Review – Damned Souls and a Sangria (Guild Codex: Spellbound, Book 8) by Annette Marie (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 322 pages
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
Release Date: October 2, 2020
ASIN : B08C2GSQW9
Stand Alone or Series: 8th book in the Guild Codex: Spellbound series
Source: Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“Once upon a time, I was your average spunky redhead with the lamest employment history ever, a shaky relationship with my only family member, and no idea what I was doing with my life.

Now, I’m a pseudo mythic with the best bartending job in the world, the most amazing (and hot) best friends I never knew I needed, and a guild of misfit magic-users who’ve become my extended family.

And I’m about to lose it all.

In my desperation to save Ezra, I stumbled into a web of ruthless deception–and seriously pissed off a sleeping hydra. Now its every murderous head is turned toward me and my guild, and I don’t know how to stop it. I’m not sure I can.

I’m not sure anyone can.

But if I don’t, we’re all doomed–Ezra, Aaron, Kai, and my beloved guild.”

Series Info/Source: This is the eighth and final book in the Guild Codex: Spellbound series. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited.

Story (4/5): This ties up the storyline involving Ezra and his demon, as well as the overall storyline involving the demon mages. The story really focuses on Tori and Ezra as they try to figure out a way to break Ezra free from his demon.

I enjoyed this, there were some good surprises in here but a lot of the story played out like I expected it would. Things are nicely tied up and other stories from this universe tie well into this one (Robin, Kit, Zak are all here at times).

Characters (4/5): Characterization is always one of Marie’s strong points, however the characters felt a bit tired to me in this book. I didn’t feel like there was a lot of character growth in this book per say. Ezra and Tori get to wrap up their loose ends but it is nothing unexpected. I was actually more interested in finding out what is going on with Robin and Zylas, learning more about Kit, and spending time with Zak than I was about spending more time with Tori and Ezra.

Setting (4/5): This was typical to the setting in this series. Really nothing special here. Most of the story takes place in and around Vancouver. This story really isn’t driven by the setting. The integration of magic with the rest of the society is well done and I enjoy that part of this.

Writing Style (5/5): This was very well written, engaging, and easy to read. All of Marie’s books are super easy to read, very entertaining and just pull me through the story. She does an excellent job with characterization, action scenes, and magic systems. I enjoyed how she added an epilogue to this book to tie up any loose ends that weren’t tied up in the main story.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall this was a well done book that I really enjoyed reading, it wraps up the series nicely. I did feel like the story and characters were a bit tired, so I am happy things were wrapped up for them in this book. I would highly recommend this whole series (and all of the other Guild Codex books) to fans of light-hearted urban fantasy. I actually enjoy Guild Codex: Demonized more than this series and am also enjoying Guild Codex: Warped. I was super excited to see that another Guild Codex series featuring our favorite dark druid, Zak, will be starting next year as well!!!