Saturday, June 29, 2019

#BookReview – “Shadowdance” by Kristen Callihan

Blurb

Once a heart is lost in shadow...

Life has been anything but kind to Mary Chase. But the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals has given her purpose. Now she's been tasked with catching a vicious murderer dubbed the Bishop of Charing Cross. But someone is already on the case—and the last thing he relishes is a partner.

Only someone who lives in darkness can find it.

Jack Talent has been alone with his demons for many years. He never expected to have the willful Mary Chase assist him on the Bishop case. Their age-old rivalry reaches new heights—even as their desire for one another reaches a fever pitch. Though he aches to bring her close, Jack's dark secrets are a chasm between them. With dangerous enemies closing in, Jack must find the strength to face the past...or risk losing Mary forever.

Review

In book four in the Darkest London series, Mary Chase works a regulator (an agent) for SOS, a secret society that monitors supernatural creatures and keeps the humans in the dark about them. She’s also a GIM, a ghost in the machine, meaning she has a clockwork heart and can leave her body in spirit form.
Jack Talent secretly desires Mary, but his guilt and shame over an incident in his and Mary’s past has ruined any chance he might have had with her. He constantly insults and degrades her, but she responds with equal fire. Two years earlier, Jack was kidnapped and brutally tortured by several demons, and the experience has darkened his already battered soul. Revenge is the only thing he cares about, but then he’s forced to work with Mary on a high-profile murder case.
Jack is probably one of the most tormented heroes in this series, even above or equal to Archer from book one. He’s so miraculously strong for surviving the torture and then finding his way back from the darkness in his mind. Like Jack, Mary has her own secrets and hidden pain, but she had a better hold on her emotions that he did.
I’ve been rooting for this couple since book two introduced them. Even though I knew Mary and Jack would be fighting and arguing a lot, it carried on for way more than half the book and grew tiresome after a while. Once they finally talked and shared their secrets, and realized they loved one another, this story read more as a romance, instead of an adventure/suspense story. A scene at the end left me in tears. They’ve both suffered so much heartbreak, so it was wonderful seeing them finally come together.
It was also great to see Lucien, Poppy, Winston, Daisy, and Ian again. Will Thorne is a sexy, mysterious new character, and I’m sooooo anxious to read about him and Holly Evernight in the upcoming book.
There are a few unanswered questions. What will the SOS do when or if they learn about Jack’s Nex connections and that he really was Bishop? Also, what has Winston Lane been doing job-wise since the last book?
This book is a standalone, but it’s best if readers read book three, Winterblaze, first. (There are references to that story in this one that might confuse new readers.)
Overall, I enjoyed the book and I look forward to continuing the series.
4 Stars

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