I picked this up because A) I wanted to read something fun and B) it turned up on a list of urban fantasy novels when I Googled it and C) when I looked it up on Goodreads, Malin had given it a good review.
I’d read and enjoyed a few of the Kate Daniels series, so it was no surprise that this book was great fun, as well. There’s just something really great about throwing magic and werewolves and vampires and beings from other planets into our normal world. I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but our nice, normal world hasn’t seemed to nice and normal for about a year now I WONDER WHY. Thus my search for books that would remove me from reality.
This one is about as far removed from reality as you can get. Dina, our hero, is an Innkeeper, which of course isn’t as simple as it sounds. Her magic is tied to the inn she keeps, and she can modify and control the house as she wishes. Once she leaves the grounds, however, she’s still pretty badass, but she loses most of her magic.
Some otherworldly creature in her neighborhood has been killing area dogs (THIS SHALL NOT STAND), and Dina gets involved though it doesn’t directly affect the inn. Her neighbor, a werewolf named Sean, feels that it’s his responsibility and they bump heads, of course with SPARKS because there has to be a love interest. In the course of their investigation, a vampire is brought into the fold, and there’s a bit of a love triangle, but it’s not one of those love triangles that makes you want to stab yourself in the eyeball, mostly because it plays second fiddle to the threat that Dina’s trying to eliminate.
This series continues with at least two additional books, which I plan on picking up. I don’t know that this will be a universe that sticks with me forever but I’d totally spend more time there. Dina is a no nonsense badass, knows her stuff, and is still relatable. This is a short, quick read and I highly recommend it if you need to escape from reality for a bit AND REALLY WHO DOESN’T.