Dead In Winter

by Kevin O. McLaughlin

They call him the Soulstealer. He's lived - and killed - for hundreds of years. Now he's after Ryan. ★★★★★
Another epic fantasy tale from USA Today bestselling author Kevin McLaughlin!
Surviving attacks by magical monsters forced Ryan Blackwell to rely on his magic more than he ever had before. His power has grown through each conflict. But the use of all that magic has attracted a lot of attention of the unpleasant variety. He finds himself stalked by the most deadly of foes, someone capable of sucking the magic and life out of a target. No one has ever faced the Soulstealer and lived to tell the tale. He's known only by the victims he leaves behind. Now Ryan's in his crosshairs, and it will take every ounce of his courage, fortitude, and wits to survive the trap which awaits him! Don't wait - grab your copy of the adventure today!

Genres: Magic

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

When not practicing hobbies which include sailing, constructing medieval armor, and swinging swords at his friends, Kevin McLaughlin can usually be found in his Boston home. Kevin’s award-winning short fiction is now available in digital form at all major ebook retailers. He writes fantasy in settings both historical and contemporary, and science fiction in both the near and distant future.

Reviews

[Susan]

A NEW ENEMY. Dead in Winter is the third book in the Blackwell Magic series. This book does contain violence and magic, including dark magic, and may not be for more sensitive readers. It can be read as a standalone, but does end with a soft cliffhanger for the next book. I highly suggest that you read these books in order as the story builds on the previous books.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat all of that info here. Please read the blurb for more info on Ryan and Northshield University. Ryan has learned more about his abilities and how to better use them to protect himself and those around him. But all that magical use has brought him to the attention of someone older and stronger who wants his power. Can he and those attending Northshield survive and at what cost?

While the second book in the series was just okay, Dead in Winter was more like like the first book. There was a lot more action along with twists, turns, and surprises. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of the Blackwell Magic series.

[Margaret]

Dead Right!

Dead in Winter, academy urban fantasy series (Blackwell Magic Book 3) by Kevin McLaughlin is a joy to read. Ryan Blackwell began using magic in earnest when he first came to Blackshield U, though not by choice. Having gained a very small group of faithful, non-magical friends, and a strong moral character to guide him, he attempts to defend his campus, students and faculty from negative magical forces. When he gets word that a Soulstealer is out to get him, he staunchly defends against the unknown attacks. He is too young and untrained in magic to immediately defend against the magical onslaught . Major havoc ensues during the Winter Formal held at a local ski hotel.

[Frances Law]

Soul eater!

Ryan Blackwell is a young man consistently facing adversity. They say that adversity makes you stronger; well, in this instant it certainly has! Gone is the young cadet arriving at the military college, a young man afraid of the magic that he has discovered in himself. Here he hoped to be able to ignore it but the reverse proves true. Unfortunately, he has become so strong that other, older and stronger, magic users have become aware of him.
The main characters are well fleshed out and Ryan is a typical teenager who thinks himself invincible! But is he?

[Michele D.]

Nice job again!

I feel like the villain was too obvious but I still enjoyed the story very much. I like this character and he is going through a mostly believable evolution. The longer gap in the timeline makes it better to me since the character actually has I little time to heal and grow. Some series exhaust me and I'm like, "No way are they still functioning physically after the constant action of 3 books back-to-back." (You don't want to know what I'm saying after a series of 6 or more like that--Bethany Anne would be proud.)

[Adena Lee]

Ryan just cannot catch a break. His first year at the military academy is turning out to be busy in all the wrong ways. He is definitely living up to his grandfather's legacy, stepping up as he is to protect the student body to the best of his self-taught capability. Now he is being hunted. The author does a great job of weaving another action-packed, adrenaline-spiking, nail-biting adventure, complete with femmes fatale and zombies. Who knew miliary cadets would see this much action? I certainly didn't, and I can't wait to see what happens next to Ryan.

[Scott]

Magical read

Liked this one and it helps that the power Ryan commands is increasing and so does the challenges that he faces.
Now with extra help from his team his character development is great to read about.
Looking forward to the next in the series

[Bigred6126]

Dead

I really enjoyed it. It is as good as the others. Hopefully we'll eventually go into a new school year. The only reason I gave it four stars is because the bad guy was obvious from the get go.

[LinHigley]

Evil Quisi-vampire with zombies.

Great action with lots of morality vs ? Unrestrained magic. Just a testament to friendships and helping hands. Was shocked when the tree paid the price for right justified.

[Cathie Hicks]

Loved it!!

Have read all three books and loved them all! Great imagination, some logic to his explanations of magic, strong storyline

[Jim Duncan]

Excellent!

Good villains,good characters. Not much of a surprise that it was Mel that was the soul stealer. A young woman took my heart years ago.

[Kim Gualtieri]

Great book

Great book.I couldn't put it down.I can't wait to read more from this author and the series.I love books books

[Bonnie Dale Keck]

Kindle Unlimited, his books are space opera to magical to sorta history to LitRPG, and pretty sure they are all available individually/through ku too. FYI, yes I do binge read writers, unless give them 1 or 2 stars and sometimes 3. Obviously not the case here. Look at amazon writer page. Want a rundown of plot? Look at blurb; want more, read reviews, actually just go to reading the books.

Adventures of the Starship Satori: Omnibus 1 (Books 1-3) Book 1: Ad Astra Book 2: Stellar Legacy Book 3: Deep Waters
(Starship Satori Omnibus) - Adventures of the Starship Satori: Omnibus 2 (Books 4-6) (Starship Satori Omnibus) 1 No Plan Survives Contact 2 Liberty 3 Satori’s Destiny

Blackwell Magic: Books 1-3 (Blackwell Magic Omnibus) Book One - 1 By Darkness Revealed 2 Ashes Ascendant 3 Dead In Winter
Blackwell Magic: Books 4-6 (Blackwell Magic Omnibus Book 2) - 4: Claws That Catch 5: Darkness Awakes 6: Spellbinding Entanglements
The Raven and the Rose: A Blackwell Magic Novella exclusive story not available retail stores set between “By Darkness Revealed” and “Ashes Ascendant”, offer in back of books of his

King of the Dead: Heroes, Swords, and Zombies - Queen of Demons: Heroes, Swords, and Zombies

Valhalla Online: A LitRPG Saga

[Andrew Justilian]

The book is the third in the series of Blackwell magic. In this book Ryan Blackwell is still learning about his magical powers. He learns about a new power source that almost kills him in the beginning of the story. but, he has to face an evil power greater than he has ever faced before. he is also learning that he does not have to do everything alone. that he has friends that will help him if he would only ask them for help.

[Dave]

I was totally pulled into the world Kevin created. I quickly was identifying with Ryan and I did not put this down until I finished it. Engrossing story and interesting characters. I could not read during the day, but I read one book a night, and on the 4th night I read two additional stories in the Blackwell saga. And I am looking forward to reading book 4 and 5 that are in my reading queue.

[Naticia]

I think this is my favorite Blackwell Magic book yet. The big bad was especially big and bad, and Ryan is finally learning to trust his friends - and showing that he is learning leadership skills as well. Still loving the character development, fast pace, and realism of this fantasy series.