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The Guild Codex: Spellbound #0.5

A Damsel and a Demigod

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Only one thing matters to Kai: getting the job done, and doing it better than anyone else.

But when a beautiful thief crashes his security gig, claiming she's trying to protect the valuable artifact he's guarding, all his careful plans go up in flames. He doesn't believe a word she says—until the item is stolen right out from under them.

Recovering the artifact before the real thief can unleash its ancient magic requires insider knowledge—information the mysterious trespasser possesses. Teaming up with a stranger isn't Kai's idea of smart, but he'll need all the help he can get to take on a notorious rogue and arcane power from the time of the gods.

Originally published in the limited-time charity anthology, Love Potion.

103 pages, ebook

First published February 9, 2019

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1700 people want to read

About the author

Annette Marie

50 books7,193 followers
Annette Marie is the best-selling author of over thirty books, including the expansive urban fantasy series The Guild Codex, epic urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter.

A 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist in Fantasy and an Amazon Charts Bestseller, Annette has sold over 2 million books. Her books have been translated into French, German, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian, with readers coming back again and again for her addictive blend of fast-paced adventure, tantalizing forbidden romance, and unforgettable characters.

Annette lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it’s not quite that bad) with her husband and their furry minions of darkness. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in her garden or an art project while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.

To find out more about Annette and her books, visit www.annettemarie.ca

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
5,235 reviews2,344 followers
April 20, 2020
A Damsel and a Demigod
(The Guild Codex: Spellbound #0.5)
by Annette Marie
This is a stand alone book and I read it later in the series. It has all the main guys but a different gal. It sounds like it is before the bartender. A fun fast shorter novel about a thief and an artifact!
Profile Image for ☕️Kimberly  (Caffeinated Reviewer).
3,596 reviews785 followers
October 30, 2020
I began listening without reading the synopsis and had no idea this was a prequel. Surprise, surprise. As a fan of the Guild Codex world, this was a treat. This predates Tori and our time in at the Crow and Hammer.

Fans have met Izzah (Izzy) much recently in the series, but here we have their initial contact. I like Kai and it was entertaining having his POV.

I loved seeing Izzy for the first time and seeing her snark in a new light. Kai, Aaron, and Ezra are on security detail along with a few other guilds when Kai spots Izzah, but the security alarms go off and he must trust his instincts and this curious mage.

A fun, fast-paced and action packed tale as they work to stop evil. This may be a novella, but Marie brought the action from under water to high above the city. It was intense and enjoyable.

Nelson Hobbs did a superb job with Kai’s point of view and bringing voice to other characters. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
Profile Image for Mikky.
979 reviews276 followers
February 12, 2019
* This is a review for the story: A Damsel And A Demigod (The Guild Codex: Spellbound #0.5) By Annette Marie included in the Love Potion: A Valentine's Day Charity Anthology.

This was such a cute story! I loved seeing a little bit of the guys before they ever met Tori. Making Kai the main point of view for this was also a great choice because he was the more forgettable main character out of the 3 guys for me. I liked being in his head and seeing everything from his eyes. The adventure was fun, fast paced and action packed. I wonder if we're eventually going to see Izzah in future Guild Codex: Spellbound novels. Maybe it's just wishful thinking but I would love to get a story from Erza's perspective in the future!
Profile Image for Lauren.
543 reviews41 followers
May 12, 2022
This is how Kai found the love of his life in a hydromage that may or may not be a theif who is trying to steal a magical item Kai, Aaron and Ezra were hired to protect.

When the item is stolen anyway, Kai teams up with the stranger to chase down the rogue in a Greek mythology, Percy style hunt. So much fun!
Profile Image for Mlpmom (Book Reviewer).
3,196 reviews411 followers
April 24, 2020
Fun novella!

So fun to see how these two met and their intensity and chemistry. I really hope these two find a way to one another.
Profile Image for Daisy Delfin.
1,493 reviews180 followers
July 7, 2023
Pages: 102
My rating: 4
Read other books by this author in the future: yes
MC: Kai, Izzah
SC: Aaron, Ezra

This book is three years before the guys meet Tori. It’s a short book. First of all I liked the story because it is mostly about Kai and Izzah. But I did not enjoy it as much as the other Spellbound books, which is the reason for a lower rating. But I do recommend to read it because it gives a new angle too the guys like the short story Four Shifters and a Stranger.

