Book 95, 2024
Burning Times by Evelyn Vaughn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have a ton of things yet to do before leaving on my trip tomorrow, but I had so little left in my "work" book that I brought it home and just now finished it. The book was Burning Times by Evelyn Vaughn, and it's part of Silhouette's "Dreamscapes" line of paranormal romances. Main characters are Brigit (Brie), a witch, and Steve, her reporter husband who doesn't believe in anything he can't prove.
Steve suspects his beloved wife is keeping secrets from him. He begins to wonder if she's having an affair, and when he comes home during the day to find a stranger in their house, he becomes angry, enraged, which scares even himself. Brie knows that there's something off with her husband. It's not like him to fly off the handle. However, neither she nor any of her witch friends can suss out what may be affecting Steve. Brie cannot tell him she's a witch, not without breaking a powerful vow she made, forbidding her from revealing herself to a non-believer. As Steve's episodes become increasingly more violent, he leaves for fear of harming Brie. For her part, Brie must pinpoint the source of Steve's possession...before he kills her.
This was well-written but disturbing. Steve did lay his hands on Brie in anger more than once, which was not pleasant to read. She was able to defend herself by using her powers, but it was still horrifying. Steve was also horrified by his own behavior, but Brie can't help him the way he needs to be helped unless he believes and accepts her abilities. Characters were three-dimensional, and the plot held my attention. It was somewhat odd to begin a book, in which the main characters were already in love and married, but it worked in this instance. Also, it took me awhile, but I figured out that Steve's sister Sylvie and her fiancé Rand were the same Sylvie and Rand I'd read about in another book yonks ago.
Favorite lines:
♦ "I've only once seen a case of demonic possession. Foaming at the mouth, groaning, shrieking--the possessed person, of course, not me."
♦ "Leave you folks for a minute, and a wizard's duel breaks out."
♦ The witch and her all-powerful blankie
A compelling and slightly creepy read. Four stars.