Toil and Trouble (Jolie Wilkins, Book 2)

4 Stars

This is the second in series and the continuing story of Jolie, a new witch who can bring the dead back to life. A mere six months ago, Jolie was happily reading tarot cards in her shop, blissfully unaware of the Underworld creatures ... ya know, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, shapeshifting witches, Scottish Fae people in kilts, demons and etc. Not only did she not know about them, she didn't know she was one of them -- a witch, a quite powerful and unique one. "One thing I’d learned about the otherworldly is they’re a randy bunch…" and they all want Jolie, well they want her power and to have sex with her. HP Mallory's stories are refreshing and hilarious. Some really funny lines in this one: "Unbelievable! Why was it impossible for me to get laid? Recently it seemed the most action I’d gotten had been at my last pap smear ... If there were such a thing as blue balls for women, I had them bad." "Maybe I took Odran for granted but it was only because he regarded me as nothing more than a bun for his hot dog." The story picks back up just after Jolie's battle with the fairy under the watchful eye of Odran, the fairie king who has promised his help in the war against Bella if Jolie is able to defend herself. Rand, warlock, is still "male beauty personified". Sinjin is still his gorgeous vampire self. Trent and Odran are there as well gearing up for the war with Bella and her forces. And they all still want Jolie. Think of the battle as being something like Twilight Saga: Eclipse on a much larger scales with witches, wizards and Fae along with the vamps and werewolves. Only here Bella wants Jolie for her slave. Jolie suddenly finds herself thrust back into Rand's past in the middle of the battle and find out something very important. I figured this twist with Rand in advance but it is a very good one. This is another quick and fun read. This story ends with the action continuing again in the next book with more up in the air. I'm eager to see how Jolie deals with it. If you like Molly Harper's vampire and werewolf series, you'll definitely like Mallory's series.

#4stars #review #witches #vampires #faery #magic