Note to myself about the content in the spoiler:
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ashley.
851 reviews633 followers
March 13, 2020
Star Rating: —> 4.5 Stars!

SO GOOD! I loved being in Kai’s head. And Izzah? Ugh OTP!


___________________________
Anyone know how I can get my hands on this gem? I can’t find the short or the anthology anywhere :-(
Profile Image for Eileen.
2,407 reviews133 followers
January 1, 2024
3.5 stars

This was a fun novella that fits in neatly between Two Witches and a Whiskey and Demon Magic and a Martini. There is another novella called Four Shifters and a Stranger that comes between this one and the Whiskey book, but I haven't gotten my hands on it yet. Demon Magic and Martini is when Izzah (Izzy) first shows up in the main books, but they refer to this story, which confused me at first until I realized there was a novella about their first meet. I really liked this story because it was from Kai's point of view and up until now, we don't know that much about him, other than that he seems to be part of a mage family much like the Yakuza and he somehow ran into Aaron which caused him to leave his family. With his reputation as a playboy, this was fun to hear how someone might mean a little bit more to him. This story is not necessary to be read, but it adds some fun to the whole series.
Profile Image for Heather-Lin.
1,087 reviews40 followers
January 29, 2022
We have really enjoyed this entire series UNTIL NOW. This book... Just, what the actual hell? This was indescribably off. This did not feel like it was written by the same author, and the new male narrator further deepened the disconnect with these very familiar characters. None of this worked. We got about an hour into it and then skipped to the last 30 minutes, still couldn't stomach what was happening, skipped to the last 10 minutes. Which were still ludicrous. WOOOOOOOOOW. That was painful!

***

GR Personal Rating System:
★★★★★ 5 Stars ~ LOVED
★★★★☆ 4 Stars ~ ENJOYED
★★★☆☆ 3 Stars ~ LIKED
★★☆☆☆ 2 Stars ~ MEH
★☆☆☆☆ 1 Star ~ NOPE
Profile Image for Anne - Books of My Heart.
3,866 reviews226 followers
October 8, 2020
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
 

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I have been loving everything in the Guild Codex Universe  which combines all the different series for reading order. A Damsel and a Demigod is a prequel to the Guild Codex Spellbound  series. The ebook came out in March and is just over 100 pages.  I thought there wouldn't be an audio, so I read it through Kindle Unlimited.  I requested this audio, not realizing it was the same.

This short, action packed evening is when Kai meets Izzah. He sees her as a thief. She is new to her guild and more bookish than combat trained. So she has lots of knowledge about the artifact being stolen. They end up working together to catch the real thief.

It's a meet cute with little trust until they battle together with the thief. It's clever strategy and deduction with action packed fighting for their lives.

Narration:
The rest of the series has a female narrator mostly since the point of view is almost all Tori, until later books where we get some of Ezra.  Kai tells this story so it is another narrator and one new to me.  It was a nice clear and easy to listen performance.    I was able to listen at my normal 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip: HERE
Profile Image for Alicia.
2,597 reviews82 followers
May 9, 2022
I missed this somehow! I've read every book in this world, but didn't know this one existed until yesterday. But it did leave me wondering: where the hell did Kai's love interest go? It's been years in the Guild Codex world now, and they have had plenty of time for their epic romance to play out, not the longing stares and awkward encounters Izzy has in future (I assume Izzah is Izzy?) You poor sods who actually read this when this came out. Hopefully it's their series next once Zak is done.
Profile Image for Tabitha  Tomala.
883 reviews120 followers
October 3, 2024
This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: A Damsel and a Demigod

Seeing into Kai’s mind is an exciting concept, but what readers see is a bit unexpected. While calculating his actions against the guild’s target, his thoughts strayed too often to the physical appeal of his female counterpart. The plot was focused on the two discovering instant attraction-level romance instead of showing off Kai’s magic and ability to work with his teammates.

