Melody Bestia is struggling to adapt to her bond with her new familiar, Dean the alpha lion. Since Mel has never been allowed to keep a familiar longer than an hour, it is definitely a new experience for her. But her spiteful Aunt Georgia is angry that she’s been avoiding the compound, and is determined for Dean to swear his fealty to her. To top it off, she now has six other shifters who want to bond to her. Melody is desperate to save them all, especially since she can no longer save Dean, who she’s desperately trying (and failing) not to get attacked to. The rest of the Apex, along with a sweet and kind fox named Trent and an obnoxious alpha wolf named Asher, are trying their hardest to give Melody the space she needs. But it’s hard when their beasts are pining for her, and Melody can hear their cries. Along with this, Melody must deal with catty classmates who try to hex and sabotage her. Will Melody’s sanity finally break? Or will she let go and learn to lean more on her shifters, even if she hasn’t bonded them yet? Find out in “Held in Contempt,” the stunning second book in the Of Magic and Contempt series by Jade Thorn!

This book was just as amazing as the first one! Melody’s confidence grows and she learns to lean on her shifters. I did want to slap Justin sometimes, but he redeemed himself in the end. I absolutely loved shifters Nick the dragon and Trent the fox in this one, I think we got to see Trent’s more dominant side and Nick’s sweet side. I cannot wait for book 3!

I received a free copy of this book from the author, and am voluntarily leaving a review.