BOOK REVIEW:
Spirited
Last
year I didn’t read any paranormal romance (well, any adult PNR) and I also didn’t read any romantic suspense. And I
really like thrillers with that romantic splash! It’s fun as a reader and
writer to watch the love and sexual tension unfold around the life-threatening
danger. I mean, it’s crazy because you wonder how people can find the time to
love and have sex and whatnot while life-threatening everything else is going
on.
That’s
why I think romantic suspense really can go two ways: they can either totally
flop because my suspended disbelief had its parachute tampered with and as a
result the plot left me a puddle of angry goo (and guts)… OR it could be a
wonderful mesh of 50/50, romance/suspense.
Mary
Behre’s Spirited was thankfully the
latter.
As
the debut in Ms. Behre’s Tidewater trilogy I’m happy to report I was swept away
by the passion, humor and mystery in this novel.
The
romance was sexy as hell! The English King Seth English has my heart…
*sigh*
Typically
I think it’s SUPER cheesy when a guy uses generic pet names (i.e. “baby”, “babe”,
“mama”, etc.), but every time Seth
called heroine Juliana “Jules” Scott “precious”, I swooned.
I
didn’t even think of Golllum!
And
Jules was really fun to follow.
...
Also maybe I’m bias because she’s a redhead.
 |
| Says the brunette... |
She’s
on a search for her sisters, and despite the not-so great fortune of her life
she doesn’t whine about it. The book never has her moping in a corner and she
doesn’t outwardly endanger herself (say the way an amateur sleuth in a cozy
might).
Her
powers weren’t intrusive either. Sometimes I find that heroines—and usually
this cliché sticks to the female protags—in PNRs seem to possess a mother lode of supernatural strength that often becomes an introduction to convenient plot
points and Deus Ex machina.
The
mystery was also well-written. It had me guessing up until the last 20 pages or
so and by then it was getting real with the black moment and final showdown going
down. There was only one part that confused me... The villain had a nickname, “The
Knight of the Realm” and there was a pattern that suggested that the name
should have been connected in some way to the villain’s real identity, but it
didn’t. Unless I missed something… Hmm.
Can
you tell I’m trying not to spoil any of it?
Anyways,
if you’re looking for a fantastic PNR or a romantic suspense, why don’t you
stick with both by picking up Spirited!
My
verdict:
✮✮✮✮✮
(5 stars)
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