For those who wish to see more romance in the Spellbound series, this novella will be exactly what you are looking for. However, for readers who lean more toward the action and magic side of the stories, this one will be a pass. There is nothing major readers will miss by not reading A Damsel and a Demigod. However, make sure you have read at least some of the Spellbound books or you won’t know who the characters are, how their magic works, or why they are recovering an artifact as this takes place before the Spellbound series.
Profile Image for Dessa Mae.
402 reviews85 followers
May 27, 2021
It was interesting to read about Kai's POV and get a glimpse of what's going on in his head. With that being said, I think I prefer just reading about him in Tori's POV. I think part of his charm comes from the fact that he's a bit mysterious (the same goes for the 2 other mage boys, for that matter).

Speaking of those mage boys, I wish that Ezra and Aaron were more present in the narrative. But I guess their absence was quite justified since this is Kai's novella (but still...).

The main thing that threw me off was the little bit of romance that seemed forced and out of place. Since this is just a novella, there's really not much room for a complex relationship dynamic, so ... I dunno. It just felt off and unconvincing (and quite annoying tbh).

To end this on a positive note, I really liked that some elements from Greek Mythology were integrated into the plot. And also, as usual, I love Annette Marie's fast-paced writing that could pull me in effortlessly.
Profile Image for Theresa .
1,855 reviews77 followers
August 11, 2020
4.5 Stars... You gotta love Kai!!!! I really enjoyed this first meeting between Kai and Izzah; it definitely sets the stage for future encounters... They have incredible chemistry and the witty banter just turns up the heat … Of course, it helps that they are in the midst of a fast paced, high stakes adventure that encompasses magic, stolen artifacts, and a legend of the gods... A truly entertaining read that is absolute perfection in this the Spellbound series:)
Profile Image for Natalie  H.
3,801 reviews30 followers
July 18, 2023
July 2023
Kindle edition

Buddy read with RHR. I'm curious about whether this was an intro to the woman from Odin's guild who will re-appear or if this was make Kai look like the James Bond of mythics, given what was learnt about his family in Spellbound#3. I did like the overpowered lightning and Ezra and Aaron being sidetracked everywhere was entertaining.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dragana.
1,897 reviews154 followers
September 29, 2020
This short story features Kai, one of the mages from 'The Guild Codex: Spellbound' series, as a narrator. It's ok, but not really important for the events in the series so you can freely skip it.
Profile Image for Helen Maddix.
299 reviews6 followers
March 15, 2020
A great little story

If you're reading Annette Marie 's Guild Codex series, this is a good prequel giving part of the backstory for how Kai met Izzy. Lots of action packed into this short novella. Thanks Annette Marie for getting this out to your readers!
Profile Image for Stephanie.
1,159 reviews47 followers
April 30, 2020
   Plowed through this in a little over an hour last night before my Kindle Unlimited subscription ended. While I liked the change of POV in principle, I think I was still too accustomed to Tori’s POV to really appreciate Kai’s. I’m so used to seeing his calculating ways from an outsider’s point of view that it made it tricky to readjust to his.
   The action is fun, the pacing good, and if not for the shoed-in romance, it’d be a fairly solid novella in a larger universe (if you’ve read other books in this universe already). I guess it could stand alone as an introduction, a teaser of the Guild Codex universe, but not as a suitable introduction to Kai, nor even to the mage trio of him, Aaron and Ezra.
   I definitely liked getting to see an Elementaria mage’s experience – namely, how their power works, or at least how the power of an electramage works. Kai, an aforementioned electramage, channels electricity through his body. He can take a pretty good hit of it, too, but he doesn’t actually generate his own electricity as it seems Aaron does fire. Or at least, not much – he has to prepare for any big attacks by pulling electricity and power from the environment around him. He’s constantly having to determine how best to direct his power, how to ground it, and avoid it bouncing out of his control, for example if there’s a puddle of water between him and the target he wants to hit, he needs to make sure that the target is an easier jump for the electricity than the closer water. He’s definitely not just slinging lightning bolts willy-nilly, not by a long shot. It’s a nice way to reinforce that Elementaria mages work with the elements, not use them however they see fit. They still have some bindings to the laws of nature in what they can/cannot/should/should not do.
   This is a novella, so it is like a super-condensed version of a full Guild Codex: Spellbound novel. Much less build-up, instead we start right at the beginning of the rising action leading to the big events and ultimate climax. This works well for an action-packed, chasing-the-bad-guy sprint, but it also means that the attempt at character development that happens is quite rushed. I may have been used to seeing the mythic world and especially Kai through Tori’s eyes, but that doesn’t excuse the shoed-in feeling budding romance between Kai and Izzah. See, I’ve already seen them together in Spellbound #4 (and #3?), so I see where they’re going, but where they start? Well, it left me feeling like it was rushed, just to shove a romantic thread into the story to provide a springboard for future character developments (which have already happened if you’ve read Spellbound already). There have been prequel series I have really enjoyed (La Belle Sauvage, for example), because they add a greater depth to the world, a greater complexity. Of course, that was also a full novel – maybe if this was extended into a novel, we could get the feeling that it adds more not just to Kai’s characterization, but also to the mythic world at large, instead of being a drop in the bucket to bring a primary (Kai) and a secondary (Izzah) character together. Dramatic beginnings are all well and good, but they also need a bit more solid of a foundation than the soggy one Kai and Izzah get here, in my opinion.
Profile Image for Kelly.
5,696 reviews228 followers
October 9, 2022
Ahh, yes. The first meeting between intensely focused Kai and the beautiful, slightly sassy Izzah. Except, she's not quite at the sass levels we know her at later, yet. Which is cool because it means she'll grow into herself and her confidence and I LIKE THAT.

