Crux

Crux
3.5 Stars

Synopsis
Mackenzie Brooks is on the run from a deranged stalker convinced that she is his destined mate. When her new boss asks PI Jackson Holt to keep and eye on her, Mackenzie is suddenly exposed to the reality of magic and supernatural beings, and must learn to trust Jackson if she is to discover the truth about her past and her destiny.

Review
Action packed and entertaining with some strong world building.

The characters are engaging but the relationship between Jackson and Mackenzie is too sugary sweet. Mackenzie is initially characterized as a scared and naive innocent with a strong inner core that eventually comes to the fore. Nevertheless, she never transitions into my preferred kick-ass heroine as she needs to be show more rescued too often and some of her behavior is contradictory the ease with which she comes to trust Marcus rubbed me the wrong way. While Jackson is sexy and protective, his personality and backstory are underdeveloped and he comes across as quite bland.

While the story is well written and the villain suitably fanatical, he is missing that diabolically evil vibe that would make him truly threatening, and the final showdown is anti-climactic.

Despite these problems, the creation of the supernatural world is particularly compelling. The secondary characters are intriguing and have a wide range of abilities. There is also a certain hierarchy within the social and political structures of the various magical groups that has incredible potential and will hopefully be expanded on in future books.

Overall, a solid beginning to the series and I will be reading the next installment. show less

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A gut twisting tale of destiny versus free will, love versus duty, and fighting for individual rights compared to the greater good.

Opening Sentence: ”Nicole Peyton, as I live and breathe.”

The Review:

Crux is about a woman unknowing of her past and her destiny. But Destiny is a funny thing: Is it our fate to follow this pre-ordained series of events or do we have the free will to start down that path to begin with? Mackenzie doesn’t know about her heritage or her supposed destiny. She is unaware that she is a rare were-cougar that has been bred specifically to save her race. All she knows is that she is being hunted by a very scary man that spouts off the most crazy things show more (supernatural stuff is all hooey, right?) and has shown a tendency to kill those that get in his way. So when Mackenzie finds a place and people that make her feel safe, what is she willing to do to keep it?

Jessica “Mackenzie” Evans has been on the run for so long now; she no longer remembers what it’s like to feel safe and secure. When she starts bartending for cash under the table in a bar in New Orleans, her employer asks a friend to discreetly make sure she is okay. Jackson Holt’s involvement starts a turning point in Mackenzie’s life. She is naturally distrustful, but seems to trust Jackson anyway. Her character has suffered tremendous stress and suffering. But she doesn’t let it completely ruin her. She finds a way to open herself up, even though her past experiences have taught her to fear strangers. By overcoming her adversity, she is able to not only find a place to call home but open up her heart to love. With the help of her friends and lover, Mackenzie is able to help to ruin the plans of a very dangerous man with his radical and extremist ideals: Thereby taking a hand in her own destiny.

Jackson Holt is a private investigator that agrees to look into the life of one of his friend’s employees, Mackenzie. What he finds out about her situation, it makes him what to help her out. Not because he is extremely attracted to her sexually, oh no. He just wants to help out his friend that owns the bar with her employee, that’s all. Sure. Jackson is a man with a strong morals and ethics. He uses his magic to help out those in need. He even tries to squash his desire for Mackenzie because he knows that she is not ready for it. The man is a true knight in shining armor; well in all fairness, the shining part could just be another neat spellcaster trick Jackson uses to impress the ladies. His easy charm and strong resolve help ground Mackenzie while she struggles to understand a whole new world that has opened up to her. A man like that is hard to find, supernatural world or otherwise.

Charles Talbot and Marcus Foster represent a whole bag of jacked up ideals that seem to plaque the supernatural community, both the were-cougars and the Council. The Council is the ruling body for the supernatural community and the head of the council is also the Alpha of the werewolves.

The underlining theme in this book is about equality. It is referenced time and again when it comes to citizenship rights of bitten weres, but also the elitist attitudes that are prevalent among the Council members. The stigma against bitten werewolves is evident everywhere you turn, even so far as to stop two people that love one another from being together. Regardless of past precedent, Charles wants the small and declining were-cougar community to survive at any cost, even going so far as ignoring the free will of its members.

I truly enjoyed this book with its many social and ethical layers. Of course, if you don’t care for those sorts of things, the love story is just as good. It is a combination of love, strife, and overcoming one’s fears that make Crux a wonderful weekend read.

Notable Scene:

The idea of freaking out was appealing, but it wasn’t the best use of her time. Instead she rested her forehead on his shoulder. “I think I’ll make it.”

“Good.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “Wouldn’t want Steven to think seeing him naked is that traumatic.”

“I heard that.” Steven’s voice drifted from behind her, and she hid her smile against Jackson’s shirt. “I’m going inside. You two take your time.”

