Burn: A Witchbane Novella

Witchbane Series, Book 1.5

By: Morgan Brice

Narrated by: Kale Williams

Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

One hundred years ago, a sheriff's posse killed dark warlock Rhyfel Gremory, but his witch-disciples escaped, and their magic made them nearly immortal. To keep their power, each year one of the witch-disciples kills a descendant of one of the men in the posse, a 12-year cycle that has cost dozens of lives, including that of Seth Tanner's brother, Jesse.

Seth uncovers a cycle of ritual murders that feed the witch-disciples' power, and he saves Evan Malone, one of the warlock's potential victims. Neither Seth nor Evan expected to fall in love, but when the dust settles, they find themselves on the run and on the road together, heading toward Pittsburgh, on the trail of the next killer.

Seth wonders whether Evan will come to regret his choice to stay together, now that he's living the reality of Seth's nomadic life and the risks that come with it. He wants Evan to stay, but he's afraid that Evan would be better off without him, living a normal life. Evan's whole world has been upended, but there's one thing he's sure of, his love for Seth. Evan worries that he's a liability, not yet able to hold his own in Seth's rough-and-tumble world, but determined to do whatever necessary to have Seth's back. On the way to face the next warlock, supernatural threats abound, forcing them to learn to fight as a team.

©2018 Gail Z. Martin (P)2019 Tantor

Pretty Good Novella, <3 Kale Williams

3.5
I really like Morgan Brice's stories, and usually she gets the chemistry between her characters just right. Weirdly there's something that just didn't work between these guys in this episode. I've listened to Burn and that one worked just fine, so maybe this episode is just too short for all the sex she's packed in?

Fans of this series will still enjoy this one, especially if you're listening to Kale Williams perform them. His serious, matter-of-fact delivery works so well and is pretty effective when it comes to the sexy-times.

Slightly disappointed

I really enjoyed the previous book in this series and was disappointed when I realize that the story suddenly ended. I was expecting more of a storyline and to go more in depth of their relationship. .

Interesting

Not what I expected but not completely disappointed. I will need to continue the series to find out how the story ends 😊

Good story. Good narration.

This story focuses on the developing romantic relationship between Seth and Evan while they also learn to hunt monsters together.

The developing connection between Seth and Evan leaves the reader emotionally invested in the outcome of their interactions. The monster fights are getting a bit more interesting, and the narration is wonderful.

If you liked the first book, this one is a must read/listen.

I love all the legends and lore 👹👻👺

Well, it's only been a couple of weeks since doing battle with the witch disciple after Evan. Seth and he have been busy doing side jobs, which basically translates to going after other monsters on their way to finding the next descendant on the radar of the witch disciples.

The witch disciples are a group who, through ritual killing, use the energy of the descendants of the sheriff and his deputies responsible for killing their leader decades earlier to keep themselves alive.

While going from place to place in an RV that belonged to Seth's parents, the guys battle an irate Spectre from a haunted painting, return a Boo Hag to the ether, and Seth battles a few zombies.

The worst battle comes from the demons inside themselves, however. Seth doesn't believe he is good enough for Evan, and soon he will see just how hard life as a hunter is and leave. Evan's demons mock in different ways, reminding him of past relationships gone bad, and putting fear and doubt in his mind that his relationship with Seth might end just as badly.

The guys have a long way to go before fully trusting each other. If they don't learn the importance of trust and reliance soon, it isn't their relationship they will need to worry about dying. Just to catch you up.

This series is taking a little longer to grow on me than the Badlands. I am enjoying it very much, from a paranormal aspect, but I haven't felt the same chemistry yet between the guys that I did with Simon and Vic, in the Badlands.

Seth and Even have a different kind of relationship however, so I have to bear that in mind. While Simon and Vic dealt with supernatural beings and we're in danger sometimes, with Simon being a psychic medium and Vic a homicide detective, they don't live like front line soldiers, Seth and Even do. Seth gets calls, sometimes in the middle of the night, and often back to back, and he has to hunt down whatever monster is tormenting humans. He is constantly battling, and until Even, he hunted alone.

Morgan creates the most fascinating worlds, and I am always blown away by how much effort and work she puts into knowing the lore, and legend behind a creature, pagan ritual, or religious aspect. As hot and sMMoldering as the sMMexy times are, the world-building and supernatural elements are my favorite.


Now we just gotta get those boys to communicate better and this old dragon lady will be content.

I am looking forward to seeing what the guys get up to next.


The Story: 4.50 ⭐
The Narration: 4.00 ⭐
Sharonica Stars: 4.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐•✨

Burn

Omg this audio book was absolutely positively amazing. I would highly recommend this audiobook.

Too much insecurity between Seth and Evan for me to relax and enjoy.

This has to be the end of the line for me. The constant insecurity and miscommunication between the MC’s detracts from the story too much and my enjoyment of listening. I know it’s just part of the m/m trope and all but the balance is off,
Narrator is great, however.