Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) By Ari McKay

The magic touch.

Ever since Harlan Edgewood was bitten by a possessed werewolf, his monthly shifts have been agonizing. When he meets Whimsy Hickes—a mage who specializes in transformation—the attraction is mutual. But Harlan believes his curse is too great a burden to inflict on any romantic partner.

Fortunately, Whimsy thinks he can help.

When Harlan is provoked into an unexpected change, Whimsy uses his magic to help ease Harlan's pain, but with an unexpected consequence. While he's shifted, Harlan's wolf claims Whimsy as his mate.

As they draw closer, suspicious events in the Asheville magical community escalate. Shifters are disappearing, others are murdered, and Harlan's curse makes him an obvious target. It will take all of Whimsy's magic to force back the rising evil—and if he fails, Harlan will lose not only his life, but his very soul. Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2)

**grm**

This 2nd book was a bit boring, nothing really happened until we reached almost the end and then all was rushed and no real question was answered. I liked the MCs, Harlan was cute and sexy, and also if 300 years old he was still a virgin and Whimsy was really lucky to find him, but their relationship took way too many pages and I would have liked to read more about the other part of the plot. In the end I wanted to skip pages to move on to the next book and if the 3rd book is actually the last one, I don't think I will be sad at all, all is starting to feel dragged a bit too much. Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2)
I really liked this one. It was sweet and the drama that started in Out of the Ashes continues with this one but it doesn't end here. The something that was missing for me in book one showed up in this story. I loved Whimsy and Harlan, they really fit. I wish their story was longer.

TAGS
-- Fantasy -- magic -- shifter/mage pairing -- fated mates -- drama -- so sweet -- slow burn -- great friends -- LOVED the MCs... Whimsy & Harlan -- first time/virgin -- minimal sex -- not a stand alone -- ends in a cliff hanger (of sorts) -- wish there was more Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) It’s nice to return to Asheville although I sure wish it were literally and not figuratively. The thought of the cool mountain air, the green lushness, and the beauty all around brought such comfort as I read this second installment from a writer I adore. I was intrigued by Harlan being a lycanthrope versus a born werewolf and, of course, I already liked Whimsy from reading Eli and Arden’s tale. I had a feeling these two men were going to shake a few things up.

Harlan is, indeed, a fascinating man. Several centuries old, he was raised as a Quaker and still holds to many of their beliefs. He is a member of Tharn’s werewolf pack but he knows he’s an outsider even there. Harlan can’t shift at will because he wasn’t born a shifter and most werewolves don’t care for lycanthropes. He is a park ranger with Eli and they have a good friendship but Harlan still feels very separated from humans and other paranormals. When he is invited back to Eli’s for dinner and meets Arden and Whimsy, he is overwhelmed by the kindness of these people especially Whimsy who, as a mage with a specialty in transfiguration and transmutation, offers to help Harlan during his next full moon shift to see if he can lessen Harlan’s pain.

Please find my full review at Rainbow Book Reviews Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) Ari McKay was new to me until I this series caught my eye, and I just can't get enough of these characters. The romance between Harlan and Whimsy is so sweet as they get to know each other and learn to trust in their feelings. Harlan's innocence is absolutely adorable, especially given his age and how he became a wolf. And Whimsy! Whimsy is, hands down, one of the most lovable characters that I've ever come across, and this pair is so just so good together. In addition to the sweet, we do get a bit of sexy with the romance. Of course, it's not all sunshine and roses for this pair and their pals. There's the matter of demons and who could be behind them to add some suspense and action to the story. The conclusion is somewhat open ended and I can't wait to see what might be next for this wonderful group. Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) 300 plus year-old wolf shifter Harlan has discovered his fated mate is 28 year-old mage Whimsy. But just as they find each other, more demon appeared. Eli and Arden and Julian are back from book 1 and together they work to solve the mystery. The love between Whimsy and Harlan grows during this time, but on Halloween night at all comes their greatest threat.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than book 1. It picks up more or less where book one left off, so there wasn't a lot of background information to slog through. I really enjoyed watching the two main characters fall in love over time especially considering the bond was only felt on the werewolf's side. The action scenes and dialogue were well done, and I enjoyed the final bonding seen a lot.

And what a fantastic ending. I'm very excited to move on to book 3.

A copy of this book was provided free in return for an honest review. This review was completed during the recovering and relaunch of the book. Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2)

read Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2)

4 Hearts

Admittedly, I quite liked the first book in this series, but I enjoyed this sequel even more!

It’s been a year since the events in Out of the Ashes, and the shifter and supernatural community in Asheville is slowly recovering from the horrible havoc wrought by a group of demon possessed werewolves. Because it was felt that things were left unfinished, that there’s a more nefarious plan in the works, bonded mates Arden and Eli and their friends are still on high alert for what they feel is another inevitable attack.

