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Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (Bad Witch -1) by Robyn Bachar

Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (Bad Witch #1) by Robyn Bachar

Bad Witch series, aka Cat Baker series — by Robyn Bachar. 

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy

Series Description or Overview[]

BOOK BLURB: Wrongly accused of using her magic to harm, the closest Catherine Baker comes to helping others is serving their coffee. Life as an outcast is nothing new, thanks to her father's reputation, but the injustice stings. Especially since the man she loved turned her in. Now the man has the gall to show up and suggest she become the next Titania? She'd rather wipe that charming grin off his face with a pot of hot java to the groin.

Alexander Duquesne has never faltered in his duties as a guardian—until now. The lingering guilt over Cat's exile and the recent death of his best friend have shaken his dedication. With the murder of the old Titania, the faerie realm teeters on the brink of chaos. His new orders: keep Cat alive at all costs. Hunted by a powerful stranger intent on drawing her into an evil web, Cat reluctantly accepts Lex's protection and the resurrected desire that comes along with it. Lex faces the fight of his life to keep her safe...and win her back. If they both survive.

Warning: This book contains one tough and snarky witch, one gorgeous guardian, explicit blood drinking, magician sex, gratuitous violence against vampires and troublemaking Shakespearean faeries. Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (Bad Witch, book 1) by Robyn Bachar

Lead's Species[]

  • Witch with faerie and necromancer blood

Primary Supe[]

  • Magicians, faeries, sorcerers, necromancers

What Sets it Apart[]

  • inticate mythos for magicians

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

  • First person narraive told by "Cat", Ctherine Baker, protagonist.

Books in Series[]

Bad Witch series:

  1. Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (2010)
  2. Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered (2012)
  3. Fire in the Blood (2012)

Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides[]

  • 0.5. The Importance of Being Emily (2011) eBook, 80 pages

Companion Series, Spinoffs, Sequels or Prequels[]

Bad Witch: The Emily Chronicles:

  1. The Importance of Being Emily (2011)
  2. Poison in the Blood (2013)

World Building[]

Setting[]

Chicago

Places:

  • Three Willows Cafe
  • Realm of Faeries; land of the faeries
  • Hell Realms: demon realms

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Witches, vampires, faeries, elves, necromancer, magicians, alchemist,, demons, tattoos, Faerie realm, ,

Glossary:[]

  • Magician: person with magic in their blood—most inherited the magic from faerie blood in the ancestry; in the past, some were born with their own magic;
  • Faeries: a magical race mormerly native to Earth. Extremely long lived; embodiment of magic. Different clans represent different aspects and elements. Faeries left Earth, made their own world after the extinction of the elves—which left them damages as a species, unable to reproduce with each other. Magician owe their magic to their fae heritage.
  • Sorcerer: magician specializing in elemental magic destructive in nature. Witches and sorcerers tend to focus on one element. Don't require spells or ingredients. They are most likely to become necromancers or to be kept as a necro's pet.
  • Vampire: slang term for a master necromancer or chronicler—considered rude; the shared traits with vampires are: must feed on blood of living magicians (the magic within it); most keep partners, spouses, pets as blood sources; rare to kill while feeding;
  • Shapeshifter: magician infected with wild magic 7 possessing an animal spirit. most common are canine, ursine, equine, avian—can shift in hybrid form or full animal form; Shifters are considered subhuman by magicians and hunted by sorcerers.
  • Necromancer: practices death magic—ghosts, zombies, etc.—once their apprenticeship is done, they go though a ritual to become a master (see vampire); masters build up bad karma.
  • Alchemist: magician who specializes in brewing potions, imbuing their potions with their own magic. The most mercenary of magicians because it's the most marketable.
  • Chronicler: a librarian who has joined the Order of St. Jerome and become a vampire. They undergo a ritual that stops their aging;
  • Librarian: specializes in history and research of a variety magics, can cast any type of spell, though less powerful when they cast them. They serve the Order of St. Jerome but few become Chroniclers.
  • Guardian: enforcer of magical law and order.
  • Hunter: those that hunt and kill magicians, groups or individuals—some do it for personal reasons, some for sport
  • Shadowspawn: a faerie who has been expelled from Faerie for evil acts, banished to Earth.
  • Shadowstep: method of transportation used by Necromancers, Chroniclers, & Shadowspawn faeries that takes them through the shadow realm.
  • Shadow Realm: hell dimension—exists in an eternal state of twilight; vampires and shadowspawn use it as a shortcut between places on earth that are steeped in darkness.
  • Seer: magician who an read auras and get prophetic vision, rarest kind of magician; their visions center around the person they're reading or a traumatic event; not mediums.
  • Titania or Oberon: a title for an ambassador responsible for overseeing relations between Earth and Faerie (if the position holder is male, he is referred to as an Oberon) — the ambassador maintains balance between Faerie and magician society
  • Kinslayer: magician or magical being who murdered a member of his or her family. Considered a great sin because of diminishing numbers.
  • Favor: Magical debt owed to a demon or summoner. No small matter, granted in exchange for powerful magic. A mark is tattooed on the skin
  • Demon: entity native to one of the hell realms—they can not be killed, only banished back to their realm. A magician can kill the demon if he follows him to his sown realm.
  • Elves: Extinct

