It felt like we got a more concentrated focus on Eve's feelings and attachments to certain people than we usually do. I liked the change up of Eve alrIt felt like we got a more concentrated focus on Eve's feelings and attachments to certain people than we usually do. I liked the change up of Eve already knowing who the bad guy was. I read this book mostly because I wanted to see the Christmas gift exchanges that we missed in Holiday in Death. I would have liked to see it in the moment, but hearing about it after the fact was better than nothing. I loved the bits with McNab and Peabody and liked that we got to see a lot of Mira. I'm not a huge novella fan, but this was a nice little short. It whet my appetite for the next book. ...more
I took a break because I wasn't enjoying the book, but now I find that I can't work up the energy to pick it back up. I liked the author's voice,*DNF*
I took a break because I wasn't enjoying the book, but now I find that I can't work up the energy to pick it back up. I liked the author's voice, so I'll probably try her again, but I was not a fan of the characters or storyline. ...more
I thought this premise was absolutely marvelous. It’s just so rare to see something like it! The hero and heroine are already married when *3.5 Stars*
I thought this premise was absolutely marvelous. It’s just so rare to see something like it! The hero and heroine are already married when the story begins—and they’re happy to boot. The heroine, Evelyn, was a spy before her marriage—although she hasn’t admitted that to her husband. She plans to one day, but she’s thinking more along the lines of confessing when he’s on his death bed. She gets contacted by her old organization and is compelled to help them on another case. She doesn’t want to, because she’s happy and doesn’t want to risk her marriage, but they make her an offer she can’t refuse. What follows is an amusing tale of Evelyn trying to complete the tasks assigned to her while her husband starts to suspect the worst.
Victoria Alexander has an engaging writing style that easily pulls the reader in. I started reading and was immediately charmed. The characters were so fun and the situation was so funny. Evelyn and her husband are always honest with each other, about the present at least ;), so when Adrian notices that she seems distracted and that she has been visiting places that she didn’t mention to him, he finds himself becoming worried. He has been feeling rather restless lately, himself, so he worries that she is experiencing the same thing. Her occasional mentions of him not being very adventurous have him nervous that she might start searching for that adventure with someone else. Evelyn is, of course, completely clueless about his worries. This leads to a hilarious story with some rather farcical situations.
Evelyn and Adrian are great together. They don’t have a very passionate feel to their relationship, but you can feel the love and affection between them whenever they’re together. Although they’re both happy and in love, Adrian has always felt a slight insecurity about Evelyn’s reasons for marrying him. Was she as in love as he was, or was he just convenient? His insecurity leads him into some awkward situations that are embarrassing for him, but hilarious for the reader. He has the unfortunate habit of making a bad situation worse by developing an even more convoluted plan to fix the original bad plan. His friend, Max—loved him!—might see it’s a bad idea, but Adrian’s determined to do things his way. Occasionally I had to shake my head. Love must have made him stupid. Lol.
I really enjoyed the book, but as the story progressed I started to become less and less amused by the lies and omissions. I still giggled over the funny scenes, but underneath that I started to become dissatisfied with the way Evelyn couldn’t keep a good mad going. I know that she loves Adrian, but I wanted her to stand up for herself and mean it when she said she was angry. It seemed like she became angry only because she wanted him to apologize and cajole her out of her temper. That left me with the feeling that he never actually had to atone for his wrongdoings. I don’t even think he was actually sorry. The fact that he kept layering deceit on top of deceit, all while tricking her, irritated me. I liked his character and understood that he got a little too caught up in his plots, but that doesn’t change the fact that what he did was wrong. I wouldn’t have minded so much if Evelyn had responded differently. My dissatisfaction with this aspect dropped my grade significantly.
Sprinkled through the book there was a cute secondary romance. They were tied in with the spy thing, so it never took away from the main romance. It actually provided a fuller picture of the spy plot and everyone’s connection to the organization. Plus, they were just adorable together. I liked that Max was the one who found himself dissatisfied with the relationship they had. He wanted to sleep with her through the night and wake with her in the morning. So sweet… It was fun watching him try to convince his lady that they should enter into something more permanent.
