Review will be coming March 16 on my blog Reading,Reading&Life ( )

This is my first time reading Laura Bickle as Alayna Williams (why the pseudonym?)... and I have to say I'm pretty delighted with this book. It has the rich worldbuilding and engaging plotting that I expect from Bickle, but the overall tone is lighter, with more humor. Don't get me wrong, it can be gruesome and there were times I came close to crying (although that seems like a normal human reaction to descriptions of Chernobyl), but I also did literally laugh out loud a few times -- usually because of the ongoing office supplies war between the Special Projects agents and the librarians at LC.

I also really enjoyed watching Tara and Harry try to rebuild their relationship, you can tell how much they care for each other.

I pretty much raced through this one and plan to pick up the first one in the series when I have a chance (mostly to get more backstory on the whole Pythia deal). In the meantime, I think I might go dig out my old tarot cards and play a bit. ( )

Reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/

The Delphic Oracle Novels are so unique. I wasn't sure the whole tarot card oracle storyline would work for me but Alayna Williams does a wonderful job in explaining and laying out all you need to know so that you aren't lost with all the card she pulls. I loved the police like investigating, some of my favorite novels have that in the story and they are always entertaining and attention grabbing. There is plenty of action and the story comes along at a good pace. The characters are enjoyable to read about and follow along with. Im looking forward to seeing what comes in the future for Alayna and Harry's relationship as well as what is in store for Cassie as she is thrust deeper into getting ready to take of as Pythia. ( )

From the back of the book:

"Tara Sheridan is the best criminal profiler around-and the most unconventional. Trained as a forensic psychologist, Tara also specializes in Tarot card reading. But she doesn't need her divination skills to realize that the new assignment from her friend and sometime lover, Agent Harry Li, is a dangerous proposition in every way."

I was hooked on this book from the very beginning. I've come to realize as I share my thoughts on books how important characters are to the story for me and Ms. Williams didn't disappoint. Both Tara and Harry were characters that I instantly took to. I was curious about their history and the relationship that was going on between them. Tara was a strong, likeable character with a layer of strength that surrounded her. She also had a mysterious history with the Delpi Daughter's that I wanted to read more of. What I also liked about this book was the history that the author incorporated into the storyline. The storyline was centered around the Chernobyl disaster which is sadly something I knew nothing about. I'm the first to admit that I'm not good with history (it was one of my weaker subjects in school), but how did I not know about this??? After finishing this book, I wanted to learn more about Chernobyl and what happened there. The author used this nuclear accident to create a book filled with suspense and intrigue. I wanted to know what was going to happen next and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I also enjoyed the fact that Tara was a Tarot card reader. It was interesting to read about the different meanings of cards and see how the author was able to incorporate it into the story. This was such a great read and I especially liked how the author veered away from the standard urban fantasy storyline to create something entirely unique.

All in all, this was an original urban fantasy read that I couldn't get enough of. It is the 2nd book in a series and I will definitely be picking up Dark Oracle soon! Recommended to fans of urban fantasy and I cannot wait to read more by this author! ( )