Review previously posted on my blog: http://lbrychic.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-nightshifted-by-cassie-alexander.htm...

Ever wonder where the supernatural get medical attention? Well, Floor Y4 at County General is where they go and Edie Spence is the newest edition to the nursing staff.
It's been mentioned a few times that it's rather a paranormal "Grey's Anatomy" and I can see that a bit. Edie gets herself in trouble with the Vampires and has to track down the one person who can help her win her case. This book has a little bit of a lot.... Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Zombies and Spirits to name a few.
This was a good start for the series. Can't wait to pick up Moonshifted to see what happens to Edie and the gang next.
( )

Nurses and vampires? What next? ;)

2012/01/23

[bc:Plain Fear: Forsaken|9775490|Plain Fear Forsaken|Leanna Ellis|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hQKiyChKL._SL75_.jpg|14665192]
Now Ive seen it all,the vampire-mania knows no limits. Amish and vampires0o

Trigger warning: child abuse
Edith “Edie” Spence is a newly minted registered nurse working at Providence General Hospital. After her brother, Jake, overdoses one too many times on heroin, Edie is offered an extraordinary deal from a mysterious stranger: if she works for County Hospital on Floor Y4, the powers that be will make sure Jake stays clean. Without fully understanding what she’s agreeing to, Edie signs the paperwork. That’s when her life goes sideways—Y4 isn’t any old floor at County. It’s where firefighting zombies recuperate, syphilitic dragons get treatment, and vampire baby showers are performed.

Read more at https://theparanormalreview.blogspot.com/2021/08/nightshifted-by-cassie-alexande.... ( )

This is the first book in the Edie Spence series.

This looks to be a decent series that I could get into reading. The MC is just been introduced to the "other" world out there, working the night shift at the county hospital. She hasn't been there long when a patient dies under her watch, and leads here to "Save Anna" but she has to figure out who that is and where she is. Once she does, there is a short fight where she kills a vampire. Now the 'council' is taking her to trial for that death, which will mean her death unless she can find Anna and save them both. Add in the beings called the Shadows that govern the hospital and other things that go wrong, and a mission they force on the MC as well.

Definitely had some nice twist and turns I wasn't expecting. World build was nice, and the introduction of those that we don't want to know about, and those that we just don't want to meet. Throw in some romance scenes - because we all need that - though not long and steamy, somewhat straight to the descriptive sex (in my opinion). The book could be read as a stand-alone, and I feel like each book in this series may be the same. Definitely will be reading the next one. ( )

I may have had my expectations to high for this book, but there was so much good here and so much bad. A part of me thinks I should read the next book to see if the growing pains of a new series smooth out but I suspect the things I hate will only be compounded.

On the plus side the character idea is interesting. Edie has a real job as a nurse. How often do you see that? Basically never. The medicine isn't too bad, and the author must either be in the medical field or have done some serious research. My one medical issue was the tranq gun loaded with propofol. While I can't speak to the other drug used, propofol is in fact a fast acting sedative. When it's given IV. A tranq gun into the muscle full of propofol is not going to drop you, unless the human medical world has some formulation we don't in the veterinary world, which I sincerely doubt. So, fun, real job, vs. fake stuff pulled out of nowhere - like it. The world itself is pretty interesting, even if the vampire politics thing is getting very old. The author brings in shifters, werewolves, zombies (ew, necrophilia on that one), dragons and more, so there's room for things to grow, but nothing really new or interesting is done, which is fine, I'm over it.

Oh, the cons list - there will be spoilers, I will mark the biggies. The character is TSTL. It's been a while since I've pulled that one out, but my god! She gets bit by a patient, which I guess as a veterinarian I see the risk, but when you're working with scary creatures you get paranoid and you are much more likely to be bitten by the ones that look sweet one minute and are killers the next. Not 10 pages later she's wandering into the ghetto, alone, with basically no protection. TSTL. When another character tries to say she's under a compulsion she says nope, I just make mistakes. Those aren't mistakes. Those are stupid, stupid, stupid actions.

Edie also exhibits one of my least favorite UF character traits that I hate beyond words: she has NO friends. The excuse is made that she's not good at friends. Considering, besides the stupidity, she has no weird social hang ups, the only real excuse is laziness on the part of the writer. Giving your character no friends is not character development.

So, this chick with no friends then goes out to the club, alone, right after she gets out of the hospital. As a woman, can I just say, wtf? Your average woman would never consider this. Ever been to a club and seen a woman there alone? Because I have NEVER seen this, ever. She has no money, she's poor (how does a nursing job that has only a small pool of employees to pull from and requires specialized training and is funded by richy-rich vampires not pay well??), but she goes to a club. She doesn't drink, she just dances. She picks up a random dude of course. He will of course be a supernatural too! And we'll give him the name Asher because god knows there is no other series out there with a love triangle with a guy named Asher. Favorite line: "I walked back to him, making sure my hips rolled like a ship in a storm." *snort*

So then we come to the sex. Number one, the one detailed sex scene is not steamy, it's mostly annoying. She can't orgasm as he hits the back of her because she can't relax. I'll agree not being relaxed is a real pleasure killer, but what in the heck is "the back"? What is he hitting in there? It's certainly not her clitoris, so how she thinks hitting "the back" is going to stimulate an orgasm is beyond me. And let's not talk about the unprotected sex. WTF. You're a nurse.

Second to last: "I'm not like other girls." Kicks boy out: "other women don't do this to me!" - so this makes her special? "I don't excel at being a girl." - Um, yes you do. You have a uterus, 2 ovaries, get a period once a month and are accepting of your gender role, as assigned by the sex you were born with. You excel at being a girl. All of us "fake it" for a night out, with shoes and all that. Why do we require women to not be "uber feminine" in our UF in order for them to be "bad ass" enough to be lead characters? You know what, when somebody writes me a fucking UF series with a nurse who loves her pink scrubs, has a group of gal pals she shoe shops with when her budget allows it and who manages to further the plot without doing stupid things like wandering into the ghetto I will lose my mind with joy.

So last con I will mention (so many little stupid things to choose from!): The actual plot. It's okay, don't get me wrong. But it's just okay. It is soap opera-y, splashing back and forth and is mostly further by the character's ineptitude. That is not amusing. You work in a hospital ward for the paranormal - you could be a 100% normal, functioning individual and still have chaos and excitement. When you instead make you character TSTL it makes me want to weep huge crocodile tears.

So, for the TL:DR version - main character is stupid, plot is "meh", much promise, no delivery, for the love of god give your female characters kick ass girlfriends, or hell, just any girlfriends, and dear author I see that love triangle you are trying to slide in and I am cutting you off at the pass. That alone is going to stop me from picking up book 2.

Ooh, and almost forgot last LOL moment: Asher signs the card in purple ink with a little heart over the 'i'? WTF. It's fine when my men are a little feminine, I prefer that over the uber masculine dudes at this stage, but seriously? He writes like a 12 year old? That is really not romantic and it's certainly not even hot.

Very disappointed, but I'm considering this motivation to finally write my "veterinarian has werewolf patients" book. ( )