Sound's Familiar

Terra Noctem #1

by Dana Marie Bell

The world can be a harsh place for a wolf familiar seeking her bonded sorcerer. All Carol wants is a sorcerer to bond to and a home to call her own. So when Jonah Sound walks in, she's found someone that not only attracts her magic but her body and heart as well. The fact that he's got her dream job makes her ecstatic. The chemistry between them sparks something more than the normal familiar sorcerer bond, leaving Carol to hope that Jonah could be her forever home.

Jonah Sound has had many familiars, but none call to him the way Carol Voss does. She's had a rough life,  but she's come out of it with a keen intellect and calm bravery that make her a worthy partner, both as a cop and a sorcerer. Her dainty size and almost innocent gaze stir all of his protective instincts, but it's her heart he wants to capture and hold forever.

The job of a magical crimes unit detective can be dangerous. Hunting a sorcerer who kills for power puts both Jonah and Carol's lives on the line. Finding love amidst the chaos of a murder investigation seems impossible. Fortunately for Carol, her sorcerer eats impossible for breakfast.

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Magic, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Mystery

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2019

About the author

Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.

Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.

You can learn more about Dana at:

http://www.danamariebell.com
http://danamariebell.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Debrac2014 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story! Sorcerer and his familiar solving crimes! I got a kick out of Carol, the wolf!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, although parts of the magic system is a bit muddled/unclear. Looking forward to more in the series though.

**Note** There is explicit smut to skim past but there is enough plot & characterization to make it worth skimming past. :)

[Lyndi W.]

Like many others, I gave up about halfway through. I've been trying to read this for months now, but I just wander off and do other things every couple chapters. The conflict isn't moving quickly enough and the characters are boring, especially when they are constantly thinking about how they will do anything to protect their partner and they're falling so hard for them even though they've only had ONE personal conversation. I just don't care anymore.

[Myst · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG as someone who loves Detective Conan (It is called Case Closed outside of Japan) the little scene where Ian talks about Edogawa/Conan was awesome. I love how Ian referred to the original title not the US title and I believe the original names. I tip my hat on the author going a step further and looking what kind of anime he would watch and doing a little research into it. Note: If anyone wants to watch the series it IS dubbed under the title Case Closed. I can't wait for if Ian gets a story and we see more of his anime love.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rough one to review. I really did enjoy the story line, but there were several glaring continuity errors that unfortunately detracted from my enjoyment. A bit better editing would easily solve this problem. I will be willing to read more of this series.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty disappointed in this one. I usually enjoy her stories quite a bit but this one missed the mark. The story seemed to drag on without getting anywhere. I also struggled because the editing was so poor.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was an interesting idea but it just couldn't maintain my interest. I liked the idea of matching with familiars, it seems realistic that there'd be some like propoganda or politics in picking certain animals.

But the plot with the murder mystery and darkness just didn't interest me. It felt too slow that I had to power through to the end of the book. This was very close to being one star, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not saying that there's an inbalance, but I feel a bit iffy about a witch and familiar getting together.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars PNR With wolf shifter familiar and magical detective sorcerer working together to solve ritual magic murder while establishing their magical bond to see if they mesh and will develop a lifelong bond. I liked the world building especially the sorcerer/familiar set up but I up still a little unclear about how the different worlds operate and interact.

[Georgia Keller-Kruse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice new world

I really enjoyed this new world by DMB. She is a very good story writer and I loved the characters. However I did take off one star because of the volume of editing errors. One or two per book is acceptable, two or more per chapter is not.

[PATRICIA SCHWINDT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book a while ago and just re-read it. It's a mystery and a romance that is a pleasure to read with strong, interesting characters. Dana Marie Bell has provided a solid story with potential for a new series. Strongly recommend you give it a try.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good start to an interesting series.

[Pet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whole new and exciting world, I love the ideas if sorcerer and familiar and I really love how good these two are together. I hope we get more books from this author.

[Ophelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 45% and skimmed lightly through the rest of the book

I'm always torn about rating books I don't finish, cause I always feel like I didn't give the book enough of a chance to prove itself to me, no matter how many chances I actually gave it.

But this book, I loved the premises, the idea was really interesting and the world building wasn't badly done overall. My issue was with the writing overall and the characters. I found the way the characters behaved to be really unrealistic, no matter how supernatural they are. I didn't find anything interesting about Jonah nor Carol.

Overall this book had a very fanfiction feel. Like we're in the middle of a murder investigation, but from one chapter to another, there's a random one week elipse? And the whole distrust for predator familiars was an interesting concept to it felt as if it existed for the convenience of it more than for real, only people who needed to create drama seemed to have an issue with Carol.

I don't know, I sad I couldn't pull through but I really couldn't. I'm giving it 2 stars because the idea of the world building had merit

[Vickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know how to feel about this book. It was a bit cheesy, somewhat interesting, a whole lot over-the-top and kinda boring at the same time. I stopped and started a few times then just decided to bite the bullet and finish it. It was a relief to end the torture of the sappy and unprofessional relationship between the protagonists and the intense magical descriptions that made no sense. Maybe it's the authors style of writing but I found the story interesting but the book was a chore to finish.

[Bela]

This familiar business in the plot has me confused. What is a familiar? Usually it is a black cat to a witch. What does it mean that heroine wants to have one and only familiar, to be with forever and hero had already had MANY. Did he kill his "cats" if this is forever business? Is it fancy word for past hookups? It is not forever? hmm........ diving in now.

[Lynn Thinking out loud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great start to this new series

I loved the start of this new series. There is a lot of information to be processed. I would definitely start this series with book one. Carol and Jonah make an excellent duo in both their personal and professional lives. Now what I didn't like about this book was the many mistakes made by the Author, it would be an easy fix if she would just either take her time or pay someone a little money to help her.

[Mnms · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story, but with lots of grammatical errors and strange jumps between scenes. I really liked the setting and the character dynamics. And I found some aspects of the investigation really refreshing. I also loved that the team had to practice their craft and wasn't knowledgeable about everything. So even though the editing is annoying, the setting and story will probably make me pick this one up again, as well as the next one once it comes out.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as her other works but good enough I suppose. And some bits were funny. But mostly, the relationship between Carol and Jonha was really sweet.

I have read this book three times now and I can really see myself reading it again. I really liked some of her other books but this is the only one I have read again and like enough to keep doing so repeatedly, which by the way is rare for me.

[Betty Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good. Carol is a wolf familiar and a policewoman. She is looking for a sorcerer that she can bond with. She find him with Jonah Sound. Jonah works in the magical crimes division as a detective and Carol is his familiar. They work very well together. There is a magical killer on the loose and they need to find him pronto before he can kill anyone else. Lots of action, romance. Highly recommend.

[Lisa Guertin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edge of your seat action!

This is another great story by Dana Marie Bell. Sorcerers, familiars, evil priests and mysterious murders - what more could you want in an edgy, entertaining read?

[Angela Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet

Paranormal and police procedural is a great combo. This is a sweet story that will polish up with a bit of editing.
I enjoyed this book but I'm afraid I won't be continuing with the series. xx

[Christie Aulick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start for a new series

As always, Dana Marie Bell has great characters that you immediately want to get to know. Interesting story line, world building as you go, can't wait for the next one

[Shivani Pawar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good one time read.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious characters, fast moving plot, and a well-matched & adorable couple. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

[Marthaamai · Rating 1 out of 5]

ahh instalust. i will give credit where credits due though it’s an original concept if not a bit stupidly executed

[gwen keen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sound's Familiar

This is an amazing weave of genres! Paranormal thriller with romance and a happy ending. A good start to a series that I want to follow!

[R. Jan Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book by DMB is a guaranteed winner!! Love the humor (snark) and intertwined characters. Always worth the time!

[MayBook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Will definitely read the next book :)

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this was so interesting, an angle I've never seen before