Can Cassius and Morgan overcome an elusive enemy and save a young girl’s life?
Eden Monroe has spent her entire existence believing she has no magic. Shunned by her mother Brianna and the magical bureau Hexa, she runs away from home when she is forced to embrace a future she never chose, only to fall into the hands of ghastly monsters from the Nine Hells. After being rescued by a mysterious Dryad with secrets of his own, Eden realizes there is more to her past and future than she could ever have imagined.
When San Francisco PD asks Argonaut to assist them in solving a series of strange bank robberies, Cassius Black and Morgan King uncover a disturbing plot that points to an unknown artifact hidden somewhere in the city. Their investigation soon has them crossing paths with a desperate Brianna, who seeks their help in finding her missing daughter. When the witch reveals the shocking circumstances surrounding her daughter’s birth as well as the deadly magic sealed inside the young girl’s body, the Argonaut agents realize their case is linked to Eden and the weapon of devastating power the bank robbers are after.
Can Cassius and Morgan defeat the malevolent organization behind it all and save Eden from her cursed fate? Or will the young girl suffer a destiny worse than death itself?
Spellbound is the second novel in the gay urban fantasy romance series Fallen Messengers. If you like your paranormal adventures full of action, magic, snark, and a host of steamy angels and demons, then you’re not going to want to miss this jaw-dropping, fun-filled ride!
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It was dark by the time Eden logged out of the public computer. She shivered when she stepped out of the cafe. A chilly wind was blowing across the city from the bay, heralding the change of seasons. San Diego in autumn would be warmer than San Francisco. She hunched her shoulders and zipped up her parka.
I should buy some food before I go back.
She got Chinese takeout at a small restaurant close by and decided to eat it while she headed for the hostel. A strange feeling settled over her as she strolled along the half-empty streets, her steps light. It took a while for her to figure out what it was.
Freedom.
She had never felt as relaxed and carefree as she did in this moment. It was as if a giant weight had finally been lifted off her shoulders.
For the first time in years, Eden experienced a surge of optimism.
Getting away from my mother and Hexa was the right thing to do.
She’d almost finished her food and was wondering what to do the next day when a sudden stillness descended around her. Eden slowed and stopped, her skin prickling.
She’d cut across a narrow lane running past a cemetery and church, a shortcut to the hostel. She looked over her shoulder, unease quickening her pulse.
The path behind her was deserted.
Eden stared into the shadows for breathless moments before turning to resume her route. Something shifted in the gloom some hundred feet ahead of her. She froze.
A figure was blocking the lane exit. Another stepped into view next to it. A stench wafted toward Eden. Her eyes widened.
It was the smell of rotting meat.
The guttural rasp that reached her next had her belly clenching in terror. It was a hungry sound. One that craved mayhem and death.
Eden knew instinctively that she was in mortal danger. Yet, her limbs refused to budge.
Move! MOVE, dammit!
The figures lunged toward her.
She twisted on her heels, her body finally unfreezing, the carton of cooling food dropping from her grasp and spilling onto the ground. She staggered to an abrupt halt in the next instant, her breath locking painfully in her throat. Two more shapes were racing along the ground toward her from the opposite end of the lane.
They were not human.
Eden whirled around and jumped onto the fence to her right. She scaled it in a flash, climbed over, and landed awkwardly in the grounds of the cemetery, cuts blooming on her hands from the barbed wire.
The night closed in around her as she darted between trees and bushes, the gravestones looming out of the shadows silent witnesses to the chase. She didn’t have to look behind her to know her pursuers were hot on her trail. She could smell their foul breath on her heels and sense their murderous gaze on her back.
She emerged into an open area next to a water fountain and saw a faint light in one of the rear windows of the chapel that abutted the church. Her heart thumped with a wild burst of hope.
“Help!” Eden shouted. “Please, help—!”
She tripped and fell, her words choking off to a gasp. Air whooshed out of her as she hit the ground hard. Her head struck the courtyard paving. Stars exploded across her vision.
Eden lay stunned for a moment, the world swimming dizzyingly around her.
Get up!
She gritted her teeth and crawled onto her hands and knees, sticky wetness trickling down her forehead from the gash in her hairline. Growls sounded behind her, hot and ravenous.
Eden fumbled for the knife in her pocket, her fingers made clumsy by panic. She staggered to her feet and turned, knuckles white on the handle of the blade, knowing she would have to make her final stand here.
The monsters loomed out of the shadows, their grotesque shapes finally taking form under the starlight. A whimper tumbled from Eden’s lips, unbidden.
I didn’t like this as much as book 1. Sorry. I actually enjoyed the YA secondary characters more than Cassius and Morgan which for those readers wanting a pure MM storyline with character development it may be a little disappointing.
It was still a good book but I would class it as fantasy with romantic elements more than a romance.
I’m not going to rehash the plot but save to say there was a lot of action for those that want it and a large supporting cast.
Just not for me.
3 pieces of eye candy
Ava Marie Salinger is the pen name of an Amazon bestselling urban fantasy author who has always wanted to write scorching hot M/M urban fantasy. In 2021, she launches FALLEN MESSENGERS, her first M/M urban fantasy romance series. She also writes contemporary M/M romance as A.M. Salinger. When she’s not dreaming up hotties to write about, you’ll find Ava creating kickass music playlists to write to, spying on the wildlife in her garden, drooling over gadgets, and eating Chinese.
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