Although I had my issues with this book, I still thought it was a blast to read. The humor was perfect and I found myself grinning frequently. I can’t wait to see what will come next in this series.
Favorite Quote:
"However, if we are to be friends, you should know I have few scruples, my morals are questionable, and I am quite selfish."
"What a ringing endorsement for friendship."
"But I am unfailingly loyal to my friends. I am a friend you can always count on for very nearly anything."
Evelyn cast her a skeptical glance. "I thought you didn't have any friends?"
"That's why." Beryl sighed. "Unfailing loyalty takes a great deal out of me."
"Friends do not steal their friends' cooks." Evelyn's eyes narrowed. "Or their husbands."
"Yet another argument for friendship because otherwise, make no mistake, I would have your husband in a minute if the opportunity presented itself."
I don’t know quite how I feel about this book. I inhaled it and was greatly entertained, but I also found myself cringing a lot and was more uncomfortI don’t know quite how I feel about this book. I inhaled it and was greatly entertained, but I also found myself cringing a lot and was more uncomfortable with Ana and Christian’s relationship than I have ever been before.
After reading this book I realized what an incredible journey the author took us on. I had quite a few problems with the writing and Ana’s character in the beginning, but the author knows how to tell a hell of a tale, so I was sucked in despite those issues. There was intensity, hot sex, and a believable conflict between them. I liked the first book, but it was the second book that impressed me the most. That was when Ana stepped up and the power disparity between them finally leveled out. I ended the book completely satisfied and feeling like they were finally headed toward a healthy, happy relationship. So I was pretty ticked off to find that this third book seems to have taken their relationship in reverse.
While reading, I alternated between smiling and thrilling over their happiness in their marriage and cringing over the dysfunctional loop they found themselves stuck in. Christian could originally be hard to take with his orders, pushiness, and stalker tendencies, but that was in the first book. It felt natural there because they were struggling to mesh two very different personality types. And they resolved that struggle in the second book and finally started building a real relationship! So when it popped back up here it wasn’t as acceptable. Where Christian once felt like a troubled, dark man, he just came off as scary and disturbed here. Don’t get me wrong, I saw the charm of their relationship in the happy moments, but I also think that Christian was shown as further damaged than the man we met before. It was not a pretty picture.
This whole book felt like a roller coaster. There wasn’t much of a plot beyond them working out their issues—other than the small subplot involving Ana’s old boss. That isn’t a bad thing to my mind. I enjoy character driven stories. But when the relationship is like Ana and Christian’s, it gets exhausting. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said it felt like a roller coaster. There were so many highs and lows in their relationship that it made my head spin. When they were up, they were great. I fell in love with them all over again. But when they were down, it was sad and disturbing. Everything was supposed to be worked out! I know that sounds whiny, but that’s how I feel. Why is Ana stuck apologizing and begging Christian not to be mad every other second? Why is it all about him and Ana has to scramble to try to keep up with his moods? I don’t blame her for deliberately ignoring his issues and doing what she wanted. Just reading it made me feel claustrophobic. It was like they had never made any progress. :( Sure, she could finally touch him, but how is that a comfort when he is back to being so controlling? It made me sad, because Ana was always on edge. Sometimes love just isn’t enough. I actually wish that we could have just ended the book on the hopeful note of book two.
But then there were the great parts that made the read worth it. The end was absolutely fantastic. Huge strides were made in their relationship. There was some heartbreak—and man, I loved those scenes—but it was necessary. (view spoiler)[I loved seeing Ana stick to her guns, and I have to admit that I enjoyed seeing Christian brought so low. He deserved it. (hide spoiler)] The end finally brought back that warm feeling I had toward them. But it doesn’t change the fact that it felt like a retread of the issues they had already worked out. I would have been happier if this final resolution between them had been part of the original resolution they had in book two. It was an awesome end, so I would have hated to miss it, but I would have preferred to remember the Christian of book two.
