Rakurai hunts demons. He doesn’t consort with gods. Until he meets Tenzen.

Tenzen cares for souls. He despises the callous, self-absorbed Yuvine. Until he meets Rakurai.

A rescue and a sacrifice make a death god and a hunter fall in love, but a life of bliss is not on the cards. Someone is disturbing the balance of magic, leaving two worlds in danger. And while desire draws Rakurai and Tenzen together, duty, assassins, and clan politics keep them apart.

Who will Tenzen and Rakurai save in the end? Two worlds or each other?

Purchase Link: Amazon.com

Goodreads: Caught (A Balance of Magic #1) by Jackie Keswick

Review

Rating: 4 stars

*I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review*

Caught is the first novel in the A Balance of Magic Trilogy. When hunter Rakurai answers death god Tenzen’s calls for help, the two of them form an unexpected bond that transcends between worlds. Together the two of them take on the demon that had held Tenzen captive for eighteen years and by doing so they form a partnership both in duty and in love. Their new bond is quickly put to the test when unrest and betrayal amongst the Yuvine not only threaten Rakurai and his son, but both realms too.

Caught is an imaginative and action-packed novel. It incorporates Japanese mythology together with the author’s own lores to create a detailed world of hunters, demons and gods. I loved both the characters of Rakurai and Tenzen. Rakurai’s dedication to his duty as a hunter and his son is the motivation that drives him, so when his feelings for Tenzen conflict with this you see a man torn between this and his own heart. Tenzen has been alone so long that it would have been easy for him to try to keep Rakurai for himself, but caring for the souls in his garden has given him a selfless nature and as much as he wishes for Rakurai to remain with him, he understands his lover’s conflicts.

Before they meet each other, they both have preconceptions about the other. Rakurai believes that death gods are cold and detached whilst Tenzen believes that all hunters have become self-serving. With both preconceptions challenged in each other, they learn and grow as characters as their relationship develops.

I really enjoyed reading this first book in the series and cannot wait to read book two.