Of
Beasts and Bonds
Death and Destiny Trilogy, #2
by N.D. Jones
Date of
Publication: August 18th 2016
Publisher:
Kuumba Publishing
Cover
Artist: Maduranga Nuwan
Genre: Paranormal
Romance
In a world of
mystery and magic, sometimes old bonds must be broken before new ones can be
formed. Who knew that finding one’s soul mate would test bonds and unleash
beasts?
From
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Of Beasts and Bonds (Death and Destiny Trilogy, #2) . . .
I'm sorry there are no spoilers found here except the quest will continue on. Now on to the prophesied Cat and Fire Witch of legend, Assefa and Dr Sanura. With their incomplete bonding and the evil, Mami Wata, water goddess, their coming together has unleashed on the world. Death. Destruction. Magic. Mystery. Myth. All things are tested and re-tested again. Bonding should be a simple step in their progression, but every turn leads them to another task that needs to be completed.
As with the first book, I got rich memorable characters, strong mythical depictions, vivid imagery, and a battle that included death, destruction, and defeating the evil to some extent. I could feel the action, the intense bonds and the frustration of not connecting fully, the struggle between secondary characters, the pull of turmoil, the pull of frustrations. I got a full range of it all. I am on the hunt for the next installment. I have many things that I am hoping will be wrapped up in the next book.
**This eBook was provided via N.D. Jones
in exchange for an honest review.**
Death and Destiny Trilogy series:
Of Fear and Faith – Death and Destiny Trilogy, #1
SEE REVIEW
Of Beast and Bonds – Death and Destiny Trilogy, #2
BLURB
Mami Wata and Oya are now free from
their watery prison and ready to wage a battle five hundred years in the
making. Special Agent Assefa Berber and Dr. Sanura Williams are the prophesied
Cat and Fire Witch of Legend. To save the world from Mami Wata, a water goddess
with a bloody thirst for power and an insatiable appetite for death and
destruction, they must defeat her beasts and the Water Witch of Legend.
Assefa and Sanura are fully in love
but possess only a partial mate bond. While Sanura has merged their auras,
bonding Assefa’s cat spirit to her, she has yet to accept his claiming bite.
Their incomplete mate bond and their new relationship are tested when Mami Wata
sets her malevolent eyes on them, manipulating beasts, sacrificing humans, and
creating heartache. Can their bond survive, or will they drown under the
vicious tide of godly might?
With focused golden
eyes, alert gray ears, and keen black snout, the Mngwa took in his
surroundings.
The prickly grass
under his large, wide paws.
The heat of the
midday sun beating down on his thick black-and-gray fur.
The scent of mullah
bamyah—garlic, tomato juice, minced beef, okra, salt, and pepper.
The four snarling big
cats stalking him.
Scanning each strong,
lithe, and ferocious cat, the Mngwa cataloged their stance, their position, and
the distance between each other and from the Mngwa. They flanked him, a large
cat to his front, rear, and sides. If the Mngwa could smile, he would have.
Foolishly, they thought their numbers a strategic advantage that would fell the
undefeated Mngwa of myth and legend. Instead of a smile, he snarled, a baring
of elongated teeth.
A challenge.
The four cats
attacked, their bestial response to his bait.
Four sets of paws
struck the ground, claws digging into grass and dirt, brawny legs propelling
them forward. Razor-sharp teeth bared, husky growls cut through the muggy June
air, and feline eyes glowed with a premature win.
The leopard reached the
Mngwa first, snapping and going for the bigger cat’s neck. Not wasting time
with the youngest of the four attackers, the Mngwa sidestepped the snarling,
snapping leopard. To only pivot, turn, and ram the side of the too-slow feline
with the Mngwa’s massive head. Away from the Mngwa the leopard flew, sailing
through the air and crashing to the ground several feet away.
The three other cats
spared no pitying glance to the downed leopard, who lay on his side, breathing
labored and ragged. A sure sign of broken ribs.