Favorite Quote:
"I gaze in horror at the red marks all over my breasts. Hickeys! I have hickeys! I am married to one of the most respected businessmen in the United States, and he’s given me goddamn hickeys."
I’ve reached my limit with this book. It is too irritating for me to continue. The hero is an immature, selfish pig. He leaves for five years aft*DNF*
I’ve reached my limit with this book. It is too irritating for me to continue. The hero is an immature, selfish pig. He leaves for five years after being forced to marry his childhood friend and ignores any attempts from his father to get him to come home. He’s angry that he was forced to marry Sileas—he’s horrified at being stuck with such a scrawny, unattractive girl—and he blames her for getting them into that situation. In his mind he’s not married since he didn’t consummate the marriage. He doesn’t care (doesn’t even consider at all) how bad things might have been for Sileas after being abandoned by her husband. It’s her fault after all…
For her part, Sileas is still pining for Ian. She has a great guy hanging around her who loves her and wants to marry her. He tries to convince her to ask for an annulment or get a divorce because he wants to be with her and give her everything Ian hasn’t. He’s convinced that five years is long enough to wait. Too bad he’s not the hero! But Sileas is still waiting for Ian to show up and fulfill her dreams of really being loved by him.
Ian comes back and expects to be God’s gift to his family for returning. He’s still pissed that he has to deal with the wife situation, though. He just wants to end it and be done with it. At least until he sees Sileas. Suddenly all he can think about is how hard she makes him and how maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be married to her if he gets to sleep with her. Don’t imagine that he got a clue—that would be expecting too much of him. He only changed his mind because Sileas is hot now. Apparently he thought she’d stay skinny and awkward and thirteen forever.
He continued watching her as they ate their midday meal. With that full bottom lip, her mouth was made for kissing. Every time she puckered and blew on her stew, his heart did an odd little leap in his chest. And his heart was not the only part of him affected. His cock was standing to attention, stiff as an English soldier.
Likely, Sileas was foul-tempered toward him for not making his intentions clear. He had trouble recalling his reasons for waiting as he watched her take a spoonful into her mouth, smile with pleasure at the taste, and run her pink tongue across her top lip.
Perhaps he should just take her to bed now and have done with it. If the price of following his desire was gaining a wife, well, it was time he had one anyway.
Be still my beating heart, eh? And after only exchanging words with her twice since he got back. *rolls eyes*
Ian is shocked to find out that Sileas and his little brother Niall are angry at him. They’ve been left to keep the family going and are pissed when Ian doesn’t consider what they did a big accomplishment. Sileas kept the accounts up and she and Niall made all the decisions for the crops and farm. Ian basically rolls his eyes over the thought of taking the task over and giving it any importance because he’s a warrior. He also doesn’t seem to have any awareness of how difficult taking care of their father has been and how hard it has been keeping up the house and the farm without the ability to hire workers.
Ian blunders around acting like a buffoon and is pissed when his family isn’t impressed by him. He has no real sense of responsibility for his family and I am honestly shocked that he is the older brother and Niall is the younger. Ian acts like a little boy who never grew up.
So he decides (without talking to her) that he’s keeping Sileas as a wife and goes up to her room when she’s asleep. He gets naked, climbs in bed with her and kisses on her neck a few times while he gropes her boobs. That gets him so hot that he flips her over right them and starts lining up for the goal, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately, that’s about the time the heroine wakes up. Now, I don’t bring this up as a complaint about his actions being skeezy. I bring this up because this is the hero and this was an honest to God seduction for him. All Ian does is think about Little Ian and what would make him feel good. He has no real awareness of the wants and desires of anyone around him. I honestly don’t think he even realizes that he should care. Because the world revolves around him, you know?
