Blackwell by Alexandrea Weis with Lucas Astor is a dark historical thriller with slight paranormal elements.

Magnus Blackwell and Jacob O'Connor's friendship begins when they are both architectural students at Harvard. Magnus, who is from a wealthy family, is a little jaded, spoiled and quite popular with both his classmates and the ladies. Jacob is an orphan who is attending Harvard on scholarship and feels out of place amongst his fellow students. Magnus is a bit broody and angry with a sense of entitlement that seems to be an all common trait in his privileged world. Jacob is much more kind-hearted than Magnus and he finds it easy to forgive his friend's boorish behavior.

Despite the two men's differences, their friendship flourishes until Magnus sets his sights on Frances McGee. Trouble ensues when Frances rejects Blackwell and later marries Jacob. Overrun with jealousy, Magnus goes on vacation in New Orleans where Oscar Wilde introduces him to Madame Simone Glapion, a brothel proprietress and voodoo high priestess. Glapion quickly senses the evil lurking inside Blackwell and their acquaintance culminates with a stunning altercation that sets Magnus on an increasingly dark and twisted path.

While Blackwell is sinking deeper and deeper into depravity, Jacob and Frances begin married life together. Although deliriously happy, their life is marred by financial struggles as Jacob tries to secure a well paying job as an architect. So when Magnus returns from New Orleans and offers him a job renovating his family home, Jacob quickly accepts the position. He and Frances live on Blackwell's estate where Magnus proves to be a difficult client to please. Frances grows increasingly uneasy with their situation but with few employment prospects on the horizon, Jacob ignores his reservations while trying to reassure his wife all is well. Unbeknownst to Jacob and Frances, Blackwell's bitterness and jealousy over losing Frances to Jacob is about to spill over in a shocking act that will have unintended consequences for both men.

Featuring a storyline that is rife with elements of jealousy, vengeance and revenge, Blackwell by Alexandrea Weis with Lucas Astor is an intriguing story with several unexpected twists and turns. The sweet romance between Frances and Jacob is a stark contrast to Blackwell's sexually explicit exploits with prostitutes and servants. The novel's conclusion is quite dramatic and completely unexpected. A fast-paced historical novel with a supernatural twist that fans of the genre will enjoy.
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This is the second book I have read by this author duo. I have quickly became a fan. Warning as the books these authors co-write together are "dark". As a fan of "dark" books, I enjoy them. The other reasons that I have become a fan of this author duo is because the storylines are strong and the characters are very engaging.

I did not know that this book was the prequel to the Magnus Blackwell series. That is a good thing. It means that anyone new to this series like me can read this book and not feel like they missed anything by having not read the prior novels. This does not mean that I will not go back and pick up the prior books as I enjoyed this book so much.

Magnus and Jacob are the prime example of evil versus good. I am not talking just a little evil either. Magnus was the inspiration for the novel, Dorian Gray but worse. Can I just mention that these two authors work so well together that it was like there was one author writing as I could not tell where one left off and the next picked up. This book is a recommended read. ( )

I’m not totally sure how I felt about this in the beginning. I loved the story the whole way throughout. At first, I felt a little let down by the end, but it is Book One of more, so that made me happier. I am looking forward to the future of this series. ( )

I’m not totally sure how I felt about this in the beginning. I loved the story the whole way throughout. At first, I felt a little let down by the end, but it is Book One of more, so that made me happier. I am looking forward to the future of this series. ( )