well for me.
Story:
I was surprised how light-hearted this story was. There’s death, demons, action, magic, but the novel didn’t feel dark or angsty at any point. That makes ‘Familiar Feeling’ into a wonderful short, light read for the summer and in-between books. I’m used to darker stories from this author and while I loved those, I really enjoyed the light-hearted tone of this book as well.
I think part of it is Drew’s personality. He has lost his wife three years ago, but is ready to move on. He loves his wife and has grieved for her, but we meet him at a point where he has gotten over the loss and keeps her in his heart, without letting the loss cripple him.
Everything that happens to him he accepts with an open mind and deals with it calmly. He is a very nice guy and is very easy to like. A great MC to carry this story. I think I would have connected with him even more, if we had seen more of his grief and more emotions like that, but it is a very short story and the focus on light-heartedness and action work well.
I really enjoyed that both Drew and Felix are bisexual and their chemistry worked well for me. Felix is like another connection to Drew’s wife and can show him a different side of her. He respected her and was her friend and I think that is a very important connection they have from the very beginning. With the mutual attraction, they made sense to me.
Felix used to be Linda (Drew’s ex-wife) familiar – her magical guide and through some magic and fate is now Drew’s guide, as he is learning the ropes about the magical world. I liked Drew’S friends and it will be interesting how they deal with this new world and the dangers lurking ahead as well as how their romantic journeys with their respective familiar will turn out. I love that the familiars are exotic shifters and I hope to see more action of the friends together in the future.
The action was fast-paced and interesting. Like I said, I love magic and I’m really interested in how this series continues. Book one did a great job to set-up the rest of the series with an overarching storyline, while still finishing ‘Familiar Feeling’ in a way that feels complete.
I really enjoyed this story and liked both MCs. It’s a nice, quick read and I’m looking forward to the rest of the books.
Rating:
8/10 Pots of Gold (80% Recommended). Compares to 4/5 stars.
May 8, 2015
Drew has spent the last three years walking around in a fog after losing his wife, Linda. Figuring it’s about time to let some things go, he’s packing up some things for storage and donation and he stumbles upon a locked box. There is a key that Linda always wore on a necklace, a key that Drew has never been able to match to a lock in the house, until now.
Drew unknowingly opened a door and opened himself up when he unlocked the box and read a spell from the book. First the cat he hasn’t seen since Linda’s death suddenly makes a reappearance, then there is a dark haired, sexy stranger following him around, and then Drew is attacked in the bathroom at a local bar.
With everything happening so fast, Felix is forced to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and just pray that Drew is as open minded as his late wife was. It takes Drew and Felix about five minutes to sense the mutual attraction, and though Felix tries to push Drew away in the beginning he comes to realize that what brought him back to Drew wasn’t just the magic, or the fact they are witch and familiar, it was love.
Fast paced and action packed, this was a great start to a new series. I was pleasantly surprised that the context of this story is almost light hearted. I mean it deals with death and magic and demons, but it’s not as intense as Kaine’s writing usually is. I’m liking this softer side of his imagination. Kaine painted a clear picture for both Drew and Felix with solid back stories and then merging their stories as the book progressed along with the relationship. I’m very excited to see where this little coven goes as their abilities present themselves and grow, and they all find their familiars.
If you are a fan of paranormal, romance, sexy witches and tigers that like to prowl around, pretending to be a pussycat, then you’re gonna love this one!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Drew unknowingly opened a door and opened himself up when he unlocked the box and read a spell from the book. First the cat he hasn’t seen since Linda’s death suddenly makes a reappearance, then there is a dark haired, sexy stranger following him around, and then Drew is attacked in the bathroom at a local bar.
With everything happening so fast, Felix is forced to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and just pray that Drew is as open minded as his late wife was. It takes Drew and Felix about five minutes to sense the mutual attraction, and though Felix tries to push Drew away in the beginning he comes to realize that what brought him back to Drew wasn’t just the magic, or the fact they are witch and familiar, it was love.
Fast paced and action packed, this was a great start to a new series. I was pleasantly surprised that the context of this story is almost light hearted. I mean it deals with death and magic and demons, but it’s not as intense as Kaine’s writing usually is. I’m liking this softer side of his imagination. Kaine painted a clear picture for both Drew and Felix with solid back stories and then merging their stories as the book progressed along with the relationship. I’m very excited to see where this little coven goes as their abilities present themselves and grow, and they all find their familiars.