Because Ian was such a clueless douche it was hard to respect the heroine. She pined for him for five years and continues to pine for his love now that he’s back. I have to doubt her intelligence in wanting such a man. She has a suitor and brother-in-law that are much, much, MUCH nicer and who value her and treat her with respect. Does she want them? Of course not. She wants the douche hero for…some reason. I’m still not sure why, exactly.
Basically, this book was too irritating to continue. I stopped at page 214 and have no regrets about never picking it back up again. I don’t need a perfect hero or a perfect heroine, but I need one that’s not such a pig.
I really liked the way this book started out, with Eve and Roarke out for a normal night out. As the series progresses we are seeing more and more of I really liked the way this book started out, with Eve and Roarke out for a normal night out. As the series progresses we are seeing more and more of them in a normal couple environment, and I love it. It can’t always be about work. ;) Of course, they have the bad luck to witness a murder in the middle of their date, but the intent was still there. Eve is slowly becoming more than just the job.
Once again Robb keeps things fresh and offers up a completely different murder case for Eve. This time it involves the theater, and as Eve discovers, it’s irritating to try to get a handle on a bunch of actors. They lie. A lot. The plot twists around and surprised me quite a few times, but the overall pacing of the story was a lot slower than I was used to. Certain things in the case hit a little too close to home for Eve, and she has to balance the case with her struggle to control her past demons.
I really liked that we got to see more of Trueheart. It’s nice that the side characters aren’t ever forgotten. We might not see them constantly, but they’ll pop back up eventually. Nadine finally gets an opportunity to step forward in the series, which is nice because we rarely see her since her job pits her against Eve when she’s on a case. McNab and Peabody continue their relationship and poor Eve is left to grumble about how uncomfortable she is with it. Charles comes back into play and, although I like him, I find myself really uncomfortable with the situation he has going with Peabody.
I loved that Eve started to take steps to treat Roarke to some romance instead of letting it continue to be so one sided. Of course, I also loved how suspicious said romance left him. Although Eve had quite a few abrasive moments that had me irritated with her, she’s continuing to soften toward Roarke and lean on him more and more. They had quite a few lovely moments in the book that had me sighing.
Though I liked the book, I still thought it was slow. I was interested in the plot, but it felt like it took forever for it all to unfold. Hopefully I’ll agree more with the pacing in the next book. ...more
First off, I have to thank the author for finally bringing all that sexual tension in between Peabody and McNab to a boil. And in such a dramatic way!First off, I have to thank the author for finally bringing all that sexual tension in between Peabody and McNab to a boil. And in such a dramatic way! The fact that Feeney witnessed it (and was disturbed by it) was simply icing on the cake for me. Such a hilarious scene. I simply loved them in this book. :D
We get introduced to a new character here. Zeke, Peabody's brother comes to town. I loved that we got a deeper look at Peabody and her family, but he was a little too childlike for me. I didn't mind it at first, but it eventually got on my nerves. Still, I'm all for more depth for the side characters. I've come to love the whole cast.
I really love that each plot in this series (so far) is so distinctly different. Here we have a terrorist organization that wants to make a difference and overthrow the current government system. They consider Eve a worthy opponent and gift her with all their transmissions. They're blowing up symbols of the rich elite, so naturally Roarke is a target. :)
I liked watching Eve deal with a different division of the police while trying to solve the mystery. It took us away from our usual stomping grounds and forced Eve to rely on some new people. I also liked how things wound around and connected Eve's cases together.
Eve and Roarke had a few marital disagreements in this book, which I liked. They're usually pretty perfect together, so it's nice when we see them struggle to work things out. Also, the drama of the end, combined with the way they connected in that moment, was wonderful.
Wow. Just wow. This is one of my favorite books in the series to date. It was, quite simply, fabulous.
Whether you've read one book in the series or eWow. Just wow. This is one of my favorite books in the series to date. It was, quite simply, fabulous.
