Soul Magic is the second book in Lyon's Wing Slayer Hunter series
and it just feels like a second helping of the same old thing. The
basis of the series is similar to others of this genre. A group of
alpha male protectors, each getting his own book focusing on his
own HEA while advancing the overall series plot. Not that there is
anything wrong with this kind of formula - think Lara Adrien, JR
Ward for just two successful examples - it's just that this
particular series is turning out to be mediocre at best.
Sutton West is one of a race of Wing Slayer Hunters that have been
cursed. They crave witches blood, using sex to ease their hunger.
If they succumb and drink the blood of a witch, they turn rogue,
and kill witches with a never-ending hunger. Sutton and his friends
track and kill these rogue hunters trying to save as many witches
as they can. It is not until they find their soul-mirror, or life
partner, that the blood lust is satisfied and they are not in
danger of losing their soul.
Carla is a powerful witch who helps those rescued from cults to
overcome brainwashing. She works at a local clinic with her good
friend Max. In the first book, Blood Magic, Carla was kidnapped by
rogues and subsequently saved by Sutton. During the rescue, some of
Carla's blood got on Sutton who now, having had a "taste" of
Carla's blood, can't get her out of his mind. Unable to have sex
with any other woman, he's feels like he's walking the edge of
sanity even as his eagle (the magical tattoo he has on his back)
begins to respond to Carla.
When it is learned that someone is brainwashing mortal women and
using them to try and kill the Wing Slayers, Carla uses her magic
to go into the astral plane to try and help one of the brainwashed
women. While on the astral plane she discovers that the soul of her
twin sister, who was murdered two years ago by a rogue hunter, is
trapped. Her sister is calling for her help and giving her clues
that "the eagle" can help her.
Sutton has a strong desire for Carla and it becomes apparent that
she is his soul mirror, or so they think, because the eagle tattoo
on his back responds to her. The problem is that Carla's twin is
reaching out to Sutton and Carla doesn't know whether Carla or her
dead twin is Sutton's soul mirror. Further complicating things, if
Carla bonds with Sutton, she will lose her connection with her
twin. Sutton refuses to accept that Keri, the twin, is his soul
mirror because he loves Carla. Beset by his insecurities about his
lack of education and his rough manners, he believes that part of
Carla's reluctance to accept him is because he is not good enough
for her. It's a tangled web and the race is on to see whether they
can do the right thing, whatever that may be, to save Keri and stop
the rogue hunters.
I didn't particularly like Carla in the first book and so this book
already had a bit of a problem for me. This time out I found her
constant angst over whether Sutton was really her true soul-mirror
or her twin-sister's got old fast. I mean come on, she was
attracted to him, he was attracted to her, her sister is DEAD and
never actually knew Sutton in real life, what's the big deal if she
goes for it?
Probably the best parts of this book were the interactions between
Sutton and the other male Wing Slayer Hunters. These big tough men
have to rely on each other many times to stay alive. There is
something so sexy about that. Although they will lay down their
lives for one another, that doesn't mean there isn't relentless
teasing between them, and Lyon continues to flesh out each of their
characters in preparation I'm sure for their own starring role and
HEA in an upcoming book.
Where things bog down is all the additional secondary characters
Lyon introduces. She drags both of Carla's parents into the story
for minor supporting roles, but I felt like they were rather
extraneous and unneccessary for all the help they ended up offering
Carla (although Sutton's reaction to Carla's mother was kind of
cute). And then there is Max a once curious sociologist who is
forever changed when he is unable to save someone he loved from a
cult. Full of "passion, grief, anger and guilt", Max is mentioned
quite frequently but plays absolutely no role in this book despite
having unrequited feelings for Carla.
When you add all this in with the fact that I think Lyon's take on
the witches' magic and all the Chakra points and third eye hoeey is
just kind of lame, the series falls flat for me. Oh well, I gave it
a try. With so many other better series out there, this one will
definitely be falling off the radar for me, at least until I am
hard up and looking for something new to read.
2010-073