Inked Magic was a very interesting book. It blended some very compelling characters with a pretty strong plot. I think it might be best to talk about the characters individually and then discuss them as they relate to each other and all together.
Etain- Etain is the heroine of the story. She has a gift that allows her to feel the emotions of people simply by touching their skin. To her, the skin does not lie. She is a tattoo artist so she is faced with touching people for a living. She uses sex as a release valve to let go of some of the pressure of housing all of those emotions. She also works with her bother, FBI, to create renderings of criminals after the crimes have been done. She is able to take the visions from the victims and transfer them to paper. Part of her gift allows her to remove those memories from the victims giving them a measure of relief.
Cathal- Cathal is the son of a mobster. He has distanced himself from his father and uncle and does not ever wanted to be associated with their way of life. When his cousin is raped by a serial rapist, his father pressures him to find an in with Etain, to find a way to get her to draw the rapist by use his cousins memories. Upon first meeting Etain he is immediately taken by her. He will do his duty to his family but his first priority has become Etain and having her.
Eamon- Eamon is the ‘Lord’ of the San Francisco Elven population. The minute Etain steps into his restaurant he realizes she is Elven but is not aware of what she is. He vows to make her his bride even knowing she is forming a connection with Cathal.
Now things get a little tricky when you put them all together. Eamon is willing to allow Etain her relationship with Cathal. Eamon is able to see Etain’s magic and recognizes the way it instinctively bonds with Cathal. He will take her as his bride knowing that Cathal will come along with her. Cathal is not so willing to share. The idea of Eamon and Etain together drives him crazy. For the first time, he has become crazy possessive over a woman.
Normally I am a one man, one woman type of girl. However, I knew going in this story would be different because it is based upon Etain bonding with each of them men. The story was very sexual and heavy. Etain would switch men each night. I can’t say this would work in any other story but here it did. Here it is an established part of the plot. The biggest obstacle the relationship faced was Cathal coming to terms that Eamon would be part of them. This wasn’t a typical m/m/f setup as Cathal and Eamon did not interact sexually with each other. There is one scene where they are all three together but I do not recall Cathal and Eamon touching at all during that time. I question how that story will work going forward, how will three people maintain a relationship if two of them never interact. And it wasn’t just in the bedroom; it was throughout all parts of their lives. Cathal did not have an ah ha moment where you saw him accept the threesome, the story just kind of went there.
I can’t really tell you who I liked more. In most love triangle stories that I read I have a clear preference. Ms. Strong wrote Eamon and Cathal in such totally different yet intriguing ways that I liked parts of both of them. If you made me pick, I guess it would be Eamon simply because their relationship is honest from the start. Cathal meets Etain on the premise of attraction but it is really because his family is forcing him. Such a little difference and not one that relates to the personalities of each man but more to the plot.
The last chapter was very open-ended. I can only assume Ms. Strong is writing a sequel to this book. The story leaves off with the question of whether Etain will survive a full transition to Elven. There are hints that if she doesn’t survive Eamon will have to kill her.
Inked Magic was a pretty good book. The paranormal aspect isn’t overdone almost giving it more of a straight contemporary feel. The whole book has a darker overtone because of the serial killer plot and this also bleeds over into the relationships. I will definitely be picking up the sequel, if there is one, to find out where this story leads Etain, Cathal and Eamon. Final grade- B
Favorite Quote:
The sight of her swollen lips and another man’s shirt covering her body shredded organized though and left only the incendiary combination of magic and sex in its place. He wanted her. Here. Now. Always. Everything about her called to him, making it easy to forget the myriad dangers she presented, the change to Elf she had yet to survive.
He stepped forward, tearing his eyes away from her just long enough to meet Cathal’s gaze in challenge and acknowledgment. Leave or join me in this.
Rating: B
Inked Magic by Jory Strong
February 7th 2012 by Berkley Trade
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