SHARDS OF BLOOD AND SHADOW / A BRUSH WITH FATE (The Lost Shards #1 & #2) by Anna Argent -dual reviews

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SHARDS OF BLOOD AND SHADOW
(The Lost Shards #1)
by Anna Argent
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal, erotic, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 8, 2018

Cleo Radella inherited both the ability to see the future, and a haunting prediction that she will commit murder on her twenty-fifth birthday. That day has arrived, along with a stranger who is fated to alter her world irrevocably.

One will come in blood, the other in shadow…

Flint is not what one would call a people person. He despises small talk, prefers solitude, and hates being touched. Luckily, the fragments of ancient, powerful souls he carries allow him to fade into the shadows, unseen and unnoticed—handy for a guy who hunts people for a living.

Cleo is his next target, but when her life is threatened, he will stop at nothing to protect the beautiful psychic. No one captures his prey but him.

Death lurks behind them…

Forced together, Flint reveals a world Cleo never knew existed. She soon learns that no one is what they seem, and that her destiny is much bigger than she ever imagined

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Sandy’s Review:   SHARDS OF BLOOD AND SHADOW is the first instalment in Anna Argent’s (aka Shannon K Butcher) contemporary, adult THE LOST SHARDS paranormal, romance series. This is twenty-five year old psychic Cleo Radella, and Flint Skelton’s story line.

SOME BACKGROUND: The world as we know it is filled with magic, and throughout history people have been blessed or cursed with magical abilities. The ongoing war between good and evil pits the Riven against the Vires in their search for anyone with magical shards-slivers of magic passed down from parent to child, or in many cases, upon the death of someone with magic. By killing someone with magic, the perpetrator ‘inherits’ the shards of his/her victims; upon the death of a loved one, the shard is passed to the nearest kin.

Told from several third person points of view including Cleo and Flint SHARDS OF BLOOD AND SHADOW follows psychic Cleo Radella on the day of her twenty-fifth birthday, a date prophecized by her late mother, in which Cleo will meet a man of shadow, and a man of blood but Cleo never expected to meet her future in the guise of Flint Skelton, a man determined to protect Cleo with his life. Convincing Cleo that she is better off with the group known as the Riven forces our heroine to face a future without the people she loves. What ensues is the building relationship between Flint and Cleo, and the potential fall-out as Cleo is targeted by someone from her past, someone whom Cleo has no memory but someone close enough to inherit her shards.

Cleo Radella is unaware of her family history. As a psychic, along with her aunt Delores, Cleo owns and operates a professional psychic business but unbeknownst to Cleo someone is watching including the man with whom she will fall in love. Flint Skelton doesn’t do relationships but meeting Cleo stirs something protective in our story line hero. Targeted for her abilities, Cleo’s life hangs in the balance but not everyone is who they proclaim to be. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

SHARDS OF BLOOD AND SHADOW introduces some of the background and history of magic and shards. The large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters is unique; the close-knit family of magical Riven will be destroyed by someone they know. The premise is enchanting and startling; the characters are spirited and lively; the romance is intimate and spicy. Anna Argent welcomes you to the world of The Lost Shards, one magical moment and at a time.

 

Barb’s Review:Shards of Blood and Shadow by Anna Argent is the first book in her new The Lost Shards series.  We meet our heroine, Cleo Radella, a psychic who lives with her aunt, who is also a professional psychic with gifts.  Cleo’s mother died years ago, and from that day forward, she inherited her mother’s gifts, including the ability to see the future; her mother also prophesized that on her 25^th birthday she would meet two men; a man of shadow and a man of blood. Today is her birthday, and despite her aunt’s warnings, Cleo goes about her day as normal; she does notice a handsome man watching her from a car, and brushes it off.

Flint Skelton, our hero, is a member of Riven, and was assigned to make sure Cleo is one of them or a hoax. Flint at first considers Cleo a fake, but things begin to happen and he quickly realizes his error. Cleo arrived home to see a strange man covered with blood, and her aunt the victim.  Flint tries to explain to Cleo that her life was in danger, and convince her he is one of the good guys, and take her to Riven headquarters. 