Whether you've read one book in the series or eight, you know one simple fact. Eve is a cop. It's everything to her. Her role as a police officer is tangled up with her identity as a person. Her self worth, her purpose in life, is all tied into her job. In this book that is taken away and it breaks her. She is not the tough as nails cop that we have seen before. She gains a fragility and vulnerability that cracks her open for Roarke and the reader. We get a raw look at how she views herself and what being a cop means to her. It was as wonderful as it was devastating.
Roarke takes a backseat through much of the beginning sections of the book, but as soon as Eve's world starts to crumble we got a heavy focus on them together. We've seen their love for each other before, but in this book it shines especially bright. With her world shaken, her feelings for Roarke are painfully open. She leans on him and he never falters. He's also not afraid to kick her in the ass when she needs it. The ups and downs in life will either make you or break you and this experience seems to have made their connection even stronger. I've always loved them together, but I think this experience has really solidified their relationship.
The case was pretty interesting. I liked seeing something focused on that is so common in today's world. It was interesting to see how organ transplants have changed in Eve's time and how society regards them. It was nice seeing all of Eve's core circle subtly tied into the plot, and it seems as though we might have a few more future characters. Maybe we'll see Louise Dimatto and Officer Troy Trueheart again?
I have always loved Eve's relationship with Feeney, but he impressed me anew here. The speech he gave her and his threats to kick her ass made me grin from ear to ear. It's wonderful to see the loyalty and love that Eve is surrounded by. I was also pleased to hear Feeney mention Jamie. I've been hoping we'd hear about him again.
Although I was happy with everything in the book, I was secretly hoping that Eve wouldn't accept her badge back right away. Procedure or no procedure, I was still pissed. She should have let them sweat and grovel. ...more
I have to say, the serial killer in this book was disturbing. He liked to dress as Santa and rape and kill his victims. There was a jolliness to the mI have to say, the serial killer in this book was disturbing. He liked to dress as Santa and rape and kill his victims. There was a jolliness to the murders, the way he staged them and the 12 Days of Christmas theme he was following, that absolutely creeped me out. I agreed with Peabody, the way he used a symbol of happiness and cheer to commit his crimes was perverted.
I really enjoy the way Robb easily weaves Eve's personal life in with her professional life in this series. That aspect was strong in this installment because it was Eve and Roarke's first Christmas together. Eve grumbles over Christmas as it is, but having so many new and important people in her life has her struggling to pick out the perfect gift for each of them. It's not just her, Mavis, and Feeney anymore. And finding the perfect gift for Roarke is even more difficult because what do you give that man that has everything? I liked all the bits we saw about this because it added an often needed softness to Eve's otherwise tough personality. Also, I thought it was adorable how Roarke got so into the holidays. He was determined to make up for the lack in both of their childhoods and make new holiday traditions and memories together.
I was really glad to see more of McNab in this book. I really enjoy his character and enjoy the tension between him and Peabody. Or "Shebody," as he calls her. They both gained a larger focus here because of their undercover operation. I hope we continue to see so much focus on them in the coming books. Watching Peabody veer dangerously close to whining when she found out he'd be working with them made me giggle. The way they bicker and hiss at each other provides a much appreciated lightness to such a grim investigation. I also thought it was funny that Roarke had to point out McNab's attraction to Peabody to Eve. Her stunned reaction was hilarious.
I enjoyed so much about this book--although I would have liked to have seen everyone's reactions to their Christmas gifts, and to see what Roarke got Eve--but I had some problems with Eve. I know some people find her hard and abrasive, but I don't usually have a problem with it. I like her, despite her occasional jerk moments. But she crossed the line in her behavior toward Peabody and acted like a complete b*tch. She lashed out in a completely inappropriate way and hurt and embarrassed Peabody's date. Peabody neatly put Eve in her place over the issue, yet somehow everything twisted and in the end Peabody apologized. What?!?! She wasn't wrong! Eve was completely out of line.
