Steel and Stone & Spell Weaver book series are two incredible reads

      I just plowed through two related book series with my Kindle Unlimited membership and WOW did I enjoy these!

I stumbled upon Annette Marie's books during one of my casual swipes through recommended books on my Kindle. I honestly don't think that I had seen them before and I'm so happy I discovered them.

Here's the scoop:  The first series is Steel and Stone (it's the photo on the right side) and it contains 6 books (the last is a series of shorts or chapters reflecting on the entire series told back and forth from Lyre and Ash's point of view). There is also an additional short story. 

The series takes place on earth and on the Overworld and Underworld. Our characters are various daemons and haemons (human/demon offspring). Many decades ago, the human race was destroying itself and the daemons finally revealed their existence when they stepped in to keep humans and earth from total devastation. Here is the synopsis from Amazon for the first book, Chase the Dark: 

Piper Griffiths wants one thing in life: to become a Consul, a keeper of the peace between humans and daemons. There are three obstacles in her way.

The first is Lyre. Incubus. Hotter than hell and with a wicked streak to match. His greatest mission in life is to annoy the crap out of her, but he isn't as harmless as he seems. The second is Ash. Draconian. Powerful. Dangerous. He knows too much and reveals nothing. Also, disturbingly attractive--and scary. Did she mention scary?

The third is the Sahar Stone. Top secret magical weapon of mass destruction. Previously hidden in her Consulate until thieves broke in, went on a murder spree, and disappeared with the weapon.

And they left Piper to take the fall for their crimes.

Now she's on the run, her dreams of becoming a Consul shattered and every daemon in the city gunning to kill her. She's dead on her own, but there's no one she can trust--no one except two entirely untrustworthy daemons ... See problems one and two.

The rest of the books take off from there.  Our heroine Piper is a haemon who, while battling baddies through the series,  must come to terms with secrets about her own identity.  Annette's world building is amazing and her characters just pop off the page. I was very unhappy when I came to the end of the last book one midnight, wanting to learn more about what happens next. But ... I found a link at the end of the book that took me to another book series, Spell Weaver.  (It's the photo on the left side.)

This one was about Lyre, which was just dandy because I loved him. I mean, Ash was fabulous as Piper's steamy, strong, tortured partner, but Lyre is hilarious and more than he seems. A careful reader sees hints of a hidden story and purpose there. 

The thing about the Spell Weaver books and what made me hesitate for a moment is that they take place 5 years before Steel and Stone. I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it when I already knew what happens 5 years later. But I think that you are supposed to read it second because she wrote them after Steel and Stone. Regardless,  I was intrigued enough that I decided to take a chance and download the first book because I could always  'return it' since I was reading it through Kindle Unlimited, so no harm, no foul. 

Well, I was hooked. It didn't disappoint in the slightest and I actually think that they are my favorite books of the two series.  

The new stories give the background of Ash and Lyre that is only hinted at in the first books. And it also introduces a new character, Clio. Here is a synopsis of book one taken from Amazon: 

Clio has the rare ability to mimic magic. Sent on a mission to steal spells from the most dangerous family in the Underworld, she ends up stealing something else: their spell weaver.

As a nymph living in exile among humans, Clio has picked up all sorts of unique survival skills. But pilfering magic from the Underworld's deadliest spell weavers? Not so much.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what she has to do to earn a ticket back home.

Conning her way into the Underworld may have gone pretty well, but now she's got a new problem. His name is Lyre and he's a sinfully alluring incubus, a skilled spell weaver, and the only thing standing between her and stealing some damn magic.Maneuvering around him without blowing her cover shouldn't be that difficult, but chaos has been dogging her every step. Monsters hide behind beautiful faces and Lyre keeps saving her neck even though they're enemies. Kind of enemies? Either way, her mission is getting complicated fast, and in the Underworld, even one mistake could prove fatal. 

Now, here is the most exciting and sad news:  Annette has a new series coming out (hopefully soon) that takes both stories into the future where Clio, Lyre, Ash, and Piper are all involved!  The sad news is that I don't know when and  I can hardly stand waiting. Good thing that it appears she has at least one other series out there to help me make it through this dry spell. The one I'm thinking of reading next is called The Red Winter Trilogy.  

So if you haven't read any of Annette Marie's books, start with Steel and Stone, pronto.  You'll be so glad you did.

This post was proofread by Grammarly


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