The Siren and the Sword, Book One of The Magic University Series

by Cecilia Tan

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Kyle Wadsworth arrives on the Harvard Campus only to discover, much to his surprise, he's magical. Thus begins his four-year journey to learn where he fits in the world, which ultimately becomes a quest for true love.

Upon arrival at Veritas, Kyle quickly joins a group of peers who become involved in solving the mystery of a seductive siren in the library, while they learn about the magic inside themselves and around them, as well as the secret history of magic and those who practice it.

Kyle's trials and tribulations range from his need to meet the bisexuality prerequisite before he can study sex magic to the fact that the ancient prophecy he translates for his thesis project seems to be about himself. If Kyle is right, he'll need to find his true love, or the world as we know it is doomed.

PRAISE FOR THE SIREN AND THE SWORD

"Kyle's journey of self-discovery is in some ways afamiliar one. A young man finds freedom in college, finds abilities he did not know he had, and finds a girl he likes, maybe even loves. The magic adds a level of spice to Kyle's journey. ... There are many very sensual scenes in the story, with a final scene that is a climax in a lot of interesting ways. The Magic University series looks like it's going to be a fun ride with lots of ...eroticism. The Siren and the Sword is a delicious start."—Paranormal Romance Reviews

"Going through Harry Potter withdrawal, I set out to find similar books for an older audience. Tan’s Magic University series does the trick, but it was a little, er, more adult than I was expecting. As in erotica instead of just a romance. It’s not over-bearing however [and]...it was the plot that kept me interested, especially the relationships Kyle has with both his girlfriend and best buddy."—Out of Mind Media

"This is a grown up, sexy and fun story. Magic University has a good storyline, and the types of magic used are very innovative and set it apart from other books of this genre. Though at times the author alludes to what is going to possibly happen, she does a wonderful job of keeping the reader guessing right up until the end. ... Ms. Tan has done an outstanding job of feeding my Harry Potter obsession in a very adult fashion. I look forward to reading her other book in this series."

— Book Wenches

"Joining Kyle as he experienced many rites of passage, both ordinary and magical, was a delight. It was such a treat to escape to Veritas. The world of "magic users” is enticing and I look forward to spending more time at Veritas. Kyle is still learning and growing. I’m sure there are quite a few more adventures and I want to be there for it all. I can’t wait to find out just where he winds up and with whom. There are also questions I didn’t get the answers to and I need those answers! Count me in for the whole series, it’s just that good."

— Manic Readers Reviews, 4 stars

"This freshman novel to the Magic University series is very well written and, although promoted as an erotica, it’s more erotic-light as this tale is considerably deeper than your average erotic novel and the intimacy doesn’t consume the whole story. There is one scene of voyeurism but it serves a magical purpose, otherwise most of the sex-scenes are pretty standard – well sort of, I can’t say more without a spoiler alert and honestly I’d rather tease. I will say that there are hints that the relative tameness of this story will change in the next book and I can’t wait; I’m reading it as soon as I finish this review!" — Bitten by Books, 4 stars

"Finding out what's going as it unfolds is one of the best reasons to get into this series. ... This story is about more than any one of Kyle's accomplishments. There's a bigger picture here, more tightly drawn and suspenseful than one book could contain. At the risk of saying what I fear is too little, I hope anyone who enjoys a great ongoing mystery imbued with fantasy, erotica, love and drama opts to read this and the rest of the books in the Magic University series."— Sara Winters; Dirty Mind at Work

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Alysa Hornick

4/2/2018

A magical school novel that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, but is quite decidedly not for children. While the writing itself is not particularly sophisticated, I definitely got a lot of enjoyment out of this book. I appreciated how the magical system, the university environment, the coming-of-age story, the literary influences, and the x-rated erotic and sex-magic elements all combined into a quite vivid world with endearing characters. I'm looking forward to Book 2.

MARY MCCANDLESS

4/2/2018

The first book, "The Siren and the Sword", in the Magic University series by Cecilia Tan introduces the reader to a grownup's version of a world of magic. As this series starts, Kyle Wadsworth, a senior in high school, comes to Harvard for an appointment only to walk into a building on campus that no ordinary person could have found. Finds out he has the ability for magic and is immediately accepted in the magic university to start classes that have already been going on, making him behind, with a lot of catching up to do in his studies, in a world he knew nothing about, and questioning what his area of magic could be. The storyline was very flowing. Romance, poetry, emotions, prophecies, and a mystery were blended with a deft hand. This series should offer many hours of good reading for fans of magic.

Montzalee Wittmann

4/2/2018

The Siren and The Sword is a very good erotic LGBTQ sci-fi fantasy. When I asked to review this book I saw the cover, the category, and the title and didn't realize it was erotica (which I seldom read because it often is a let dow)n. Let down in the terms of focusing on the sex and not the plot, but in this book the plot and characters are first and the sex is part of the story! The young man of the story goes to the college and thinks he is signing up for Harvard but doesn't know he has "the sight" and goes to a building no one can see unless they have some magical powers. Kyle doesn't know he has magical abilities. Because he found this building, and other reasons, he is enrolled in the school to learn magic. There he meets some interesting peers, one of which is a siren that is sexual sucking the life out of people. To find out who, Kyle takes it upon himself to risk his life to find out. Very interesting. It takes a sexual spell to break the sirens curse on the person the siren has almost killed in the end. Lots of sex so if this offends, don't read. The plot is full of twists and turns and characters are well developed.

