Touched by Fire: Magic Wars

Demons of New Chicago, Book 1

By: Kel Carpenter

Narrated by: Savannah Gilmore, Adam Gold

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

For a decade, I’ve hated the supernaturals who owned my world. I hunted them. I killed them.

And now, in the most grand twist of fate - I am bonded to one of them.

Oh, the irony.

Being a supernatural bounty hunter isn’t exactly a popular job. But after the magic wars, there aren’t many things a human can do that will put food on the table. Thankfully, anything my right hook can’t handle, my guns can.

Or so I thought.  

When a demon summoning runs awry, the being that comes into this world changes everything. I’m not sure if he’s truly a demon or a god, but one thing I do know is that he’s after me. I’d like to see him try.

I’ve got a promise to fulfill, and I’m not backing down. The only way out of this is his death or mine, and I’ll do anything to survive. Even if that means making a deal with the devil.

If you can’t get enough of books by Ella Summers, Annette Marie, Shannon Mayer, Deborah Wilde, K.F. Breene, Jeaniene Frost, Kelly St. Clare, and Linsey Hall then dive right in to the dangerous depths of New Chicago. Beware of headstrong heroines with snark. These ladies don’t bark. They bite. Get your copy now!

©2020 Kel Carpenter (P)2020 Kel Carpenter

Okay, the narrator is fuckin awesome

The female narrator makes you feel like your right there in the FMC's world. I don't feel like she's a robot going through the motions when there's action and an overall great match for the tough FMC. It took me some time to give this a chance, but I'm so glad I did, because I'm loving it. The description isn't as cut and dry as it sounds. Everything is done in a slick way with adequate world building without being too info dumpy. Although sometimes I really hate starting a read when its the first release, especially when its this good, because now I'm just itching to read book 2 now, instead of a million years from now.

Ready for more of Piper!

Piper is a really strong heroine who is struggling with self-acceptance and trusting others. The post-Magic Wars world is compelling and there's just enough background to make sure you can follow what's happening. The majority of the story centers around Piper and Natalie. It's refreshing to read a story that's got a strong female friendship at the core. I did wish for more Ronan but I am guessing we'll get plenty more of him in subsequent books. The balance of mystery and reveals were well done and never did I get frustrated with the uncertainty. There were also plenty of new mysteries added so that things didn't get boring. Some moments throughout were slower than others but the pacing was pretty good. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger but in a way that just sets up the premise of the next book.

There are some romantic elements throughout but I wouldn't label this as a paranormal romance; it's more of an Urban Fantasy with some dystopian thrown in.

I loved Savannah Gilmore's narrating. Her voice is lovely and I especially liked how she did Ronan's voice. I liked the male narrator too but wasn't a fan of his female voice.

Overall, I am excited to continue reading Piper's story and can't wait for her and Ronan to finally get together! Good start to a new series.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Wooooow what a way to start a series!

I haven't been listening or reading as much M/F romance books because of my love for reverse harem and M/M but Touched By Fire by Ken Carpenter grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I literally devoured this book in like 2 or 3 days. Anytime I had a break from my job or who I was doing chores, I was listening. I am impatiently waiting book 2 on audio because I need to know what happens next! I don't have as much time to read, but I sure can listen to my hearts content ❤️

For the narration, I wasn't familiar with these actors but I thought they did a good job. They were phenomenal at their same sex characters (Savannah for the women voices and Adam for the male voices). They weren't as strong with the opposite sex characters but it didnt detract me from the story enough to downgrade them to a 4 stars. I thought Savannah nailed the heartbreak and anger and stubbornness of the characters while Adam did a good job with the dominant males (and being all growly haha). I hope they continue this series and look forward to listening to more of them in the future.

In terms of the story, I really enjoyed this urban fantasy, pananormal tension-filled book. I like that Kel focuses on plot first over romance in this book, its refreshing and really sets up the stage for the next ones in the series. I thought the back and forth between Piper and Nat was great, made me giggle and smile as their relationship grew. I am not sure how I feel about the demons yet, but we shall see in the next books. I loved the magic and powers part, and I hope we get to see more about the other supernaturals. I could imagine some of these scenes in my head (very similar to the vibe the cover portrays so great job at keeping to that theme/keeping the theme constant.