Groups & Organizations:[]

  • Council of Three: a magician governing party—rules an monitors every type of magician and faerie. — levels: regional, national, global, etc.
  • Order of St. Jerome: organization of Chroniclers—founded to have immortal librarians to protect magician record, to remember stories, events to maintain a record of magician history. The ritual to create immortality for them was stolen from necromancers who were furious. Part of the bargain is that Chroniclers not become part of Mage politics.
  • Silverleaf Clan: Clan of faeries, Cat's cousin is one; has castle in Faerie;

World[]

In this world, which is set in an alternate Chicago, a thriving supernatural population of magicians (i.e., practitioners of various types of magic) exists unknown to mortals. The magicians are divided into factions depending on their magical characteristics and talents (e.g., faeries, necromancers, shape shifters, vampires, sorcerers, witches). The faeries live in their own separate Realm of Faerie, while the rest of the supernaturals live in the Realm of Earth alongside the mortals. One odd but interesting note: All of the faeries have Shakespearean names (e.g., Portia, Tybalt, Cecelia). Each magical group is governed by its own Council of Three. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Robyn Bachar: BAD WITCH/CAT BAKER SERIES

Protagonist[]

✥ The series heroine is Catharine (Cat) Baker, a Chicago witch who was unfairly banished four years ago by the Witches' Council when she used magic to defend herself against an unprovoked street attack. Cat has some faery ancestors on her mother's side, and her father is a necromancer. The Guardian who turned Cat in and arrested her was her longtime boyfriend, Alexander (Lex) Duquesne, and as you can probably guess, their romance ended at that exact point in time. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: Robyn Bachar: BAD WITCH/CAT BAKER SERIES

Sidekick[]

  • Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:

Characters Chart[]

Characters What About
Cat, Catherine Baker Witch, part faerie Wrongly accused of using her magic to harm. Applies for Titania position;
"Lex", Alexander Dusquesne Guardian protection; Cat's ex-boyfriend.; new orders: keeps Cat alive at all costs;
"Mac", Maxwell McInnes Librarian Owner of The Three Willows Cafe; held hostage by Zach Harrison;
Zachary Harrison billionaire vampire unwanted bond; young vampire; necromancer council; tries to enlist Cat in world dominance scheme;
Portia fae Cat's fae cousin. Member of the Silverleaf Clan
Tybalt farie, Silverleaf Clan Cat's fae cousin; Cat's father attacks her clan's castle in Faerie

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

Robyn Bachar

Robyn Bachar

Author[]

Robyn Bachar

Bio: Robyn Bachar was born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, she loves all things related to Chicago, from the Cubs to the pizza. She even has "Go Cubs Go" as her cell phone's ring tone. When she began writing her urban fantasy series, it seemed only natural to combine her love of fantasy with her love of Chicago, and to tell stories of witches and vampires in the Chicagoland area.

Cover Artist[]

Publishing Information[]

  • Publisher: Samhain Publishing
  • Author Page:
  1. Blood, Smoke and Mirrors: Paperback, 272 pages, Pub: March 1, 2011—ISBN 1609280717
  2. Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered:
  3. Fire in the Blood:

Book Cover Blurbs[]

BOOK ONE—Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (2010): Wrongly accused of using her magic to harm, the closest Catherine Baker comes to helping others is serving their coffee. Life as an outcast is nothing new, thanks to her father's reputation, but the injustice stings. Especially since the man she loved turned her in. Now the man has the gall to show up and suggest she become the next Titania? She'd rather wipe that charming grin off his face with a pot of hot java to the groin. Alexander Duquesne has never faltered in his duties as a guardian—until now. The lingering guilt over Cat's exile and the recent death of his best friend have shaken his dedication. With the murder of the old Titania, the faerie realm teeters on the brink of chaos. His new orders: keep Cat alive at all costs. Hunted by a powerful stranger intent on drawing her into an evil web, Cat reluctantly accepts Lex's protection and the resurrected desire that comes along with it. Lex faces the fight of his life to keep her safe...and win her back. If they both survive. — Warning: This book contains one tough and snarky witch, one gorgeous guardian, explicit blood drinking, magician sex, gratuitous violence against vampires and troublemaking Shakespearean faeries. ~ Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (Bad Witch, book 1) by Robyn Bachar

BOOK TWO—Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered (2012): It's better to be a bad witch than a dead one. One thing stands between Catherine Duquesne and happily-ever-after with her soul mate Lex—her unwanted bond with billionaire vampire Zachary Harrison. Married life is hard enough without adding an uninvited vampire to the mix, and being tied to Zach endangers more than just her relationship. If Zach dies, she dies, and with his new seat on the necromancer council being challenged by older, more powerful masters, his life expectancy is dwindling fast. Vampire politics is only the beginning of Cat's problems. Hunters are stalking magicians, abducting entire families and killing anyone who resists. As the current Titania and Oberon, Cat and Lex must protect their people, but Cat's dark past keeps the victims from seeking their help. Worse, the former Titania's granddaughter wants to oust Cat from the job, believing her vampire ties make her unfit. To break the bond Cat must broker deals with devils on a journey that will take her to hell and back - literally. Freedom comes at a high price, but Cat will risk anything to save her people and her marriage. Warning: This book contains explicit language, faerie shenanigans, a field trip to hell, even more magician sex, and gratuitous violence against vampires, demons, hunters, helicopters and the kitchen sink. And if you want to know how the very sexy Lex swept Cat off her feet, check out Blood, Smoke and Mirrors. ~ Goodreads | Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered (Bad Witch #2)

BOOK THREE—Fire in the Blood (2012): It’s good to be bad… Patience Roberts is the last summoner standing between magiciankind and certain demon invasion. After banishing two or three demons a day for too long, gods know she’d like nothing better than a little down time with her number one distraction—Faust. But with vampires, hunters and assassins lined up to take her out, who has the time? Still, she has to admit her resistance to the amorous faerie is wearing thin. Not that she’ll ever let on—after all, faeries are notorious for their short romantic attention spans. — Faust, a Shadowspawn faerie, watched as his outcast clan dwindled to nothing. Determined to hold on to the woman he loves, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Patience. And one day build a life with her. When an old demon enemy punches through the barrier between the worlds, Patience must draw on every ounce of her reputation as a cast-iron bitch to temporarily banish him. To get rid of him for good, she’ll have to sacrifice one too many pieces of her soul to leave room for love… — Product Warnings: Contains a hero and heroine so hot they’re literally on fire, naughty faerie sex, post-coital cuteness, angsty magician drama, and yet more gratuitous violence against vampires, demons, and innocent furniture. ~ Goodreads | Fire in the Blood (Bad Witch #3)

First Sentences[]

  1. Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (2010) — I hate after-midnight meetings.
  2. Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered (2012) — It was a dead man's party, and I was the guest of honor. Lucky me.
  3. Fire in the Blood (2012) — (preview only shows glossary, not first chapter)

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

Awards[]

Read Alikes (similar elements)[]

Mages/wizards:

Vampire magic users:

Faeries:

Witches:

Sorcerers:

Necromancers:

Alchemists:

Demons:

Magicians,

See Category links at bottom of page

Notes[]

Robyn Bachar - FAQ

See Also[]

See Category links at bottom of this page

External References[]

Books:

Summaries:

World, Characters, etc:

Reviews:

Interviews:

Author:

Community, Fan Sites:

Gallery of Book Covers[]

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