By far the most mediocre book by Annette Marie I've read so far. I was less than delighted by "Lost Talismans and a Tequila" already but this was so much worse.
It could be that the co-author is the source of the mediocrity.
Or maybe this might be a perfect example of an author starting as an idealistic enthusiast and ending in writing as just a job to earn a living?
I really can't tell.

The magic of the main character is the worst piece of magic in a book by Annette Marie I've seen so far. The power of it might be one of the strongest in the entire series but never makes it much above average in practice because of the lack of imagination in using it and on top of it all the mc has the gall to mock others for their lack of imagination in applying his power. I was really tempted to dnf right there.
This is not to say the magic in the guild codex world is particularly well defined but usually, all the possibilities of how a particular kind of magic can be used are held in check by admittedly sometimes somewhat contrived limitations. Normally, the author thought about it. You can tell there went a lot of effort into preventing plot holes.
It's usually a prime example of how to do a soft magic system right.
Not this one. The new magic in this one is a dumpster fire.

I couldn't have written a less original plot if I tried. Gone are the complex and nuanced characters and motivations, say hello to shallow and onedimensional clichées. All of them.
Gone are political intrigue and varying and clashing personal interests between individuals and groups.
Here is a spoilery list of eye-rolls.

- The baddie is bad, wants artefact because he wants to do baddy bad things.
- The misunderstood goodie-two-shoes is good but misunderstood and has to save the world anyway.
- The abusive police is abusive towards the poor MC for no reason except some extra sympathy points.
- Let's go instalove.
- The moment a critical situation is falling apart the unexpected reinforcement consisting exclusively of badass women shows up and saves the day.
- Maniac Villain laughs maniacally because he now can enslave humankind or something? (We never even learn his precise motivation apart from being evil.)
- In the final critical moment within the climax, the mc manages to extend his powers to a level he never had before and saves the day. (With the power of loves or something? oh, and special snowflake alarm!)
- And as a cherry on top the MC is being unjustly enslaved to work for the magic justice system under threat of death.
I am at a loss for words.


I just feel betrayed.
Usually, I am pretty guarded towards a new series because emotional investment really affects me.
If a book lets me down with careless and bad writing after I let myself be drawn into a world, it feels like the author trampled over my feelings. I lost this guardedness towards books with Annette Marie's name on it. No more. Not again.

Despite this scathing sounding review, it's not all that bad really.
It's on par with the average self-published UF novel but that's worlds away from what I expect from a book with Annette Marie's name on the cover. ( )

This book was a good enough addition to the world that Marie has created in her Guild Codex series. I didn't get as swept up as I had with the previous novels, but Kit was likeable, and descriptions of his unique abilities were well done. I found that many of the side characters in this story weren't as fleshed out, which was a real strength in her other novels. ( )

Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors is the first in The Guild Codex: Warped series by Annette Marie. This is a spinoff of the main Guild Codex: Spellbound series. You can likely read this book without having read the other series first though you will miss out on a lot of fun nods and easter eggs that the authors have placed throughout Kit's tale.

The plot is a fairly simple one. Kit's in MPD jail after the take down of his rogue guild and will do anything to escape, even if that means pairing up with the MPD to help them find one of the dangerous rogues who escaped capture. Magical mayhem ensues.

Kit is an interesting character. He seems to be following the "rogue with a heart of gold" trope though he starts off completely self obsessed ass who is focused on how he can use everyone around him. His obsession with pop culture references was both funny and eye roll worthy. If you hate that kind of thing, you likely aren't going to enjoy this book. Kit's magic is fascinating and has a lot of potential for future installments. I hope the writers get creative. MPD Agent Lienna Shen works well enough as Kit's foil being the straight guy in their odd couple pairing, though she's entirely too trusting with a known criminal with unknown psychic powers.

The romance was of the terrible instalove variety. I don't mean where it's magically induced as a plot point, that part mostly worked, but earlier in the book. It did not make sense for Lienna to be that into Kit immediately, knowing he's a criminal, and incredibly trusting even for a rookie agent.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Iggy Toma. It took me a while to warm up to his narration style. A lot of his characters sounded the same, especially the female characters, though he did some voices that were pretty great. I definitely need better distinction between major characters since I tend to listen to audio books while doing other activities. Turning up the narration speed helped a little. I suspect I might have enjoyed this one more on my Kindle and plan to continue the series in that format. ( )

4.5

Book source ~ Kindle Unlimited

Kit Morris is a smartass. But he’s a kinda loveable one. Maybe. He’s also got some kind of freaky power that no one has a name for. At least, no one he’s met yet. Of course, he’s only known about the magic world for about a year. Before that he thought he was just a weirdo. But the guild he joined was a criminal enterprise and now he’s sitting in a cell in MDP with *checks notes* 61 charges against him. Hmmm…impressive. What will be more impressive is how he gets out of the mess he’s in.

This is book 1 of the second spinoff of the Guild Codex: Spellbound series. Having read and loved that series and Guild Codex: Demonized I was eager to dive into this new series in the same world. Everything I love about the other books is here. The characters are relateable, the world building is great, and the plot intense. I love the magic, the humor, the action, and the sass. This is a fast-paced read that drops you into a world of magic and mayhem but doesn’t leave the reader behind. It entertains and that’s what we all want, right? ( )

Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors
Guild Codex: Warped, Book 1
By: Annette Marie, Rob Jacobsen
Narrated by: Iggy Toma
This starts an exciting new series with magic of all kinds, cops that deal with magical crimes, and magical artifacts, and our main character who is caught for working for a magical con guy. It is a fun read, great characters and fun fantasy! I am going to enjoy this series!
Great narration too! ( )