4 out of 5 stars

Cut to the Chase:
A really interesting followup to her debut novel, Persell’s second novel (with its too-long title) has far more interesting characters — our female protagonist, Dahlia, was the secondary villain in the first novel, and our male lead, Jericho, is a tortured man who lost his true mate eight years ago.  We start at the heart of the action this time, with Dahlia going on the run, and Jericho being sent to chase her.  The fact that they’re both immortals, and have impulse-paired (think of it as a chemically or spiritually induced love-at-first-sight) is seen by both of our leads as more inconvenient than celebratory — because both characters struggle against the pairing, we get an interesting combination of they’re-meant-to-be-together with they’re-truly-falling-in-love.  I was torn between a 4 or 4.5 star review for this because though I found the characters and storyline stronger than the first, there are bits of the writing that feel a little less polished or more rushed than her debut.  Either way, it was an enjoyable, quick read, and I liked it enough to be looking forward to her future works.
Read more ›

4 out of 5 stars

Cut to the Chase:
This is totally not my style of romance — lots of action (quite a few people get killed), lots of fate and premonitions at work (both lead characters hear a mysterious “Voice” which seems to guide and even chat with them at times), and lots of intense sex (before they really know one another).  Yet, despite these caveats, many of which speak more to my taste than the author’s abilities, I enjoyed the book and found it to be a quick and fun read.  I truly waffled between a 3.5 and a 4 star rating here just because so many of the tropes are not my favorites, but gave it the higher rating because it’s creative and interesting enough that I liked it despite my preconceptions.  It’s obviously the first in a series of at least two, and I enjoyed this one enough to pick up the second, Of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Read more ›