Magic and Medicine: Amber Legends Book 1 Author Olena Nikitin
Book Review
5 out of 5 stars!
"What the fuck are you, a zombie, a vampire, or something else that sparkles?" - Sara
Sara's life comes to a screeching halt when a patient who had been stabbed decides to come back to life and demand the weapon back! Sara works in the Emergency Department and has seen it all or so she thought. . . Everyone knows about her unique gift of just knowing things even before the scans come back but her having actual magic is unheard of. Is magic even real?!
Sara is soon caught between two worlds as she is dragged deeper into supernatural events. Shifters, vampires, sirens, and more are real! Oh my! Sara is the key to peace or destroying everything as she becomes closer to a man and his group, she wanted to keep her distance from all of it. There's no denying the attraction to Leszek but is it more than just their powers calling to one another? Can she really be what everyone is saying she is?
"I was another pet project to the man who seemed to work in some weird, magical underworld." - Sara
One of the things that draws me to Olena's books the most is how well the characters are written! The FMCs are very loud, proud, headstrong, and stubborn, taking no nonsense from anyone regardless of status! Sara refuses to be some submissive doormat for the big, bad, Forest God. Her life literally gets uprooted the moment Leszek steps into her E.R. room. Sara's no damsel in distress and doesn't take kindly to him trying to rearrange her life!
Leszek is an immortal who isn't used to people telling him no, especially women. Most women wanting to instantly fall into his arms, but Sara is something else. Usually, he doesn't waste his time with short-lived mortals but Sara challenges him in ways he hadn't expected and surprising him as their story progresses. I really enjoyed watching his walls come down and even allowing her nicknames for him to slide. The banter between the two of them was fantastic and had me laughing so much.
I enjoyed the world building in this book as we got to understand more of Leszek's world and what he's trying to keep in check. Turns out being the leader of multiple groups of supernatural beings is rather difficult at times. Especially when some harbor a love hate relationship with Leszek and would sooner point fingers at him then ask for his side of things. There's a lot of growth that happens within the book that doesn't just revolve around the main characters.
I found the scenes where Sara was in her element rather fascinating. How she could rapidly fire off commands and keep everyone focused but calm at the same time. Giving tasks to anyone within the area so no one felt left out. There's some graphic medical stuff that goes on along with some morbid medical humor to help ease situations. I thoroughly believe Sara would state she was missing something and look at her patient's new sutures.
I felt so many emotions with this read and whew it's a thick book! But I did it and it was well worth it! Loved the combination of magic and medicine for sure and how it honestly fit perfectly together, Sara already figuring that out but not fully. She still had to understand things about herself, and that magic was really real! Read the book!
Again, Sara works in the medical field and so expect some gore. Supernatural healing and scenes with surgeries may be a little squeamish. There was mention of physical, domestic abuse and brief descriptions of past events. (The jerk got what he deserved!) Language is a prominent thing along with heaping amounts of sarcasm and witty banter! Violence and bloodshed, magic attacks, deaths, feelings of grief, and more. A scene involving an animal getting injured, but it wasn't super detailed out, sorry if this is a spoiler but the animal was healed and placed somewhere safe!
The romance is a slow burn because the two MCs have to try and figure themselves out. Miscommunication all over the place or just failure to communicate, dual POVs to really showcase the frustrating chaos. No one said being an adult would be easy or make you suddenly supper wise, even if one of the adults is an immortal. . . Tension of all kinds and Sara not knowing whether to stab Leszek or climb him. There's very spicy MF action and I love Sara even more because she understands the importance of antlers. . .
We do get a very good HEA for the main couple but there's clearly openings for more to come with some of the side characters. I heard rumors two of my favorites from this book are going to get their own installment! This book checks so many boxes! Shifter romance, "Beauty and the Beast" vibes, magic, sassy familiars, strong FMCs who take no BS, the list keeps going on!
"If you think sleeping with a powerful male willing to bend over backwards to please you, even knowing the danger you put yourself in, is the worst that could happen, then adjust your priorities." - Scarface
Enjoy the fantasy romance with Slavic Mythology and did I mention there's a sassy vamp in this book?! Sorry, sorry, end of the review. Just go read the book and don't forget to give the author some stars!
Magic and Medicine by Olena Nikitin, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
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