More growls and
snapping, each cat trying for a different part of the Mngwa’s massive body. The
Mngwa was having none of it, so he went on the offensive. Leaping over the
biggest threat, the Bengal tiger, the Mngwa landed nimbly, then ran straight at
the cheetah. Taking the speckled feline by surprise, the Mngwa powered over the
cat, knocking him down before hauling him up by his scrawny neck and shaking.
The cheetah’s fragile neck was held firm between the Mngwa’s curved
saber-shaped teeth.
When the Mngwa no
longer felt resistance, he opened his deadly jaws and allowed the cheetah to
fall from his brutal clutch and slip, nearly unconscious, to the waiting grass.
Smack. Bite.
The lion and tiger
claimed simultaneous strikes on the Mngwa. A swipe across his hindquarters and
a bite to his side. The lion latched onto the Mngwa, his lethal teeth working
to find purchase in the cat of legend’s winter dense fur and even thicker hide.
Like the predator he
was, the Bengal tiger charged while the Mngwa grappled with the formidable
lion. A mix of yellow-and-orange with wide dark-brown stripes, the 510-pound
tiger landed on top of the Mngwa. His weight hefty, his claws long, sharp, and
dangerous. The maw that threatened his nape even deadlier.
The lion kept up his
offensive, kept clawing, kept sinking his teeth in deeper and deeper.
The Mngwa roared,
reared back on his hind legs, forcing the tiger off him and to the hard ground.
With a side dive, the Mngwa dropped the entirety of his 695 pounds onto the
380-pound lion. His long, dark mane shot up and out with the force of the
attack.
The downed lion
snapped and snarled but didn’t get up. No, with the Mngwa looming over him,
golden eyes marble hard, paw raised, claws out and within striking range of the
lion’s throat, the feline had only two choices.
One would see him
dead, while the other …
The lion lowered his
eyes, and then his head.
Submission.
Pleased, the Mngwa
shifted his gaze to the tiger, his other senses having tracked the big cat the
entire time.
He knew it would come
down to this—the Mngwa versus the Bengal tiger. It always did.
The big cats circled,
taking each other’s measure. They searched for an opening, an opportunity to
attack with the least probability of an effective and bruising counterattack. The
combatants knew each other well—style of combat, defensive and offensive
tactics.
Speed, size, and
agility were on the Mngwa’s side. Yet, the toxin from an animal no longer than
an inch, the golden poison frog could kill a dozen men. Its tiny size and bright
colors deceiving. Not, at a length of 120 inches and 43 inches of shoulder
height, with a tail just as long, there was anything small about the Bengal
tiger baring his gleaming white teeth at the Mngwa.
The Mngwa
underestimated no one—no matter the outward appearance of the enemy. Even the
cat of legend, if incautious, could taste the bitter tang of defeat. So he
watched and waited and plotted the tiger’s downfall.
The tiger charged,
all muscle and menace. His long, powerful legs ate up the distance between
them, determined copper eyes all for the Mngwa.
The cat of legend
braced himself, choosing to face the big cat head-on. He wanted this fight, the
primal challenge that only a great beast like the Bengal tiger could give him.
A glorious battle of fangs, fur, and claws that would push, force, and compel
the Mngwa to prove his worth, his manhood, his undisputed dominance as the
predator of predators.
Crash.
The ground shook -
the Mngwa and tiger locked in a feral clench.
Biting.
Clawing.
Pulling.
Strong. The tiger was
so strong. But not strong enough.
The Mngwa opened his
mouth wide and clamped down on fur and flesh. The neck of his opponent was
thick with rigid muscles and delicate veins. The pulse of the tiger’s life a
strong, fast throbbing beat in the Mngwa’s deadly mouth.
The tiger whimpered his pain. Neither loud nor
long. But enough, enough for the Mngwa’s ears to detect the effect of his
attack. Yet the tiger fought on, as the Mngwa knew he would. As the Mngwa
wanted him to, the tiger too stubborn, courageous, and fierce to submit so
easily.
No, there was much
fight left in the Bengal tiger.
He swiped at the
Mngwa, vicious claws finding vulnerable underbelly and drawing blood. It hurt,
but not enough for the bigger cat to release his vice grip. The Mngwa sank his
teeth deeper into the side of the tiger’s neck, tasting blood and prideful
were-cat magic.
Her gardenia scent
slammed into his senses seconds before the Mngwa and the tiger were surrounded
by a ring of raging fire. Breaking his hold on the smaller cat, the Mngwa
turned to see an angry fire witch barreling toward them—green eyes cold,
red-gold hair and long striped sundress blowing in a wind that came out of
nowhere. Her deadly focus was all for the Bengal tiger who, unlike when he fought
the Mngwa, trembled with fear.
Lightning hissed.
Thunder growled.
And fire witch magic
crackled in the blistering summer air.
Dammit, he had to do
something and fast. Retreating as far as he could go within the cage of fire,
the Mngwa propelled himself forward, accelerating when he approached the heated
barrier and jumped. With ease, he cleared the four-foot high ring of fire and
landed, with an oompf, on top of a glaring Sanura.
“I can’t believe you
just—”
He licked her. From
the front ring bodice of her green-and-orange striped dress, up her toned
shoulders and around the tie neck, and into thick hair covering an ear, the
Mngwa tasted his witch.
“Get off me, you big
furball. I can’t breathe.”
Satisfied and
comfortable, the Mngwa nuzzled his witch’s face, neck, and her heaving breasts,
unfazed by Sanura’s angry protestations. The only part of him that pinned the
witch down was his massive head and part of his chest. But, the Mngwa supposed,
even that much weight could be heavy on a woman who, while five-feet-ten-inches
tall, weighed no more than 140 pounds. With a teasing snort that had a lock of
her wavy hair flying upward and out of her eye, the Mngwa decided it best to
give the fire breathing witch some relief.
With a single thought
from Assefa—I’ll take care of our witch, my friend, go to sleep—the cat gave
way to the man. A transformative effect where fur and hide succumbed to hair
and skin, paws and claws shrank to hands and legs, and golden eyes, muzzle, and
fangs retreated, waning under Assefa’s command.
“Is that better?”
Assefa smiled down at his hot-tempered girlfriend, right before settling the
whole of him on top of the whole of her.
Very nice. Sanura
made for the best mattress—plush, lush and with the right amount of firmness.
“You’re naked.” A
huffed complaint that did nothing to encourage Assefa to move off her.
“Of course. My Mngwa
doesn’t like clothing.” He shifted on top of her, letting Sanura feel just how
naked he was. “He thinks pants are too binding. What do you think?”
She closed her eyes
and shook her head. “I think you need to worry more about that big damn tiger
you were fighting rather than your Mngwa in boxers.”
Of Fear and Faith
Death and Destiny Trilogy, #1
by N.D. Jones
Author Info
N. D. Jones lives in Maryland with her
husband and two children. She is the founder of Kuumba Publishing, an art,
audiobook, eBook, and paperback company. Kuumba Publishing is a forum for
creativity, with a special commitment to promoting and encouraging creative
works of authors and artists of African descent.
A desire to see more novels with
positive, sexy, and three-dimensional African American characters as soul
mates, friends, and lovers, inspired the author to take on the challenge of
penning such romantic reads. She is the author of two paranormal romance
series: Winged Warriors and Death and Destiny. N.D. likes to read historical
and paranormal romance novels, as well as comics and manga.
AUthor Links:
Release Day Giveaway
1st - $50 Amazon Kindle gift card, Signed
copy of "Of Fear and Faith" and "Of Beasts and Bonds," art
print by Najja Creations
2nd - $30 Amazon Kindle gift card + eBook copy of
"Of Fear and Faith" and "Of Beasts and Bonds"
3rd -
$20 Amazon Kindle gift card + eBook copy of "Of Beasts and
Bonds"
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