If you are a fan of paranormal, romance, sexy witches and tigers that like to prowl around, pretending to be a pussycat, then you’re gonna love this one!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
May 18, 2015
Review can be read at It's About The Book
It’s taken three years since his wife Linda’s death for twenty-eight year old Drew to gather the courage to sort through the things she’d left behind, but the last thing he expected to find in the attic was what appeared to be a spell book. Actually, the last thing he expected wasn’t the book so much as for one of the spells to actually work. But when Mr Biggles, the neighbourhood cat, makes a reappearance after a long absence, it’s just the start of Drew’s adventures. A mysterious, black-haired stranger suddenly keeps showing up wherever Drew is. Then Drew is attacked while out at a club and the stranger steps in to rescue him, ending up injured. A bewildered Drew takes him home and discovers the man, Felix, is actually a tiger shape-shifter who had adapted his form to that of an ordinary cat, Mr Biggles, and witch’s familiar. Drew’s familiar. And his wife had been a witch. Now Drew is a witch as the power transferred to him on reading the spell and Felix is here to help protect him from the evil demon WuYun and the witches who wish to break the seal and free the demon back into the world.
Felix Grimshaw has been ensuring WuYun stayed safely sealed away since he and his three brothers, known as the Shijin, were created by four witches two thousand years ago to help them vanquish the demon. Unable to send the powerful demon back to where he came from, they combined their powers with their charges to create a seal and have continued to battle with their adversaries and protect their charges, but two millennia of watching the people he cares about die, one after the other, has taken its toll on Felix. However, despite his determination to keep his distance from Drew, it quickly becomes evident that there is more than the bond of witch and familiar between them and Felix finds it increasingly difficult to deny his attraction to Drew.
Even with everything happening so quickly, and the unbelievable discovery that magic is real, Drew is undeniably drawn to his gorgeous familiar. Openly bisexual, Drew slowly comes to realise that while he still misses his beloved Linda and will always have a place for her in his heart, he is lonely. As he spends time with Felix learning more about the Shijin and magic, the growing bond between them becomes more than just that of witch and familiar. It might even become love.
I really liked the premise of Familiar Feeling. It was an intriguing tale with lots of action and a fast pace that kept me turning the pages. I felt there could have been a bit more depth to it, especially in regards to the Shijin and the opposing side, but hopefully that will come in the following book. I adored Felix and Drew and was glad Drew’s friends, Connor, Joey and Brad, aren’t just relegated to mere side characters. It was a good start to a new series and I’m looking forward to reading more adventures of the Shijin.
It’s taken three years since his wife Linda’s death for twenty-eight year old Drew to gather the courage to sort through the things she’d left behind, but the last thing he expected to find in the attic was what appeared to be a spell book. Actually, the last thing he expected wasn’t the book so much as for one of the spells to actually work. But when Mr Biggles, the neighbourhood cat, makes a reappearance after a long absence, it’s just the start of Drew’s adventures. A mysterious, black-haired stranger suddenly keeps showing up wherever Drew is. Then Drew is attacked while out at a club and the stranger steps in to rescue him, ending up injured. A bewildered Drew takes him home and discovers the man, Felix, is actually a tiger shape-shifter who had adapted his form to that of an ordinary cat, Mr Biggles, and witch’s familiar. Drew’s familiar. And his wife had been a witch. Now Drew is a witch as the power transferred to him on reading the spell and Felix is here to help protect him from the evil demon WuYun and the witches who wish to break the seal and free the demon back into the world.
Felix Grimshaw has been ensuring WuYun stayed safely sealed away since he and his three brothers, known as the Shijin, were created by four witches two thousand years ago to help them vanquish the demon. Unable to send the powerful demon back to where he came from, they combined their powers with their charges to create a seal and have continued to battle with their adversaries and protect their charges, but two millennia of watching the people he cares about die, one after the other, has taken its toll on Felix. However, despite his determination to keep his distance from Drew, it quickly becomes evident that there is more than the bond of witch and familiar between them and Felix finds it increasingly difficult to deny his attraction to Drew.
Even with everything happening so quickly, and the unbelievable discovery that magic is real, Drew is undeniably drawn to his gorgeous familiar. Openly bisexual, Drew slowly comes to realise that while he still misses his beloved Linda and will always have a place for her in his heart, he is lonely. As he spends time with Felix learning more about the Shijin and magic, the growing bond between them becomes more than just that of witch and familiar. It might even become love.