That part of the book really frustrated me and dimmed my enjoyment of the book. Everyone's aware of Eve's rough edges, but her willingness to eat crow and reluctantly apologize for wrong behavior makes up for that, so I was especially irritated that she was cast as "right" and Peabody as "wrong" even though it was clearly the other way around. Hopefully this will not become a trend in future books.
I listened to the book in audio format and loved the narrator's style just as much as usual. She really makes the book come alive--in all aspects. Of course, that talent can make the uncomfortable scenes even harder to read/listen. Eve's flashbacks were particularly upsetting, and listening to an excellent audiobook narrator do the voice of a rape victim describing the attack and her reaction is quite disturbing. I've ran into this before in the series, of course, since I've listened to most of it in audio, but I must have forgotten exactly how creepy it is to hear sexual abuse scenes. I'll have to try to keep that in mind for the rest of the books so I'm more braced for it. ...more
This is one of my favorite books in the series. I loved getting to delve into Roarke's past and I won't deny that I loved seeing Summerset on the hot This is one of my favorite books in the series. I loved getting to delve into Roarke's past and I won't deny that I loved seeing Summerset on the hot seat. That man is not a favorite of mine.
This entry had an emotional intensity to it that I enjoyed. The cases tie closely in with the lives of Eve, Roarke, and Summerset, although Eve doesn't know it at first. I liked that the author brought up a past storyline and deepened it for the reader. There was a gore and grit to the storyline that isn't always present in the other books. It was quite an eye opener for Eve and the reader to learn Roarke's connection to the crimes and to imagine his past actions in detail. He is not a man you want to cross.
I loved the struggle Eve had between her loyalty to Roarke and her loyalty to the law. I imagine that was quite difficult for a woman so convinced of what's "right" and "wrong" that she tried to turn herself in for murder. It was nice to see that she actually values something more than her badge.
I really liked the new character McNab. He reminds me a lot of Mavis and he provides a fun freshness and abrasiveness that shakes up the current cast of characters a bit. If nothing else, sparks will fly between him and Peabody. :)
The only thing that frustrated me about this book was the way Roarke got away with keeping Eve in the dark for so long. I know he walks on water for a lot of people, but the lack of remorse frustrates me. Eve wouldn't be so suspicious of him if he didn't keep things from her. ...more
I've jumped back into this series after taking a little break. I didn't want to accidentally exhaust the series for myself. It was great getting back I've jumped back into this series after taking a little break. I didn't want to accidentally exhaust the series for myself. It was great getting back into Eve's world! I'm listening to this series in audiobook, because I've found that this narrator makes this world come alive for me. If you are interested in giving audiobooks a try or you're looking for a new audiobook, I recommend this series. The narrator rocks! Especially when she does Roarke's voice. Am I supposed to find a female imitating a man so alluring? How confusing! Lol.
I enjoyed the Wiccan/Satanist storyline. It reminded me a tad of Nora Roberts's book, Divine Evil, which I also enjoyed. I especially liked what we found out about the murder plot at the very end. I liked how the author twisted it a bit and managed to surprise me. I have to say, I didn't see the true reason coming. That's one of the things I love about this series. I may know who the villain is, but the fun is in watching Eve discover the reasons why. I enjoy watching her slowly compiling evidence and seeing the picture piece itself together.
I enjoyed the way Robb set up the case so that Eve would have to stand apart from Feeney on the case. I absolutely loved the emotional impact this case had on their friendship. It made me wince a bit at times, but a lot of stuff was brought out into the open that drew them together. And Roarke had an excellent opportunity to shine. I really loved Roarke and Feeney in this one.
But I can't forget about Peabody. I love her character. She is an excellent foil to Eve. She brings a softness and a more open well of compassion that Eve occasionally needs to balance out her out on the job. Such is the case here. Eve identifies too much with a suspect and ends up being harder on him/her when evidence leads her to believe that he/she is guilty. Eve was really harsh. She even slapped down Peabody after she disagreed with her. Now, I think Eve was in the right to chastise her, but I also think she was harsh. She could have put her in her place a nicer way. I was glad when they had that talk and they both admitted to being wrong.
