Sharon Bayliss

All They Could Do Was WATCH ME BURN–Review and Giveaway

Hi there! Today I am thrilled to share the love for WATCH ME BURN, the second book in the December People series from Sharon Bayliss. I reviewed the first book, DESTRUCTION last spring, and was intrigued by this contemporary witchcraft fantasy series.


About the book:
David Vandergraff lost his home, his job, and contact with his oldest son, but remains determined to be a good husband and father despite being a dark winter wizard.

His resolve is tested when a flyer for a missing girl–who happens to be a summer witch–begins to haunt him. David believes a spell needs to use him to save her, so he follows the magic’s command and looks into her disappearance. His teenage daughter Emmy resents him for caring so much about a random stranger. But when she uncovers some disturbing evidence close to home, she begins an investigation of her own.

David and Emmy quickly learn that the mystery is not only about a missing girl they barely know, but a deeply personal story that impacts everyone they care about. As their world crumbles, they fear the warning may be true—never mess with summer wizards, because the good guys always win.

Check out the trailer here!

My Review:

David Vandergraff is the head of a family of Winter witches. He doesn’t wish to be, but he is anyway. In this world, where one falls on the magical calendar determines the type of magic one will have. So, if a witch’s “date” is near the summer solstice, he (or she) will have summer magic, and be able to wield the power of light and goodness. Witches with a date nearer the winter solstice will have dark magic–which yields destructive powers. Winter and Summer witches are diametrically opposed, and have a serious battle between them. Meanwhile, witches whose dates fall between solstices, Equinox witches, can wield both light and dark magic.

David’s family consists of his wife Amanda, sons Jude, Patrick, Xavier and daughters Emmy and Evangeline. Xavier and Evangeline were from a different mother, and they suffered horrific abuse from their dark witch stepfather before David recovered them, nearly destroyed his marriage by revealing his infidelity–all of which happened in the first book.

Now, Jude is long gone–consumed by darkness enough that he raped a fellow witch: his sister’s best friend. He’s not COMPLETELY gone, however, because Amanda has been healing his darkness, taking it into herself at great cost to her own health. I can relate–a mother’s love is a strong and powerful force, much like magic.

David is somehow caught in a compulsion spell, one to bring home a missing summer witch. Julie has been gone two weeks, and David is consumed with finding her–and this brings both Emmy and Patrick into the hunt, involuntarily. Emmy knew Julie from volleyball camp, and hated her long before she understood about the animosity between summer and winter witches. It seems they have a physical reaction to each other. Emmy is a resourceful gal, even if she isn’t a powerful witch and feels likewise compelled to find Julie. Patrick is experiencing many disturbing visions of a tortured Julie, and his own role in possibly saving her.

In her searches, Emmy encounters Nathan, Julie’s older brother. He’s searching the forest where Julie went missing relentlessly, but he knows he’ll never find her. There is a strong confounding spell protecting the area, only allowing the access of witches who meet certain criteria. Emmy isn’t taken, either, and Nathan knows it is because the person who has Julie only wants witches who date on the Four Events: Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, and the Vernal and Autumnal equinoxes. Julie was a Summer Solstice witch–and it made her summer magic powerful. With each Event the captor collects, he (or she) gains immense power.

The rescue of Julie is confounded–and David is struggling to keep his family together–when one of his children goes missing in the forest, too. And Amanda’s failing health seems to be at the heart of some of this problem. Nathan and Emmy join forces in the search, and they become close to each other in a way no one wishes, or predicts. Julie and Nathan’s summer witch family are relentless in their pursuit of the winter Vandergraff’s–wanting to destroy the winter witches, thinking it will protect their family and save Julie. They have succeeded in some destruction, but as Emmy tells Nathan, just because her family is “dark” doesn’t mean they are bad people.

This is a truth Nathan respects; his own family is light—and he knows for a fact they aren’t good.

I really love how this story is unfolding. It’s multi-layered with lots of twists, and significant moral gray areas. So many moral dilemmas: is it okay to kill innocents to protect those you love? Can one trust the visions of magic? What are the bounds of family, when power is the ultimate objective? Can good ends ever justify evil means? It’s fascinating, and deep, with good pacing and enough mystery to keep the series cracking along. The end is a good stopping point, but it’s clear there will be no peace between these two families, and that their conflict between them is only getting stronger.

Interested? WATCH ME BURN releases January 5th, but you can find it on GOODREADS and pre-order it on AMAZON. If you’re new to The December People Series, start with Destruction—99 cents for a limited time!

Catch my review here!

***GIVEAWAYS***

Enter to win!! Get a paperback of your choice of Destruction OR Watch Me Burn.
Just leave me a comment telling me if you’re interested in reading this cool series and which book you’d like. I’ll choose a winner from comments logged before Jan 1st. International entries welcome.
 
Also join The December People Winter Celebration for more giveaways!!
And, Click the Rafflecopter link for your chance to win
one of 5 e-copies of DESTRUCTION or WATCH ME BURN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and keep reading my friends!

Sharon BaylissAbout the Author:
Sharon Bayliss is the author of The December People Series and The Charge. When she’s not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening). She only practices magic in emergencies.

Check out Sharon online on her website, twitter, and Facebook.

