Review: Carnal Magic

#SexySaturdays

Carnal Magic by Joely Sue Burkhart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I totally missed out on reading this book earlier.  Holy cow did I miss a great one.  It started a little rough for me because Arwena was off-putting from the get go.  I also didn't read the blurb because it is a Ms. Burkhart book and I read anything and everything she writes.  At the end of the story, I was hoping for more!

What put me off at first was Arwena's pet peeve of a boss calling another person at the company, "Honey".  I guess it is all in the intent and I get to pick if I am to be offended.  Keep in mind, this book is in the deep South.  Honey may be a term of endearment, but I have heard it applied to people at work too.  I guess it can be "degrading" or as people now call it, micro aggression.  I personally never had issues with it and I have experienced quite a bit of condescension as a female in IT working since the 90s.  This scene was within the first few pages of the book which was concerning.  I also know a little bit about Ms. Burkhart's personal life during the time this book came out so I caulked it up to her personal life bleeding in.  Regardless, I plowed through.

Arwena's maternal family line is pretty wild.  As we learn more about it, I'm beyond interested.  Making a pack with the Devil is frowned upon - heavily.  That whole lose your soul thing is pesky.  This one, whilst it does skate the Christian religious undertones, the dark male being seems to be from another pantheon.  What drives him is definitely in line with how Ms. Burkhart writes her erotica - kink and never mentioning BDSM.  I love this about her writing style.  Oh boy did this book pull me in once we started getting to the good parts.  Let's just say that my dreams were also impacted like Arwena's.  Yum!

This is a deliciously dark tale that will delight those who love the antihero and rough primal sex.