Jess Haines
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Paperback: 352 Pages
Publication: July 1, 2014
by Zebra (Kensington imprint)
Vampires, werewolves, magi and worse-the Others have joined the mortal world, and there’s no turning back now…
As a New York P.I. and Other specialist, Shiarra Waynest has been in plenty of trouble before. But waking up in a windowless room the prisoner of a vampire slave trader is a shock for anyone. Shia has her wits, her bravado, and a couple of used staples, so maybe she can take on a mansion full of serious evil.
But although she’s desperate to escape, Shia needs some answers too. Her friends are in danger. There are betrayers and spies among them. And even if she can figure out what’s going on and somehow get a message out, she’s still a captive of the worst kind…
The story starts out slow. In the year since I read the last book, I’d forgotten what had happened at the end of book five. Plus, I jumped into the series starting from book five, so I’m missing a lot of context here on the animity between Max and Shia. Once I got past the first pages, however, the action and suspense led me to finish this in one sitting.
Shia is a strong, kickass character, if leaning a bit more towards the bull-headed end for my liking. While her outrageous personality can be appealing at times, she’s the kind of character who lets her emotions carry her, and all too often she let’s her emotions carry her into the deep end. The advice of others has little impact on her judgment even when what they say makes perfect sense. Oftentimes, this gets her into danger, but Lady Luck seems to be on her side. It was also jarring to see her constantly second guessing herself along with the intentions of others because of the sharp contrast it makes to her seemingly brash and confident exterior. I’ve seen books that mix these two personality traits well, make it believable and even endearing, but this isn’t one of them. What makes Shia tolerable is that her heart seems to be in the right place.
The writing is solid, but the heavy plot focus leaves much to be desired characterization-wise. Some of the dialogue between Shia and others can be entertaining, such as this scene where she and Gideon call each other names. However, I never really felt like I got to know any of the supporting characters, which was especially disappointing as some interesting characters are introduced in this novel. It feels like they came in and out and weren’t a solid presence throughout the novel.
If you look at all the individual pieces, there’s a lot wanting in this book. Nevertheless, there’s some sort of addicting quality about the H&W Investigation books that kept me turning the pages even as I had so many questions and doubts in my mind. As it stands, however, the two books in this series that I’ve read haven’t given me reason to believe that there is much direction in which the plot can be taken, so I’m not sure if I’ll be reading the next installment in the series. We’ll see when it comes out next year.
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Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Candace says
This is a series I've been thinking I need to add to my shelf. I like that I can read several of them before there's a wait for more since so many are now out. It's too bad the characterization wasn't quite as good in this one though.
Crystal says
I agree. It's nice to be able to reach for the next book without having to wait for it to come out. The first books in this series look interesting. I hope you enjoy them!
kimbacaffeinate says
I have book one and so need to start this series. While this started slow for you I am glad you enjoyed it.
Crystal says
Thanks 🙂 I hope you enjoy the series!
Brandi Kosiner says
She does sound like a great and strong character but the slow beginning might turn me away
Crystal says
Yeah, I put this one down after reading the first pages before finally reading on. It takes the story a while to really get moving.
Mary @ BookSwarm says
Kick ass is good but bull headed can get a heroine in serious trouble! I need to read this one.
Crystal says
Yeah, too much bull headedness isn't exactly an admirable quality in a heroine. The books aren't terrible though. I hope you enjoy it!