Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Harley Merlin #1)

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Harley Merlin #1)

Bella Forrest

When a rogue 19-year-old witch is recruited to help guard an ancient magical Bestiary, a breath-stealing journey begins… 

Being an empath has its advantages.

Harley Merlin can sense people’s emotions, among other things. It’s how she snagged her first job pinpointing cheaters at a casino. 

But she has no clue where she got these freakish powers because she spent her childhood jumping from home to home in the foster system, and her father left her with nothing more than a cryptic note.

​Then she crosses paths with a terrifyingly real monster. Which is when a mysterious and annoyingly arrogant young warlock named Wade Crowley steps in, introducing her to a hidden world of beasts, magicals, and covens riddled with secrets—as well as clues about her murky past.

Whether she likes it or not, this new world is where she belongs. But after a disturbing twist of events, Harley quickly realizes that her past is darker than she could ever have imagined. And that someone in the coven is out for her blood.

With the help of Wade and her new friends, she must figure out who the traitor is and why they’re targeting her… Before the human and magical worlds dangerously collide.

Excerpt taken from author’s website. 

Language 

F***-

H***- 49

S***-

A**- 19

B****- 1

D***- 26

Bas****- 6

Religious Cursing-

J****-

Chr***-

G**- 10

L***- 1

Derogatory terms etc-

Mouth-breather

Snowflakes

Prick

Sociopath 

Imbecile 

Schmucks

Noob 

Rejects 

Jerk

Toots

Alcohol, Drugs, Cigarettes

People have drinks at a casino. 

As a woman overhears a man, she wonders if he’s snorted too much “good stuff.”

A man goes out with friends for drinks. 

A revered man from the past experimented with drugs. 

A man asks for a meeting over drinks. 

A man says an experience is much like taking peyote, a powerful hallucinogen. 

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

A women can sense another’s arousal. 

“…you didn’t waste any time trying to get into the new girl’s pants.”

A man tells another man to be professional and not chase skirts. The woman tells both men she’s not a “skirt.”

A man buys a woman lingerie as a gift. There is a small, humorous discussion about how he got her bra size correct. 

Two men fight about one wanting to “get into her pants.”

“Every guy knows her, if you know what I mean.”

“…you’re dating a very used model.”

“Typical man behavior, I give you what you want, and you toss me aside.”

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

A beast is looking at a woman as dinner. She uses magic and cuts his face with glass. 

A woman’s job is to catch gambling cheaters at a casino. Once, a man has to tackle another to catch him for cheating. 

A man is roughed up with torn clothes and a bruised and bleeding face. A creature trips him and drags him then smacks his head, making him lose consciousness. A woman uses magic and throws the creature away from the man. A fireball shoves them back. Then burns the creature. He is punched by it, but they trap and tie the creature. 

Three people coerce a woman down and take her blood. 

When younger, a woman used magic and accidentally threw a nemesis across the road. 

A man reaches for a woman’s throat and she uses magic to wrap something around his throat and toss him away. He probably had a cracked rib. 

Three creatures attack a woman. She shoves one away with magic, and goes through multiple chasing scenes while fighting them off with magic. She finally uses magic to blow shards of glass on them, jumps out the window and receives help from another. He shoots fire and kills two then captures another. 

Later, there is another attack from 10 creatures. People use magical fire to shoot at them or rope them. A large sign is thrown on them and they are able to catch them. 

After an insult, a woman says a man apparently wants her to break his bones. 

A newspaper article states a man killed his wife and was executed. He allegedly burned his pregnant wife to death but saved the child. He also, “went on a murderous spree for three years” with his wife’s sister. 

Teasing a young woman, a man asks if she’s going to slit his throat like her dad did to her mom. She punches him, hearing a crack in his jaw and sees blood. Two men intervene but one still uses magic and two fight, sending shocks and water and powerful pulses. Others interrupted with magical batons shooting shockwaves that left the group lying on the floor twitching. 

After a struggle, a man gets bitten by a large snake. 

A man is being framed for a serious magical crime. 

A magical spark burns a man’s face. A woman uses magic and grabs him by the throat. He laughs so she throws him across the room. His magic then grabbed her throat much stronger. He tosses her in the air, slamming her into the ceiling. She then falls, a man catches her and they fall. 

A man unleashes multiple deadly creatures on a group of people. He then stabs a man, and goes for another but a woman shoves his hand away. The creatures claw at people and leave blood sprays on the wall. Many people are lying dead on the floor in pools of blood. A woman uses magic to grab a man’s throat again. He breaks a window that lets the creatures into a public place. She punches him in the jaw. He cuts her with a poisonous knife and she screams while he smiles with blood on his teeth. He then grabs her throat, but another man covers him in fire. He shrieks and flails. When he douses the fire she punches him three times until she hears a crack and he is unconscious. The creatures are attacking magicals and people and the magicals are fighting back. One creature pins a man down, a woman uses magic to throw it and trap it. Many creatures were on fire. One creature attacks a helicopter, making it spin out of control and crash. To amplify a woman’s voice, some magicals push a burning circle on her throat. To remove it, they push it in more, her saying it was torturous. 15 magicals and 5 humans were killed in the attack. 

A woman wants to “scrunch up” the face of another woman. 

Potentially Intense Themes

A three year old gets dropped off at an orphanage. She spends years in foster homes.  Most homes gave her scars. Some were physical, some not. One foster father was aggressive, one foster brother wanted to touch her inappropriately. 

A woman is an empath and can feel everyone’s emotions. This can be good but also bad. She also has telekinesis and can manipulate the elements. 

A man is part lion with claws and wings. He takes care of a room full of monsters and creatures. One is a very large snake that eats humans. 

A woman died 3 times and a necromancer brought her back to life. 

One magical has the ability to lend her body to spirits from the past. 

A woman gives up her baby because she is not married.