~ REVIEW TOUR ~ Deadline ~ by Jennifer Blackstream
"The eye sees only what the
mind is prepared to comprehend."
Deadline
(Blood Trails Series, Bk 1)By Jennifer Blackstream
Blurb:
As a witch with a dark past, Shade
Renard knows the Otherworld isn’t always successful at policing itself. Humans
don’t believe in magic anymore, and their ignorance renders them easy prey. So
when an FBI contact hires her to consult on a possible haunting in a missing
persons case, Shade seizes the opportunity to see justice
done.
Her case takes an unexpected turn when an undead
crime lord shows up on her doorstep. A bold thief stole the vampire’s little
black book of secrets—and he’ll pay a lot more than an FBI consulting fee to
get it back. To collect, Shade will have to confront a rogue sorceress, a
vengeful wizard, and a lethally seductive fey, with only her wits, her growing
magic, and a sarcastic pixie familiar.
Success means bringing a
killer to justice and taking the first step to redemption. Failure means a war
between humans and the Otherworld.
No pressure.
My Review:
5 out of 5 Stars
This was my first experience reading a book from this author, and
now I’m very happy that I was introduced to her writing. It was an exciting mix of paranormal and
mystery. Shade wasn’t happy with just
being a witch, and decided to use her abilities in becoming a private
investigator. In making that decision,
she took us on quite a rollercoaster ride of a first case.
Not only did this story have great twists and turns, but it was
beyond who could have done it. There was
also the potential for multiple crimes related to each other, and the suspects
seemed to have the potential to have worked alone, or together, and several different
people could have potentially worked together.
The further into the story we got, the more confusing – in a good way –
it was, and every time I thought I knew who the guilty party was, I was immediately
sure I was wrong too. I loved not
knowing, and figuring things out along the way with Shade.
Especially because we are dealing with the paranormal world, each
character is incredibly unique, with wide ranging personalities and ways that
they choose to live their lives and make choices for their futures – from politics
to everyday life. I loved how much each
character varied and made the story that much more interesting getting to know
everyone.
Of course, we can’t forget that Shade would not have been able to
get as far as she did without her spunky pixie familiar. She may be small, but she saved Shade’s life
more than once, and made an excellent spy!
I would definitely say she was one of my favorite characters. She added a little bit of everything to the
story – especially laughter.
I truly enjoyed this story, and several times had a very hard time
putting it down. It went by faster than
I would have liked, and even though the mystery of ‘who done it’ is wrapped up,
I feel like we’re just getting started.
I definitely look forward to the next book and finding out what Shade
has in store for her next.
Available
for purchase at
iBooks | Amazon
Paperback | Kobo | B&N
Excerpt
“Did
you disconnect the automatic light?”
Peasblossom curled against my neck, her wet
dress adding to a sudden chill in the air inside the car. “No.”
Unease rolled down my spine. I murmured a
spell, drawing a few circles in the air. “Lumen.”
Three glowing balls of
reddish light bloomed to life and hovered before me. I kept one over my head
and sent the other two forward, illuminating my path to the front door. I didn’t
open the garage door and pull in, but got out while I was still in the
driveway, already preparing another spell as I climbed out of the driver’s
seat.
“Revelare.” My power flowed in a wash of silver toward
the house, probing for any foreign magic.
Nothing.
“Stay
here,” I told Peasblossom. “If I don’t call for you, go to Mother Hazel and
tell her everything that happened today.”
“But
I won’t have anything to tell her unless I stay to see what happens,”
Peasblossom hissed. “I’m not leaving you.”
“This
might be nothing.” I kept my voice as low as possible. “The bulb may have
burned out. Don’t be silly.”
“I’m
not silly and I’m not stupid. You think there’s something bad inside. And a
witch never ignores her gut.”
A lump rose in my throat, and I fought to
swallow around it. “Please stay out here. I can’t bear the idea of anything
happening to you.”
Peasblossom gave my ear a ferocious hug. “I’ll
stay out here, but only as backup. I will never leave you.”
I waited for her to fly up and off my
shoulder before straightening my spine. This was my house. My village. Whatever
was here, whatever had violated my home, would be sorry. Power rose in my
throat, feeding the spell I’d readied.
“Shade,
look out!”
I whirled around and spat behind me. The
spell hurtled through the air, and I had a split second to see a dark figure
separate itself from the maple tree beside my driveway. The spell landed in the
grass, the viscous blue fluid of the entanglement spell pooling in the tree’s
shadow.
“Such
attacks will not be necessary.”
A man spoke from beside me, smooth and
masculine, voice heavy with an accent I hadn’t heard in a long time.
A very, very long time.
I turned, knowing I’d
never call up another spell fast enough. I raised my hand anyway, needing to
try, to go down fighting. A hand closed around my wrist, tight enough that I
swore I heard my bones creak. I gritted my teeth and stared into the face of my
visitor.
He was dressed in a suit that probably cost
more than my car. Long white-blond hair brushed his shoulders and framed a pale
face with sharp, graceful features. I couldn’t see what color his eyes
were in this light, but it didn’t matter. I remembered his face.
He went by the name Anton Winters, majority
shareholder of the Winters Group, a company that made the Forbes 500 list look
like a gathering of struggling start-ups. There were whispers he had criminal
connections, that he was former KGB. I knew the truth. And it was scarier.
Anton Winters had once been known by a
different name.
Prince Kirill of Dacia .
A vampire.>
About The
Author
USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Blackstream is…odd.
Putting aside the fact that she writes her own author bio in third person, she
also sleeps with a stuffed My Little Pony that her grandmother bought her as a
joke for her 23rd birthday, and she enjoys listening to Fraggle Rock
soundtracks whether or not her children are in the car.
Jennifer doesn’t have spare time, but she makes it a
point to spend at least one night a week with her sibling binge-watching
whatever show they’re currently plowing through (currently Numbers on Netflix),
and she ferociously guards quality time with her son and daughter. She cooks
when she has the sanity for it—adding garlic to the recipe whether it calls for
it or not—and tries very hard not to let her arachnophobia keep her out of her
basement on laundry day.
Jennifer’s influences include Terry Pratchett (for wit),
Laurell K. Hamilton (for sexual tension), Jim Butcher (for roguish flair), and
Kim Harrison (for mythos). She is currently writing the series of her heart and
her dreams, the series that has been percolating in her brain for the last
decade…Blood Trails. An Urban Fantasy Mystery series that will combine the
classic whodunit spirit with a contemporary fantasy setting. Expect mystery,
magic, and mayhem, with characters that will make you laugh, cry, and probably
stare at the screen with your jaw hanging down to the floor. Well, that’s how
they affect Jennifer anyway…
You can
find Jennifer at
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