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Shivers
It’s summer 1995 and 20-year-old Xavier is waiting for something—anything—to happen. The only son in a line of matriarchal witches who’ve been lying low in the swampy suburban South for decades, he is bisexual, angry, and a mess of untaught magic and hormonal energy.
When Xavier is finally able to learn a different kind of witchcraft from the one that his sisters and aunt never bothered to teach him, his nascent skills draw the attention of FBI Agent Malcolm Henries, a man as lonely, maligned, and underestimated as Xavier himself. The two men test the boundaries of pride, power, and passion, uncovering a secret that could force Xavier to choose between the family he’s always longed for and the love he never knew he deserved.
When Xavier is finally able to learn a different kind of witchcraft from the one that his sisters and aunt never bothered to teach him, his nascent skills draw the attention of FBI Agent Malcolm Henries, a man as lonely, maligned, and underestimated as Xavier himself. The two men test the boundaries of pride, power, and passion, uncovering a secret that could force Xavier to choose between the family he’s always longed for and the love he never knew he deserved.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 5, 2017
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12 people want to read
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Fanny Bae
1 book4 followersYou can download a free collection of Bust magazine's "one-handed reads" — including one of mine — at http://bust.com/sex/194197-download-w...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 16, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
2.5 stars
The blurb on this one interested me for a story about a guy discovering his magic and also finding love in the process. My reading experience was different than what the blurb suggested, as while the focus was on Xavier uncovering his magic and the secrets of his family, it does not come off as a romance. Xavier and Malcolm meet much later into the book and while they begin a physical relationship, their overall relationship remains largely undefined.
As the book opens, Xavier is 20 years old and he’s restless. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his life and his sister is way too secretive. When he gets a gift, he is further able to tap into some of his magic, but he really has no idea what he’s doing. We also meet Malcolm. Malcolm is working in the Special Projects division of the FBI and he is able to tap into, as well as research, magical happenings. The book starts with Xavier’s first person point of view, but at 15% there were many things that just weren’t making sense. It was at this point that I realized that some scenes were being told from Malcolm’s point of view. So I started the book over. There are no chapters in the book, just scene headings and both Xavier and Malcolm sounded the same. Also, while it was written in first person, the book came off as being told by an omniscient narrator and I never knew whose head we were potentially going to be in.
The overall style here didn’t work for me. We get a lot of history on both men and we see them present day, which in the book is 1995. Other than the music Xavier listened to and the fact that he worked in a goth club, there was no sense of place and there was also no world building. Then there were flashbacks for both men that read more as a stream of consciousness and there were also diary entries woven in and there was a distinct lack of flow sometimes as to where the book was.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
2.5 stars
The blurb on this one interested me for a story about a guy discovering his magic and also finding love in the process. My reading experience was different than what the blurb suggested, as while the focus was on Xavier uncovering his magic and the secrets of his family, it does not come off as a romance. Xavier and Malcolm meet much later into the book and while they begin a physical relationship, their overall relationship remains largely undefined.
As the book opens, Xavier is 20 years old and he’s restless. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his life and his sister is way too secretive. When he gets a gift, he is further able to tap into some of his magic, but he really has no idea what he’s doing. We also meet Malcolm. Malcolm is working in the Special Projects division of the FBI and he is able to tap into, as well as research, magical happenings. The book starts with Xavier’s first person point of view, but at 15% there were many things that just weren’t making sense. It was at this point that I realized that some scenes were being told from Malcolm’s point of view. So I started the book over. There are no chapters in the book, just scene headings and both Xavier and Malcolm sounded the same. Also, while it was written in first person, the book came off as being told by an omniscient narrator and I never knew whose head we were potentially going to be in.
The overall style here didn’t work for me. We get a lot of history on both men and we see them present day, which in the book is 1995. Other than the music Xavier listened to and the fact that he worked in a goth club, there was no sense of place and there was also no world building. Then there were flashbacks for both men that read more as a stream of consciousness and there were also diary entries woven in and there was a distinct lack of flow sometimes as to where the book was.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
April 30, 2020
Want more!
This is meant to be book one of a trilogy and once I found that out, the pacing of the book makes more sense. I wouldn’t say this is a typical romance, it’s more a magical coming-of-age novel meets paranormal investigation. I really liked the way the magic was written and how it tied into the family. The kid is trying to unravel the mystery of his magical power as well as exploring his sexuality. I feel like this book really has an interesting mood and the rural Florida setting adds to that. I really enjoyed it being set in the nineties and the mention of the music of that era. I would have been close to the age of Xavier/Isaac and it was fun to read about the music of my youth. I really hope the author keeps writing so I can find out what happens and spend more time with these characters!
This is meant to be book one of a trilogy and once I found that out, the pacing of the book makes more sense. I wouldn’t say this is a typical romance, it’s more a magical coming-of-age novel meets paranormal investigation. I really liked the way the magic was written and how it tied into the family. The kid is trying to unravel the mystery of his magical power as well as exploring his sexuality. I feel like this book really has an interesting mood and the rural Florida setting adds to that. I really enjoyed it being set in the nineties and the mention of the music of that era. I would have been close to the age of Xavier/Isaac and it was fun to read about the music of my youth. I really hope the author keeps writing so I can find out what happens and spend more time with these characters!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews