Iron and Wine (Book #1)

Iron and Wine (Book #1) by Candace Osmond

Blurb (from amazon.com):

" Iron & Wine is an Urban Fantasy set in a world full of hidden magical places and secret societies cloaked by modern day. In the first installment of the Iron World Series, young artist Avery Quinn reluctantly leaves behind her quiet and comfortable home in the country and moves to the city with her best friend Julie Ryan. With the expectation that college will be the most exciting part of her life, Avery hopes that her little world remains quiet and simple. But after a troublesome blue sprite looking for help appears in her bedroom one night, her boss turns out to be a three hundred year old vampire, and her best friend accidentally reveals herself as an orphaned pixie, school quickly becomes the least of her worries. Every aspect of Avery's life explodes with mythical beings and legendary creatures who all play a very important role in her existence. Some are friends, some are guardians, while others quickly become life threatening and deadly enemies. Avery must learn to juggle living in both her world and theirs, but in this magical tale of strange love, strong bonds and scary beings; what once was nothing more than mere fairy tales told to her by her Aunt Tess are now a scary reality and Avery has somehow landed deep in the middle with little or no way out except death or worse...the loss of her humanity.

My Review:

I thought I was over the vampire/werewolf thing, but I got totally sucked into this book! At first you don't know that anything is amiss. Avery is just a normal girl going off to college with her best friend. Then when she gets to college and her new apartment, everything changes. Nothing is as it seems, and no one is who she thought they were. There is an entire world out there of different creatures. I liked Ms. Osmond's writing style. It kept me hooked, for sure. The character development is well done, and it's clever how all the changes transition very well. I liked Avery's voice in the book; she is intelligent, a hard worker, cute, and a fun character. She is also a strong female character (most of the time). I loved the descriptions in this book. All the characters are well thought out and unique. It's interesting how the different worlds exist together, and yet apart. The boyfriend (I won't tell you who that is at the moment......) is a little obsessed, and although their relationship is a little cheesy and a little rocky, it's a fun element in the story. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading book two!

There is some language in this book. There are also quite a few innuendos and almost "intimacy" scenes. They do all but- many times. There is one scene also. There is some violence with creatures fighting creatures. 

Rating: R (This book is not appropriate for YA or younger.  There is profanity in this book along with some violence. There are quite a  few innuendos, and there is an "intimacy" scene, with many others where they go almost all the way.)

Recommendation: 18 and up (for sure not younger than 18), adult would be most appropriate.

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.