If only this were The Adventures of Robin, Promise, and Delilah, it would be an excellent book. ( )

This book is way more of a horror story than the previous two. A reincarnated redcap is on the loose in the city and it's hunting and eating everything around. Everyone, even. There's an early scene where the redcap takes a bite out of Cal. Literally takes a bite. In a very gross (for me) moment it turns out that werewolf spit can heal so Cal spends all night being licked by a female werewolf. EUW.

In one of the subplots Cal wants to get laid. This isn't as bad as it sounds when you realize that Cal does not want to reproduce and risk having a baby that is part Auphe. It is as bad as it sounds when it turns out that the little asshole hurts George with the knowledge that he's becoming involved, possibly seriously, with the aforementioned werewolf. George spends the early part of the book telling him she won't wait forever and they have to talk and by the end all she has for him is a note that says "goodbye." His fault, he blew it, and I could not hate him more right now.

Even though the other subplot involved some mysterious persons wanting to kill Robin because of his past the book still needed more Robin. I would have been happy if this plot had expanded to be an entire book because between the past events and Robin's desire to atone and possibly not protect himself I think there was something interesting to read about. He's lived a long time, he has powers that seem godlike to normal humans, who can say they wouldn't take advantage? ( )

Holy cliffhanger hell, that was a doozy.

Other than the last few paragraphs that came out of nowhere and knocked me on the side of the head, the book was rather sedate. Sure, there's a cool plot about a restored and ancient serial killer that's tough to beat, but just like the others in this series so far - nothing feels frantic or particularly suspenseful about it.

I think the main issue is that most Urban Fantasies dip their genre toe deeply into the mystery pool, stimulating the thinking part of the brain as much as the action part. With this series, there's little mystery - most of what is unknown is discovered almost right away, leaving little pause and wonder (no surprise) - so it's basically connect the dots from one action point to the next.

Cal isn't as emo as before, but he's still realistically conflicted, which is fine. He's a unique character and I like his sassy attitude, gritty outlook, normal hormones, and sense of loyalty. Niko still hasn't grown on me as he's too perfect and paper pure, but he's okay as a background and their brotherly bond is still fitting. Promise is still kind of lackluster, but Robin is - as always - a fun character bomb that was tossed into the group.

The villains were brutally vicious and hard to conquer, but I knew they were be bested in the end so there's just wasn't enough tension to raise the rating. You could have put in any other antiquated serial killer and had a similar feel of rush and story. It was creative to use who the author did (I won't spoil it), but I think the issue is what I explained about -the way the world goes about sending out these signals. It's a little redundant.

I'll still continue with the series - the author writes well, dialogue rings true, the world-building is filled with bizarre fantastical creatures and powers. And of course after that cliffhanger - I have to see that the demented starter race may have come back to finish the job.

( )

Still struggling with his Auphe-ness, half-human Cal and his brother Niko are just beginning to get their agency off the ground. Their latest job, tracking down who swiped a serial killer's ashes from the Met, doesn't seem too tough - until it turns out the serial killer stole himself. Sawney Beane is back, and he's hunting...

Comes with bonus malevolent, basement-dwelling mummy. What fun! ( )

Damn Rob Thurman. She is responsible for many of my lost hours of sleep in the past couple of weeks alone. She writes well and knows when to stop a chapter so you have to keep reading the next one. Her characters are engaging and tug on my emotions even if they’re a bit unrealistic. There’s action and drama and the story moves along at a brisk pace, there is lots of bloodshed and characters on the verge of death. (I admit, I have very emotionally juvenile tastes in that arena.) She even shares a name with an extremely respected father in my field of study in grad school.

This is just like the others in the series and just as good. I've been plowing through these and I don't know what I'm going to do when I reach the end. ( )