Title: The Shoppe of Spells
Author: Shanon Grey
Format: Ebook provided by Sizzling PR for review
When is a whole more than the sum of its parts?
When it has ties to the quaint little town of Ruthorford, GA, as Morgan Briscoe discovers when a cryptic message threatens to change her life forever. Morgan’s relatively normal life is turned on its ear when she learns not only that she is adopted, but her birth parents are dead and she now holds half-interest in a business with their ward, Dorian Drake.
Dorian is running The Shoppe of Spells and despite his riveting good looks, he can barely conceal his hostility toward his new partner.
Morgan discovers that she is more than she seems and together she and Dorian have the ability to control a portal to another dimension. Unable to control their growing attraction, Morgan and Dorian dance around their desires and her burgeoning abilities, until danger forces them to face their destiny.
See my interview with author Shanon Grey HERE
“A beautiful prison is still a prison.”
That’s how Morgan first felt when she found herself in the lush gardens of her new “home”. She’s been through a lot in a short period of time. She’s lost her job, broken up with her boyfriend, learned she was adopted and that her birth parents just died, inherited a herb/home remedy shop, and she is now expected to live in this new place and have this new life. Oh yeah, and this new life includes inter-dimensional creature removal where this creature causes headaches, confusion and memory loss to humans, sorting of bringing them a sort of dementia. Regular humans can’t see these creatures; Morgan has a genetic inheritance in her vision that allows them to be seen. The only trick is that she must work in tandem with Dorian to achieve the goal.
Overall I can say that I enjoyed this story. It was a unique storyline that I’ve not encountered before. The main character, Morgan, was very likeable and I enjoyed getting to know her. She is a twenty six year old woman who has had a tough time but you can sense strength in her. She stands up for the things she believes in and the care she has for her family and friends is a great asset to her personality. Her love interest, Dorian, was also quite likeable. I actually fancy him as the spitting image of Zachary Quinto. He’s kind of nerdy, incredibly sexy, very intelligent, and despite his best efforts he is falling for Morgan.
This book had quite a large cast of characters, which normally would irk me to try and keep everyone straight. But the author, Shanon Grey, does a wonderful job of keeping everything organized and in order. Neighbors, friends, ex-boyfriends, and adversaries all were richly written and I felt like I got to know them all. They really helped enrich the story and made everything feel so much more real. Even the dog and cat in the story felt like integral parts of the plotline. I think that takes some wonderful talent and skill to be able to pull that off effectively.
I must admit when I first started thinking about this book, before I read it, I was a bit wary about the whole idea of portals. I thought it was going to feel like a sci-fi story, which I am not normally a fan of. But that is really not the case! The relationships between the characters, the growth of Morgan… everything felt very natural and real. The romance had a slow and steady build and I was definitely rooting for Morgan and Dorian to get together. There are a few curveballs thrown at you in this storyline that you don’t really see coming, and it helped move everything along. I think this story would appeal to a large audience since there are so many different facets within.
You can join Shanon Grey on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ShanonGrey, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ShanonGrey and visit her website at www.shanongrey.com.
Shanon Grey
FictionWeaver
Weaving
romance and suspense with threads of the paranormal
