Dark Arts and a Daiquiri

A magic user called The Ghost has been abducting teenagers from the magical community. When Aaron, Kai, and Ezra begin to investigate and find no leads they ask Tori for help. Dressed up as a tarot card reading runaway, Tori becomes the Ghosts’ newest bait. But before the boys can capture him, she’s teleported away. Finding herself on a farm in the middle of nowhere, with no backup and no way for the boys to find her, Tori has to find her own way home. But not before she rescues the girl she promised to help.

Now that book one developed the world and Tori’s character, Dark Arts and a Daiquiri dives into what it’s like to take on a guild mission. And true to Tori’s style, she ends up in the middle of it all. But this time there is a deliciously morally gray character called The Ghost. A figure most mage guilds back away from the minute they find out he’s involved in a job. Given the choice to turn tail and run, or take a chance to save someone, Tori walks headfirst into danger and finds herself abducted.

Survival with The Ghost is nothing Tori imagined it to be. He may be a powerful caster, but he has his own moral code. One that does not allow harm to come to those he deems innocent and under his protection. Yet with one wrong move, he’ll have no problem adding Tori to his victim count. And of course, he is an extremely attractive man. One whose pretty face can cause the perfect distraction in order to gain the upper hand.

As Tori navigates how to deal with The Ghost, readers are given a glimpse into her past. While hints were dropped during book one, readers will experience full flashbacks of Tori’s not-so-happy home life growing up. And it will fit the pieces together of who she has become as a person, and why she is so set on saving the girl abducted by The Ghost.

Dark Arts and a Daiquiri is another fast-paced ride with a great blend of characters. Adding in The Ghost upped the ante and forced Tori to meet a host of new magical creatures. And witnessing Tori navigate the dangers of magical battle as a human never grows old. She has to be quick on her feet and intuitive. I’m looking forward to the next adventure!Review on the way!

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post, the point of which is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness..
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For book 2 to remove our non-magical bartender to a guild of Magic Users from the Guild Members for the majority of the book is a pretty gutsy move. I'm not sure it was the right way to go, and I'm not sure it was successful. But it was gutsy.

The story was...okay, I guess. It really didn't do a lot for me, but the last few chapters—pretty much when Tori reunites with her friends made the whole thing worth it. And the Dresden File hat-tip was fantastic.

I'm still in on this series/group of series, but I bet when all is said and done, this'll be the one to forget.