#Review - Hiding from the Coven by Amelia Shaw #Paranormal #Fantasy

Series: Daughters of the Warlock # 2
Format: Kindle, 206 pages
Release Date: April 29, 2020
Publisher: Amelia Shaw
Source: Kindle Unlimited

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

She’s a witch on the run, with the Council’s most dangerous assassins on her tail.

Ava has been tried and convicted of the worst possible crime: Treason against the High Warlock, and the Council. Sentenced to death, she managed to escape her fate with help from some Fae friends, but those friends can’t keep her safe much longer.

The Council has put a bounty on Ava’s head that has every bad guy in the Universe looking for her. Her only choice? Return home to her sisters and hide, as their mother had for so many years, and hope she doesn’t meet the same dark fate.

But Ava wasn’t born to hide. With her mother’s strength and her father’s power, standing up for her place as Heir to the Council may endanger her life, but it’s her birthright, and she’s not going down without a fight.

Hiding from the Coven is the second installment in author Amelia Shaw's Daughters of the Warlock Series picking up several weeks after Sisters of the Coven. Ava Melfi is stuck in the Fae realm honing her magic after escaping with her life after the Council found her guilty in absentia. Ava naively thought the Council would accept that she's the High Warlock's daughter’s heir after she easily passed their ridged testing. 

In fact, all three of the High Warlock's daughters, Ava, Bella, and Courtney, are considered to be illegitimate due to some draconian law that was made up as they went along to ensure that the Council has all the control over who the High Warlock is and who he is allowed to marry. Ava’s one sure ally Tavlor is a half Fae, half warlock Council guard who has vowed to protect Ava. In fact, he’s been charged with hunting her down, arresting her, and bringing her back for execution. Something he’s been ignoring. 

Ava returns home to her realm that was created by Genevieve Melfi, their mother, but reimagined by her sisters Bella and Courtney. Bella is the bookworm of the family. There isn’t anything that Bella doesn’t read and it’s her obsession with books that may end up finding a way for Ava to survive. Courtney as the youngest is yearning to escape her realm and explore the human one. I fear that her carelessness may eventually catch up to her soon.

When all is said and done, the final part of this story proves one thing. The Council isn’t done with Ava, or Tavlor, or Matlock for that matter. If they find out about Bella and Courtney, whose to say what will happen next? Ava is once again on the cusp of either gaining her freedom and being named her father's heir or ending up losing everything. The deck is stack against her. Hopefully, the information that Bella found will solve this riddle and allow for a happy ending. The author is writing trilogies for all (3) sisters. Not sure if I will continue the series, but we shall see.  

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#Review - Sisters of the Coven by Amelia Shaw #Paranormal #Romance

Series: Daughters of the Warlock # 1
Format: Kindle, 218 pages
Release Date: March 1, 2020
Publisher: Amazon.com Services LLC
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Her mother’s death unleashes her biggest secret…the secret that could destroy them all.

When Ava’s mother dies, the responsibility of her daughters safety falls to the eldest of the three. Heir to the Coven, she must locate the most powerful warlock in all the realms: her father.

Only problem is, he has no idea he has a daughter, and the Council of Warlock’s is not about to allow an illegitimate heir to inherit their power.

Now Ava must hide who she is…or risk the wrath of the most powerful warlocks in the Universe. But hiding the power inside her isn’t as easy as it sounds, and soon, she finds her life and the life of her sisters in danger.

Sisters of the Coven is the first installment in author Amelia Shaw's Daughters of the Warlock. The first (3) books in this series features 23-year old Ava, the eldest of three sisters. Ava, Bella and Courtney have lived in seclusion for most of their lives. The home they lived in and everything they have is due to their mothers magic. While her mother is on her death bed, she revealed some truths to Ava that she has been hiding. Ava's father is a very powerful Warlock living in a magic realm.

For years, Genevieve has forbidden her daughters from seeking him out for fear that trouble will soon follow. But, when Genevieve dies, everything goes away leaving Ava and her sisters without a place to live. After Ava helps her sisters create a new home for themselves and everything they need in case she's unable to return, she travels to meet her Aunt Alison to ask for help getting to the magic realm. With Alison's help, she gets there. See seeks out the woman that her Aunt said to find, their old school friend names Mallory O'Grady.

With her mother's essence inside the locket she gave to Ava, she's told that if she's caught displaying skills that she shouldn't have, the Council will kill her. Things move rather quickly from here. Thanks to Mallory, Ava comes face to face with her father. In this world, the High Warlock is the most powerful mage in all the realms. His power is supposed to pass from father to son, but he doesn't have any sons. Instead he has (3) illegitimate daughters. Matlock, the High Warlock, was born into his position. He has an arranged marriage to a Council member. By just by being born, Ava will have a death warrant on her head if they ever find out who her father is. 

Things get even more interesting when she meets Tavlor. Tavlor is the High Warlock's chief of security, best tracker and assassin. He is half-Fae and half-witch which means that everyone dislikes him. The witches are predigested against all other beings, especially half breeds. When he meets Ava, there is an instant attraction between them. She, unlike others, has no prejudgement about what he is. When he shows her how she will be tested, he realizes that she has more power than someone who claims to be half-witch and half-human. He then tries to protect her from the evil Council witches that want to destroy her.

Ava ends up with a few allies as she faces her mortality thanks to the Council and the inaction of her own father who faces is own judgment. As this is the first book in the series, the story ends on a cliffhanger. This is a rather short story at 218 pages. I think Ava has some growing up to do. I think she's too naive and refuses to listen to the warnings before trying to prove to others that she can handle herself. No matter what you might say about her mother, she wasn't wrong by telling Ava not to seek out Matlock for fear that her life will be shortened greatly. We shall see if she grows up in the sequel. 

 

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