Emily Johnson

4/2/2018

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book, and I was pleasantly surprised by exactly how much I liked it. I liked that in some ways it felt like a bit of a nod to Harry Potter, and other stories without feeling like a ripoff, or a trite copy. The world building was well done, and complex. I liked how the sex fit into the storyline, and how virginity had a purpose and a function within the world. I really liked reading a book that explored all exiting possibilities of sex between and man and woman that didn't include penetration. It was refreshing seeing a wider world of heterosexual sex than is usually presented, even in erotica. It was sexy and fun, and I loved how active and in charge Jess was. I also loved the open nature of sexuality in this world, and relationships. The plot was well done, and engaging. I felt drawn into what was happening, and why. I liked the complexity of the full cast of characters, and I liked how much everyone added to the story. I liked the ending, and appreciated that things didn't work out in quite the way that I expected. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book.

Zoyana T

4/2/2018

Very pretty cover. Interesting plot, would totally read more books from this author.

The Elwyn Library had a special kind of quiet. In the high stonespaces of the reading room, the echoes of nothing mixed with the stifling hush of the mass of paper that was the library collection. During the day, the sound of a footfall or of a page turning would be swallowed up. At night, the hush was hypnotic, like the steady sound of rainfall or wind rushing through the trees.

The student's head began to nod. He jerked awake, once, twice... but there was nothing to keep him awake. He was alone in the library, after hours, all the lights doused except for the reading light he'd brought with him to illuminate his cubby. He'd stayed hidden until after the building had closed, eager to spend the entire night with the precious texts he needed for his term paper.

But in the darkest hours of the night he was beginning to feel the pull of sleep, of dreams. His head sank once again toward the page.

He jerked upward again. Was that a noise? Had he heard something after all?

He turned off the light. Could it be a security guard? Or another student with the same idea as him? He crept away from his desk deep in the stacks, past shelf after shelf of ancient texts, tip toeing as he went.

There, a soft sound like a sigh! He froze. Just on the other side ofthe bookshelf he was standing in front of!

He felt her before he saw her, a warm hand reaching around his middle, startling him at first. But he could smell her perfume, feel the softness of her lips across the back of his neck. "Sarah?" he whispered. It must be her; his girlfriend was the only one who knew where he had gone, and she must have planned this little surprise.

"Shhhhhh," came the reply, and it turned him on that she was being so secretive. Her hands opened his fly and pushed down his pants. He could feel her fingernails scratching lightly at his balls and he leaned his arms against the shelf in front of him while her fingers wrapped around his lengthening erection.

He moaned as she stroked him, then gasped as she raked the nails of her other hand down his back while she dropped to her knees. Her wet mouth replaced her hand on his cock and he bit his lip, trying to keep quiet. Sarah had never been like this, so forward, so eager. They still hadn't had intercourse yet, just heavy petting, and she had only gone down on him once, but...

Maybe she had been waiting for the right opportunity? he wondered, as her tongue did wicked things to his cock. Maybe she felt they were finally close enough. Taking things so slowly had been frustrating but rewarding at the same time, as they'd had ample time to learn each other hearts while learning how to touch and pleasure each other.

She must have read up on blow-jobs or something, though, he thought.She seemed to have perfected some truly expert techniques if how close he was to coming was any indication.

But when he was nearly there, she pulled back. "Sarah?" he tried to ask again, looking down in the dark, but he could not make out her face in the shadows. The library building had almost no windows in the stacks and very little ambient light seeped in from outside. Quite suddenly she leaped up, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He gasped as he felt the velvet wetness engulfing his prick that had to mean she had impaled herself on him. I thought we were going to wait! he thought, but he wasn't about to interrupt her when she was so very determined. His arms went around her reflexively, and his hands slid down to her buttocks to support her weight.

She felt like she hardly weighed anything as she rocked against him, milking his cock with her body and grinding herself against him while digging her nails into his shoulders. He helped her to move as best he could, as she seemed to bring herself off, much to his amazement, and then keep going. I'm not wearing a condom! he thought suddenly, but she was the type who would have planned everything out. If she had waited in here, snuck in, to surprise him like this, then surely she had taken precautions...

He had no choice anyway. She was wringing his orgasm out of him before he knew it, clinging hard to him until his softening cock slipped wetly from her. Then she sprang back, leaving his arms suddenly empty and cold."Sarah?" He took a step forward...

And jerked awake. He was lying with his face in a book. Man, what an intense erotic dream! Maybe he was more frustrated about Sarah than he thought? He went back to studying, hoping he hadn't drooled in the book he was using.

It wasn't until he went to the restroom an hour or so later that he realized his pubic hair was damp and matted. Had it been a wet dream? But his underwear was dry...

And it wasn't until the next night, when he got undressed in front of his roommate, who commented on the pattern of fingernail marks on his shoulders, that he believed it hadn't been a dream.

Copyright © 2014 Cecilia Tan

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Cecilia Tan

Cecilia Tan is the award-winning author of numerous works of romance and erotica, not to mention her baseball nonfiction. Her novel Slow Surrender won the RT Reviewers Choice Award for Erotic Romance. Her other romances include Mind Games, the Struck by Lightning series, and the Magic University series. Tan's erotic short stories have been collected in the books Black Feathers, White Flames, Edge Plays, and Telepaths Don't Need Safewords and she has also edited close to a hundred erotica anthologies for various publishers including Circlet Press, the publishing house she founded in 1992. She lives in the Boston area with her partner corwin and three cats.