Soul Magic

Triad, Book 3

By: Poppy Dennison

Narrated by: Robert G Davis

Sequel to Body Magic

Triad: Book Three

Blood runs soul-deep. Cormac hasn't been the same since the night the High Moon Pack was attacked. With his magic weakened, he's consumed by a bloodlust he hasn't felt since he first became a vampire. His need to replenish his power makes him a danger to his last remaining family member, and his hunger makes him careless. And that's just the beginning of his troubles. Feeding from pack, beta Liam Benson was supposed to slake his appetite, not leave him craving more.

Simon Osborne and Gray Townsend are trying to fight a being history says shouldn't exist - one with all three types of magic. The pack must use all of their resources to combat the mysterious triad, even turning to the shady Council of Mages for help. While Cormac struggles to reconcile his past failures with his current desires, Simon must attempt the impossible: An alliance between mind, body, and soul.

©2013 Poppy Dennison (P)2014 Dreamspinner Press

Wonderful continuation of the series

In the final installment of the Triad (yes, there is a book four but it is unrelated to the original series), we finally get to find out who the bad guy is and what he wants and how to stop him.
We see the development of Cormac and Liam as a couple. First, we see Liam merely trying to keep Cormac from hurting himself, Simon and others. Then, we see their mutual attraction and need for each other. Finally, their deep devotion.
However, the bulk of this plot is the story-line regarding the evil being who keeps causing trouble to Simon and his pack. It turns out he knows Cormac and that gives them a clue as to how to stop him. But… not before he attempts to steal the children again and forces Simon to do something so horrible the entire pack wonders whether or not Simon should be allowed to stay. (It’s very sad – just a warning!)
Fortunately, Simon’s actions inadvertently lead them all to the final piece of the puzzle – the thing they need to defeat the evil being.
With some tremendously heart rending speeches to the tune of “If I die I want you to be strong without me” Cormac, Gray and Simon set out to defeat the monster and (I’m not surprising anyone here) emerge victorious!
We also get a really juicy Epilogue (I’m a sucker for the Epilogue!) and the entire debacle ends neatly tied up – bow not included.

**
I really enjoyed this entire series and watching the growth and development of Gray and Simon as a couple. We still never see too much of Cade and Rocky, but we do see a bit more with Cormac and Liam.
All in all the romance was really nicely laden in this fantasy about wolves, vampires and warlocks. I’d say the romance was at least equal to the fantasy elements in this case.
I thought the first and third books were the best, book two was great in terms of moving the story forward, but I felt cheated at not seeing more between Cade and Rocky (who I thought were a great couple.)
Watching Garon and Riley grow was an added bonus and I found myself saddened by the end of this delightful series.
Audiobook:
Again, Robert Davis did excellent work narrating book three. I loved his grumbly Liam, his stuffy mage Councilman, the grumbling Were councilman and his little kid voices.
He infused emotion and tension at the right times and did a tremendous job with the dialog.
As I noted with book one, I was still bugged on occasion by his inflections here and there, but mostly I was impressed and entertained.
I really enjoyed reading (and listening) to this series and give both the book, the audiobook and the series a 4.5 of 5 stars.

Great ending

This was Cormack and Liam's book; however, it revolved around Simon and Grey so much, I would say this is a mixture book of Cormack and Liam's love story with Simon and Grey as main secondary characters with their own side story going on.

Simon release that he is also a triad. Also we find out who the bad triad is.... It was a good ending.. Not as much smexing going on...maybe 3 scenes in totally. It you have listen/read Body and Mind Magic...then this one is well worth a listen/read.

Narration was awesome... so perfect for these characters.

Nice conclusion

Neatly ties the trilogy up. Despite loss, Everyone is accounted for and the earlier plots rolled into a final showdown.

Very Quick Review Followed By Detailed Critique

This book is somehow both basic and boring, and also convoluted and contrived. That’s all you can really say about it. If you can turn your brain off then maybe it’s enjoyable. But if you are the type to pay attention, make connections, and notice flaws and problems in storytelling then there is a good chance this book will annoy you a lot. That’s the jist of it.

If you want a spoiler heavy breakdown of every problem I experienced, I’m including it below. Maybe you’ll enjoy feeling justified in your annoyance after reading the book if we share similar opinions.

Liam's dream analysis like his subconscious is a VR recreation was ridiculous. The dreams in general are way too literal. I would have preferred either to have a line about how wolves have eidetic memory or that their dreams are like this in some way. Maybe going into memories in a skill some have, or a ritual they perform. Or, if you weren’t going to make it clear this was "a thing" then really lean into it being a dream and being more random and symbolic. Liam can do the analysis once he's woken up, rather than inside the dream. When the common experience for most people is to not remember their dreams, everything about this just comes across as a poorly done plot point to get things moving.

Silas is a rude mother fucker. Also, that no one thought about Silas the second "vampire wolf" came up is beyond stupid. Even if they didn't think it was actually Silas, they have an example of that hybrid attempting to be created. And then you can’t rightly have Simon be the one to exposition via “don’t you remember” to Gray when Cormac says the name, but not have him have made the distinction earlier.

