Magic Forged

## About

Magic Forged is the first book in the Hall of Blood and Mercy trilogy, which takes place in the Magiford Supernatural City universe and features vampires, wizards, fae, and werewolves! This trilogy is packed with humor, adventure, and a sweet, slow burn romance between a vertically challenged wizard and the most lethal vampire in town.

## Description

I'm one scrappy wizard.

As someone with barely a flicker of magic, I've spent my life being mocked and surviving fights with bullies. But when my parents die in an accident, and I find myself responsible for our whole wizard house and family, I know my usual tactics aren't going to cut it.

The situation veers from bad to catastrophic when my backstabbing cousin stages a coup and takes my family hostage.

I barely manage to flee, but the only supernatural willing to help me is Killian Drake--the most feared vampire in the region, and a far more deadly villain than the jerk threatening my family.

Is Killian sexy and charismatic? Heck yeah.

He's also so powerful that my flight or fight instincts kick in every time our eyes meet. And he's definitely using me as his personal magic detector in his feud against the local fae.

But Killian is also the first person to believe I might have more than just a scrap of magic. And if I can convince him to train me, I might get strong enough to free my family and get my house back.

I'm not sure what happens when a scrappy wizard is taught how to fight by a hall of deadly vampires, but I'm about to find out.

## Synopsis

Following her parents' death, Hazel finds herself running from her own home as Mason, a distant cousin, attempts to steal the title of "Adept" from her, claiming that her lack of power will bring them all to ruin. She runs right into the mercies of Killian Drake, the vampire Eminence of the Midwest who takes her on as a servant and pet wizard that he can train to use deadly force. He brings her to the Paragon, the top fae representative in the nation, who uncovers that she had been sealed when she was a baby, meaning she has more power than anyone in her House. Killian sets out to find ways to unlock that power while also trying to solve the mystery following several murders within vampire Families. Hazel stumbles upon the realization that the killer is an Unclaimed vampire who delivers blood packs to many of the Families in Magiford, and rushes to save Killian and his crew while they are in a meeting at the Curia Cloisters. Her seal breaks the moment she determines to save her new friends and in the process she destroys the Unclaimed, severely injuring herself in the process. When she wakes, she realizes that the passive nature of House Medeis must change while Killian grapples with the fact that Hazel's smell, while usually unbearable to him as a vampire, has become almost as incredible as she is.

## Ratings

#### Amazon:

- Fran, 12-12-23: (5 Stars) I did not read the Magiford books in order. I read the Gate of Myth and Power first and loved it so reading the others was a must. Well, these certainly keep with the standard! They were amazing! I especially love the character development! They both change so much but they become the best versions of themselves. It was amazing.

- Kindle Customer, 1-29-23: (5 stars) \*spoilers\* I thought this book was absolutely amazing and is the first book I've read by this author. I would highly recommend this book to other people.I thought the vampires were very amusing with their old ways and clothing, along with how the Drake family kept thwarting Hazel's previous perspective of what vampires are like. I feel like we haven't yet seen the entire potential of what vampires can do, especially with how violent the rumours make them appear. I didn't realize at first that vampires don't have any magic. When a vampire is turned, is it willingly? I kind of get the hint that it might not be in some cases or they are just tired with living for so long. I also somehow got confused about what Felix was as I thought he was a vampire and that wizards/Guilds could be different species combined, they just had to have magic as a common factor. But in this world, only fae and wizards seem to have magic. I'm not exactly sure if I read the summary before reading/listening to this book, since I wanted to read the series in order. I felt like her parents death was a bit abrupt, but I am glad she at least spoke to them a little bit before they died. I have no idea why they did what they did when she was toddler. Unless they wanted to give her training wheels or something? I'm hoping we might get more information, as I feel like the senior wizards or her parents' Will might have some information as to why they did it. And to why one of the oldest senior wizards in her guild seemed confident that she'd be a great adept. I found Killian and Hazel's relationship to be very interesting and I'm not sure when things exactly changed - when he started to care for her as a person and vice versa with Hazel. It was very gradual. I do think that possibly the moment he noticed the difference in her scent might have been when he was going to say something to her before she left his office, but that is just a guess. It makes it difficult to figure out how the vampires perceive her scent when none of them - except for Rupert - show any obvious issues with her scent. I am also curious with just how tall/short everyone is. Hazel seems to be under 5 ft as she seems to have to wear heels to be that tall. Killian has to be around 6ft or so, as he has been described to be very tall.

