By S. B. Oakes
I know I may get crucified by stating this out loud, but though I am a loyal BookBub daily find scanner, often the free books that I download are less than up to snuff. Authors always talk about how illustrious the BookBub ads are, and how it’s “like winning the lottery” to get featured. I wouldn’t know as I certainly haven’t been able to lay that golden egg myself. However, I read a pretty sizable amount of their paranormal freebies. Now maybe the reason I don’t find a higher percentage of good books is because I only grab the freebies (yes, I’m cheap when dealing with an unknown author). It may also be that I’m a little more critical. The why of it really doesn’t matter as much as those golden moments when you get to chapter 2 of a book and realize it’s going to be worth reading. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up a free box set by author Rebecca Main and found that to be the case.
Coven, book one in the “Soulmark Series,” by Rebecca Main features MC Zoella Baudelaire. When we first meet Zoella, she is graduating culinary school and has a handsome boyfriend she’s cautiously smitten with. Life changes for her quickly when her grandmother, who has raised her since the tragic loss of her family, drops the bomb on her that she’s moving. Not like “I’m selling in a few months moving,” but more like “my boxes are packed moving.” Zoella decides to make the move with her and finds herself in a strange town, greeted by a pair of aunts she’s never even met. Little does she know her grandmother has been keeping secrets about them both and she’s just stepped in the middle of an uneasy truce between two heavy-hitting factions, a werewolf pack and a coven of witches. When a “meeting-the-family” dinner with her boyfriend goes horribly sideways, Zoella goes out for a run and finds herself in a hairy situation, literally.
Zoella meets her soulmark, Xander, and with no knowledge of her own past, things go from bad to worse. Especially when he seals the mark. Xander is handsome and horribly entitled, especially to her. It’s an enemies-to-lovers story and well done. As the “Soulmark Series” title implies, this is the destined-mate trope. Main did the world building well and kept my attention the whole time. I kept wondering what was happening in the book throughout the day, which for me, is always a wonderful sign. Well, except for having my thoughts interrupt my own writing! If you can forget about a book, odds are it wasn’t that good in the first place. That wasn’t the case with Coven.
Poor Zoella finds herself in a world she doesn’t recognize, attached to a man she doesn’t know or want. I will admit that the start was a little slow for me, which was frustrating given the circumstances within the story. Once it got going though, all the stars aligned. I had no problem burning through it and moving on to the next. The characters were vibrant and well developed and there was nothing that stood out to me or pulled me from the story.,
The free box set was well worth the read, providing excellent reader volume and I even bought the one after it, if that says anything. I don’t want to give you all too much information so as not to spoil it for you, but grabbing Rebecca Main’s “Soulmark Series” while its free is a no-brainer. Who doesn’t love a fun read that’s well plotted and will give you that steamy (but not too steamy) HEA you need? I’d give it a solid 4 stars! You can grab the box set free HERE! If you’re like me and you really like the series and want to grab the rest, consider supporting the author and grab them straight from her website. Here’s the link to her book page.
Happy reading!