Fairies, elves, warriors and wild cowboys; with these as our tour guides Cheyenne McCray has taken us on a tour of her many worlds. Now with Forbidden Magic, she will take us on another trip into a new urban fantasy world. A world where white is white, black is black and gray can turn deadly. A world where not everything is as it appears to be and you must learn to look beneath appearances.

Someone is kidnapping witches and leaving some of them dead. Silver Ashcroft, a D'Anu witch and a freelance member of San Francisco's Paranormal Special Forces knows how the dead witches are being killed but now she wants to know by whom and why. Also, what is happening to the missing witches? Someone is using ancient black magic; blood magic. So far the only things they have found are circles of power, the bodies of the dead and the shape of a glowing red eye; the sign of the Balorites. The only thing that Silver knew about the Balorite Clan was that it is a coven of warlocks serving the ancient god Balor. But why are they now using the innocent of San Francisco in their blood magic and what are they trying to do?

Silver is willing to risk everything; the possibility of being exiled, her life and her soul to defend her city, her coven, and her loved ones, even if it means doing the unforgivable. If her coven finds out that she is practicing gray magic they will banish her from their world because they know what a thin and treacherous line between white and black gray magic truly is. Is Silver strong enough to walk that line? Can she resist the dark seductive power of black magic and keep her soul or will it be lost forever?

Hawk, a winged warrior of the Tuatha D'Danann has been sent to warn Silver that everything she knows is about to change and to prepare for the battle to save her world. The Great Guardian of the Elves has Hawk tell Silver about Darkwolf, leader of the Balorite Clan and his plans to release the Formorii, the ancient enemy of Tuatha D'Danann, from their exile in the underworld. This is not a battle that Silver and her coven can fight alone. The only way the Tautha D'Danann will help is if they are summoned by the coven and that goes against one of the D'Anu's most ancient laws. Can Silver convince her coven of the danger and get them to break one of their most ancient laws to summon help from the Otherworld? Can Hawk get his people to come to the aid of the D'Anu?

Hawk is like no other man Silver has met. Just his presence calls to her senses and flesh in such a way that she can think of only him. Hawk, having loved and lost, doesn't want another woman to touch his heart and soul, as he can't bear the thought of possibly losing them again. They both know that there can be no future for them but they can't seem to fight the growing attraction between them. And they have other battles to fight: the resistance of Silver's coven and Hawk's people to break tradition even at the cost of saving lives and finally the escalating strength and taste for death of the Formorii. Silver and Hawk decide to find what peace they can in each other in the ever-growing madness around them.

When Darkwolf has the Formorii kidnap Silver's parents, this is his final chance to capture Silver's soul and power. Can she withstand the seductive pull of Darkwolf's black magic? If Silver slips down the dark path of death and black magic can Hawk pull her back from the edge of the abyss?

As a fan of Ms. McCray's writing, I couldn't wait for the chance to read her debut novel from St.Martin's Press. For other fans of her work, you won't be disappointed. In the past, her novels have always been able to draw the reader into its world from the first chapter, to the point that you forget everything and everyone around you. Forbidden Magic is one of those books. It is a non-stop page-turner. This book is a definite keeper!!

Ms. McCray weaves a world of magic, love and honor, a world that you can't help but fall in love with. The main characters, Silver and Hawk, compliment each other with a great mix of strength, vulnerability, love and hate. Forbidden Magic is Cheyenne McCray at her best!!!

Tammy Adams
November 2005