Axel Locke is a witch hunter with a curse that can only be softened by sex or the blood of a witch, causing him to lose his soul and become a rogue witch hunter. Darcy MacAlister works in the family's funeral home and has fought the stigma of being "strange" for years; her own personality has contributed to the label far more than her family's vocation ever has.

So often, recent publications in the paranormal romance field follow such a contrived pattern that the reader could just read any formulaic romance with the main characters as different paranormal creatures each time and be just as fulfilled, or not, as the case may be. Jennifer Lyon's BLOOD MAGIC is an excellent reminder that the field still has fresh, uncharted and exciting avenues to explore. Instead of one-dimensional characters who never get more complex than any one-line description can convey, the characters in BLOOD MAGIC are multi-layered, detailed and, most importantly, interesting.

This novel has a carefully woven backstory of intrigue and magic: a rift occurred between the "good" witches and those sworn to protect them, the hunters of "evil" witches, causing a curse to fall upon the witch hunters and leaving both sides suspicious of the other. They no longer work in harmony because the witches fear that the witch hunters are rogues, and the witch hunters fear the witches are curse- bearers. When a witch hunter's little sister gains a Death Mark in retaliation for his father's bad acts, he has to fight the desires of the curse and find a witch willing to help him heal her. When Darcy MacAlister is recruited...kidnapped...in order to save Axel Locke's sister, Hannah, from the Death Mark, there is only one problem: She was adopted and has no concept about her abilities.

While trying to work together, find the truth about her origins, dissuade the curse, unearth forgotten magical teachings and stay safe from the sides trying to hurt them and their friends, Axel and Darcy must also analyze their feelings toward each other and confront the possibility that they may be pawns in some much larger game.

For a thrilling adventure sizzling with passion, intrigue and complexity, pick up BLOOD MAGIC and prepare to be absorbed by a work that far exceeds many current publications in the field.