Silas flat out says he wants to destroy everything Cormac holds dear. And then when he makes it clear he killed Richard, Simon's grandfather, Cormac ask-yells "Why?!" He literally just bloody told you, bitch.

The idea that seeing a bunch of blood and no body would make anyone think everyone was dead is so stupid. Being overwhelmed by the blood initially might have been an excuse in that moment, but certainly not after. It’s not like this was modern day. They lived alone in the woods, essentially. If he had enough sense to leave with being overwhelmed why didn’t he follow the blood trail? Could he tell there was blood from both vampire and wolf? Can this vampire fly????

Completely illogical fabrication of conflict. There is no reason for Cormac not to have told Simon and the others who he thought Silas might be the night of the attack. Even after he went home he could have sent a text, or called. Even though it’s already pretty stupid that Simon didn’t immediately bring it up. Cormac not trusting what he saw, or not believing it is no excuse. The idiot is hundreds of years old. Even if he thought it was exceedingly unlikely, nothing is stopping him from just being “could be really, really wrong, and it’s unlikely as heck, but the vampire-wolf kinda reminded me of Silas.”

Gray also blaming Cormac for everything that happened during the attack is stupid. Cormac didn’t know Silas was alive (even though that’s ridiculous), so he couldn’t have done anything to prevent that attack. Everything that happened that night is of no fault to anyone. Gray should be mad at the fact that Cormac not telling them put them in further danger because of Simon’s connection to Cormac.

I really have zero idea why anyone is at all concerned about Liam feeding Cormac. If the issue is that Liam knew some things that were going on and didn’t tell Gray then admit that. Feeding Cormac doesn’t mean anything, and it happened way more recently than the attack. Be mad at Liam for bringing Cormac to them without informing Gray of his magic being strange. But the other stuff is so dumb.

Simon flipping out and interrupting the discussion about Silas to mother-hen about the kids is over the top. The discussion was on a natural and obvious trajectory so losing it over an inevitable conclusion just makes Simon look clueless and overly emotional.

They should have known Riley was an alpha the second it was clear he shifted with ease at the age of 6. Considering how much they are aware about shifting happening mostly after age 10 and how even Garen shifting so easily at his age causes some question, the fact it took until Gray tried to bring Riley into the pack is idiotic.

Simon immediately thinking to Riley’s future and if he would take multiple partners, as his parents likely did to increase shifter numbers is ridiculous. It doesn’t matter, he has no control over it, and he isn’t the type to judge. “He couldn’t even think of this little guy as an adult.” Then don’t bloody write it. Nor should he. The contemplation is stupid on so many levels. For the story and for Simon’s character.

Simon killing Maggie to save Riley is manufactured drama that no one needs right now. You can gain the exact same level of shock from Arthur and the Were Council at having their magic be pulled in by Simon because that is literally where the largest part of the concern stems from. Frankly, none of the Council actually care that Maggie died. They cared about what Simon did in order to kill her. And he could have just as easily used Mind Magic on her in her human form since he's been established to be skilled at it. They can all be a little wary at the clear ability Simon has to control them if he wants. Maggie's death is pointless. It creates distrust that everyone and their dog knows will be gotten over, and it makes Simon doubt himself, which is something we've already been dealing with forever and it's boring.

Simon goes into a depression spiral of self-doubt that we've essentially seen since book 1 and it's now just a contrived slog. And, he could also still feel that way if he hurt Maggie rather than killed her. He can be terrified at his innate power without his conscious control without rehashing this same bs. His lack of confidence in himself isn’t a personal trait to keep rehashing; it’s something that he should be working on and overcoming as his journey progresses. At this point we have a character that has not grown as a person at all. Things have changed around him. He has not truly changed or grown.

Also, how about we don’t frame grieving over accidentally murdering someone and feeling like he’s lost his whole family as a “pity party”?? Don’t try to use emotional devastation if you can’t actually cover the emotional depth.

And Gray ignoring Simon and Riley goes against everything we've been told about him and how he sees his relationship and priorities when it comes to Simon. Liam tries to explain this to Cormac but why didn’t Gray console Simon at all when they were outside? A squeeze of his shoulder or a piece of reassurance through their mind-link while Gray sussed out how the wind was blowing among the others would have not only been in line with who we know Gray to be, but also prevented a lot of the turmoil that Simon is dealing with. Which, again, makes it a fabricated mess for the sake of drama that is not necessary or realistic. OR he could have just had Kade and Liam listen in while he went to check on Simon and his own son.

They are all also conveniently not mentioning that their magic all came back to them in full, which I know has happened because I've listened to these already. But the author is creating drama by withholding things that are relevant and the characters are 100% aware of. There is no way that these super powerful beings are going to go off for literal hours, if not days, about Simon pulling their power out of them, and not discuss that it came back. But no. We need drama now, and they can have a revelation about Simon’s magic later. It’s like when someone in a movie asks a question at dawn and then the scene cuts to them driving in a car at night and that’s when the question gets answered. Nothing works like that.