As for Kai, the guy is very good at being in charge. He doesn't like to leave things to chance and Izzah's not quite defined plan to hunt down a thief has Kai in knots more than once. That said, he does hand over the reins and let her use her knowledge to track the person they have in their sights.

A botched security detail (which isn't really the guys' fault since the thief had abilities at his disposal they weren't aware of), a race against time, a harrowing journey through a tunnel, and a very BIG display of power. *thumbs up*

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
Profile Image for Sophia.
Author 5 books402 followers
Read
September 9, 2025
On a security job with Aaron and Ezra, Kai is guarding an artifact exhibit and his team is on the outside perimeter. This leaves him poised to intercept when he captures a would-be thief. Only, she swears she isn’t a thief and is there to prevent a theft. This leads to Kai getting an adventure with this mysterious damsel and the demigod they are tracking.

My full review will post at The Reading Frenzy TBA.
Profile Image for Dichotomy Girl.
2,182 reviews164 followers
May 14, 2020
Not sure if I was in a mood or what, but I didn't love this the way that I usually do the books in this series. Part of the problem was that I kept forgetting that it was from Kai's perspective. Not sure if that was a weakness in the writing or in my brain.
Profile Image for Anniken Haga.
Author 10 books90 followers
July 4, 2020
This story did absolutly nothing for me. While I liked seeing how Izzah and Kai met - and it was quite a meet cute - the rest of it dragged.

I do love the rest of the series, but maybe this is just one of those series's that are best as audiobooks for me?
Profile Image for Danielle  Gypsy Soul.
3,174 reviews80 followers
April 10, 2021
I really enjoyed this close up look at Kai and a story told from his point of view. Kai hasn't gotten as much "front" time in the books so it was really nice to get to know him better and a great addition to the series.
Profile Image for Ashley Martinez (ilovebooksandstuffblog).
3,113 reviews92 followers
July 21, 2019
Loved this short featuring Kai! Since he’s one of my favorite mages it was great to be able to see his point of view and get an exciting little adventure to boot!
Profile Image for Patricia Huynh.
605 reviews27 followers
November 23, 2019
This was a fun adventure written in Kai's perspective long before Tori shows up on the scene. Plus! We get to see how Kai met Izzah, and hopefully we'll get more of them later down the road.
Profile Image for Darcy.
14.4k reviews543 followers
April 6, 2020
This was a fun one to read, to see the guys working a job and running all over. I liked how Kai got called out on his flirting and how he was able to work with Izzah to do what needed to be done.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews

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