I definitely would recommend this series and audiobook! I will be listen to book 2 once its available like ASAP. Amazing first book (and audiobook) for the Magic Wars series ❤️❤️❤️

Promising Plot But A Bad Execution

When I first read the good reads summary for this book I thought it was exciting and interesting, but as I listened to the story my interest fizzled and I found myself just getting more and more irritated. I am not a fan of books that decorate or flower the wording/description and this book is filled with that, you can't go two or more lines without hearing something compared to something else as a descriptors. I made it to probably more than halfway through the book when I realized that I didn't actually like the main character, there's not much that happens that makes me want to like her or makes me want for her to win. There's a constant reminder that the main character is constantly alone and that she's a killer and she doesn't feel when she kills, it comes across like they are trying too hard to get her personality across. Although there were things in the book that I wasn't a fan of, I think that the true thing that makes me give this story a 2 is the narrator and how melancholy she tells the story. If there narrator could have possibly told the story in a different tone or even tried to have fun with it then I think I could have liked it more.

Not Enough

It just didn't make me curious enough to actually BUY the next book. It's almost like there wasn't enough information share about the primary to care what happens next, and what was just made me think that she deserved her situations.

It is a good book, my friend has it on Kindle and loves it. I thought I was in the mood for this and ended up being in the mood for something a lot less paranormal.

I think this is my favorite book from Kel yet!

Seriously loved this book and don’t know how I’m gonna survive until the next one gets here. The narrators were so good. Hope to hear them narrating lots of other books. Piper & Ronan are 🔥🔥🔥 & I like Nat a lot. I don’t want to say anymore and give anything away. Do yourself a favor and get this audiobook. 🎧❤️🎧

Technically passes the Bechdel test, but…

This one is difficult for me to rate. On the one hand, I love a dystopian urban fantasy with strong, snarky female leads and can dig MCs who are anti-hero prickly. On the other hand, it really chaps my undies when huge chunks of stories rely on the misogynistic tropes, eye candy “form over substance” visuals, and the dreaded MFM caveman “love” triangle.

The dual narration was great, although I did speed things up and it took me bit to cozy up to Gilmore making Piper sound like a 40 something broad instead of the 20 something portrayed on the cover. Speaking of covers, what’s with the Lara Croft look? Those Daisy Dukes serve no purpose except to peddle the MC’s body. Admittedly, the slutty cover art does accurately advertise all the objectification of women in this book. There’s leering, butt-grabbing, and lecherous forcing of girls on guys laps. There’s plots of sex-trafficking, demon orgies, r@pe and female humiliation. There’s great focus on dressing multiple women in slutty-costume garb. And, although MC Piper and her odd-couple up-and-coming-partner-in-kickbutt-crime Natalie have several non-male focused scenes/dialogue (passing the Bechdel test), every female in the book is either objectified by, victimized by, complicit in female-victimization with, or subservient to males. The witch covens are led by a Warlock, the succubus’ power over men is controlled by a male demon, the female human trafficker delights in 10 year old girls being part of the latest haul, and every supernatural MF pairing is based upon bonding that denies women agency/choice. As Piper said in the book, “I’m no prude, but” … listening made me feel vaguely skeezy.

And yet, there was enough dystopian, urban fantasy goodness to make me willing to get book 2 on sale in the hopes that the author will lean into the good stuff. So far, Piper’s smarts and skill take a back seat to magic luck and Mary Sue escapes. Piper is also quite the A hole. But, I quite liked Natalie’s hutzpa and their odd-couple banter looks to get better as their friendship builds. I also appreciate that this was more UF than romance (no nooky or romance HEAs here, go figure, considering all the flesh-focus).

Great new series

Wonderful world building, great characters, intriguing storyline. Love to see the focus not only on the sexual aspect but focused on the. importance of Piper and Natalie's friendship.

Great story but narrator takes some getting use to!

At first I didn’t think I would be able to get through this book because of the narrator; however, after a while, the story took over and I couldn’t stop listening. It turned into a nail bitting story that left to me dying to know what happens next!

Great story. Slow burn.

I love it when there are two narrators. These two go very well together. This is a very unique storyline and it is well written. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

Disappointing

I was looking forward to this book, but was disappointed in the end. I hoped it would be like Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series, or Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels or Hidden Legacy series. Or perhaps Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series, Lindsay Buroker’s Death Before Dragons series, Dannika Dark’s Crossbreed series, Debra Dunbar’s Imp series, or Shannon Mayer’s Forty Proof series. Unfortunately it wasn’t as good as any of those (and they're pretty varied). Don’t get me wrong - it was ok. But underwhelming and felt incomplete. I’m still on a search to find the next good series to get into.