I really liked the premise of Familiar Feeling. It was an intriguing tale with lots of action and a fast pace that kept me turning the pages. I felt there could have been a bit more depth to it, especially in regards to the Shijin and the opposing side, but hopefully that will come in the following book. I adored Felix and Drew and was glad Drew’s friends, Connor, Joey and Brad, aren’t just relegated to mere side characters. It was a good start to a new series and I’m looking forward to reading more adventures of the Shijin.
June 4, 2015
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.75 stars
Familiar Feeling is the first in a new series. Fortunately, it doesn’t end with a cliff hanger and is a complete story, but this book has set in motion the events that will carry the rest of the story through. This is Drew and Felix’s story, but we meet the other men who will eventually take up the mantle of witches and join Drew’s coven. For a first book in a series, I think the author does some good things setting things up. We get a feel for the world in which this story takes place, though it feels a little bit loosely structured, which is so important for a fantasy tale like this.
What I really enjoyed about this story was Drew. He’s suffered a terrible loss, but he’s finally ready to move on. He’s just so down to earth and almost pragmatic. I adored the way he handled finding out there is magic in the world and that he’s now a witch. Like, he had a few oh holy crap moments, but mostly he just rolled with it because of the empirical evidence. His attitude made it a heck of a lot easier to accept jump and accept the world and the plot as well. I just plain liked him and was happy to be following along on this journey with him.
That being said, I had a little trouble with Felix. I finished the book with mixed feelings about him. Because Drew knows nothing about the magical world, he’s the perfect foil for exposition. And it also makes sense that Felix would be the one to deliver it. But at times, it felt way too much like an info dump, the Felix was just robotically giving off information. At other times Felix had deep feeling and emotions, and this contrasted sharply with his other mode. It was like he had an on/off switch, and was one way or the other. If he had had nuanced shades in between, showing us more, I think I would have been able to relate to him better and would have felt so indifferent toward him.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
3.75 stars
Familiar Feeling is the first in a new series. Fortunately, it doesn’t end with a cliff hanger and is a complete story, but this book has set in motion the events that will carry the rest of the story through. This is Drew and Felix’s story, but we meet the other men who will eventually take up the mantle of witches and join Drew’s coven. For a first book in a series, I think the author does some good things setting things up. We get a feel for the world in which this story takes place, though it feels a little bit loosely structured, which is so important for a fantasy tale like this.
What I really enjoyed about this story was Drew. He’s suffered a terrible loss, but he’s finally ready to move on. He’s just so down to earth and almost pragmatic. I adored the way he handled finding out there is magic in the world and that he’s now a witch. Like, he had a few oh holy crap moments, but mostly he just rolled with it because of the empirical evidence. His attitude made it a heck of a lot easier to accept jump and accept the world and the plot as well. I just plain liked him and was happy to be following along on this journey with him.
That being said, I had a little trouble with Felix. I finished the book with mixed feelings about him. Because Drew knows nothing about the magical world, he’s the perfect foil for exposition. And it also makes sense that Felix would be the one to deliver it. But at times, it felt way too much like an info dump, the Felix was just robotically giving off information. At other times Felix had deep feeling and emotions, and this contrasted sharply with his other mode. It was like he had an on/off switch, and was one way or the other. If he had had nuanced shades in between, showing us more, I think I would have been able to relate to him better and would have felt so indifferent toward him.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
May 10, 2015
4.25 stars
Good start to the series. Looking forward to reading more of the Shijin's adventures.
Good start to the series. Looking forward to reading more of the Shijin's adventures.
June 1, 2015
Okay, how do articulate my thoughts on this book? Daniel is a writing buddy I've known since 2011 and this is his first book I haven't beta read.This was exciting for me. A brand new story I hadn't even seen the first draft of. I've enjoyed his stories, especially the Daeva series (FINISH IT ALREADY) and I did enjoy this. Drew and Felix matched well and the story was interesting. It's a novella, so it's not long, but a page turner.
