Illusions

The Witches of Cleopatra Hill #0.5

by Christine Pope

Two brothers...one lie.

Warlock Damon Wilcox is plotting to kidnap the most powerful witch in the rival McAllister clan. But Damon’s brother Connor has plans of his own....

This prequel short story to the Witches of Cleopatra Hill paranormal romance series is available ONLY to newsletter subscribers (and Christine Pope's instafreebie) -- it is not available anywhere else!

ebook

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

A native of Southern California, Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in the sixth grade. Many reams of dead trees later, she’s happy to announce that her debut novel, Fringe Benefits,was published by Pink Petal Books on April 8, 2010. Her short fiction has appeared in Astonishing Adventures, Luna Station Quarterly, and the new journal of dark fiction, Dark Valentine. Her paranormal novella, Playing With Fire, was released on August 5, 2010.

While Fringe Benefits is a straight contemporary romance, she writes in a variety of genres, including paranormal romance, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and historical romance. She blames this on being easily distracted by bright, shiny objects, which could also account for the size of her shoe collection.

After spending many years in the magazine publishing industry, she now works as a freelance editor in addition to writing fiction. She lives with her husband and an explosively fluffy Pomeranian mix. Her house is pink, but don’t hold that against her.

Reviews

[Madelyn Gadzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes you back two weeks before things started with Angela. To be honest, I expected some thrill but failed to find any. It's an acceptable prequel to Book #1 Darkangel.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a prequel to "The Witches of Cleopatra Hill" series and, while it doesn't really stand up on its own, it had enough in it to keep me going.
I spent an entire day without access to the Internet and got as far as book 5 ("Protector").
Two neighbouring but hostile clans of witches and warlocks (McAllister, Wilcox) generally avoid each other - until Damon Wilcox decides to up the ante by kidnapping the new leader of the McAllister clan, Angela. But, before that can happen, Damon's brother Connor makes a surprising discovery.
The first three books finish one story arc but the series continues on by drawing from a large character list.
If you are looking for action you should look elsewhere - the longer the series continues the more it deals largely with family/clan life.
3 Stars