 

Cover Reveal and Giveaway for WATCH ME BURN

Hi there! Today I am thrilled to take part in the cover and trailer reveal for Book 2 in The December People Series, Watch Me Burn!

So without further ado…
And you can check out the trailer here!

A note from the author:
Thank you to artist Michelle Johnson and the whole team at Curiosity Quills Press for creating a cover I love! 
If you haven’t guessed it by now, you’ll see a butterfly on the cover of every book in The December People Series. The butterfly is a symbol of transformation, hope, freedom, and generally creepy crawlies turning into beautiful things. And also…look how pretty! 😉
Instead of the broken glass from Destruction, this butterfly is surrounded by fire, and it’s probably obvious why from the title. Watch Me Burn is the summer book in the series. All the books center around my winter wizard family, but each book takes us deeper into a different season. Summer wizards are the “light” wizards, but light also means HEAT and FIRE.

More about Watch Me Burn:
David Vandergraff lost his home, his job, and contact with his oldest son, but remains determined to be a good husband and father despite being a dark winter wizard.

His resolve is tested when a flyer for a missing girl–who happens to be a summer witch–begins to haunt him. David believes a spell needs to use him to save her, so he follows the magic’s command and looks into her disappearance. His teenage daughter Emmy resents him for caring so much about a random stranger. But when she uncovers some disturbing evidence close to home, she begins an investigation of her own.

David and Emmy quickly learn that the mystery is not only about a missing girl they barely know, but a deeply personal story that impacts everyone they care about. As their world crumbles, they fear the warning may be true—never mess with summer wizards, because the good guys always win.

If you’re new to The December People Series, start with Destruction—99 cents for a limited time!

Catch my review here!

Enter to win!! Get a paperback of your choice of Destruction OR Watch Me Burn. International entries welcome. Also join The December People Winter Celebration for more giveaways!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Telling the Truth Means DESTRUCTION–A Review

Newly Released!


Introducing a new dark wizard family drama, Destruction by Sharon Bayliss, Book One in The December People Series.
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David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything. Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn’t a choice.
Eleven years ago, David’s secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without. 

Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David’s wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.  

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.

Destruction (Book One of The December People Series)

My Review:
I didn’t know I’d like this book so much! I mean, it starts out with an adulterous husband, David, learning that his teenage kids have been found. Kids he hadn’t known–not since their mother had disappeared. And, I mean that literally. She was a witch. Now dead, their children Evangeline and Xavier were recovered, not completely intact. Part of their wizard stepfather’s rituals had included rape…of both of them.

Bringing his lover’s kids home is sure to destroy his marriage–and it does. Amanda is furious, but takes the children in knowing they have no other prospects. David’s other children–Jude, Patrick, and Emmy–want nothing to do with David or their strange half-siblings. Evangeline believes herself a witch, for crying out loud! And Xavier says virtually nothing to anyone.

This family has more than just infidelity issues, however. Because, it turns out Evangeline is right–she is a witch. In fact, the whole family is magical–and not in a good way. Amanda had long ago, without David’s knowledge, stripped the painful memories of his childhood–including his knowledge of magic.

Amanda knew they were dark witches, and wanted to keep her family safe from the destructive magic they controlled by ensuring no one ever practiced. Not so easy when you bring home two magical children. Now all David’s children are practicing, on the down-low against Amanda’s wishes.

But it seems here’s a lot more going on in this family. The darkness is taking over Jude, and pitting brother against brother–particularly when Jude attacks Patrick’s girlfriend. To save his family, David must embrace the magic within and surrounding him. And, when he learns Evangeline and Xavier’s stepfather may not have been killed, well, it kicks off the biggest crisis of the book.

I must say, I was captivated by the story. The magic within is very subtle, and bears plenty of repercussions–being Winter People, David’s family can’t help but channel the destructive type of magic. Even simple spells with good intentions turn out to be horrible. You want to help someone? They get helped, but at another’s expense.

It’s diabolical, really. I wanted to hate David. He’s a weak man who carried on an affair for years–and yet, it’s impossible to hate him. His personal and professional lives are crumbling. Many men might walk away–and he refuses. He does his best to be the stand-up guy and strikes a bargain with Amanda to co-habitate and raise the kids together–even when all the magic becomes real and he’s completely rudderless.

Amanda is not a great person, because she’s so damned real. She’s a harried, frustrated, angry woman in a situation she never expected to be: supporting a man and his five children, though she only gave birth to three of them. Oh, and practicing magic again to contain her magic-infused charges–something she swore she would never do. Her whole world bottomed out the day those kids showed up at her doorstep, but she fought hard to keep her self, and her family, together. I had to love her passion for those kids and really respected how she handled David’s betrayal.

The book just kept moving, the plot getting darker and murkier–much like the magic. Don’t expect to see a lot of binding spells or fire incantations. This is a subtle magic, which I think made it more approachable. It’s a standalone book, and the first in a series. Several directions for other books to pick up this families trials, however.

Clearly Jude’s burgeoning darkness will be a huge part of future stories. And the day-to-day trials of choosing to use, or not use, magic will play out. The family clearly is divided on that issue. I look forward to other books in the series.


The Author

Sharon Bayliss is the author of The December People Series and The Charge. When she’s not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening). She only practices magic in emergencies.