The thing that held me back from loving it though was Drew's relationship with his deceased wife. IT. WAS. NOT. THERE. I felt no connection between the two. We start off with Drew going through his wife's belongings. When he sees her wedding dress, he remember how her skin felt. Nothing else. Later, he calls their wedding day the happiest day of his life. So where are the memories? The emotion? I'm TOLD Drew loved her, but it is never SHOWN. Even if he's repressing it or living in a fog (as another reviewer put it) there would be something to show. Nope. Drew goes to work, laughs with friends, goes to a bar. He never comes off as numb or faking it. When a friend constantly hits on him, he chuckles about it. Me? I'd rip that dude's balls and dick off and shove it down his throat. Especially if only 3 years had passed and the death was sudden and unexplained. There are two small paragraphs where Drew shows some emotion over Linda's death. The one time is when he discovers who killed Linda, and then he shifts the focus to Felix, and next thing you know, he's not angry. He's not even defeated that he can't run after the demon and kill it. He's just okay, let's go. He keeps saying he wants revenge and I'm stumped as to why when I don't see his love for Linda. When Drew tells himself that Linda would want him to move on, he never asks himself if he's ready. No one asks if he's ready to move on. It's more like he's saying it to justify him banging Felix later.
There's no connection between Linda and Drew, and he acts like a bachelor, not a widower. I'm sorry, I just don't buy one night stands when Linda's been dead only three years. At least not without guilt over feeling like he was cheating. Honestly, I kept saying it was Drew's sister that was dead because that would make his lack of emotion a little more plausible. It was hard for me to fully get into the story because this aspect just didn't click with me. The parts where I managed to forget Drew was married I enjoyed, but then I'd be reminded and I'd see no emotion in Drew over her. I was just told it was there.
I suppose it inevitable that one of Daniel's books wouldn't mesh with me. I'd like to continue with the series, but if the next book is Conner, I'm not sure. I hated him for the way he shamelessly hit on Drew. That was a whole other can of worms because it's obvious it's been happening a lot (meaning with less time passed since Linda's death, see statement above about maiming) and Drew has constantly said no. This is an instance of no means no and respect a person for it. I might have to skip Conner's book and have Daniel give me the cliff notes because I don't think Conner can redeem himself in my eyes.
PS: I feel kind of guilty having this review have a good chunk of me ranting about Drew and Linda's relationship, but it's throughout the story, so I think I can yammer about it.
The thing that held me back from loving it though was Drew's relationship with his deceased wife. IT. WAS. NOT. THERE. I felt no connection between the two. We start off with Drew going through his wife's belongings. When he sees her wedding dress, he remember how her skin felt. Nothing else. Later, he calls their wedding day the happiest day of his life. So where are the memories? The emotion? I'm TOLD Drew loved her, but it is never SHOWN. Even if he's repressing it or living in a fog (as another reviewer put it) there would be something to show. Nope. Drew goes to work, laughs with friends, goes to a bar. He never comes off as numb or faking it. When a friend constantly hits on him, he chuckles about it. Me? I'd rip that dude's balls and dick off and shove it down his throat. Especially if only 3 years had passed and the death was sudden and unexplained. There are two small paragraphs where Drew shows some emotion over Linda's death. The one time is when he discovers who killed Linda, and then he shifts the focus to Felix, and next thing you know, he's not angry. He's not even defeated that he can't run after the demon and kill it. He's just okay, let's go. He keeps saying he wants revenge and I'm stumped as to why when I don't see his love for Linda. When Drew tells himself that Linda would want him to move on, he never asks himself if he's ready. No one asks if he's ready to move on. It's more like he's saying it to justify him banging Felix later.
There's no connection between Linda and Drew, and he acts like a bachelor, not a widower. I'm sorry, I just don't buy one night stands when Linda's been dead only three years. At least not without guilt over feeling like he was cheating. Honestly, I kept saying it was Drew's sister that was dead because that would make his lack of emotion a little more plausible. It was hard for me to fully get into the story because this aspect just didn't click with me. The parts where I managed to forget Drew was married I enjoyed, but then I'd be reminded and I'd see no emotion in Drew over her. I was just told it was there.
I suppose it inevitable that one of Daniel's books wouldn't mesh with me. I'd like to continue with the series, but if the next book is Conner, I'm not sure. I hated him for the way he shamelessly hit on Drew. That was a whole other can of worms because it's obvious it's been happening a lot (meaning with less time passed since Linda's death, see statement above about maiming) and Drew has constantly said no. This is an instance of no means no and respect a person for it. I might have to skip Conner's book and have Daniel give me the cliff notes because I don't think Conner can redeem himself in my eyes.
PS: I feel kind of guilty having this review have a good chunk of me ranting about Drew and Linda's relationship, but it's throughout the story, so I think I can yammer about it.
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