Max was enslaved by a witch and turned into a supernatural warrior, but she always does her job. This becomes more complicated when wild magic turns their homeland, Horngate, by making fairy tales real and leaving danger lurking around every corner. With winter coming, resources are harder to find, but the people look to Benjamin Sterling, leader of the Earth's Last Stand cult, to help. Only his power isn't pure. There is darkness behind him. Sterling greedily eyes Horngate, and Max knowingly walks straight into his trap. It leaves her risking everything, including her love, Alexander, in order to save their world.
Action and tension are steady and emotions are high in the fourth and last installment in the Horngate Witches series. The Shadowblades are a unique take on witches, and Ms. Francis' writing displays the intensity and creativity needed to pull off this breath-taking series. Her ability to riff on religious themes without them being overly pretentious is an ambitious move, but one she completes with no problem. She successfully blends the religious tones with her fictional world in a smooth and effortless way. This series is elaborate but not complicated, and the characters are real and relatable. Read BLOOD WINTER, and the entire series, to discover a new, fresh, fantastically created world and you'll also get an amalgamation of action along with a bit of romance.
Set in apocalyptic America and featuring a magically enslaved heroine who is “a riveting mixture of guts, compassion, and furious anger as she struggles with a world coming apart at the seams” (Romantic Times), the fourth in a dynamic dark urban fantasy series unlike anything you’ve ever read before. Winter is coming to Montana and Shadowblade warrior Max is expecting trouble. People are hoarding everything. They are banding together, many flocking to the congregation of Sterling Savage, a fire-and- brimstone preacher. A charismatic cult leader who claims to be the Hand of God, he’s determined to create a human utopia and destroy all magic, starting with witches. Unbeknownst to him, the “divine” voice he’s been hearing isn’t God but a demon that feeds on hate, death, and destruction. Savage is the perfect puppet for the demon’s ambitions. Max and her people at Horngate are all that stand in its way, and they are woefully unprepared. Conducting terrible, bloody ceremonies to boost his own power and that of the demon riding him, Savage starts a war between his congregants and two other powerful gangs in the city, fighting for food, fuel, clothing and territory. When he manages to capture Max’s niece, brother, and several teenagers from Horngate, Max tries to free them but finds that Savage has twisted their minds. They worship him—even her brother, who is a witch and whom Savage intends to burn at the stake. Going undercover in the cult compound, Max swiftly realizes just how seductive Savage is. His charisma is reinforced with magic. His followers adore him and will do anything for him. Anything. But courage, loyalty, and friendship are powerful forces—and Max doesn’t like to lose.
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