I enjoyed this book and thought the plot was interesting. I especially loved the inclusion of Jamie. He was such fun. He was arrogant and cocky and walked around like he had a pair of brass ones. He made me think of Roarke as a child. :) The only reason I didn't give this book a higher grade was because Eve felt a little too cold in this one. I still enjoyed reading about her, but I didn't feel as much heart from her as I usually do.
Favorite Quote:
"So how do you feel about using your...skills to access Frank's personal unit and logs?"
His mood lifted as he started the car, guiding it down to street level. "That depends, Lieutenant. Do I get a badge?"
Her lips twitched into a smirk. "No. But you get to have sex with a cop."
"Do I get to pick the cop?" He only smiled when she punched his arm. "I'd pick you. Probably."
Well, it has been quite a while since we got a new release in this series, hasn’t it? It feels like I have been counting down to the release of Fair GWell, it has been quite a while since we got a new release in this series, hasn’t it? It feels like I have been counting down to the release of Fair Game forever. I reread the last book, Hunting Ground, to get back into the swing of things, and it was just as awesome as I remembered. Perhaps the change in tone in the series wouldn’t have been so glaring if I hadn’t reread the second book, but I did, so it stuck out. It’s not that the new tone was bad, it was just…different.
In the previous books we have seen Anna struggle to get over the abuse she was subjected to by her first pack. Charles has always been a rock for her, despite struggling with the worry that he wasn’t doing everything exactly right to help her recover. So flipping things around and making Charles the one to struggle this time around perked my interest. I found it a bit surprising that Anna seemed to be so completely over her past issues (even up til the last book), but I suppose she had to step into the role of the rock while Charles struggled.
I find it amusing that I mentioned in my review of Hunting Ground that I thought this series was more PNR than UF, because it wouldn’t feel the same or be quite as good without the romance, and I got to turn around and test my theory with this book. The change in tone in the series stems from one simple reason: the romance was pushed into the background. Charles’s personal demons led him to close himself off from Anna. A lot of this book featured them interacting like acquaintances, not a married couple. I understood why Charles was acting that way, but I have to be honest and say that it gave the book a very subdued feel. Anna spent a lot of time upset about the distance between them and Charles spent a lot of time worried about his issues bleeding off onto her. But there wasn’t much quality interaction together. As the romance is one of the main draws of the series for me, that wasn’t a good thing.
Other than that, the mystery and world details were just as wonderful as you would expect to find from Briggs. We’re taken out of our normal comfort zone when Bran sends Anna and Charles to Boston to help the human authorities track down a serial killer. I liked seeing a more capable Anna, working on werewolf PR and smoothing the waters with the police, and I liked that we got such a strong focus on Anna and Charles only. I missed the usual werewolf dynamics and the uniquely animalistic characteristics we’re usually treated to, but I liked getting to see a whole new cast of characters and getting a glimpse of the human side of things. The crimes were quite disturbing, and some of the people they called in to consult on the case gave me the willies. Witches certainly can be a creepy bunch. o_O
Although most of the book felt subdued, the last quarter of it really kicked it in gear. That’s when the action started to get thick and Charles and Anna started to work things out. My enjoyment, as well as the book’s final grade, was bumped up considerably during this time. And when the very end came… Well, I have to hand it to Briggs. I did NOT expect that. AT ALL. I gaped at the book a bit and frantically tried to figure out where she was planning on taking on the series. I don’t know. All I know for sure is that I plan on sticking around to find out. Based on that end, I bet it’s going to be a hell of a ride.
Favorite Quote:
His brother maintained that what sent people backing away way neither his size nor his mother's blood, but solely the expression on his face. To test Samuel's theory, Charles had tried smiling--and then solemnly reported to Samuel that he had been mistaken. When Charles smiled, he told Samuel, people just ran faster.
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