A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies Book 2) Kindle Edition

I'm worried. I'm actually WORRIED. I finished this AMAZING book and I'm now realizing it means I only have ONE novel left of Stephen and Lucien. I'm NOT ready to say goodbye! I loved everything about this book. As in the previous one the pace is excellent, left me at the edge of my seat wanting to know what's going on, but I was also hooked to the romance part as both men struggle with their emotions towards one another and how they can make it work with the amount of complications around them.Stephen Day is busy, but more than busy it's obvious he is reluctant to make a habit of his affair with Lucien Vaudrey (our Lord Crane). It can't last, not with the difference in lifestyle and rank and especially not when Lucien gets bored or annoyed with living in London and returns to his home in China. Lucien actually doesn't know WHAT he wants to do. He has enough dealings at the moment but what upsets him the most if how illusive Stephen is. He wants him in his bed, he wants to wake up with Stephen in his arms. But as Merrick his manservant puts it - he gives Stephen exactly the things he DOESN'T want.To make things even more difficult Lucien is being blackmailed by the same guy who brought Stephen into his life and he isn't the only one he is blackmailing.. This isn't China.. If it was, he would have gotten him killed and got on with it.. Now he needs to find a way to make this problem disappear because it makes Stephen even more reluctant to have ANYTHING to do with him. Especially since the other Justiciars are starting to suspect Stephen new found powers (one he gets from his connection to Lucien and the Magpie Lord).But who have time to consider relationships when people are murdered by giant rats?! Stephen comes for Lucien's help as a translator, trying to speak with Chinese shamans. But once Lucien realizes the issue he remembers a tale he heard about giant rats and from there on they start tackling the mystery together with the other Justiciars. They are suspicious of him at first but our Lord Crane has his own charm.All the little stories and tales in this one gets mixed up together and through it all they get even closer than before. Lucien can't bare it anymore. He needs to make Stephen realize he is here for him for the long run if only Stephen accepts and stays.There is much more I could say about this one. It was HILARIOUS, it was also action packed, it was sweet and romantic and totally raw at others. I truly couldn't have asked for more. It was simply an AWESOME novel and I can't wait to start the next one even though I'm sad to start saying my goodbye.Can't recommend this book and series enough. A MUST READ!A Case of Spirits: Like in the previous novel, this is also a sort of bonus little story of our two MCs. I think it was originally published on it's own but as it seems it's added on the very end on the current edition. It's actually a bit more than just a scene between them, it's a mystery in which Merrick's life and health is on the line and so you can imagine how Lucien would be taking it. But with Stephen by his side as well as his magic wielding friends things get resolved quick enough. It was a nice little story, really enjoyed it even though it was fairly short. Any added time with these two is a blessing.More @ Ultra Meital Reviews.

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 9/10PROS:- This installment does a good job of showing how strongly Crane feels for Stephen, especially at the beginning when Stephen is inexplicably absent from the story. I particularly appreciated this because I remember (vaguely) feeling that the relationship was a bit lopsided in Stephen’s direction in the first book.- The plot is just as intriguing as the previous one. It manages to build upon the story and character development from the first Magpies volume without seeming like a rehash of the same material.- I love Crane’s relationship with his manservant Merrick. They’re completely unfiltered and unrestrained with each other. I especially like that Merrick is able to be so brutally honest with Crane. And there’s a fun short story at the end of the book (the last 17 percent of the electronic version) that develops Crane’s friendship with Merrick even more.CONS:- This is one of those stories told in third-person limited POV which is perfectly well written but which, nevertheless, I can’t help wishing showed some scenes from the other main character’s perspective.- Charles is one of the better authors in this genre, so I expect her writing to be perfectly clean for some reason (probably unfairly). But this story has a fair number of punctuation errors in it, particularly comma errors.Overall comments: I liked the first volume of this series, but it’s been years since I read it—long enough that I remembered only the vaguest of details. I think reading the first one would enhance your enjoyment of this one, but it’s clearly not *that* necessary, because it was almost like I hadn’t read Volume 1 before I launched into this one, and I still enjoyed this installment very much.