What is Riven and Vires?  Riven is a secret group that protects those that carry magical shards, and the evil Vires, are the ones who will kill to inherit those shards for themselves.

What are Shards? Shards are souls with magical powers that move on to siblings of the dying person; but if they are killed, the person who murdered them will inherit the powers of the victim. The shards can be dark or light, and the person who inherits them needs to balance the good and bad.  Not so with the Vires, as they want the powers and will use them for evil purposes.

Cleo was kept in the dark about the history of her mother, and these magical abilities.  Flint, who is the man of shadow, does his best to explain, and only until she meets the members of Riven, will Cleo begin to understand.   She will learn later, that the man of blood, was her brother, whom she did not know, and despite his being a violent killer, Cleo wants to find a way to save him. 

I loved Flint and Cleo together, as in a short time their chemistry was off the wall.  It was great to meet all the wonderful secondary characters Argent has created.  What follows is an exciting, action packed and tense adventure that will put Cleo’s life, as well as Flint’s in danger.  Cleo will discover how to use her new powers, and we learn more about that nearer to the end.  I really enjoyed this world-building by Argent, and look forward to finding out what she has in store for us in the next book.   I suggest you begin this series by reading Shards of Blood and Shadow, written so well by Anna Argent.

 

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A BRUSH WITH FATE
(The Lost Shard #2)
by Anna Argent
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, paranormal, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo 

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 9, 2018

Like many artists, Calliope dreams of painting beautiful works of art that stir the soul. Unfortunately, the only paintings of hers that sell are the ones that kill people.

She’s compelled to paint by a dark presence she doesn’t understand and can’t control. No matter what it takes, she must find a way to resist the urge to submit to the power inside her, because once she dips her brush in red, someone is about to die bloody.

When Knox sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, he’s drawn to her in a way he can’t explain. Too bad she’s dating his brother’s murderer.

Certain that Calliope will be the killer’s next victim, Knox makes it his mission to keep her safe. He soon realizes there’s more to the talented artist than meets the eye. She’s a vessel for slivers of ancient, powerful souls, and she doesn’t even know it. Those shards have an agenda of their own, and they will use her—or destroy her—to get what they want.

As she and Knox hunt for a killer, they learn that their two fates are inextricably bound, and if they can’t find a way to control the power Calliope possesses, then the next gruesome murder she paints may be her own.

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Sandy’s REVIEW: A BRUSH WITH FATE is the second instalment in Anna Argent’s (aka Shannon K Butcher) contemporary, adult THE LOST SHARD paranormal, romance series focusing on a group of people imbued with the power of magic. This is former homicide detective Knox Hardin, and artist Calliope Stanhope. A BRUSH WITH FATE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary.

SOME BACKGROUND: The world as we know it is filled with magic, and throughout history people have been blessed or cursed with magical abilities. The ongoing war between good and evil pits the Riven against the Vires in their search for anyone with magical shards-slivers of magic passed down from the beginning of time, from parent to child, or in many cases, upon the death of someone with magic. By killing someone with magic, the perpetrator ‘inherits’ the shards of his/her victims; upon the death of a loved one, the shard is passed to the nearest kin. As the Vires go in search of their next ‘magical’ victim, the Riven are tasked with finding the artist, the singer and the thief-three people gifted and prophesized by one of their own.

Told from several third person perspectives including Knox and Calliope A BRUSH WITH FATE follows former homicide detective, a member of the group known as the Riven, who hunts for the man that killed his brother. When Knox discovers his brother’s killer Thane Morel has targeted a young artist, Knox warns the woman about Thane’s potential for death and destruction. Enter Calliope Stanhope, psychic artist, and the woman with whom Knox will fall in love. What ensues are Knox’s attempt to convince Calli that her life is in danger, and the potential fall-out as Thane focuses his hunt on our story line heroine.

