Unseen, The Folk, Book 2 by Meg Benjamin is a Paranormal and Paranormal Romance Event pick #pnr #paranormalromance #mustread #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- 15 hours ago
- 6 min read
Title: Unseen, The Folk, Book 2
Author: Meg Benjamin
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book Blurb:
A routine job, but then it turned deadly.
Teran Richter is in Animas, Colorado, to find members of the Folk, a simple task. But the annual Animas Fall Festival brings hordes of tourists and daily celebrations that make it frustrating. Things begin to look up when Teran meets Marika Sager. Marika’s business partner Eva seems to be a member of the Folk, only it’s Marika Teran’s attracted to, particularly after a local witch’s brew sends the two into a memorable night of passion.
But there are sinister forces at work in Animas. Teran’s attacked and his assistant is kidnapped. When Marika also disappears, Teran’s forced to confront the truth: someone is out to sabotage his mission and destroy anyone who tries to help. With an eccentric team of magical allies, Teran must rescue Marika and fight off those who want to destroy both him and the Folk. But can he find a way to confront the shadowy forces while keeping himself and his lover safe from harm?
Excerpt:
Teran knew he’d eventually have to tell Marika who and what he was. He just wasn’t sure how to do it without sounding like a lunatic.
As it turned out, though, she beat him to it. “You wanted to know why I was coming up the trail after you.”
“Right.”
“I needed to make sure you were all right. I found out Goody put something in our beer.” She wiped her hands on a dishtowel. “I don’t know what it was, but it made us both kind of crazy, I guess.”
Her cheeks had turned bright pink, and he realized she was blushing.
“I’m okay.”
“Right.” She hung the dishtowel on a rack. “It never occurred to me she’d do something like that.”
“Did she say what it was she put in the beer?”
“She didn’t want to tell me. She said it was a ‘spell,’ for Pete’s sake. As if she was some kind of witch.”
Teran blew out a breath. Time to venture into those rough waters. “It probably was a spell. There are a lot of love spells out there.”
She stared at him blankly. “What?”
“Love spells. People like them, for obvious reasons. And they’re easy to do, although you couldn’t prove it by me. I don’t know any.” He kept his expression neutral.
After a moment, she dropped onto the other end of the couch. “You know you can’t stop there.”
He nodded. “It might be easier if you asked me what you want to know.”
“What did you do back on the trail, when you sent those rocks back up the mountain?”
“It’s called a power blast. I’m not very good at them. I’d never done them until a few weeks ago. In fact, I spent a lot of my life avoiding crap like that. But since coming to Animas, I’ve had to use them a few times. I’m getting better at them.”
“It seemed like it came from your hands. Did you have a gun or something?”
“No guns. Just my hands. It’s physical power, you sort of gather it together and then send it out. It’s easier to aim from your hands.” Although his aim was nothing to brag about.
Marika looked like she was short of breath. “From your hands. You send out blasts with your hands.”
He nodded. “Sort of.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist, closing her eyes. “And this isn’t something anyone can do?”
He shook his head.
“Then why can you?” Her voice trembled, but she didn’t seem to be freaking out. Much.
“Because I’m a Seelie.” He paused. “Well, part Seelie. My dad is Seelie. My mother’s mortal. Power blasts are a Seelie weapon. They use them on the job, working security.”
She nodded slowly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Right. Reynard and I are both descendants of the Folk. We’re sort of different.” He realized suddenly he hadn’t a clue how to explain. “They’re—we’re—people with special abilities. The Folk have different clans, groups who came over from various countries in Europe. Seelies are one of them. They came from Scotland and Ireland.”
“Why have I never heard of them before?” She was frowning, but she was looking at him.
“You have heard of them, but not as the Folk.”
Her frown deepened. “What other names are there?”
And here it comes. “Lots of them. The French call us Fée, the Irish call us Feadh-Ree, the Spanish call us Hadas.” He paused, steeling himself. “English and Americans call us fairies.”
Marika stared at him, then her lips slid into an incredulous grin. “No.”
“The Folk don’t call themselves that, and they get pissed if someone else does. But it’s the most common name in English. That and the Fae.” He sat still. Sooner or later it would sink in.
“But you’re not . . . I mean, fairies are these tiny things with wings and pointed ears and—I don’t know—clothes made out of cobwebs or something.” She stood, hands on her hips. “You’re not a fairy. You’re not even close.”
Taren closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Obviously, he sucked at explanations. “You’re thinking of pictures of fairies. Most of them were done by people who’d never seen one of the Folk. Some Folk are short, but none of them are tiny. I guess back in the old days some could fly, but not anymore. They’ve evolved like everybody else. And anybody who tried to put on a cobweb around here would freeze to death. Most of the Folk here are descendants of mountain clans.”
Her lips trembled as she backed away from him. “No. I don’t believe you. No.”
Well, crap again. Clearly he’d have to do something but he wasn’t sure what. It would help if he was better with magic. He glanced around the room. “Okay, keep your eyes on my shoe.” He pointed toward his boot where she’d placed it next to the door.
Marika turned.
Raising his hand, he pulled the power into himself. The blast he sent out was the weakest he could do, but he still wasn’t good at calibration. The boot flew into the air. He managed to steady it, keeping it afloat a few feet above the floor. He’d never tried a blast in a steady stream before. His shoulders ached with the effort, but it worked.
Marika’s hands flew to her mouth, eyes widening. “Oh, my God.”
He lowered the boot to the ground where it landed with a thump. Then he collapsed back against the couch, hoping she didn’t want to see it a second time because he felt completely drained.
She didn’t seem to want to. In fact, right now she looked like she’d prefer he make himself disappear. Unfortunately, that wasn’t part of his repertoire.
He rubbed a hand across his shoulders. “We’re human. It’s important to remember. We can do stuff like this, but we’re still human. Like you.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
I had so much fun writing the Folk trilogy. I got to do a deep dive into fairy lore and then translate it into contemporary Colorado. If fairies were humans with a few special powers, where would they live, how would they behave, how would they keep their magic a secret? I’m particularly fond of Unseen because I got to do a fictional version of one of my favorite Colorado towns, Crested Butte, and their eccentric fall harvest festival. Animas, my Crested Butte, is a raucous mountain town that happens to feature some supernaturals, including members of the Folk. And some of those supernaturals are turning this harvest festival into a much less innocent event. My hero, Teran, is a member of the Folk who’s never really used his magic before and is trying to fight off the bad guys while getting his powers under control. My heroine, Marika, is a mortal. Well, sort of. Can the two of them balance romance and magic to combat some nasty threats? Check out Unseen for the answer.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs April 8 – April 15, 2025.
Winner will be drawn on April 16, 2025.
Author Biography:
Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Her Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, the Carly Crown Jewel of Books from the Mid-America Romance Authors, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers.
Social Media Links:
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Website: http://www.MegBenjamin.com/