A Case of Possession is the second book in KJ Charles’ A Charm of Magpies series of Victorian-era m/m paranormal romance novels. Charles has become one of my favorite authors, and I’m pretty sure I started this book almost immediately after reading the first book in the series.The story picks up almost immediately after the events of The Magpie Lord. Having dealt with the threat on Crane’s life, Stephen and Crane return to London. But, as they say, there is no rest for the wicked. Stephen returns to work as a magical police officer, and Crane…. Crane drifts around a little aimlessly. He’s still not happy with the title he’s inherited, and he wants nothing more than to return to China. But now there’s Stephen to consider.There isn’t much time for consideration because someone is unleashing a plague of rats upon innocent people. Any city is full of rats, but it’s clear that these are no ordinary rats; they’re being controlled by someone seeking vengeance- but clues are scarce, and once again, Stephen and Crane find themselves facing an unknown threat.A Case of Possession takes the dynamic established in the first book and expands that knowledge. But what will the reluctant lord and magical officer do with their newfound relationship when taken out of their vacuum and placed in stiflingly proper London?I would recommend A Case of Possession. Readers need to start with The Magpie Lord so that they can fully appreciate the story arc. There’s a nice balance of sorting out the relationship and dealing with the rat mystery. Overall, the tone of the book is fairly light, and the banter is top-notch. Crane’s valet/henchman Merrick steals every scene he appears in, and I would absolutely read a spinoff featuring just Merrick.

A Case of Possession picks up from the end of The Magpie Lord with Lucien, Lord Crane and miniscule mage Stephen Day conflicted over the struggle to keep their illicit love a secret. Steph is being watched by his overlords who suspect him of being a warlock and Lucien is weary of England and wanting to return to Shanghai but not without Steph at his side.When a mutual acquaintance tries to blackmail him and a friend from his Shanghai Trading days, Lord Crane is having none of it. But before he can take measures to nip things in the bud the blackmailer turns up dead, apparently ripped apart by rodents. As Crane and Day are pulled into investigating his death and others with similarities in the docklands area, it soon becomes apparent that all their lives are in danger. So begins a race to discover who is controlling the pack of rats and put a stop to their devillry before Crane's friend is also killed.A Case of Possession felt like a shorter read than it's predecessor but I enjoyed the background it provided about Crane and Merrick's time in the East. Also we get to meet Day's judiciary colleagues and find out more about them in the course of this story.The case is wrapped up neatly, with a pacy, heart-stopping conclusion and, as usual, we get a bonus short story at the end involving Merrick and Day's colleague Saint and a batch of nasty, magically enhanced gin.A rip-roaring, rather gory tale that I tore through in 24 hours. Most enjoyable, if you like that kind of thing.

After The Magpie Lord, I had high hopes for A Case of Possession; I expected it to rise to new levels and have more development that the first book lacked. I wished that Lucien and Stephen's budding relationship would deepen and whisk me away, since I felt the potential was there. However, I found that A Case of Possession took a turn I didn't expect - or really enjoy.The new mystery and plot still had me intrigued; there's blackmail, blood and murder. There's a plague of giant rats slaughtering people that Stephen has to investigate, while he's under suspicion of becoming a warlock. Pressure is building on Stephen's shoulders like no other, and Lucien is increasingly concerned of Stephen's disappearing acts, while dealing with blackmail. Certainly entertaining and kept me turning the page.While Lucien and Stephen's relationship deepened and there was some beautiful scenes between them, the steamy scenes left me cold. Oh, it was passionate and dirty, but it was also kinky. It's a personal preference what anyone enjoys; I don't care much for kinky stuff, and while this still was relatively mild, it was something I don't like reading. Thus, I mainly skim read the steamier scenes and focused on everything else. However, it made me feel less invested into the relationship and well, bleakened the overall enjoyment. I have decided not to read the last book of the trilogy, because well, I'd rather dedicate my time for something that I enjoy all the way through and not romance, where I skip half of the scenes together.Still, I'd recommend this trilogy to anyone who finds it interesting. It's well written and entertaining, and this time it's wholly personal why I decided to drop it. Others seem to have enjoyed the aspects I didn't, so this truly is the case of its-me-not-the-book.

Lucien and Stephen must now test their relationship outside of their bubble and things do not hop smoothly.I love a good pining romance and as Merrick (Secondary Character Hall of Fame candidate) puts it, Stephan has Lucien wrapped around his little finger, and the beauty of it, is that he doesn't even know it.The action is entertaining and the mystery well built, overall a fantastic book all around.

Man, I love this series. I saw reviews saying the second book wasn’t as good as the first, but I loved this story! It was as good, if not better, than the first and I was so happy to be back with these characters. This was very entertaining, the only book this month that has managed to keep my attention. I loved the relationship between Crane and Stephan, and it became infinitely more adorable in this book. I also loved the new characters that were introduced, especially Saint and Mrs. Gold. K.J. Charles definitely has a knack for creating interesting and likable characters. I certainly wasn’t disappointed by this book and I can’t wait to get onto the third book in the series.

I always enjoy reading this series, there’s always a lot going on. This time Lucien, Stephen and Merrick are trying with the help of Stephen’s team to locate the cause of horrific murders, where the victims are gnawed to pieces, and as they try to work out what’s going on, end up falling into a really deadly situation