Sharron Riddle

Sin is unexpectedly thrown into a world of druids, zombies, wraiths, fey, Seelies, Unseelies, and other supernatural creatures. It turns out she may be one herself through her mother somehow. What's a girl to do?

A vivid and lushly described narrative wind through multiple mysteries with a hint of darkness and frequent humor. Action, fantasy, and a trace of horror are nicely blended to create the tale's realm.

Characters are varied, unique, and colorful.

Overall, an exciting read.

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Curiosity Quills for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sin Blackmore is sixteen and having a hard time getting a handle on her temper. Her dad decides she needs to get some psychiatric help so Sin is heading to be locked up in the nuthouse. However, on the way there they encounter some zombies. While her dad is distracted her mom races off with the car and takes Sin to the airport to get her on a plane to Chicago. Sin needs to get to her show more great-aunts since they are the only ones who can help her with her problem. Because Sin isn’t human and her world is about to be turned upside down.

The plot for this story is inventive, exciting and excellent. The doors between Faerie and the human world are being breached and the Hellhounds have been stolen. All hell is breaking loose, humans are becoming aware that there are other things than themselves out there and Sin is at the middle of it all though she has no idea why. The characters are wonderful, varied and detailed. This story would have easily gotten a 5 out of me if it weren’t for the execution. While the writing itself is pretty good, I think I got whiplash from the mood changes. The characters must be bipolar because their constantly switching moods, even in the same paragraph, were lightning fast and unpredictable. It was massively irritating to have no transition from one mood to the next. I love, love, love the story and I hate that the execution of it disappointed me. I mean, massively disappointed. *sigh* I can’t say that I wouldn’t pick up another book if this is to be a series because I love the world so much, but I would be wary of the same quick mood changes. show less

Another book about angels has come my way, and I must say I was hooked from the first chapter. This book basically follows a family of brothers and sisters who were born from a Fallen Angel and a Goddess. This book mixes religion/mythology together, but does it in a manner that is enjoyable and doesn't feel contrived. Even though the book follows the family, the books main character is Eva. And boy is Eva a fun character to follow along with.

Eva, and all of her family, work for the DMA, show more which essentially hunt down and kill demons who have come out of hell and wreck their havoc on earth. Eva and her brother Abaddon are sent to dispatch of one of the largest gatherings on earth that Eva can remember. Eva, while being the youngest is also the strongest, so that is why she is sent with her brother who is the oldest. The demons end up being a part of a plot that would essentially end life as everyone knows it, human, angel, and demon alike. I can't say anything more than that without giving away all the secrets of the book.

Eva is a rather cheeky character, she is sarcastic, a bit girly at some moments, and always says what's on her mind. She is a strong heroine that is to be sure, but she is also not appreciated like she should be by her family, in fact most of her family treat her like she is a pariah and blame her for their mother's death. Even in spite of all of that she shows up when her family calls, although she stands up for herself. She is wildly underestimated by many, but she never lets it get her down, she uses it to her advantage. She is a great character to follow the story along with, and even in moments where there is no action she keeps the reader engaged just through personality alone.

Rahab is another character I want to touch on briefly. You really don't know what to think about him in the beginning, you are made aware that he played some kind of role in the death of one of Eva sisters, and everyone acts like at any moment he is going to strike and kill them all. But as you get to know him he ends up being a surprising and in some regards, quite vulnerable character. But he always has Eva's back, so he's a good guy in my book.

The book bring family dynamics to a whole new meaning. To say this family is dysfunctional would be putting it mildly. They all seem to hide things from each other, lie outright, do basically whatever they want, and then make Eva feel bad for being who she is, when they all have done about a million times worse. At the term "daddy issues" doesn't even begin to explain Eva's issues with her own father.

Overall, I think this is a pretty good book, there is a little something for everyone. There is romance for the paranormal romance folk. The urban fantasy people will really love the progression of the story as well as Eva as a main character. And for those of you who like a lot of action, this book is not going to disappoint. I sincerely hope this book ends up having a sequel, the ending of this book makes me believe if there was a sequel it would be a pretty entertaining read for sure! show less

Eva returns to her office at The Demon Management Agency ~ a government agency who pays to keep the demon's quite ~ after a rough case. In going through the new cases on her desk, separating them to human or immortal to deal with each case based on if a hoax or real, she comes across one where a full demon is killing young half-Nephilim children looking for "the Key." Knowing this could trigger an ugly war between Demons and Fallen Angels (who have been waiting for a reason to attack Demons) show more on Earth resulting in an unbelievable amount of human deaths Eva calls a meeting with her Immortal brothers, sisters, and father. Eva's father sends her, the most skilled in demon hunting along with special abilities thanks to her mother, with her eldest brother, whom blames her for their mothers death, to team up with a vampire to hunt down the person or demon and stop what they are trying to do. All bringing Eva to a missing young girl who is thought to be an important piece of the puzzle.

This is one of those reviews I'm struggling with. I loved this book. I don't want to give anything away, yet I want to tell you everything. And there is soooo much to tell! I love the story weaving along with the history building and the story! Oh my!

We start off quick with snark and action. One thing I love. We meet Eva with her sister and brother on the job. I could tell in the first 3 pages I would love this book. Loved the humor in the characters. The characters! We have Eva. She is our main character and she loves her shopping and expensive clothes and shoes. And her men. She loves human men, which her family doesn't love. But that all comes out in the wash too. She is smart and snarky. And a take charge kinda gal. She has a great friend that she is now feeling electrical sparks when they touch, Adam. We meet Adam in the beginning then through out the book I held my breath hoping to see him again, which we did. Oh my did we, toward the end. Adam was a mystery with secrets of his own and I loved what I learned. We have Rahab, oooo, and Purah, and oh there are others too!

We get two views in this book, one from Eva the second from the kidnapped little girl Jillie. The view written of Jillie is wonderful of a bright young little girl. I really felt the thoughts are of a little girl that is a big sister. Really well done! And the things we learn of Jillie as the story goes.... Oh, such a special little girl.

Okay. So I want to get into the different species we have here and a little history. We have Fallen Angels, Demons, Vampires, then there is a touch of Gods and Goddesses added in too, oh there is another too but I'm not mentioning it just yet. Eva's parents...her father is a Fallen Angel or an immortal, her mother was a Goddess. The story of how vampires come about is told here, with the thanks of a Fallen Angel. That's a story we learn about too. Then we have the Demons of Hell. See, I want to mention all of this as it is all important and intertwined with the story, yet I don't want to give anything away. It's worth reading!

So now you probably think this book has a lot of religious references or such in it. I have to tell you no, it's not. I'm not one for big religious references. And this book has basis for the Fallen Angels but religion is not focus of the story and book. I loved the way these creatures are all weaved together through the story.

We have a mystery to solve. The reason these young half-Nephilim children are being killed. Then we come into the one child that is human that is kidnapped. But it all circles around and comes together in the end.

See this story is layer upon layer of story, mystery, and want. You want everything from the characters and knowing about them, to family issues in Eva's family, to love, to mystery, to fighting, to suspense.... It's all here in this short read.

In the end I realized there were so many little plots going, and all tied together. Like a string of firecrackers going off all is answered in the end. Every time I thought we where done, another cracker blew speeding up my heart with all the excitement that quickly exploded to life again.

I really enjoyed this read. A blend of immortality; Fallen Angels, Vampires, and touch of Goddesses too. All with a mystery case to follow and so many other elements with it. All blended together in a wonderful read. show less