Spellbound

Written by Allie Therin

Narrated by Erik Bloomquist

To save Manhattan, they'll have to save each other first . . .

1925 New York

Arthur Kenzie's life's work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric . . . and the only one available has sworn off his abilities altogether.

Rory Brodigan's gift comes with great risk. To protect himself, he's become a recluse, redirecting his magic to find counterfeit antiques. But with the city's fate hanging in the balance, he can't force himself to say no.

Being with Arthur is dangerous, but Rory's ever-growing attraction to him begins to make him brave. And as Arthur coaxes him out of seclusion, a magical and emotional bond begins to form. One that proves impossible to break-even when Arthur sacrifices himself to keep Rory safe and Rory must risk everything to save him.

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781541439948

Allie Therin

Allie Therin is a writer and avid reader of sci-fi, fantasy, and romance. She also is, or has been, a bookseller, an attorney, a parks & rec assistant, a boom operator, and a barista for one (embarrassing) day. Allie grew up in a tiny Pacific Northwest town with more bears than people, although the bears sadly would not practice Spanish with her.

Reviews for Spellbound

[bibliovermis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This vastly exceeded my expectations; I was expecting (and would have been satisfied with) something much fluffier, something lighter on plot, detailed fantasy elements, and characterization—instead it excelled at all three. The central romance hit most of the usual tropes and story beats; there weren't any surprises there—but isn't that what we all signed up for? I'm happily anticipating reading more in the series.

[elenaj-147457 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun story, likable characters. The romance pacing seemed off to me, though. It felt like insta-relationship, but also lots of artificial barriers to getting together at the same time. For example, the scene where they're on a skyscaper construction site together. That scene was memorable and sweet, and also didn't really make sense in the context of the story. I 100% can't remember what they were doing up there in the first place, which wouldn't be true if it belonged in the book. And then afterwards, it didn't seem to have moved the needle on their relationship, which it should have.

This is a good book, but with stronger plot development and a tighter edit, it maybe could have been a great one.

[samnreader · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

That this could tear me away from reading the next book in a different series speaks to how engaging this was at setting the stage for this series. It was a lot of fun, pretty sweet, and a good read overall.That said, I don't know if I have a burning desire to continue. I would be completely fine leaving it as is for now. TBD I guess.And I want more books about this time period. Period.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars rounded up. This is my first from this author, and I will definitely continue with the series. Art made sense to me as a character, I understood why he did the things he did and he was easy to 'buy' and like. Rory was a bit strange for me. He would kind of drastically go one way, and then swing entirely the opposite direction the next moment and it was harder to figure out what exactly was making him tick. He seemed inconsistent to me, but maybe it's partially because he's younger than all the other characters or something. And he changed the most from the beginning to the end. Anyway, I wasn't feeling him as much, but I didn't wish him ill or anything and I'm open to still liking him more as the story goes on in the other books. He may have worked through some of his hangups here and be on the other side going forward. The secondary characters were well fleshed out though, and I felt like I had a good grasp of them even though not as much was said about them in comparison, so it's really just Rory who didn't feel as believable. Overall I enjoyed it though.

The steam is mostly closed-door, some kisses and groping on page, but the majority is just referenced or alluded to rather than shown.

[diana · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

a very dear to me series, to be honest. rory is forever my angry baby!!

[A · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Remarkable! I loved Rory and Ace so much! Exciting story.

[charlotte_kinzie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The descriptive bit: Arthur Kenzie is wealthy, educated and has some very magical friends. He keeps the supernatural secrets of his friends while trying to make sure that magical objects don’t fall into the wrong hands. Rory Brodigan is living a secret life, hiding his supernatural gift by working as an appraiser. The two men meet up when Kenzie finds an object that he needs read by someone with the right abilities. Then, things get really complicated!

My thoughts bit: This was enchanting! (I don’t regret the pun!) I loved every moment of this book. It was fast-moving, intriguing, and had the absolute perfect amount of sexual tension. The chemistry between Arthur and Rory was carefully crafted and has ensured I will be anxiously awaiting a sequel. In addition to the wonderful main characters, the supporting cast is all well-rounded and contributed a great deal to the plot.

The supernatural powers in the story were based on the traditional powers one might have read about, but I loved the authors twist on losing oneself into the magic. Each power demonstrated by one of the characters seemed to have an equal drain on them, and the terrifying possibility of losing themselves to a power they were unable to harness.

This is a creative twist on the supernatural mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[cathygeha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Spellbound by Allie TherinMagic in Manhattan #1Stepping into a magical paranormal romance set in 1925 New York was a delight. The plot and characters were perfect to time, place and this story. From page one I was hooked and I kept reading eagerly to find out what would happen next. Rory and Arthur were an absolute delight as they found way to one another. I fell in love with both of them and am so happy they found one another. This book has a cast of characters with and without paranormal abilities. There are relics with power, people who want the relics to gain the power and while Arthur and his band of paranormal people are doing their best to keep that power contained and away from the corrupt evil people after the relics. One of the side benefits that I love about getting to read advanced reader copies of books is that sometimes I stumble on a new-to-me author that I want to read more by. This time I found a debut author that I see a great future for. I loved this book and am eager to read what will happen next in this series. With seven magical relics mentioned and characters with paranormal abilities I want to know more about I am hoping that there will be more books to look forward to soon. What I liked: • Arthur: a noble hero without “magic” but who is magical lifeline to Rory • Rory: a younger man with magic that has so much to give • The Paranormal Friends of Arthur: so much I want to learn about them • Mrs Brodigan and her sister: good women who were there for Rory • Everything...still smiling as I think about this bookWhat I didn’t like” • Exactly what was meant not to likeDid I enjoy this book? YesWill I read more by this author? Without a doubt! Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars

[Yna Gabrinao · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was not expecting to enjoy it but it was a fun adventure.

[muzmuz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One word to describe this book..... CUTE.... now yes this book involves magic, wickedness and death but everything disappears when Rory and Arthur are together, seeing Rory being a spoiled hotty brat in front of arthur and watching arthur trying to control himself and not fall for the little minx is just all too sweet for my little heart.
Honestly i looked like a fool listening to the audio (made it 10 times better i swear), smiling and giggling every time these two were together.....
*sigh* every time Rory spoke Italian *sigh*
yeah am gonna end it here before i spill the entire book ^^
now off to find the audio for the other two books ^^

[Efrat Maor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a treat. I really liked this book and the balance between romance, fantasy and the history setting. Grrat characters.