Death's Sweet Embrace - Dark Brethren Bk #2 - Tracey O'Hara

     Young shapeshifters are being found murdered around New York with their chest's cracked open and their hearts taken.  A task force is formed to investigate, hunt down and kill the perpetrator if necessary.  It includes: the Ursian Oberon Duprie, the Aeternus (vampire) Antoinette Petrescu, the witch Bianca Sin, the incubus Cody Shields and the other Aeternus Tones Geraldi.  Plus, the doctor/shapeshifter Kitt Jordan and her ex-lover Raven Matokwe, two people who agreed to have nothing to do with one another ever again after their relationship fell apart.
     The years away from one another has done nothing to cool the passions between Kitt and Raven.  So much so that it begins to get in the way of the investigation with Raven's mind only being on protecting Kitt from harm rather than catching the killer.  This is also a major problem since there is a price on Raven's head thanks to Kitt's father, and hitmen are beginning to come out of the woodwork to collect.
     Now children from both Kitt and Raven's clans have been killed.  They must put their feelings for one another aside for the time being and stop this viscous murderer before she or he strikes again because it appears that Kitt's own daughters may be next on this sociopath's list.
     Yes, you will recognise the story being told through the supernatural layers being placed upon it.  It was one of those little known Shakespearean plays called Romeo and Juliet.  The difference between this and when most authors try and do this in popular fiction is that this doesn't suck like a black hole.  Kitt is from a snow-leopard clan and Raven is a werewolf so, you can see were her father would have a major problem with them hooking up.  There's also something that happens in the past that Raven is blamed for that gives good reason for a price being laid upon his head, but I can't go into that without major spoilers.
     My own problem with this second novel is that Antoinette, our main character from Night's Cold Kiss is regulated to a secondary character in Death's Sweet Embrace, and that's not really spelled out for you on the back cover.  You keep expecting her to come out and take over the book, especially since she has whole chapters written in her voice.
     All in all though Death's Sweet Embrace is a thoroughly enjoyable read.  It falls into the two categories that I see all of UF/PNR, mystery or romance.  Either one or the other with supernatural creatures and or things put in.  Death's Sweet Embrace is a mystery with supernatural creatures solving the case.  Go out and pick up a copy, and the best thing about it?  You can do it without reading Night's Cold Kiss first.

Death's Sweet Embrace receives an Excellent rating of 3.5 stars out a 4

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Patrick Hadrian

Best of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy - 2009

Going to do something different here. Since everyone's doing their "end of the year lists," I thought I'd post what I thought were the best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy books of 2009. Some I had the chance to review, some not, but they are all GREAT books! Now, I fully expect some of you to disagree wholeheartedly. If you do, please comment and tell me where you think I went wrong. Here goes, starting with #10.

10. Vanished (Greywalker, Book 4) (August 2009) - Kat Richardson – Ms. Richardson continues to get better and better with each book, and Vanished is her best to date. If this series is new to you I recommend picking up all the title to follow her hero Harper Blaine.








9. Night's Cold Kiss: A Dark Brethren Novel (August 2009) – Tracey O’Hara – I love it when first time authors hit it out of the park and Ms. O’Hara definitely hit a home run with this one. She did this by doing my favourite thing and bringing something new to the Urban Fantasy genre. The struggles that Antoinette Petrescu goes through and how she changes from start to finish are nothing short of amazing.






8. Street Magic (Black London Bk. 1) (June 2009) - Caitlin Kittredge – The story of Pete Caldecott and Jack Winters. This is one of those titles where the story grabs you by the throat (or more sensitive bits) and refuses to let go. Great Read.








7. Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, Book 2) (August 2009) - Patricia Briggs – The story of Charles Cornick (Alpha Werewolf) and his mate Anna Latham (Omega Werewolf) continues to grow and get better with each story. Ms. Briggs has set this in her Mercy Thompson universe, so it’s given her a chance to further expound on werewolf culture and society.







6. City of Souls (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 4) (June 2009) -Vicki Pettersson – Joanna Archer is still trying to correct her mistake that’s left her Changeling damaged in a most heinous way. With the introduction of Midheaven and finding a way for her character to get out of Las Vegas, not to mention the emotional gut-wrenching scenes….this book will suck you in. Check out my review here.






5. Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Book 17) (June 2009) – Laurell K. Hamilton – This is how I missed my Anita Blake stories. Being in a thrill ride from start to finish. I mean the book starts with a decapitated head being sent to her. Great stuff showing that Ms. Hamilton is definitely back a the top of her game.








4. Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, Book 1) (July 2009) – Faith Hunter – Doing something I’ve never read before by almost having her character Jane have multiple personalities. Well, Jane does, Beast lives inside of her and gets to be Alpha when Jane shifts. Using Cherokee folklore and expounding on it is a great ride. Highly recommended. Please check out my review here.







3. Tempest Rising (Jane True Bk. 1) (November 2009) - Nicole Peeler – I completely meant what I wrote in my review of this: It is a Gem of a first novel. Plus, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a supernatural that almost no one has ever written about before. With a fast paced story it leaves you wanting the sequel Tracking the Tempest as soon as you finish. Also the greatest cover to grace the shelves this year. Please check out my full review here.






2. White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows, Book 7) – Kim Harrison – Still heartbroken over the death of her lover Kisten six months previous, Rachel vows to find out who did it. Considering she was there and cannot remember that’s a bit of a stumbling block, but it’s coming back to her. With the help of her Vampire partner Ivy and Pixie partner Jenks she’s going to get to the bottom of it if it kills her. Kim Harrison never disappoints.






1. Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4)(February 2009) – Patricia Briggs – Finally Patricia Briggs gets moved into hardbound. Mercy trying her very best to maneuver in both Vampire and Werewolf politics finds out that’s easier said then done. In one of those worlds were most of the “monsters” have come out Ms. Briggs does an awesome job of keeping her world as realistic as possible. Truly, my favourite book of 2009.






My Honourable Mentions for this year, in no particular order this time, are:

Mark of the Demon (My Review's here) - Diana Rowland

Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3) - Ilona Andrews











Darkness Calls (Check out my review here) - Marjorie Liu











The Better Part of Darkness - Kelly Gay (review forthcoming)











Blood Kin (Blood Lines Bk. 3)(Check out my review here) - Maria Lima











Demon Mistress (Otherworld)(Check out my review here) - Yasmine Galenorn











Frostbitten (Women of the Otherworld, Book 10) - Kelley Armstrong

All of these novels are well worth your time and money. There’s nothing but standouts here. I do not think one of the books mentioned in this post will disappoint.