She felt the chuckle rumble up in Jackson’s chest. “Don’t feel too bad for him. The bastard knows he has no business looking as good as he does. Damn shapeshifters, making the rest of us look bad.”

Mackenzie felt her smile grow as she slid her arms around his waist. “I don’t think you need to worry about looking bad.” She trailed her fingers absently up his back, savoring the strength and warmth she felt even through his shirt. Simply touching him was soothing in a way it shouldn’t have been, a way that had nothing to do with the sexual tension that had sparked between them the first moment they’d met.

“Yeah, tell me that in twenty years, when you still look thirty. I’ll be pushing fifty and looking every inch of it, unlike our friend, Steven, there.”

“Oh, quit whining.” She made a face at him. “Fifty-year-old men bag thirty-year-old women all the damn time.”

“Amen.” He gave her a warm grin.

FTC Advisory: Samhain Publishing graciously provided me with a copy of Crux. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. The show less

Mackenzie has been on the run for the past month from a stalker, intent on kidnapping her to fulfill some crazy-sounding destiny. So far he’s chased her through 4 cities. Now in New Orleans working in a bar, this place and the people she’s met feels like it could be home and she’s forced to accept that the crazy stuff her stalker talked about--shifters, witches and magic-- is real. And for Mackenzie it’s instant lust when her eyes fall on Jackson, a private investigator who is best friends with the bar owner.

The story sucked me in right away, although that only lasted for about half of the book. The characters we come to know are likeable enough as is the overall situation. I enjoyed the sexual tension between Mackenzie and show more Jackson more than the sex, and when they get started, it goes on for quite some time.

But what killed it for me was that the villain of the story was just so outrageously over-the-top powerful. That does provide a challenge for the story, but I found it too unbelievable, even for this type of fiction. And I’ve been reading urban fantasy since before it became a popular genre. show less

After his friend Nick (Nicole) asks him to check up on the new bartender she hired, spell-caster/private investigator Jackson gets drawn into the mystery of what Mackenzie is running from and why. As Mackenzie starts to trust Jackson and Nick and their assorted friends, she learns secrets about her own past - secrets that are the reason she's on the run from murderous goons who claim she's a shapeshifter who will bear children that will change the world. Unfortunately for their plans, Mackenzie is not willing to accept their decree without a fight, and she's far more interested in the gentlemanly (and hot) Jackson than the man they have picked out for her.

Detailed world building and fun characters help lift this up when the plot drags, show more but at almost 400 (trade paperback) pages I can't help thinking it would have been a little tighter overall if some of the scenes had been edited out and a few of the secondary character descriptions had waited until subsequent books. show less

I'm really impressed with Moira Rogers so far. I really enjoyed the world and the two main characters, along with all the secondary characters.

Mackenzie was thrown into a new world it was hard for her to accept. Giving her several months of "wondering" if what she'd heard was true made her adjustment once she found out the real truth much easier to take. Although she got hit with an information overload, I think she dealt with it well.

Jackson was a sweet good-ole-boy. I really liked him and the way he dealt with Mackenzie. Something that bothered me, however, is the way it was alluded to that he the face he showed the world - a laid back kind of guy - wasn't who he really was. Mahalia says he needs to see if Mackenzie can accept the show more real him. But..that was never explored. Other than the one mention, we didn't see Jackson - either from his perspective or anyone else's - as anything other than a sweet, laid back kind of guy.

The secondary characters added additional flavor to the story, though they didn't overwhelm the main protagonists. I'm definitely anxious to read more about them in the future. show less

Pros:
* Cougars!
* Interesting characters
* Supernatural caste system

Cons:
* More romance than fantasy

It's funny, paranormal romance and urban fantasy are genres that are often lumped together. Reading this book I was reminded I lean to the urban fantasy side.

It's an interesting premise, and the structure and problems of were-culture are good. There were places where the story felt rushed/glossed over (the big fight scene, forgiveness of Marcus), but it was a fun read.

I bought this book when it was a freebie on Amazon. I hardly ever look at the description of the book when they are free. I just think "FREE BOOK!!" and hit buy. Well I enjoyed this book.

I haven't read too many books with cat shifters. This one is about a woman that doesn't know she is a cougar. She is on the run. She turns up in New Orleans and meets some really nice people but she is afraid and not sure if she can trust them. Her name is Mackenzie.

Mackenzie is running from Marcus who has told her that they are destined to be together. That is when her life is turned inside out. She meets, Nicole (Nick), Jackson, Alec, Kat and Derek. Nick senses something is bothering Kenzie and gets Jackson to try and figure out what it is.

I enjoyed show more getting to know the character and will possibly read the next ones. show less