Wasn't crazy about the lead, so don't think I'll finish...

Please Note: There are some small spoilers in this review. If you want no spoilers at all, please do not read this review.

This book went down the crapper so quickly after 40% that it damn near gave me whiplash. O_o The difference between the two parts of this book are SO VAST that I have separated them: Book I, Part I and Book I, Part II

Book I, Part I (the first 40%) of this book is pretty damn good. There are some points that I issue with, however:

Why is Cat qualified to become Tatiana?? Why is she one of the only few in the world eligible? The author never says.

Cat makes lots of decisions without thinking. She told Lex to screw himself about her becoming Tatiana...but then changes her mind a page later for no reason and runs to do it. No explanation given to the reader for the abrupt 180 change of heart.

WTF is up with Lex turning Cat in to be tried (before book starts)? That isn't cool. And then for him to get back with her by only saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would go down like that" was total BULLSHIT. Where was he for the last 3 years as she struggled to get by? There was NO GROVELLING. None at all!! Are you freaking SERIOUS?! She became an Outcast because her bf betrayed her and he didn't even have to grovel?!?!? We had the ‘I love yous” happening by 40%. I call Shenanigans. I also do not buy their relationship. At all. And BTW, I actually kinda hated Lex.

This is the biggest issue I had with Book 1, part 1:

Cat is the daughter of a witch and a necromancer. Her father killed her mother and tried to kill her. Her mother/guardian is killed when she was scheduled to be out all night. Her father wants world domination and is willing to go through her to get it. She is the only one able to stop her father. Cat has super strong powers that even she hasn't explored the limits of.

Did that sound familiar to you? If you've ever read the Kate Daniels Series by [a:Ilona Andrews|21748|Ilona Andrews|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1219436898p2/21748.jpg] then it sounded really, really familiar. But don’t get your hopes up, it’s not in the same league.

Other than the items I listed above…book I, part I is actually a pretty good (and fast) read. I’d give it 3.5 stars.

Then we have Book I, Part II (insert ominous music here)

WTF happened here???! After Cat kills her father and becomes the Tatiana it feels like an entirely new and completely different book starts. The damn thing even changed plot points! WTF. The entire section with the vampire Zach Harrison holding Cat hostage was BS. Why the fuck was she there to begin with. She makes such STUPID decisions!! It is at this point that Cat goes from being a funny, snarky witch with a brain to a TSTL romance heroine without the sense God gave a Nat who finds herself in the middle of [something like] a fucking love triangle with a vampire. Even though she and Lex ‘are in looove.’

*faceplam*

I’ll stop ranting about this section now because I’ll end up spoiling the entire thing…but let’s just say it was about 50% of the entire novel and it all SUCKED ASS. SUCKED HUGE ASS. I was shocked and saddened by the way this great story wound up in WTFsville so quickly. I spent the rest of the book screaming and yelling at Cat to stop being TSTL.

And the ending. Can it get any more rushed than that??!

I only gave this book 3 stars because of the beginning. The ending is like 1 star.

Thank goodness I didn’t pay for this one. I don’t think I’ll continue the series.
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Reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/

Robyn was on my blog for part of her tour for BLOOD SMOKE AND MIRRORS and I really wanted to read this after I got a look at the cover and synopsis so here I am. I love the cover, it definitely drew my eye and got me excited about the book. Cat is going about her business working and being her mousy self when all of a sudden Lex her super sexy ex that betrayed her walks back into her life and sets her on a path to trying to become the next Titania. Robyn's writing was well done and the world and story were very well laid out. The relationship between Lex and Cat is down right frustrating and slow moving just like all the good books make the lead relationship lol. They really are perfect for each other and following along as they make mistakes and grow closer was a pleasant journey. Cat is a smart ass after my own reading heart. Seriously she was well put together not afraid to say what she means and very down to earth. I think Cat's story is far from over so I hope Robyn is continuing the story as I still have a lot of unanswered questions and situations were left wide open. I enjoyed the story and would read it again. Pick up a copy if you have the chance. ( )

** spoiler alert ** Dim-witted waitress with some magical ability and paranormal boyfriend who prefers his job to her runs afoul of rich, good looking vampire who likes the way she tastes. They exchange blood before she bothers to find out the consequences. She has two fairy cousins, one of which is named Portia. Is any of this starting to sound familiar? It does if you have read the Sookie Stackhouse books and if you haven't, I'd suggest you read those instead, as Charlaine Harris is a much better story teller.
I bought the book mostly because I love the cover and enjoy a good sword fight. Unfortunately, the waitress lets other people fight for her. ( )

Kitty is recruited by her former lover, Lex, and her current boss, Mac, to pursue the position of Titania (ambassador between Earth magicals and Faerie) after the previous Titania dies of "natural causes" (massive blood loss). As she holds Lex responsible for being an outcast from witch society and believes herself too young to hold that much responsibility, she is understandably reluctant. However, after her frost faerie cousin, Portia, insists, Kitty throws her hat in the ring -- and learns who her competition will be.

Through the competition for the title of Titania, I thought this book was interesting and fun and tragic in turns. Unfortunately, after the competition was resolved, it really started to fall apart for me. Kitty is loyal, powerful, and has impulse control issues. Maybe I've read too many characters with that description lately, maybe the author relies too much on Kitty's poor judgment to move the plot along, maybe I was just never able to relate very well to Kitty, but by the end of the book I had Kitty planted firmly in the "too stupid to live" category of heroines.

At the end, I'm not sure how to rate this. Has a lot of promise and potential at the beginning, interesting secondary characters that will probably get more fleshed out over time, but at the end it's mostly about Kitty, and I didn't really like Kitty. If Cassie Palmer bugs you, I think you'll have the same reaction to Kitty (and the other parts of Kitty's triangle aren't as interesting as Pritkin or Mircea). However, if you really like the Cassie Palmer or Dresden series, it might be worth your time to at least check out an excerpt. ( )