Calliope Stanhope paints the visions in her head- the past, the present and the future- but recently a voice pushes our heroine to paint scenes of death in an attempt to procure the dying’s shards. Calliope knows that something is wrong but her paintings have become valuable commodities for people who follow the dark arts. Knox Hardin is determined to kill the man that killed his brother but in doing so Knox will become what he despises the most-a Vire, the sworn enemy, a being who will succumb to the dark voices inside. Meeting Calliope Stanhope forces Knox to step back from his mission to take down Thane Morel, a mission that he is desperate to see to the end.

The relationship between Calliope and Knox is one of immediate attraction but Calliope has issues of trust especially as it involves the ludicrous stories about Riven and Vires, darkness and light. As Calliope struggles with the voices in her mind, Knox is determined to protect Calli and make her his own. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense.

Once again, there is a large ensemble cast of fantastic secondary and supporting characters including the Riven leader Garrick Andor, IT expert Marvel Manning, empath and healer Eliana, historian and librarian Harold Lionel, Eden, and young woman with the ability to ‘read’ the shards, and her protector Argo, Riven Stygian, as well as Calliope’s best friend and PA Tammy Lathrop. The requisite evil has many faces including the return of a powerful Vire.

The world building continues to focus on the war between the Riven and the Vire. Thousands of years of history, and the bits and pieces of ancient souls inside everyone who bears a little bit of magic find the good guys trying to ferret out those with a darkness to their soul.

A BRUSH WITH FATE is a story of betrayal, revenge, power and control. The premise is engaging and intriguing; the romance is seductive and hot; the characters are charismatic, colorful and animated. A BRUSH WITH FATE is an edgy and energetic look at magic, power and falling in love.

 

Barb’s REVIEW: A Brush With Fate by Anna Argent is the second book in her The Lost Shards series.  I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and looked forward to reading this one.  I am happy to say I loved A Brush With Fate, as it was equally as good or even better than the first book.

We meet our heroine, Calliope Stanhope, a famous artist, whose work is dark, but though she wants desperately to paint beautiful pictures, it is the dark pictures that sell.  Calliope does not understand why she is compelled to paint these pictures, which she cannot control. 

Knox Hardin, our hero, is an agent with Riven, and despite his determination to continue looking for his brother’s killer, he is assigned to find Calliope, who is thought to be one of them.  As it turns out, Calliope is dating Thane Morel, who unknown to Calliope, is a Vires member, and very powerful and dark. Morel has the ability to force people to do what he wants, and Calliope’s assistant is one of his victims.  Morel is also the one who killed Knox’s brother, and he has targeted Calliope to kill her and steal her powerful shards. 

Knox tries to warn Calliope how dangerous Morel is, but she does not know who to believe.  She is attracted to Knox, but her assistant keeps telling her that Knox is the dangerous one.   After Knox is attacked, Calliope will be the one to get him help, and meet the rest of the members of Riven.  There she sees powerful people using magical abilities to save Knox, and also learn about the powerful ancient shards that she never knew she had.  Calliope will learn that she has mostly good shards, but there is a big dark one, who is the one who compels her to paint murders.    

I loved Calliope and Knox together, as they made a great couple.  Though her attraction to him was strong, she continued to have doubts, and Knox was at first only looking find and kill Morel, found himself falling hard for her.  Their romance was sexy hot and beautiful, that had us rooting hard for them to make it.  

What follows is a tense, action packed, non-stop and exciting thriller.   I love and can’t wait to get stories on all the secondary characters that we have met in the Riven group.    Calliope learns so much more about her powers, which were really cool.  I do not want to tell too much more, as it would be spoilers. 

A Brush with Fate was once again written so well by Anna Argent, that I will be reading every book that she releases in this series.   The story had a bit of everything, danger, intense, action, romance and continually on the edge of my seat throughout.   Though this book can be read as a standalone, I suggest you read the first book, to understand everything about the background of the story.

 

Copies supplied for review