I discovered Jennifer Lyon’s first book in her Wing Slayer series, Blood Magic, on a whim earlier this year. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it and was eager to read Soul Magic and Sutton’s story.

Sutton West is one of a race of Wing Slayer Hunters that have been cursed. They crave witches blood, using sex to ease their hunger. If they succumb and drink the blood of a witch, they turn rogue, and kill the witches with a never-ending hunger. Sutton and his friends track and kill these rogue hunters trying to save as many witches as they can. It is not until they find their soul-mirror, or life partner, that the blood lust is satisfied and they are not in danger of losing their soul.

Sutton had a “taste” of Carla’s blood at the end of Blood Magic and for the past two months, he can’t get her out of his mind. He does not want to have sex with any other woman, which is putting him on edge. Sutton’s wings is that of an eagle tattooed on his back, and his eagle is not happy. Carla is a witch and also a psychologist. She runs a house helping to reverse the effects of brainwashing on females who have been rescued from cults. Her dreams have been crowded with vision of Sutton these past two months.

It comes to the attention of the Wing Slayer Hunters that someone is brainwashing mortal women and using them to kill the Wing Slayers. Carla can open her chakras and go into the astral plane – a plane where Carla’s spirit goes while her physical body stays “on Earth.” Here, she can help the womens spirits by reversing their brainwashing. But it is also here where she discovers the soul of her twin sister, who was murdered two years ago by a rogue hunter, is trapped. Her sister is calling for her help and giving her clues that “the eagle” can help her.

Sutton can’t keep his desire away for Carla any longer and it soon becomes clear that they are each other’s soul-mirrors – or it becomes clear to Sutton. Carla is worried that Sutton is actually her twin sister’s soul-mirror and the eagle truly belongs to her. They not only have the rogues to battle, but they have to fight for each other.

Soul Magic further explores the battle of the rogues verse Wing Slayer Hunters that was created in the first book, Blood Magic, but this book can be read as a standalone. What I really love about this book is Sutton. He is the ultimate alpha male. He never once falls beneath that status. He is overprotective, fierce, he snarls, he acts irrationally when Carla is in danger and he is bald – very unique. I have a weakness for this alpha. He is so intense in his feelings for Carla that it makes me melt a little bit. His eagle tattoo has a mind of its own, and often Sutton has to calm it down or he finds that the tattoo is literally clawing at himself to get out. At one point Sutton becomes jealous of Max, a co-worker of Carla’s:

The man (Max) had dark hair, dark eyes, a lean body, and a book brain. He saved girls and women from cults. Do-gooder doctor, just like Carla.

Sutton hated him. He could crush him like a bug, spilling his guts all over the shiny dining room table.

I also love stories where there are alpha men working or living together. These big tough men have to rely on each other many times to stay alive. There is something so sexy about that. Although they will lay down their lives for one another, that doesn’t mean there isn’t relentless teasing between them. When Sutton meets Carla’s mom his smooth grace is replaced with bumbling and tension:

Well, shit, Sutton could have said something like that. If he’d thought of it. His hands were sweating. Christ. He curled his fingers into fists so the other hunters didn’t notice that he was scared of Carla’s mother. He had to say something to reassure her. “Uh yeah. What Axel said.”

There was shuffling from the men behind him. Dumb shits, he knew they were looking at each other and smirking behind his back.

“Ma’am is Carla all right?”

Phoenix snickered and muttered, “He called her ma’am.”

Carla was a heroine that I didn’t dislike, but I didn’t love her either. She was strong in both her witch abilities and her emotions, but she was constantly worried that she was not the true soul-mirror for Sutton, she was convinced her twin sister was. After awhile, I thought – enough! Once she accepted her love for Sutton, and moved on, I grew to like her more. I also didn’t love when Carla went to the astral plane with Sutton. On the plane, because it is only their spirits there, they were able to touch and be more intimate without risking Sutton’s blood lust taking over. I found it a bit of a confusing place, unsure of what powers worked there compared to reality. I had a hard time grasping what exactly was happening many times.

The war progresses, and although their is a small victory for the Wing Slayer Hunters, by no means is the battle over. There are many more Wing Slayers for us to meet – Phoenix, who is up next in Blind Magic, Key, Linc and Ram – oh Ram – Mr. Serious. I can’t wait for his book.

Sutton carried the story for me. If you are in the mood for a sexy, alpha man, Soul Magic is the book for you.

Rating: Four Stars

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