I really enjoyed this urban fantasy and am going to continue with the series. I have been in a weird reading slump (mainly due to fatigue issues), but returned to this book happily even though it took me a while to read. ( )

I am so glad I won this on a blog giveaway as I would not normally read this kind of book - vampires, werewolves and lawyers - really liked the story and the writing. Highly recommend. I will be looking out for the next in the series. ( )

Fun read from Chick-lit/Romance/Legal/Vampire mix

This is a book to read when your brain needs a holiday. It's a light, fun, fast, slick, self-referential, tongue-in-cheek (I hope) cocktail of every genre you might be looking for.

We have an alternative earth in which Vampires and Werewolves and Fairies (collectively known as The Powers) dominate the law, the military and the entertainment business.

Our heroine graduated at the top of her law class, yet she shows few signs of being really bright. She gets her first job working for a White Fang (Vampire reference - not Jack London) Law firm. She achieves outcast status amongst her human colleagues because she was fostered in a Vampire home, falls victim to the office sexual predator, falls into an intrigue that pits her against Werewolf mercenaries who try (repeatedly) to kill her. She falls a lot in fact. And most of the time it saves her life or wins her a case. She may not be the world's brightest lawyer but she is supernaturally lucky.

Although she is often brave, taking on Werewolf assassins and chauvinist bosses with equal enthusiasm, she seems a little damaged - very dependent on "Daddy" both her natural father and her Vampire foster-father.

The book is well plotted and slickly written, with good banter, nice pace and well-choreographed action.

Bornikova raises her game as a writer when she is describing anything to do with horses and she manages a surprisingly (but appropriately) repulsive sex scene.

What I've described so far would have been enough for a pleasant read but probably wouldn't have had me looking for the next in the series (isn't everything in a series these days?)

What pushed me into the "OK, I'll try the next one" camp is the feeling that the damage our heroine sustained in her fostered-childhood and the supernatural luck that follows her and the unusual patronage that she receives from the Vampires, point to a longer, more interesting plot arc and to the possibility that our heroine may get past her daddy issues and end up seeking a reckoning with a set of gelding shears. One can but hope. ( )

I didn't find this novel particularly enthralling, but it was both easy enough to read and an enjoyable diversion from real life. My favorite part, hands down, is that the plot and the story's tension depended on legal circumstances and solutions rather than supernatural ones. Yes, there are vampires and fey and werewolves, but the main character is a lawyer and her goals are purely law-oriented.

There were a couple important parts of the world that weren't examined with any kind of thoroughness, which deeply, deeply unsettled me. Primary among these instances is the idea that vampires don't bite women, ever. I, as the reader, understood it's supposed to be a sexist throwback that simply hasn't been examined by the novel's society with any rigor, but the main character was so blase, and her friend's outrage over it felt so manufactured, that the whole thing ended up being handled poorly and without any nuance at all. I'm not even sure if it was meant to simply be one of those unfair, sinister things within our culture that we overlook, or if there is some plot-related reason for it.

Overall, I'm glad I got the ebook on sale. I wouldn't have been happy to pay full price for this book, but I did enjoy it well enough that I found a copy of the sequel at my local library and will begin reading it shortly. ( )

Linnet Ellery a young female human lawyer at a male vampire law firm tackles more than just the good ole' boy club. She faces, werewolves, Elves, catty women, back stabbing co-workers, sneaky lawyers, liars and bad sex. She was taken/given as a child to live in a vampire home, fostering and is comfortable in their world. Well she thought she was, everything is about to get tangled and twisted. She is stuck in a non-ending case with one of the law firm lessor lawyers. Well, it was non-ending till a new bit of information surfaced. Then death comes drooling up to her office. This is the beginning of everything changing. Oh, and there is one sexy Elf.

I loved the world and the fantastic characters created by this author. The heroine was strong, smart and able to accept her stupid choices with humble face palming. Linette rocks ! The romance was there,nicely timed,a light feather dusting of a tease, perfect timing for my taste. There were a few bumps, I didn't understand the need for so much "horse' time in the book. It just seemed thrown in out of love for them. The plot seemed a bit rushed towards the end. Minor bumps really. It is a first novel and even with the bumps it was an excellent reading vacation for me.

I am putting this author on my 'Not to be missed list" Some of my favorite authors first books are not as good as this one. ( )