- Samoapheonix, 4-13-20: (4 Stars) This is the perfect fast, fun urban fantasy read--just enough stakes to not be complete fluff, interesting characters, good worldbuilding. With a few caveats, I thoroughly enjoyed, as I usually do Shea's work. Hazel Medeis is a wizard in a contemporary society where wizards, vampires, werewolves and fae exist and are "out" to the general public. While she has very little magic, Hazel is set to inherit her parents' position as head of their wizard House--both a literal magical house and control of their extended family group. But when they both die unexpectedly, Hazel's much more powerful distant cousin stages a coup, and none of her parents' supposed allies lift a finger to help her. Hazel's last resort is to beg assistance from the council of Midwestern vampires, the only one of whom willing to take her on is their leader: the ruthless, cynical Killian Drake. Of course Killian has his own reasons for wanting a wizard in thrall to him, nor is he interested in helping Hazel regain her home. So Hazel is left to adjust to life as a servant in a vampire court--which is not at all what she'd expected given the fearsome reputation of vampires and of Killian in particular. Not that they're secretly marshmallows, or anything, but they're not monsters--just people. My couple of caveats: I found it a little difficult to feel impacted by the series of murders that takes place over the course of the book. The characters were weirdly blase about them, apart from being upset that a serial killer seems to be stalking the vampire community. But the narrative doesn't dwell very much on the killings other than they're happening, almost zooming by and handwaving away most of the emotional impact. I cared way more when Hazel had to dodge attacks sent by her cousin, and at the climax once she's trying to prevent the next murder before it happens.
It was kind of weird that literally no one other than Killian was interested in sheltering Hazel. Like, if a coup happened in their household, would they want everyone else to shrug and say it was an internal matter and none of their business? It does turn out to be a plot point that all supernaturals are turning inwards and only protecting their own small in-groups, but you'd think the wizard families would want to discourage the idea that coups could work if only to keep someone in their own house from trying the same thing. Instead, they all seem to start helping Hazel's cousin, even after Killian forcefully demonstrates that he will defend her. Speaking of which, I have mixed feelings about Hazel and Killian because of the hugely imbalanced power dynamic between them. He holds all the cards, and they both know it, but when he doesn't abuse or take advantage of her, even though he's keeping her around for his own reasons, she starts to trust and develop feelings for him. I got some uncomfortable Stockholm Syndrome vibes that I don't get from Beauty and the Beast, much as everyone likes to joke about that. His feelings about her evolve, but at the beginning she's no more than a tool and a plaything to him, something new and different that he finds amusing. Things may change and power may balance out between them in future books, but anyone made uncomfortable by Stockholm Syndrome undertones should avoid this one. That said, I did enjoy their later interactions as she gets comfortable enough to sass him.

#### Goodreads:

- Phuong, 9-12-22: (3.25 Stars) This was actually a fun start to a new urban fantasy series! Magic Forged had: a **likeable heroine** who is a badass without power kill. At the beginning **Hazel** (h) starts out with almost no power. Then her parents die in a tragic accident (very original storyline ik 💀) and she finds out that they have sealed her power. Long story short, Hazel has not much power but starts combat training to be able to defend herself and protect the members of her house. I find it boring when the heroine already has too much power at the start of the book, because where is the fun in that? But I also don't like doormat heroine that need saving all the time, so imo Hazel was the perfect mix in between with enough room for development. **fun side-characters**. Hazel is seeking protection at the Drake House, a very powerful vampire clan, and Josh, Celestina, Rupert and all the other vampires in that house were such entertaining characters. **Killian Drake** (H) I was already sold when I read his name 🤷🏽‍♀️ But then he is the most powerful and feared vampire? Has no problem killing? Cold vampire who doesn't care about anyone beside the ones who belong to his house? BRITISH ACCENT?!!? Yeah, I was a goner. It was cute how every time he was ready to rip someone a new hole, Hazel just had to tell him not to kill them and he would stop. Just like that. I don't really know why he is so smitten with her, but it's cute how he's basically the only one who believes in her ... even tho you wouldn't guessed that from the way he speaks the her lol. **the banter**. Hazel and Killian were already bickering like an old married couple and I really liked that. **Conclusion,** Overall I liked this book and I don't have anything negative to say per se, besides that the plot wasn't the best and I wasn't fan of the murder mystery plot that the Drake house was dealing with. I liked what read, but I wasn't 100% invested in it, because I had no problem reading a couple of pages and then closing the book doing something else, which I did quite a couple of times here. **P.S.:** I forgot to add that I've been told by Julia that this author only writes clean romances so the spice level in this series is non-existent. Still looking forward to read the rest of the series tho 👀 **P.P.S.:** I actually finished this series last year and only posted the review for book 1 now and everything about this book could apply to the whole series.

