Twisted Legends

Twisted Magic #4

by Rainy Kaye

After capturing three of the dark witches and mages, Safiya is certain she knows what she is in for with the next one--but Yuto proves to be different than the others. He's willing to make a deal with her. With few options and the seals ready to break, Safiya accepts his offer.

Now, between a disgraced huntress with a vengeance, a missing key to the vault, and the consortium's army on her trail, Safiya finds what little she thought she knew unraveling. And making a pact with a dark mage may have been her biggest mistake yet.

Before she can deal with all that, though, she's going to have to survive the Dark Lands.

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2021

About the author

Rainy Kaye is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at RainyoftheDark and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona.

She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. Someone told her she's a USA Today Bestselling author. She thought there would be cake.

Reviews

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book four of the Twisted Magic series and sees Saf (Safiya), Randall, Fiona and Sasmita are on their way to track down the fourth dark mage or witch and get them back into their portrait. They also have two portraits in the van they have been using ever since the original hunter managed to get himself killed when they faced off against the second mage on the loose. They desperately need to find to where the vault is and get the portraits they already have, into it before the seal breaks again. A strange occurrence at a diner soon finds them following an enchanted object to a small town, where the next mage is located. They find a strange and dangerous black blob is devouring objects in its path. The town seems deserted until they come across a group having a fancy dress party at a remote house. When the house grows spider legs and walks off with a couple of them in it, they have to escape. It seems they have already met the dangerous mage and he is not quite what they were expecting. Yuto is a bit like Saf in that his magic is unpredictable and strange things happen around him. Some of what happens is dangerous to others and it is spreading to other towns nearby. The wave of his strange magic even sent the enchanted item on its way. He is quite happy to be sealed back up in his portrait, which this time is easy to find, but has one request of Saf and her friends. He wants her to give a message to his long lost love, who used to be part of the group who protected the vault and ensured dangerous mages and witches were placed in it. Her name is Otilia and she was the hunter of the group, but also as it turns out, was Saf’s next door neighbour and apparently very old!
They leave Yuto in the small town and track backwards to Saf’s home town and her neighbour, who tells them quite a lot about the vault and its purpose. It was set up by a consortium to ensure dangerous mages and witches were not allowed to wreak havoc upon the many worlds and a quorum of four were the ones who imprisoned them as needed. Two were the keys to the vault, one was the hunter and the other the artist who drew the portraits, to imprison them in the vault. How the people in the portraits managed to get out of the vault in the first place is unclear, but a possible secret back door to the vault that Otilia put in place to try and save Yuto may have been the way in. Otilia leads them to a strange old mud house and portal to what she calls the Dark Lands and tells Saf and Randall to head for the tower. They emerge in a dark land overrun with lava and dangerous paths. They soon end up having to help a group of people defeat the Fire Lord that has been in control for hundreds of years, throwing out the balance of all the other elements, making survival for the people extremely difficult. Getting to the tower is not the end game they hoped and they soon find themselves in another pocket world, where an army of the consortium are hunting for one of the keys and are soon on their trail as well. One of the keys has been captured and without them, they won’t be able to access the vault! The key they do discover is called Bhaskar and he and Otilia are not exactly friends. Otilia’s actions made her a hunted person by the consortium and stripped of her powers, but she has managed to stay off their radar for decades. Now another medallion must be located and used to take Yuto’s magic and hopefully allow him to stay free and maybe revive his relationship with Otilia after hundreds of years locked away in his portrait. So much to do and an ever expanding range of chaos caused by Yuto’s out of control magic. An unusual ending to this one and one that sits oddly with Saf, as Yuto doesn’t turn out quite as expected and Sasmita’s need for the blood of each mage, cannot lead to anything good. More dark mages and witches are still to be hunted down and now they need to hope the consortium will be on their side as they continue their journey. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Katheyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Twisted Legends” is the fourth instalment in the “Twisted Magic” mystery urban fantasy series by Rainy Kaye, whose main character (Safiya Morgan) originally worked as a life coach for both ‘normal’ and supernatural clients, in a small town (Green River) in Nebraska.

Safiya has succeed in capturing the first three dark witches, but Yuto turns out to be very different from the first three, the witch proposes a cease fire, and a deal to work together to prevent the seals for breaking down. Working with a dark witch – wherever the reasons – can be her worst mistake ever, but beggars can be choosers, and Safiya finds no other way to stop the seal for breaking. The consortium is coming for her, but before facing them, she first has to survive the Dark Lands.

A thrilling, captivating story, fast-paced and action-packed, with interesting characters and a well-balanced mix between pure action, character development and world-building. Nicely written and easy-to-follow and read, with an enticing plot and a satisfactory resolution, that nevertheless lefts the reader already wishing for the next instalment in the series.

[Douglas Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our heroine agrees to a deal, but deals are tricky and you never know who is going to get the better result. This one is definitely no different.

This is book four of the series, but it works pretty well as a standalone. All the essentials are covered early on.

This is an urban fantasy story. The story is well written and easy to read with a fascinating setting that nicely developed and a bit dark. The cast of characters is diverse and nicely detailed with unique personalities. The plot continues to be fast paced and full of action, mystery, and intrigue. Put it all together and you have another great book in the series. I look forward to seeing what comes next.

Highly recommended

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not quite as action packed as the previous books in the series this book allows for mistakes that have been made to possibly be fixed. Questions are starting to be answered but even more pop up. Saf, Randall, Sasmita, and Fiona have to go on another adventure to try to save the world and with that even more people are joining the cause. With no time to rest and recuperate the group trudges on and finds out that all is not what it seems. I am really enjoying this book series and cannot wait for the next.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sissy Satterfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a series and you need to read the first 3 books before this one to get the best from this story. This book has many twists and turns, and Safiya, a strong heroine that is determined to survive and accomplish what she feels she needs to do. Good Read! I Loved It!!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ezara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each book is better than the last. The complexity of the characters are growing while filling in the holes previously created. There is more and more depth to the storyline and more twists and turns. Another solid read.