Chasing Magic is a rollercoaster of a read. My every
emotion was engaged as I hurt inside because of Chess and her angst and emotional torture she
places on herself because of her belief she isn’t good and has nothing special
to give the world. Chess is trying her best to be more optimistic about herself
and her situation thanks to the positive influence her lover, Terrible has
over her. She and Terrible are now more connected than ever, a unit, where
Chess doesn’t have to hide her feelings. The good guy that Terrible is, even (barely) allows Chess to remain friends with Lex, Chess’s ex-lover and
enemy of Terrible’s drug dealing boss, Bump.
Now that Lex’s father is dead, Lex
is in control of his father’s drug empire and wants Terrible to work for him.
If Terrible doesn’t comply, Lex will assassinate Terrible and there’s nothing
Chess can do about it.While there’s a war brewing between Bump and Lex,
Chess has to deal with Downside’s citizens becoming mindless zombies because of
dark magic controlling them. She has to figure out who’s responsible and stop
it before the Downside, her territory, is destroyed. Terrible is there to help
Chess, and she relies on him more than she should, which scares her. I’ve said
it before, but Chess is her own worst enemy and she pushes Terrible into a
corner where he lashes out and changes the dynamics of their relationship in an
almost disastrous, yet very welcomed way. But the question remains, will Chess
ruin everything and continue using the dangerous drugs she’s addicted that may
kill her or turn to Terrible who has become her new addiction and one she
really can’t live without?
Chasing Magic is powerful not only with the story,
but with the characters Stacia has created. In the beginning of this series, it
was mainly about Chess and her issues, but now things have changed.
Terrible has become so important to this series as much as Chess and her
crazy drug addiction is. These two complement each other so well and are a couple
near and dear to my heart. Just like Roarke and Eve (from the J.D. Robb's In Death series)
and Cat and Bones (from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series), I can’t see Terrible without Chess and
visa-versa. These two are both sides of the same coin, each other’s yin and
yang. I’m hooked and obsessed with these two, and it’s outstanding how far they
have come and how imbedded they are in reading psyche.
Stacia
really ups the emotion factor here. There’s tenderness, which is shown
perfectly when Chess goes to Elder Griffin's wedding ceremony with Terrible. The way
Terrible acts at the wedding when asked if he may marry Chess in the future
had me gasping for breath just like Chess did. Then there’s a heartbreaking,
yet powerfully erotic scene between Chess and Terrible where the question of
mistrust and faithfulness comes into play. It’s one the best written, sexually
charged, heart in your throat scene this year that proves how much Terrible
does love Chess and he refuses to let her go and expects the same from her.
Terrible doesn’t need his pimpmobile to give Chess good loving and makes do with a wall and a couch very well.
The dialogue had me riveted and the battle at the
end had gnawing my fingers down to nubs. At one point I was a nervous wreck
because it looked like Chess was at the end of her rope. And as for Terrible…take
me I’m yours!
Words cannot do this series and Chasing Magic enough
justice. Buy it, read it and please rave about it to anyone you can. Hands
down, the best reading experience, the best couple and one of the best authors
I’ve read this year goes to Stacia Kane (Del Rey)
Final Grade: A
A few other Chasing Magic reviews:
A few other Chasing Magic reviews:
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