A real treat

I am so in love with this story I regret not pushing it up my TBR/TBL sooner!

I like the enemy-to-lovers trope and with the rejected mate trope that is embedded in this story, I don’t know what to expect but I am sooo rooting for Ronan’s chase to end up in delicious sexy moments with his Atma 💜💜

I like the tension between the characters and the world building is solid. I love how the tension is created between all the characters and how Piper’s distrust of the supes is just another trope that Kel uses to treat us with a delicious story! Can’t wait to dive in the next installment!!

I loved this book!

I was given this audiobook in return for an honest review.

Wow, I enjoyed that immensely. Strong main characters, but with enough vulnerability to make them "real". Plenty of action, suspense and mysteries to ponder over. Both narrators' voices suited the characters well. Really looking forward to finding out what happens next!

A-maz-ing!!

Wow. I cannot get enough of Kel Carpenter's writing. This is the start of another amazing series. Thoroughly devoured and enjoyed the narrators who definitely made the whole story come alive. Cannot wait for more.

demons, darkness and magic. Loved this!

Rating 4.5 magical stars
Demons, darkness and magic.....I loved this, my favourite book from Kel Carpenter so far!

Piper is a sassy, feisty bounty hunter with a hidden agenda and a dark secret. She hates magic after what it took from her, but in a world run by supernaturals, this human is one bad-a woman with a grudge, a talent for destruction and a lack of trust of anyone.  She finds herself the hunted and on the run after a summoning gone wrong, and not just by the powerful demon who emerged with his sights firmly set on her.

This story grabbed my interest from the very start. Piper is closed off and doesn't like anyone but I couldn't help liking her. She is a tough cookie but there is a hint of vulnerability to her and when she meets witch Natalie, they grudgingly team up in order to survive. Nat was a fabulous character, the light to Pipers dark and added some humour and reason to the intensity.

I cant wait for more of Ronan. He is a dark, determined, possessive hot hunk of demon and he will not be swayed away from his goal. There were a few chapters from his pov but I hope there are more in the next book, because he is intriguing and did I say hot 🔥

I listened to the audio and both narrators were excellent. I did love Adam Gold's deep, husky voice, another reason for more Ronan please!

This is a slow burn romance set in a dark dystopian type world where supernaturals are out of the closet and ruling the world. I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series after that ending!

New urban fantasy romance series with a hot demon

I liked this new urban fantasy romance audiobook, Piper is a strong heroine and the world-building was very well done. She is a bounty hunter and finds herself with Ronan a very hot demon. The pacing was good, sometimes a bit slow and for others, it took a fast pace, the characters are interesting. I definitely will be looking forward to the next in the series. After reading other books from the author I think this series is the best of her yet, still need to get more to see how the story goes but I am liking it so far, even after a cliffy. The narrators Savannah Gilmore and Adam Gold did a terrific job narrating it, I enjoyed it and would recommend giving it a go.

Amazing first book.

Loved it 💕 Was so excited to start another series by Kel Carpenter, just knew this would be a great read/listen even before i started and i was completely right. This book has mystery and suspense wrapped in an amazing Apocalyptic storyline.
loved Piper as our FMC and the Narrators brought this book to life for me.
cannot wait for more 💕

Can’t wait for book 2!

This book take a little bit to get into it but the story sucks you in by the end! The narrators on the audio did well! Can’t wait to see what happens next!

I really enjoyed this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt the voice acting matched the characters and it didn't at all distract from the story. I've already preordered the next book in the series. I cannot wait to explore the world further.

Entertaining, funny and fast paced

I love this book.. piper is an amazing character.. she is absolute kick ass, sassy and sarcastic everything I love in a mc. Her back story is revealed slowly so gives you time to take it all in and understand her personality while the action and plots going on around it is fast paced and introduces other charters that are equally intriguing. I love that the story is set in the real world just not how we know it.. it make it relatable but still means anything can happen as they don’t abide by the rules we have now. I really liked there was such a wind range of supernaturals and it just added so much to the story.. I loved it can’t wait for book two and can’t recommend enough.