★★★★/★★★★★
She has spent her entire life fighting death. Now she's falling in love with him. . . .
When nurse Audra Grayson is brutally beaten, the near-death experience opens a door to the world beyond. Two Grim Reapers invade her life. One is charming, with the angelic blonde looks of a saint and the black soul of a psychopath. The other is not charming. He's dark and dangerously attractive. When Audra's patients begin to die unexpectedly and her loved ones are threatened, she will risk her life-even her soul-to save them.
But can she risk her heart to an inhuman being whose very purpose is to take those she is trying to save?
I encounter more misses then hits in the paranormal romance and urban fantasy genres. Nine times out of ten this is because the author will try to show how strong and self relent the heroine is, by making her unafraid to speak up and solving her own problems. Unfortunately this usually ends up making our 'star' looking like a argumentative bitch, how picks fights and stupidly shrugs of all offers of help, when it's evident that she can't dig herself out of whatever hole she's got herself in to.
I knew SOUL SEDUCER would be more enjoyable then the majority of these genre offerings early on, for the simple reason that I didn't want to throttle Audra. She remains level headed throughout most of the story, and when she does put herself in harms way I can see her reasoning's for doing so. I also really liked that Audra's ex husband isn't some cheating psycho - he is a loving and kind man, who platonically loves her.
The hero - Dimitri - makes a nice match for Audra in terms of likability. He is tortured and isn't all sweetness and light, but he doesn't come of of as whiny or self-pitying. He actually DOES HIS JOB, even when faced with a tearful Audra and his own regrets. Again this is a nice change not to have the author whitewash things, trying to make the unpleasant realities of her world setting more romantic and lovey dovey; to pull a example of similar tactics out of thin air, authors making vampires not actually drink blood is a popular white washing ploy.
The romance between Audra and Dimitri works; I really become caught up with their budding romance and their feelings of hopelessness and the inevitability, as there doesn't seem to be a way for them to find a happy ending. The development of their feeling towards each other doesn't feel forced or rushed and the chemistry is instantly apparent.
All in all, I found SOUL SEDUCER to be a breath of fresh air in today's over-saturated paranormal romance genre.
***
In addition to the romance, there is a whole series worth of twists and turns crammed into one book, so I couldn't begin to guess at what would happen next. I hope that the author is planning to write more books set in this world, as I learning about the author's take on grim reapers, how they go about their work and what the rules are. Now I've gained a understanding of this world I want more.
***
The fact that there is so much happening in the story is bit of a double edged sword; it also means that the author has to speed some plot threads in the book up, in order to fit everything in. But when this is the only flaw that I can see with a story, then I know that I've struck gold.
£4.11
For Kindle and ebook
£9.99
POD
No comments:
Post a Comment