Curse the Dark

Wren Valere has a problem. As a magic-wielding Retriver, she's known as the best at her job. Unfortunately, the Council seems to be poisoning clients against her, and the bills need paying. Even under dire financial straits, Wren and her partner Sergei are reluctant to take on the Silence's job offer: go to Italy and retrieve a missing old parchment that happens to make any readers vanish.

I enjoyed this book much more than the first book, but my feelings are still mixed. Wren and Sergei's chemistry really kicked in, and I enjoyed their relationship against the backdrop of magical political intrigue and deception. It still felt muddled at times, though, like there was too much plot development going on for future books; the viewpoint show more switches from Wren seemed unnecessary, too. I probably won't continue with the series from here. show less

A trip to Italy should be romantic, right? But for Wren and Sergei their first job for the Silence isn't so much a vacation as a slippery slope into a world of intrigue and missing information. As her relationship with Sergei heats up, the distractions multiply: ancient evil, prejudice, missing Talents, and insidious plots too close to home.... A lonejack's rule one may be "don't get involved" but Wren's never been much of one for coloring inside the lines.

It's hard to think of Wren as invisible given her penchant for finding trouble; come on, everyone seems to know where to find her - LOL! And woo-hoo, did things get steamy there for a second or what?

Now under contract to take jobs for The Silence, Wren and Sergei fly to Italy to retrieve an ancient parchment stolen from a strange monastery. None of the monks understand the objects they guard and so provide little helpful information. Wren is able to determine that something is very wrong after a botched attempt to get an electrical read within the monastery. A customs contact gives Sergei information that leads back to America, and the pair are soon back home where records have lead them to a old library undergoing renovations. At the same time, The Counsel is spreading negative rumors about Wren, her lonejack Talent friends have become paranoid and call for a show of force, and fatae are getting attacked on the streets. Wren show more suspects that it’s all connected to the artifact and, despite the danger, will risk herself to neutralize the threat and finish the job.

I was rather disappointed with the second book in this series. It’s been awhile since I have struggled to finish a book. Despite the fact that the premise is pretty interesting, Gilman spends too much time telling rather than showing. There was no real suspense until around page 260. A lot of time is spent in Wren’s head where she contemplates the state of her relationship with Sergei. I am not even sure I like Wren and Sergei. She comes off a bit ditsy and somewhat self-involved and he seems very pompous. Both are unclear what exactly is the impetus to their relationship and their scenes together just fall flat. Gilman spends an inordinate amount of time relaying traveling and domestic details almost dropping the mystery completely. It isn’t until the last fourth of the novel that things begin to get interesting. By then, there isn’t enough time left for a satisfying ending. show less

This sequel was both more obscure (as in I didn't really understand what was going on, plot wise) and more explicit, sex-wise. In the middle of a mildly entertaining story, with a nice bit of romantic tension, was dropped an (at least to me) embarrassingly detailed description of sex. Not my cup of tea. Too bad, because I had high hopes for the series after reading number one - and I quite like both Wren and Sergei - but not enough to join them in the bedroom!!

Evil magic from the distant past! Complex (and deadly) politics between the Council of Mages, lonejacks, and the fatae, not to mention the Silence. Suspense, sex, and problems with laundry! I enjoyed the first book, and this one is just as fast-paced and entertaining.

Wren and Sergei are off to Retrieve an artifact removed from a Monastary in Italy. In this novel, they finally actively acknowledge the romantic interest between them. Also, a more complete explanation about the 'Cosa Nostradamus' the organization that controls mages and the 'Silence' the organization that protects the world from magic gone bad.

Wren and Sergei are working for the Silence and are after a paper that was stolen from the library of an ancient Italian monastery. Unbeknownst to them the papers that are missing may help bring about the end of the world.