When they come for her, can she trust a monster to save her life?
P.I. Bryn Ullman can view your past. All it takes is one touch. But while she uses those visions to save others, her own memories are debilitating, filled with shadowy assassins who will never stop hunting her.
Berserker Trygg Mackenzie is a tracker who never forgets a scent. One whiff of Bryn and he wishes otherwise. The last time they met, the monster living inside him left behind a bloodbath. Now the thing wants to claim Bryn and Trygg's not sure he can fight it.
Thrown together in the investigation of a brutal murder, they can't deny their desires, but lust is a dangerous distraction. When they're fighting for their lives, true love doesn't guarantee survival. They'll need trust, some newly discovered skills, and perhaps a twist of wyrd to make it out alive.
"Enjoyed this book from start to finish" ★★★★★
Enjoyed this book from start to finish! The romance was great, but OMG so was the action.The pace from build up to the big scenes in the end was so well done. It had all the things that make me fall in love with a book, and I can't tell you how much I laughed through most of the pages -- the snark and sass was honestly my favorite. I love Brynn, such a perfect balance of strong and vulnerable.
The story doesn't end on a cliffy, but it left me wanting more of Trygg and Brynn! I hope there's more of them to come.
Kudos to a very well, confidently written debut for this author!
"Strong, complex characters, intricate storytelling plus superb world-building" ★★★★★
A debut work by this author, I had no idea what to expect, but I was just blown away from beginning to end. I adored the smart and sarcastic Bryn: "a woman who would kick a$$ and not bother taking names" but who has so many secrets and demons. I loved Trygg as well, who has his own brand of honor, in addition to his own secrets and monster to fight. Plenty of great supporting characters as well as a plot that had so many turns my head was spinning.
There was so much going on here, I just couldn't read fast enough to unravel all the mysteries. It reminded me a bit of Robin McKinley or Patricia Briggs (two of my all-time favorite fantasy authors), with layered world-building based off of Norse mythology. The glossary in the back was a nice touch, though I'm pretty sure even with the pronunciation help, I'm saying the names in my head wrong, lol.
Strong, complex characters, intricate storytelling plus that superb world-building all made for an amazing read. If this is what her debut work is like, I can't wait to see what's next. 5+ stars
Very pleasantly surprised. Convinced me to read more fantasy. ★★★★★
I don't normally read fantasy (too sappy and unbelievable) but was in the mood for something different when I saw this book in our Kindle (daughter bought it). The cover caught my eye and the description was intriguing so I thought, why not? Wow, oh wow. Not sappy at all. The snarky, snappy dialogue and the heroine and hero's pissy attitudes as they fight themselves (literally in Trygg's case), each other, and almost everyone around them--made me laugh out loud throughout my reading. The action (especially the fight action!) and the plot was very attention-grabbing and I was intrigued to read through the whole book in two days. To my jaded reader's view, I was surprised, in a good way, by the way the story unfolded. Not only that, but the fantasy elements mixed in the real-world-as-I-know-it was so seamless and believable. Just like in the Harry Potter world, where I keep looking for the wizards and dementors amongst us, I find myself glancing at my neighbors and friends, wondering if they're Outlanders? Elementals? Vanir? Jotun? Etc... Will look forward to more from this author and will give more fantasy books a chance from now on. I'm impressed. Bravo to this debut author.
