DEMON KISSED & FAE CROSSED (The Summoner’s Mark 1 & 2) by J.D. Blackrose-reviews

DEMON KISSED
The Summoner’s Mark 1
by JD Blackrose
Release Date: February 28, 2022
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal/urban fantasy

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 28, 2022

My name is Rebecca, but everyone calls me Becs.

Years ago, a mark appeared on my inner wrist–The Kiss, they call it–and it makes me a summoner. I can summon, well, things…entities of power, including demons. Which, I did, until recently. I quit, because I summoned a demon on behalf of a client and things went south. I fixed it, but now I owe that demon a favor and I don’t know when he’s going to call it in, or, what he’s going to ask.

One thing’s for sure, it won’t be kosher.

Now I work in a fae bar, trying to stay out of trouble, waiting for the hammer to drop. But trouble tends to follow me. And my upstairs neighbor, Ash, seems to be right in the thick of it. He’s gorgeous, with sexy curls, kissable lips, and a body to match. I can’t believe someone like him even glanced my way.

Things get complicated when a local mob boss wants my help, a warlock decides I’m next on the menu, and my six-foot-tall fairy friend can’t find his way home.

What’s a Jewish, bird-watching summoner with family and friends to protect, to do?

•••••

REVIEW: DEMON KISSED is the first instalment in J. D. Blackrose’s contemporary adult THE SUMMONER’S MARK paranormal, urban fantasy series focusing on twenty-eight year old, summoner Rebecca Greenblatt.

Told from first person perspective (Rebecca) THE SUMMONER’S MARK follows Rebecca ‘Becs’ Greenblatt as she endeavors to survive what has become her life. At thirteen years of age, a ‘kiss mark’ appeared on Rebecca Greenblatt’s inner left wrist, acknowledging our heroine as a ‘summoner’. Most of Rebecca’s New Testament-following clients want her to summon a specific demon but a summoning gone wrong finds our heroine in a precarious position in which the people she loves have been threatened, a summoning that now places Rebecca owing a favor for a favor owed. As Rebecca tries to stay one step ahead of the Death Magic, a warlock, a demon, and the Greek mob, Rebecca’s sexy new neighbor Ash, is keeping secrets of his own.

Rebecca Greenblatt lives in a magical world of fairies and elves, pixies, gnomes and trolls, angels and demons, witches and warlock, human and other. Every transaction requires a favor, a payment owing for every negotiation and contract; a concession and admission of debt to be paid when the time is called. Mistakes are made, and our heroine, is about to pay the price.

We are introduced to a large ensemble cast of magical, powerful and demonic characters: Pinky the lost Fairy, Joey the half-gnome, restaurant owners Mr & Mrs. Long and their son Kenneth, demon Valefar, a warlock who calls himself ‘Warlock’; Greek mobsters Gregory and Nick Adamos, Perrick the Troll, Krav Maga teacher Oded, as well as Rebecca’s neighbor Asher.

DEMON KISSED is a complex, detailed, intricate and busy introduction to JD Blackrose’s The Summoner’s Mark series. Rebecca Greenblatt is on her own with no ‘teacher’ to show her how to use her powers, powers that may cost our heroine everyone she loves. The premise is intriguing and enchanting; the characters are flawed, lively and spirited; the romance is limited to the sexual tension between Becs and her neighbor Ash…but I did struggle with the numerous times the heroine ‘smells’, stinks, sweats or is otherwise dirty, often referencing her lack of hygiene and over less than cleanliness.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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FAE CROSSED
The Summoner’s Mark 2
by JD Blackrose
Release Date: March 31, 2022
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal/urban fantasy

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 31, 2022.

My name is Rebecca Naomi Greenblatt, but my friends call me Becs. A birthmark on the inside of my wrist—the Kiss—marks me as a summoner, a person who can call forth entities of power, and negotiate with them on behalf of clients who need answers—or favors—from beings above their karmic pay grade.

But the only mark I’m worried about right now is the great big target on my back.

I got in deep with a demon and some fae folk, and now both Faerie and Hell are interested in me—a dangerous position for a mortal woman to be in. Meanwhile, the one person whose attention I do want, skipped town after a single night of passion. Asher might be sexy as sin, but he has his secrets. Just like me.

So now I’m stumbling along, doing my best to stay alive. Faerie and Hell have power and influence to spare. And what are my assets? A bartending job, a six-foot tall pink fairy friend, chardonnay-swilling dwarves…and oh, yeah, a meddling mobster who thinks he can control me.

As I dig into what’s going on, I find secrets on top of secrets. What does Faerie want with me? What does Hell want with Faerie? And what will they do to me when I finally find out the answers?

Because trust me, I will.

••••••

REVIEW: FAE CROSSED is the second instalment in JD Blackrose’s contemporary, adult THE SUMMONER’S MARK paranormal/urban fantasy series focusing on twenty-eight year old summoner Rebecca Greenblatt. FAE CROSSED should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events of book one DEMON KISSED.

Told from first person perspective (Rebecca Greenblatt) FAE CROSSED continues to follow twenty-eight year old summoner Rebecca ‘Becs’ Greenblatt, and the magical word in which she lives. On her thirteenth birthday, a demon kiss or ‘kiss mark’ appeared on the inside of Rebecca’s left wrist, a kiss that marked our heroine a ‘summoner’ but with no idea about the who, how or or why, Rebecca would eventually be mentored by another summoner, a summoner who would disappear before finishing his task. Fast forward to present day wherein Rebecca’s life is quickly spiralling out of control as she endeavors to find her missing mentor, breaking a number of supernatural laws in the process. Meanwhile, the man with whom Rebecca was falling in love has disappeared along with her heart, another man whom she believes has abandoned her in her time of need but Becs is about to defy the rules once again, invoking the wrath of the Queen of the Fae, finding herself persona non grata in the world of supernatural. As Becs struggles to right the wrongs, all does not go according to plan, people will die, and punishment will be swift and heart breaking.

FAE CROSSED is another action-paced, detailed, elaborate and tangled tale of power and magic, desperation and love, loss and acceptance, failure and grief. JD Blackrose pulls the reader into a complex, enchanting and magical world of angels and demons, fairies, sprites, pixies and trolls; gnomes and warlocks, witches and mobsters. The premise is captivating and elaborate; the characters are numerous, powerful, energetic and strong. FAE CROSSED ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy