beyond menaing

A witch's hat is a type of hat commonly associated with witches. It is typically tall and pointed, typically black or dark in color, and has a wide brim. The pointed shape is often seen as symbolizing the connection to magic and the supernatural. The wide brim is not only a fashion statement but also provides additional shade and protection from the elements. Some witch's hats may have additional embellishments such as feathers, ribbons, or buckles to further enhance their mystical appearance. While the term "witch's hat" is commonly used, there is no specific name for this type of hat beyond its general description.

Escape Rating A-: I had a hell of a good time with Val – and especially Sindari. I know he’d hate my saying he’s just a big pussycat, but he is a very big pussycat. As well as a great friend and companion to Val, a deadly warrior in his own right, and extremely majestic. Sindari would definitely want me to include the majestic bit.

Even though Val s combination friend, familiar, service animal and bodyguard, the majestic magical tiger Sindari, warns her not to aggravate the dragon, Val can t help herself in the face of his smug, superior attitude and face. This doesn t make me popular with the rest of the magical community as you can tell from the numerous break-ins and assassination attempts I ve endured over the years.

While the term "witch's hat" is commonly used, there is no specific name for this type of hat beyond its general description. The witch's hat has remained a popular costume accessory and symbol of witchcraft in popular culture, often seen during Halloween festivities or in theatrical productions..

Sinister Magic, a review by Joanna

Sinister Magic is the first instalment of the Death Before Dragons Urban Fantasy series about off-the-books government assassin Val Thorvald, who uses powers derived from being half-elvish, and a variety of magical charms, to hunt down and execute supernatural beings who have hurt humans. I have not read anything by this author before, but it has all the elements I look for in this genre, and a lot of high star ratings, so I had high hopes, but sadly I found the story rather uninspiring.

The plot centres around Val trying to find a cure for her friend/work contact who has been poisoned, while trying to avoid an arrogant dragon shapeshifter who has arrived from another realm, also to hunt down magical criminals hiding out on Earth. Unfortunately “Zav” disagrees with her methods, and instead wants to catch and rehabilitate them, rather than just killing them like Val does. There are werewolves, ghosts, vampires and various other creatures – like in basically all UF – but on the plus side, no romance.

Unfortunately I didn’t find the characters appealing (apart from Sindari the tiger of course) – Val is meant to be over 40, so her snark just comes across as immaturity, and her motivations suspect – she wants to save Willard to keep her job, not because she’s a good friend. Zav is not remotely appealing, if she’s going for a slow-burn enemies to lovers plot for the series. The action sequences weren’t bad but everything all happens a bit too conveniently. This was free during an Amazon promotion – I might try another from the author, but with so many other books on my TBR, I’m not convinced I’ll be buying the rest of this series anytime soon.

The urban fantasy world and hero that Val really reminds me of is Kai Gracen. Kai is also half-elven, also finds it blessing and curse in equal measure, is also a bounty hunter, and his world has a similar mixture of the magical, the monstrous and the mundane that Val’s does. So if you like Val you’ll probably like Kai as well.

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beyond menaing