A werewolf detective that has to work with a talented mage that he doesn't trust. My new favorite book of 2024!
From The Ritual of the Broken blurb:
Can an outcast mage and an angry werewolf stop the ritualistic killer who’s preying on their city?
A solitary mage …
For years, Ollie has survived on the fringes of the magical community, the price he pays for a foolish ancestor who played around with dark magic. Now he just wants to run his mother’s magic shop in peace. But a vision from a ghost—of a dark entity pulling a man’s soul from his body—compels him to seek answers.
A lone werewolf with a grudge …
Homicide detective Adrian Keller is assigned to a case that stinks of magic. His last run-in with magic left him with deep scars—and an even deeper distrust of mages. So when Ollie shows up at his crime scene, Adrian is about to go fur and claws.
But this mage has answers, and though he doesn’t like it, Adrian knows he needs help untangling the dark energy surrounding his case.
A shaky alliance that makes sparks fly—and not just magically
As the body count rises, their uneasy partnership is tested. This is more than a serial killer hunting souls; something much darker is happening in Chicago. If they don’t find a way to stop it, the soul of the world could be the biggest casualty.
Ollie and Adrian are forced to confront the specter of their pasts—and a vast conspiracy within the magic community—even as they grapple with the undeniable attraction between them.
The Ritual of the Broken could break them both—and take the world with it.
Ritual of the Broken is a gay urban fantasy story packed with spells and curses, mages, a usually angry werewolf, a ghost, demons … and a chance at love between the oddest couple to ever solve a murder.
Angel's review:
Wow! As soon as I read the blurb my curiosity was piqued, and once I started this book I was immediately sucked into Ollie and Adrian's intense story. From the start I was immersed into this magic filled world full of curses, soul sucking monsters, werewolves, mysteries, and familial disputes.
Ollie captured my heart within the first few chapters, he was shunned by his fellow magic users because of something his ancestor did. Aside from everyone judging him because of that, they also mess with him because his magic isn't 'normal', he's treated as an outcast in his magical world. When Ollie starts having visions predicting when someone is about to meet their demise he knows he needs to help put a stop to it. Even if that means teaming up with the grumpy werewolf.
Oh Adrian, grumpy, slightly moody, protective, Adrian. His character is.. cute. You may think that's a weird way to describe a grumpy character but it's true! He puts up this front around others, but once Ollie got to know him more, Adrian's true persona shone through. I sympathized with him struggling being around Ollie at first, he was clearly struggling being surrounded by magic but he was trying his best to push past his painful memories.
Here's what really blew me away... This book stands out on its own because of it's uniqueness. It's not just a romance book, or just a murder mystery, or just a paranormal romance, it's a beautiful mix of all of those genres coming together to create an absolutely magnificent story! I don't think I've read a murder mystery book before where we actually get to read the perspective of one of the murder victims. And I personally found that to be really cool! We got to know exactly what the 'first' victim was thinking, feeling, and where he was last. It was such a cool addition!!
The characters were exceptional! Adrian and Ollie both had such distinct personalities that clashed at times, but also melded together so well. All of the side characters served their purpose to the story, each one provided more context clues, along with providing dialogue that helped further the storyline. The background and world building had so many intricate details that were being described so vividly, I was blown away by the writing of this story.
First in series for this author (Ritual of the Broken), but also part of the multi-author A Haunted Hearts series. Paranormal urban fantasy. Slow burn. Dual POV.
Ollie’s family is scorned by other mages and he’s not even sure of the real story behind his ancestor’s mistake, so Ollie lives a quiet life away from other mages until he is pulled into a vision that has him pursuing a supernatural murderer. Adrian doesn’t trust mages for good reason, but when Ollie ends up helping the homicide detective’s investigation, he decides to give Ollie a chance, but the attraction between them has the werewolf hesitating.
The mystery keeps getting bigger as Adrian and Ollie try to save others from the killer while learning about trusting one another and slowly giving in to their mutual attraction. I enjoyed the world building, the constant action and intrigue, and even though Ollie’s magic and decisions are sometimes questionable, I enjoyed Adrian and Ollie’s interactions and the plotline that will continue to the next book. Looking forward to seeing how this series develops.
Ritual of the Broken is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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