This Wicked Magic review

It took me forever to read This Wicked Magic because I found it very hard to get into. It's not a badly written book but I couldn't quite understand or empathize with the characters and a variety of things in the book just bothered me.

Certainly Jones, or CJ, is a witch that practices dark magic - but he's "good" which is the first thing that doesn't make sense to me. Dark magic is called dark magic because it is used for or by evil. So how can you be a good witch who practices dark magic? Viktorie St. James, or Vika, is a witch who practices light magic and has an obsessive compulsive need to clean everything - and I do mean everything. She also has what is called a "sticky soul" which means that dead souls that she comes in contact with will stick to her soul until they are removed - a trait I found a little creepy. Vika is drawn to CJ because she wants to clean his soul which is infested with demons that he carried back from a trip to Daemonia. This is the second thing that bothers me in this book - attraction can't begin with wanting to "fix" someone.

This Wicked Magic runs at a very uneven pace and some of the wording and phrasing threw me at times. The "twist" toward the end seemed overly contrived and unnecessary and the ending was rather abrupt as was the "solution" to the twist. Most of the secondary characters are only mentioned or met once and the ones who are featured more are very one-dimensional.

Overall, This Wicked Magic just didn't do it for me. I didn't love any of the characters and I had a hard time caring what happened as the book progressed.

This Wicked Magic by Michelle Hauf was published on February 5th by Harlequin Nocturne.

Synopsis

His destined mate...

…Certainly Jones has pushed it too far this time. Gnawing and clawing at his soul are the demons he unknowingly carried back from his quest into their land. Weak and exhausted, the dark witch gazes down the dim, cobbled street at his only hope—a lone vehicle with blazing headlights. Desperate, he makes a mad dash for the light, and the striking woman illuminated in its wake.

Vika senses him before she sees him. The good witch with emerald eyes and fiery red hair has never dabbled in dark magic. But one look at CJ turns her life upside down. Soon Vika is lured into his dangerous world…and his powerful arms. A few sultry kisses are not enough to save CJ from his demons—it's going to take some seriously potent sorcery. And they're running out of time.