Standard UF fare, but good, standard UF fare. Very readable, likeable characters, lots of action, a sentient belt that made me laugh, nice friend dynamic.

But it just didn’t hook me enough to want to read the rest of the series. Reading reviews for further books, there seems to be a strong theme of the (female) MC being exploited one way or there other in every book, and if I’d been interested before, I’m definitely not now. I have no interest in reading about victims, even if they’re tough and can get themselves out of scrapes. Not even for the sentient belt.

Definitely not a bad book at all, but for me it’s a one and done. ( )

A reasonable start to a new-to-me urban fantasy series. I did feel that things dragged a bit in the middle of the book, but I like the setup and I'm intrigued as to where this will go. ( )

I liked this world and Shiarra because she was actually scared and careful around Others. Not racist, just very careful. And that makes sense, because of vampires, werewolves and mages suddenly came out then yes I would be scared too. And perhaps not mix with them when they can tear my head off.

Shiarra is a PI who takes a case she does not want to take. But somebody has to pay the bills. She knows better than to mix with mages and vampires. She is tough, but with a good head on her shoulder and she knows this case will likely kill her. And I do like that and that she tries everything to get out of a bad situation. She is a worthy kick-ass woman.

The story is about her trying to get an artifact, staying away from mean vampire Royce and just generally staying alive and kicking some ass later on. Since the person holding the artefact does not want to give it up.

The men then. She has an ex who turned out to be a werewolf so Chaz is in the doghouse now so to speak. Then there is charismatic and scary Alec Royce but evil vampires are so not for her, well we will see about that. The thing is that every sane person knows not to get involved with Others because they make you sign a contract. This is to protect humans but in that end that contract is way scarier cos in case of a violent death they can't be prosecuted.

I liked Shirra and her PI partner Sara, I liked Arnold who shows up later and I sure liked Royce. The only one I am a bit on the fence about is Chaz. Nothing wrong with him but it was mostly because of the crowd of posers he was with.



At the end the scariest thing in this book was the White Hats, creepy racists peeps scare the hell out of me.

Conclusion:

A good start to a new series. There is plenty of action and as for the romance, you know I can't tell you. A good book that I recommend. There is also this fun vibe over the book that I enjoyed.

rating:

Good ( )

I got this free on Amazon and I am so glad I did, it was really good. It had werewolves, vampires, mages, familiars, nutty people and some very funny moments. At the start of the book I thought it too detailed and somewhat jumbled, I quickly changed my mind on that. The author is very detail orientated and it fits well into the story with all the characters and mysteries happening, The world has been built and it is fully developed, I can't wait to read the next one.
Basically it is a story of a young human women PI who is thrown into the world of the "Others" and everything goes awry. An strong force is out there and she is hired to find it. She finds herself hunted by dangerous beings, her family and friends threatened. She must step into a role she is not comfortable with, armed to the teeth. Her ex the sexy were Chaz proves he is more than she thought he was, helping her in her darkest moments. She is teams up with the mysterious Arnold, a mage, geeky and smart. Sara, her trusted friend and partner. Royce the sexy evil (?) vampire is tall dark and dangerous. And an ancient belt...you'll have to read it to find out more. ( )

4.5/5
I almost missed these wonderful UF series, and I have no excuse why. So when this book was offered as a freebie on Amazon, of course I went and got it.

People, let me be frank. This is very good stuff. Funny, very easy to read, the characters are extremely likable. Royce and Chaz... yum! Some of the passages made me nostalgic, reminding of early Anita Blake and Rachel Morgan.

Shiarra has this unexplainable fear of vampires, she starts off as neurotic with a healthy dose of self-preservation. In other words, she is not a tough bitch from Hell.

When she accepts the contract from a mage to find a powerful magical object, currently in vampire's possession, the girl knows she is in trouble up to her neck. Everyone is gunning for the magical object and wants her out of the way. The magi connected to the contract drop dead and mutilated.

The world building is very interesting. The Others - vampires, werewolves and magi aka leeches, furballs and sparks came out after 9/11 to help people to rebuild, and since then have been accepted as citizens with full rights and a few perks. I can't wait to read more about it.

I love how Shiarra's fear for her friends and loved ones gives her courage to stand up for them and for herself, plus she receives a magical vampire hunter belt with the spirit of an old vampire hunter inside, which provides some funny dialogues and interesting supernatural abilities for her.

I had loads of fun with this book and despite my trouble with writing a decent review (there was a lot of bubbling! Pardon my excitement.) I hope I urged you enough to read the series and judge for yourself how good they are.
*feeling jittery* ( )