by Nigel Pennick

Nigel Pennick is well known and respected for his books on magic and folklore. This is a good book on Earth-based spirituality. It is not, as the title might suggest, about Elemental Spirits.

The book is about natural magic, in his own words, "It is the power of everyday objects and human actions." I think it's a good starting place for someone interested in nature magic, but not drawn to a specific path or the Pagan religions like Wicca.

Some of the correspondences were different than I've read elsewhere in older sources, like Friday has always been green but Pennick assigns in blue and the purposes of Opal really threw me, but most of them are familiar with just the occasional anomaly.

Pennick gives us an over view of working with minerals and stones, animals and birds, and of connecting to the magic of the Earth in general. It isn't in depth information, but a decent starting point. He covers making magical tools and offers some food and drink suggestions as well as simple rituals throughout.

The one thing I would caution someone new to the subject is that some of the 'rules' like making your own magical knife are not hard and fast. I would look at the information as folkloric and likely to be a little different than another person's path might take them.

#GRRC, @Jackileejames, #Paranormal, #Fantasy, #MM, #Romance, 4 out of 5 (very good)

Elemental Magick is the first book in The Donovan Coven series. We start off with the Grimoire itself as it tries to ensure it becomes Aaron's. There is instant attraction between Malakai and Aaron, quickly followed by proclamations of love and being soul mates. If you don't like insta-love, trust me, you probably won't like this book.

The story itself is fast-paced, quickly moving from one scene to another without a real chance to get to know each character. It flows nicely though, so as long as you're prepared to go with the flow and not dive too deep, you'll be fine. As you might expect, Aaron is a whiz at magic, even though he's a newbie. And at least one of his friends is a latent witch too.

This was a brilliant book, full of action both in and out of the sheets. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa

Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Why did I read it? Full disclosure: "Elemental Tangents" was offered to me by the photographer in exchange for a review.  As I adore photography, and music, I was happy to do so.

What's it about? "Elemental Tangents" is a unique fusion of images, and sound.  The elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit are encapsulated in the imagery of Tracey Swain's photographs, and the music of Stephen Paine.  

What did I like? This is right up my street.  I love photography, and the music is kind of synth, chill out, meditation style.  It is a truly unique experience to read a book with music made to accompany it, or to listen to music with imagery designed to enhance the meditative experience.  It's hard to explain this fusion properly.  It has to be experienced.

Steve Paine's music is evocative of Enigma, and Deep Forest, and the kind of music that lets you drift to other places, which is perfect if you use Tracey's photographs to guide you.

It's not just a CD of music with clever liner notes; it's a book with music designed for reflection on the elements.

What didn't I like?  Oh, how I wish this was a coffee table book so the images could be better appreciated, with a slot for the CD, rather than a CD case sized book.  It's just a small quibble though.

Would I recommend it?  Yes.  If you enjoy meditation, if you enjoy photography, if you like meditative/chill music, then this is definitely for you.  It truly is an experience.

The main character in this story is Vicki, a human woman who got a rustic resort near Lake Silence as part of her divorce settlement and used all her money to improve and maintain it.

This paragraph introduces Vicki perfectly:

“A bit of useful information. My name is Victoria “call me Vicki” DeVine. I used to be Mrs. Yorick Dane, but giving up my married name was one of the conditions of my receiving valuable property—aka The Jumble—as part of the divorce settlement. Apparently, the second official Mrs. Dane didn’t like the idea that someone else had had the name first. Fortunately, she didn’t seem as possessive about Yorick’s Vigorous Appendage. I could have told her that a couple dozen other women had had it before she took possession. But it wasn’t likely that she would keep solo possession of the appendage for long, so let her figure things out the hard way like I did. Of course, if she had been one of those indulgences, then she already knew the signs and might be able to nip them in the bud.”

Vicki finds out there’s a dead body on her property when walks in on one of her tenants, Aggie Crowe (a teenage crow shifter) as she was about to warm up an eyeball in the microwave.

“Why can’t I eat it?” She looked at the eyeball rolling around in the small bowl that was now sitting on the counter.

“Nobody else wants it. It’s starting to get squooshy. And the dead man doesn’t need it.”

“The words got me past the physical evidence. “What dead man?”

“The one who doesn’t need the eyeball.” Little black feathers suddenly sprouted at her hairline, confirming the nature of my lodger.

Trouble starts soon after when cops with no jurisdiction there try to pin the murder on Vicki. Fortunately for her, due to her kindness towards Aggie members of the Other community step up and protect Vicki. The terra indigene are not the only ones who stand by her. Officer Grimshaw (human, good cop) and Julian Farrow (Intuit, ex-cop) are also determined to keep her safe.

The one who dazzles her from the first moment is Ilya Sanguinati, the lawyer and the local vampire, who in Vicki’s words is Yummy.

“I mean, he was a double-scoop sundae with hot fudge and caramel sauce and a mountain of real whipped cream yummy. His hair was darker than Ineke’s double-fudge brownies, and he had the most luscious melted chocolate eyes.”

But we get to meet other impressive characters, such as the Lady of the Lake, the water Elemental who lives in Lake Silence, her water pony Whirlpool and Aiden, the fire Elemental. It’s endearing how they all work together to protect the frail human who can’t stand up for herself. Ever one of the Elders sticks around to help, and when the bad guys try to break in, the Elder wrecks the car.

“How many Elders does it take to flip a car?” I asked.

She gave me a puzzled smile. “Is that a human joke?”

Not likely. “Maybe.”

Vicki is a flawed character after divorcing her abusive husband, and I think that makes her likable, hence triggering everyone’s protective mode. She is always intimidated by men, except for Ilya who fascinates her.

“I’m grateful for Aiden’s help in getting a fire started in the stove last night. But this morning, when I realized who he was . . . I felt intimidated.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s Fire. An Elemental.”

“The Lady of the Lake is also an Elemental. Does she intimidate you?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Huh. Good question.

“Is it because Aiden is male?” Ilya asked

[…]

When he asked me if I was all right this morning, I was afraid of what he might do to Julian, who was with me. I was afraid of saying the wrong thing.”

“You’re often afraid of saying the wrong thing to men.”

It wasn’t quite a question, so I didn’t feel obliged to answer.

Anne Bishop’s sense of humor comes through just like it did in the Others novels. Vicki often jokes to make light of a situation. Sometimes her timing is not the best, but she manages to amuse the vampire.

“Do the Sanguinati have trouble with mosquitoes?”

“You mean, do the big bloodsuckers get pestered by the little bloodsuckers?”

Judging by my attorney’s laughter, if I failed to turn The Jumble into a viable business, I could always get a job as a stand-up comedian in a vampire bar.”

All in all, I loved Lake Silence, the convoluted plot (albeit a little far fetched) and the fascinating characters. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Wild Country.

A very good book to learn how to pronounce Spanish in a correct way!

Un libro molto valido per imparare come pronunciare lo spagnolo nel modo più corretto!

Consigliatissimo! :)