Quote from the book

“The Universe is full of Magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” – Eden Phillpots

Synopsis

Deep within the abandoned darkness of London sits the hub of a clandestine community – the ‘Office’. For decades, secluded in an underground base of secret history, unworldly knowledge and incogitable crises: “We’re out of chocolate digestives!” When two bickering colleagues make a disturbing discovery, their find triggers further adversity. A city-wide upset, a localised riot and the fallout of a powerful, enchanted stone. Not quite their daily grind. The pair, Amy and Fletch, take on the deadly, paranormal mystery; a series of eerie murders and the sinister truth of a young amnesiac. Teamed with determined workmate Tashta and fiery boss Una, they investigate the magickal London privy to them. The four navigate through absurd conspiracy theories, stolen contraband and the distinct lack of an HR department. The Office team’s quest embroils them with a charismatic exorcist, a fanboy psychic and an unruly laser-printer. But the danger that awaits is far beyond their job description. Hidden agendas may prove as lethal as the shadowy foe they seek.

My Review

After reading the blurb of this book, I agree to review it. I mean you can tell from that blurb I was going to have some LOL moments, and I was right. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be saying feck and fecking for everything for a while.

“Her arms outstretched with fingers extended. Palms glowing with bright, green light. Lighting crackled in her eyes. Una addressed the hall: “What feckery is this?!”

I love reading books when magic and clandestine societies are involved, both of which is done fantastically here.

This story takes place with a particular group headquartered in the Grand Reference Library at London HQ, with the help of an inside source on the police force, this group with ordinary day jobs investigates dangerous magical beings. Although not all who works at London HQ “the office” is “magickal”, some are just ordinary humans wanting to make a difference. They do their work in plain sight of the normal humans and those on a need to know.

There are murders afoot in this immersive and compelling magical tale of keeping the world balanced at all cost. KJ Bauer weaved the magical with the realness of everyday living and takes us for a ride throughout London, and sometimes into the grubby underworld where malevolent creatures dwell and must be dealt with. The descriptions of some of these creatures will make you shudder.

There’s a lot of talk about enchanted stones, in particular, the lion stone which we learn a bit more about as well as the other stones as the story progresses, like how and what they’re used for. The story switches between the past and the present so that we can understand why the Reference Library exists.

Amidst everything else, a boy (JP) is found by the group after Una sent them out to find the lion stone and so they must now figure out who he is and why they found him where they did. Someone is after the boy, will the group figure out who it is before it’s too late.

I love the characters in this book right away, the banter that goes on between them are hilarious. There are quite a few characters to keep up with though, a lot of these characters are well developed, although I didn’t have any trouble keeping up with them. My favourite is Una the sorceress, the leader of her flock at the Office, also known in the office as Team Awesome. The magic that happens throughout the book is amazing. I quite enjoyed it.

And then there’s the centuries-old enemy the Dunraven’s, who were thought to have wallowed in witchcraft and sacrificial rituals. Learning about the Dunraven’s was very intriguing, the cursed placed upon his family and what Emil Schäfer Dunraven the last living son does to preserve himself and his family legacy.

A lot has happened here, but it looks like a lot more need to happen. So hopefully there’ll be a second book after this. KJ Bauer?😊

I mean come on, what about Tashta she was born into a legacy of magical champions, will she live up to it? And Una, after finding out what Una truly is, will we get to see some more of her awesomeness, how she will deal with it and move forward I have to know dammit LOL.

I truly did enjoy this book, I LOL quite a bit while witnessing some awesome magic at play. I highly recommend this book for those who love magic, suspense, the paranormal and laughter. You get all of this and more in FLOCK.

Title: Flock
Author: KJ Bauer
Published by: Troubador Book Publishing
Published: November 22, 2018
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Suspense
Number of Pages: 269

Thank you KJ Bauer, for sending me a Digital copy of your book Flock.

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