One of these allies is Arden’s bff Whimsy. He’s a pretty powerful mage and has been beefing up his magical skills just in case. When Whimsy meets Harlan (Eli’s coworker), the attraction is instant, and he realizes that Harlan is not a werewolf but a lycanthrope, a born-human who was bitten and thus subjected to the torturous moon driven change monthly, something that Harlan has no control over. Whimsy, being the caring gentle soul that he is, offers to help Harlan through his transformation, and Harlan can hardly believe his luck at a chance at reprieve from the painful curse he’s been saddled with for the last 300 years. However, Harlan’s wolf is also piqued by his and Whimsy's mutual attraction, and he balks at the possibility of losing control and hurting anyone, let alone Whimsy.

Thus, this is all about Harlan and his struggle with wanting to be with Whimsy and his need to prevent him harm by his dual nature. However, Whimsy is no weakling, and he’s determined to give aid, whether Harlan accepts it or not. What they both never expect though, is for Harlan to claim Whimsy as his mate. What’s a 300 plus year old virgin to do? Well… what ensues is a seriously sweet and caring courting between these two. In and amongst all this loveliness is of course, insistent evil doers still being sinister.

Very easy reading, quite low on the angst, if you want simple unpretentious with a good dose of supernatural sexy thrown in, then I think this series will go down quite nicely. This really excels at likeable and endearing characters who care about each other and their community and are willing to risk a lot to prevent doom and gloom. Harlan is a fabulous gentle giant, respectful, old fashioned and just so darn good, he contrasts well with Whimsy who has a bit of fire in him that fuels his strong nurturing instincts. Like the first book, the current conflict is resolved, but the overall arc is still ongoing, and I really look forward to seeing grumpy vamp Julian, be the next one to get his long desired HEA!

Thank you to the authors/publisher for a copy in exchange for a honest review

Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) Another cracking good book from Ari McKay in this Dreamspun Beyond series and the plot is still thickening with no ending yet!

Whimsy and Harlan were ridiculously cute together and I really liked the different take on Harlan's shifter status over the other werewolves. I loved that, as a lycanthrope, he was much closer to the ones in conventional literature who turn with the full moon.

They also blew up the bedroom when they finally got it together and I loved how old fashioned Harlan was in his courting of Whimsy.

The plotting surrounding the possessed pack is moving along rapidly and there's a new mini story ARC on this book which takes us further into the threat of demons.

I'm hoping Julian is getting his romance next and test the narrative will wrap up just what's going on in the series overall as well as give the grumpy vampire his HEA.

I'm wondering is the guy holed up at the Carter farm might just turn out to be his mate and the solution to the demon problem!

#ARC kindly provided by the publishers Dreamspinner Press in return for an honest and unbiased review. Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) I cannot tell a lie. I struggled with this book. It just didn’t hold my attention at all. It was too easy to put down and not think about it again. I finally had to force myself to get with the program. Once I did, I enjoyed the book. It just didn’t wow me. I’m sure I’ll read the next book in the series, but it probably won’t be high on my priorities list. YMMV. 🤷🏽‍♀️


6/11/2019 I probably still won't remember reading this, but I'm determined to finish this series. Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) 3.5 Stars

This is the second story in the Ashville Arcana trilogy, which showcases the lives and loves of a diverse cast of supernatural characters, who continually come together to fight evil and save lives within their southern community.

In this sequel to Out of the Ashes, the romantic focus is now on young mage Whimsy and his new love with discovered mate and lycanthrope Harlan.

We met Whimsy in book one, where he played a pivotal role as half-elf Arden’s best-friend, but here we got to dive deeper, learning about his cultural and magical ancestry and seeing how truly and loyally he cares and fights for the people in his life. Although he feels fulfilled with work and precious time with his loved ones, Whimsy wants nothing more than to find the kind of love Arden has found with werewolf alpha Eli, which is why Whimsy lets his friends set him up with park ranger Harlan.

By all accounts, Harlan is a bit of a loner, living a solitary life fairly disconnected from his chosen pack. Ultimately, he sees himself as damaged because of what he perceives as his lycanthrope “curse” – i.e. he was bitten not born a werewolf, and as such, he experiences the shift and the urges significantly differently than those born that way, fighting a constant fear that he will hurt those around him if he loosens the reins on his air-tight control. Yet, Harlan still yearns to love and be loved, having spent 300 years a virgin, but he figures finding a mate is out of his grasp – that is, until he meets Whimsy and his whole worldview gets shaken up.

Together they learn to love, slowly and steadily, acknowledging the mate bond Harlan quickly feels for Whimsy, choosing to take their time and getting to know one another properly, before they dive all-in like so many fated mates tend to do in stories such as this. In truth, the mate slow-burn was a refreshing occurrence and one I appreciated here.