- Bhavya, 5-20-20: (3 stars) **~ First Read- 2020 ~ Second Read- 2021 ~ ~ First Rating- 4 stars ~ ~ Second Rating- 3.5 stars ~ Is this the best piece of literature I’ve read?** - No **Did I still rate it 4 stars?**- Yes. I read this a long time back so I don’t remember the precise content and trigger warnings, extremely sorry, but from what I remember: **Content/ Trigger Warnings-** Death of parents, murder (on page), blood, car accident, bullying (on page). I read this last year, when I was in a huge reading slump and I didn’t know at that time this would become of of my favourite series. I really need to reread it soon. **Magic Forged has everything *I* like to read in books.** It has an intriguing plot, characters that have development, action, an enemies-to-lovers-slow-burn-clean romance, and lots of drama (but the good kind) and it’s just such an amazing series that is so underrated, I can go on and on about it, but I want to write a long review after my reread so I’ll keep this short. The only reason it’s not a 5 star is because of **the lack of world building.** There were some interesting elements to the world I haven’t seen done before, but if you are big on world building then you might not enjoy this so much. However everything else about the book makes up for the lack of world building. I should also emphasise that this **is a clean romance.** Completely clean. I personally love clean romance books, but if this isn’t your kind of thing I’d say not to read this book and this author in general. There is also a major age gap between the love interest and MC, which is normally something I despise but K.M. Shea knows how to do this trope well. There is proper build-up with the relationship, and despite the age gap it is not toxic in any way, specially not in the ways I’ve seen with more popular books. **\*cough ACOTAR cough\* Bonus-** This book has an *actual* strong female protagonist. I mean it, the actual strong one and not a ‘i am very badass because i can fight or have some kind of power and i am superior and not like other girls’ trope or as I like to call it ‘a wannabe strong female protagonist’ which I hate. This is much better. **In short, please pick this up if you’re sick and tired of typical YA fantasy. It’s worth the read. DISCLAIMER-**All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it. How I Rate- 1 star- Hardly liked anything/was disappointed 2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/was disappointed 3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/was average/Enjoyed a lot but something was missing 4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing 5 stars- Loved it/new favourite

- Jacob Proffitt, 5-11-20: (5 Stars) I was drawn into this from the start and that's all down to Hazel. She's resilient and tough as a response to having so much less magic than others of her kind and being bullied all her life as a result. It's an interesting response choice because she runs first and is always on the lookout for alternatives to confrontation and Shea made that a *strength of the character* even if it is out of necessity. So being tough didn't make her hard or bitter; it made her flexible and that plays as a subtle backdrop in her character I enjoyed seeing manifest in so many different ways—not least in taking to the training of House Drake. And I really enjoyed seeing her play off of Killian as a foil/banter buddy/protector. I liked that she could reason him out of some of his harsher decisions and that you could see him come to care for her over time, even if neither can quite admit that he might actually do so. And some of the secondary characters are outstanding, though I'm sad there wasn't more variation in their response to her invading their House. I mean, I liked the Rupert storyline and his intense and open dislike of her and how that played out was well-thought, I think. But it could have done with more variation in those Hazel had steady contact with (because pretty much everybody else likes her). The rest of the elements were what they needed to be, and I mean that in a good way. The plot held together, the worldbuilding was creative enough to be interesting (though there isn't a ton of deviation from the standard supernatural fare), and the pace held my attention rapt. Anyway, I was so engaged that it was an easy 4½ stars with only minor detractions (a captured foe disappeared somehow, some minor copy edit issues, some timing didn't work day/night wise, and a thing I'll mention below because it was weird). But what is going to tip it firmly into rounding up is Hazel's moral journey that stands at the explicit heart of her character arc. And yes, some of that is because the end-point matches my own moral code very closely. But even more is that we still have Killian at the end with the concern that however noble a place she ends up at, her *certainty* is a concern to watch out for. And I agree with *that* even more. **A note about Craft**: Shea does that thing you get in multi-PoV books where each chapter starts with the name of the PoV character for that chapter. Only *every chapter except the last* is **Hazel**. So I spent the entire book going "please don't do Killian's PoV. This is so much better leaving him a mystery ala The Hating Game so please just let it lie." And she *did* until the very end so that was good. But I wish she hadn't felt like she needed to include that last chapter. It makes explicit what is hinted at in the penultimate chapter and Shea did a beautiful job relaying the key point in a way that readers can pick up on and I really wish she had let that go without the confirmation. **A note about Chaste**: While I think this is a slow-burn romance and it fits all those tropes, there are no sexy times, not even a kiss, in this story. So it is very chaste, indeed. And that fit the story very well, by the way, so kudos!