REVIEW: Ritual of the Broken – Haunted Hearts – Seb L. Carter

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Can an outcast mage and an angry werewolf stop the ritualistic killer who’s preying on their city?

A solitary mage …

For years, Ollie has survived on the fringes of the magical community, the price he pays for a foolish ancestor who played around with dark magic. Now he just wants to run his mother’s magic shop in peace. But a vision from a ghost—of a dark entity pulling a man’s soul from his body—compels him to seek answers.

A lone werewolf with a grudge …

Homicide detective Adrian Keller is assigned to a case that stinks of magic. His last run-in with magic left him with deep scars—and an even deeper distrust of mages. So when Ollie shows up at his crime scene, Adrian is about to go fur and claws.

But this mage has answers, and though he doesn’t like it, Adrian knows he needs help untangling the dark energy surrounding his case.

A shaky alliance that makes sparks fly—and not just magically

As the body count rises, their uneasy partnership is tested. This is more than a serial killer hunting souls; something much darker is happening in Chicago. If they don’t find a way to stop it, the soul of the world could be the biggest casualty.

Ollie and Adrian are forced to confront the specter of their pasts—and a vast conspiracy within the magic community—even as they grapple with the undeniable attraction between them.

The Ritual of the Broken could break them both—and take the world with it.

Ritual of the Broken is a gay urban fantasy story packed with spells and curses, mages, a usually angry werewolf, a ghost, demons … and a chance at love between the oddest couple to ever solve a murder.

Ollie Hartley is the only living member of his family due to something a family member did hundreds of years ago. His family was hunted and killed and with his mother’s death he is all alone. The Synod Council that oversees the lives of mages forgave what Preston Hartley did when he used dark magic but there was no other Hartley’s left to kill so they left Ollie and his mom alone.

Ollie runs the shop Rowan & Co. which his mother started selling crystals and everything would be fine except for the ghost that keeps showing up and causing chaos. The ghost is a woman, she is not dangerous just makes a mess. Then she showed him a vision of a man, Zack O’Brien being attacked by a dark, evil entity that stole his sole. Zack was a drug addict who started going to meetings and was determined to live clean and sober, but it was too late for him.

Ollie was determined to find answers, so he went to the crime scene, which is where he met Homicide Detective, Adrian Keller, a werewolf. Adrian hates mages so when Ollie decides it would be a good idea for them to work together Adrian walks away. He can’t forget what a mage did to him when he was in the army, and it was a tale too horrible to believe.

That was the first murder, and another vision sent them in search of the second victim, hopefully before the murder occurred. Adrian and Ollie found a way to work together but unfortunately, they were too late. They tried to fight the entity and Adrian was badly injured, nearly dying except for the help from Ollie’s ex Emmerich.

Ollie tries so hard to use his magic for good, but he always manages to mess his spells up. He spent his life being laughed at, but he tries. Adrian finds himself trusting Ollie even though he is a mage and the two of them are determined to stop the killings.

When the truth about the murders is brought to light Adrian and Ollie will find themselves fighting an evil that they could never have anticipated. They will have to use every weapon available to them if they hope to destroy what awaits them.

The book kept me glued, a mage, a werewolf, lies, betrayals and secrets from hundreds of years ago trying to finish what was started and surprises. I can’t recommend this book highly enough and look forward to more adventures with Adrian and Ollie.

If you love stories of magic then don’t miss this one.