Cathy Clamp

Moon's Web is the second Sazi book from Adams and Clamp. It takes the world and characters from Hunter's Moon and ratchets the tension up a notch.

Werewolf and assassin Tony and his human wife Sue have joined a werewolf pack, with all the adjustments that entails, and at the same time, Babs, the werewolf who turned Tony, is abducted and Tony is tasked with not only finding her but keeping his old mafia boss from going after her and starting a war that will expose and endanger all the Sazi. In show more addition, Tony's having to deal with new powers and odd side-effects.

There's a lot going on in Moon's Web, but it's not hard to keep it all straight (just hard for me to write about it coherently--but then, I always have that problem when I really like a book). The pack rules and politics were especially well done--I loved Tony's chafing against the rules, his careless blunders, and the fact that both Tony and the pack leaders are all drawn in shades of gray: none of them is all right or all wrong.

The whole book, in fact, is three-dimensional like that. Tony develops new powers, and there are side-effects to the powers as well as to the mate bond and the pack bond, but he and everyone else has both strengths and weaknesses, good and bad. Nobody is the strongest or wisest, though Lelya, the pack leader's mother, comes close.

Likewise, solving the mystery and defeating the villain aren't the work of Tony alone--everyone plays a part.

The romance in Moon's Web is a continuation of the romance in Hunter's Moon. That is, there's an already-committed couple, and we see developments in their relationship, rather than an entirely new couple meeting and falling in love. Though that does happen, it's not the focus of the story.

The world Adams & Clamp have built in these first two Sazi books is detailed and full, even though they never resort to laundry-list descriptions. It's rich enough to support a long, long series, and I hope it does so. show less

Touch of Evil is the first time I’ve picked up anything by C. T. Adams or Cathy Clamp. I’m not sure how I’ve never heard of either of them before this, since they’ve got a lot of books under their (collective) belt, but I’m glad that I finally read something by them.

In this series, the Big Bad are vampire-like creatures known as the Thrall. The Thrall are parasites that require a human Host, whom they eventually take over and kill. The Thrall operate through a hive mind, led by a show more Queen, who experiences the same life cycle. The Thrall feed on human volunteers known as the Herd.

Kate Reilly’s life has been significantly affected by the Thrall. An ex-pro volleyball player with some psychic abilities who works as a bonded courier, Kate has been declared Not Prey by the Thrall after she killed the last local Thrall Queen. She was bitten while she fought with the previous Queen, and now has the Thrall humming in the back of her mind, 24-7. Plus, Kate’s ex, Dylan, is now a member of the Herd, having cheated on Kate with her friend Amanda, who encouraged him to sign up.

When not travelling the world as a courier, Kate renovates a building she owns in Denver, and is looking for tenants. One comes along in the shape of a handsome werewolf firefighter, Tom, who also sets off some romantic sparks with our feisty heroine.

In Touch of Evil, the Thrall are after Kate to become their new Queen, and are breaking the rules to achieve their goals. Kate’s forced to watch her back and fight in ways she never expected, while the Thrall hunt her from all sides. She’s also got a messy romantic life, torn between old feelings for Dylan and her emerging feelings for Tom. Plus she’s learning a whole lot more about the Thrall and other supernatural beings, on a very steep curve.

I really enjoyed reading Touch of Evil. Kate’s a great protagonist, full of fight and honest emotion. Her relationship with Tom is nicely uneven but sometimes felt a bit forced, or at least a bit too fast, considering the amount of interaction they have. Their meet-cute is great but a lot of what comes after feels a bit disingenuous. However, there is enough chemistry there to make me want to read more about them. There are also some great moments over the course of the novel, plus the action is a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to reading Touch of Madness soon.

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The hero is a killer for hire and though he's affiliated with the Mob and a blood thirsty werewolf to boot, he's really a nice guy. When the heroine hires him to kill her, he's a little taken aback and turned her down due to her near celebrity status but in his heart he denies her because he feels a connection to her. After she witnesses him in the Change and doesn't freak out, they very quickly start a love affair and even beginning dating not halfway through the book. The heroine is show more clearly very depressed because of her family and very insecure and demanding because of it. It started to annoy me a little bit just how clingy she was to the hero but she had her charms and her kindness to make us for this flaw. One major thing about this book that I loved and never see in a romance novel was the fact that the whole story is written from the males point of view. show less

Kate Reilly is a former pro volleyball player, a landlord, a bonded courier... and Not Prey. Which means pretty much what it says. The Thrall, commonly known as "vampires" because of their similarities to the fictional monsters (heh) are parasitic organisms that survive in human hosts and they view humans as hosts, herd (Renfields, more or less), Not Prey, and prey (anyone else--those they feed on). There are very few Not Prey. Kate earned that distinction by killing the former queen when show more her ex-fiance turned her over to the Thrall. She's been bitten, so she can feel the call of the Thrall.

Now the new queen, Monica, is dying (human hosts don't last long), and she's determined to have Kate as her successor.

Kate meets love interest, firefighter Tom Bishop, when he asks about renting an apartment in her building after his landlord illegally evicts him because he's a lycanthrope.

This is a page-turning, action-packed story with clever, thorough worldbuilding and some wonderful characters. The emotional aspect is understated, but all the more affecting because of that. For example, Tom's feelings when Kate accepts his lycanthropy without question aren't elaborated on, but they're obvious nonetheless.

And may I say kudos to C. T. and Cathy for giving us vampires who aren't fluffy bunnies. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this unusual world. show less