Whimsy and Harlan were super sweet together, no doubt – especially Harlan whose chivalry and attentiveness towards Whimsy made for some truly heartwarming “courting” moments. This could have come across as corny as hell at times, but it was made clear early on that Harlan was an old-soul with old-world beliefs and romantic traditions, so watching him take his time with the person he was meant to be with was damn lovely.

While all the falling-in-love stuff was happening, more bad things started taking place in the supernatural community around them, essentially upping the stakes and continuing on from the demon-possession plot that began to unfold in book one.

This series is one of my favourites among the Dreamspun Beyond stories I’ve read and I can’t wait to see how it all ends for this group of wonderfully magical and kick-ass supernatural friends in the third and final book, Quenched in Blood, where I’m sure all the demon drama will come to a head once and for all! Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2) Vampires, werewolves, elves and mages...really what's not to like...although I have to admit...I'm holding out for a dragon!!! Full review to follow soonish!
Update: May 10/18 - Sorry, I'm a little late adding this one but here it is for the curious...my review...

More mysterious goings on in the town of Ashville...

You may remember or not…it doesn’t really matter that my first encounter with the residents of Ashville was via audio book and I loved it so much that when the second book came out I didn’t want to wait for the audio book…you see, this book is about Whimsy!!!!!! That’s right if you saw my review for the first book in this series or possibly anyone else’s for that matter, they may have made mention of Whimsy Hickes…Arden’s best friend and lover to him and the vampire Julian but that all ended when Ander found his mate in the alpha werewolf, Eli Hammond and now we have Whimsy feeling somewhat adrift about his romantic life as Arden is with Eli and Julian…well…Julian seems to have buried himself in some research and left sweet, adorable Whimsy feeling someone alone and adrift.

Thankfully not only is Arden, Whimsy’s best friend, he’s also not the type to leave things alone and he’s sure that he has just the cure for Whimsy in the form of one Harlan Edgewood a lycanthrope…which in the world or Asheville Arcana is a werewolf that was created when they are bitten by another werewolf rather than being born as one and of course the werewolf that bit Harlan was cursed…some people have all the luck…it seems that Harlan’s not one of them.

In the first book as well as Arden and Eli’s romance we had a bit of a paranormal mystery happening and while things seemed to be resolved for the most part in ‘Forged In Fire’ we find out that things aren’t always what they seem to be and the events from ‘Out of the Ashes’ weren’t an ending but a beginning and there’s more to come, that’s right there’s a big ole cliffy here folks and I’m sitting at the edge looking over and wondering… what in the name of all that’s unholy is going to happen next?

As Whimsy and Harlan get to know each other we also get to learn more about the mystery that began in ‘Out of the Ashes’ as well the progress that’s made in the battle against the demons and possessed werewolves and maybe a bear shifter or two, but things aren’t finished with this mystery yet and we’ll need at least book #3 to find out what’s going to happen so let’s go back to Whimsy and Harlan because…so cute and adorable…these two are totally delightful.

Harlan’s a 300-year virgin? I know? Who knew these even existed? But sadly, I must tell you, I think Harlan might be the only one and he’s totally besotted with Whimsy…guaranteed no one else has a chance and yes, I know ‘besotted’ is such an old-fashioned word well trust me, Harlan is such an old-fashioned guy.

Now as for Whimsy it seems that Arden’s not the only one who got more than his share of nurturing instincts. While Arden thought that Whimsy with his mage powers…and folks these are serious kick-ass mage powers that Whimsy has going on here…as in if you value your life don’t mess with his friends and unless you want a one way ticket to…well, sorry you’ll have to read the book to find out where that ticket takes you…just suffice it to say do not mess with Whimsy’s man because you will not like what happens next.

I found Whimsy and Harlan to be a totally delightful pairing…Whimsy with his nurturing and caring ways making him seem so deceptively harmless and Harlan while he seems strong and fiercely independent it turns out that he’s also filled with his own insecurities and a strong desire to have someone to love and to be loved. Not to mention that these two may not have rushed into the bedroom but when they get there things are hot…very, very hot!!!

At the end of it all we’re left with a happily mated Elf and his werewolf from ‘Out of the Ashes’ and a newly mated mage and his lycanthrope from this story and one lonely vampire who thinks that no one sees how lonely he is but Arden and Whimsy see and I’m curious to see how far they’ll go in their efforts to see Julian as happy as they are because as stand-offish as he tries to be Julian is their friend and they’re not prepared to abandon him just because they’ve each found their own happily ever after…that’s just not what friends do for friends.

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An ARC of “Forged in Fire” was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Forged in Fire (Asheville Arcana, #2)

Forged