There is an excessive amount of times where really stupid scenarios play out only to have another character react to how stupid they are. If a character is aware how stupid it is, and it is legit stupid and doesn’t help your story at all, that’s something you need to remove from the entire book.

Interpreting the magic that clearly has conscious thought is convoluted and, again, only there as a plot McGuffin. Also, is magic a soul? Why does the magic have conscious thought at all? What about all the many, many people that don’t have magic, like, I dunno, Simon’s parents. Never going to actually address that at all? Beautiful.

If the magic can move, and pat people on the head, and direct itself into shapes to give meaning, just spell out words. There is no difference in revelation here between Simon’s grandfather explaining in words what Simon can do and Simon figuring it out. Not to mention that Simon doesn’t actually seem put together enough to have figured it out on his own. All his revelations come across as unearned or repetitive, because the audience already knows about them. We all know that Silas is taking magic to replenish his stores. The only new information is that intent plays a part. Just spell out “intent” in the air, grandfather. Kids with sparklers have more sense than magic ghosts.

Cormac claiming that Simon has grown so much is beyond ridiculous. Simon hasn’t really grown at all, and especially as an Alpha Mate. He hasn’t demonstrated that he has learned of their ways, even by so much as reading the books Garen mentioned in the first book about their history. They read a lot of books for specific things, but never do they imply Simon is doing it for the purpose of understanding his role, nor has he demonstrated it. He healed the injured pack members basically without actually meaning to. It was all instinct and based on his caring nature, not on being part of a pack. And he almost never considers the pack at large about anything. He is entirely selfish in that regard and only ever cares, usually in incredibly exaggerated ways, about Riley, Garen, and Gray. He has done nothing, and barely said anything, to show he’s grown even one iota in his role as the Alpha Mate. Him hugging people because someone they loved just died, and Gray is also doing it, is basic social etiquette and mirroring. If you want to have this mean something then it needs to be Simon recognizing it, feeling his connection to the pack, feeling what they need and that the responsibility is on him. Because Simon has done nothing to show or even tell us he has grown, having an external character make this claim is asinine. Simon has not embraced his place as the Alpha Mate in the pack. He has only embraced his place in his tiny family unit. Everything is about them. Nothing is ever about the pack as a whole. The only time he gives any consideration to the pack at large is when he feels personally attacked by the Were Council members and has to justify his _character_ in that he would not hurt them.

I hate how all the adults act in general, but they are nauseating when the kids are around. Simon pisses off and Gray and Cormac go after him, and in that time the Council members have all calmed down to watch Kane play horsie for Riley? They aren’t still pensive and concerned? They aren’t taking time given to them during that break to call other members of the Council for more feedback and opinions? They are just going to sit there and be bemused? Why does his action cause Simon and Gray amusement? If anything this should cause melancholy. Maggie literally just died. Kane trying to keep Riley’s mind off things by playing with him isn’t cute and funny; it’s sad. The reason for it is sad. The emotion hanging in the room is sad. But I’m not sure what to expect from someone who calls dealing with having killed someone a “pity party”.

There was another review on Mind Magic that mentioned dropping the sex. And my original thought was no, that’s silly. You can have an all encompassing story that covers magic and adventure and still have a mature adult relationship. But after listening to the whole trilogy again…yeah. The books read as a debut YA self published trilogy, and then sex got thrown in. Was that because it did anything for the story? Was it just to make it more adult? Because that other reviewer had a point; the writing doesn’t lend itself to the maturity of sex. If it had been designed as a PG YA trilogy it might have been slightly more bearable. But, it’s trying to be too many things it just isn’t and that ruins all aspects of it.

In the final battle, what the hell is the blackness? If you're going to make a big deal out of Silas's problem and hunger being caused by an imbalance then why the hell are you focusing on this swirling blackness as the actual cause for the desire for power? And if you are going to focus on it, can you not at least speculate on it? If the darkness a manifestation of the hunger or the imbalance or something, even if the assumption is wrong, give us something. Silas is about to die. Everything is supposed to be getting wrapped up in a nice little bow. And this is just glossed over like nothing.

If balance is so important and there was previous problems with Cormac’s soul magic running rampant when the balance was off, why pull this whole “clarity of magic” in Cormac with no mention of his mind magic? His soul magic may be defined as brilliant, bright rubies, but without mentioning how his mind magic is threaded within it, it goes counter to the pre-established driving force of this entire series. If Cormac is wholly soul magic now then Simon took his mind magic. If he still has mind magic there should have been reference made to it. There is no way I am going to assume that the author actually remembered that through-line she set up with Cormac and just expects us to assume everything worked out all willy-nilly. It was set up so it should have been concluded. It would have taken half a line while describing the soul magic.

In the end, I dreaded going back to this book. I avoided it so many times. It needed several more drafts and a good editor willing to tell the author where to focus and where to drop things.

not as good as the first, narrator still bad

I dont know why i dont like Rocky who is one of the main characters in this book, but that makes the book a little hard to like. If you feel differently you might like this story just as much as the first. And i might be getting used to the narrator, because i think he is a little better in this one. Still have a tendency to sound surprised all the time, but he seems to rein it in a bit in this one.