Inkspot Fancy

Well, I did it again. One of these days I'm going to learn to check a book before I read it, to see if it's the first book in the series or falls somewhere else on the timeline. For once again, I started reading a new series in the middle.

I don't know if this series has a name, but it does seem to have three books, each looking at the life and love of one of three sisters, each with her own unique powers. And in this one, we get to meet Daisy, a young woman whose horrible husband had isolated and degraded her during their time together. Finally free, she's trying to rediscover herself and her own ability to enjoy pleasure. Unfortunately, a werewolf running around London is making it look more like death is on the agenda.

She finds unwanted protection in the form of Ian, the Marquis of Northrup, who finds her at the scene of an attack and whisks her away, ostensibly to warn her not to tell people what she actually saw. You see, most people don't know that things like werewolves exist, and there's a vast network of people working to keep it that way.

There's a wonderful push-and-pull tension between the two leads. They're both quick-witted and clever, with a good head for banter, and it makes their exchanges feel natural, a sheer pleasure to read, unlike sometimes when it feels like the book itself stops to make way for a passage of witty banter before it all goes back to normal. It reminded me a bit of the old Thin Man movies, honestly. :)

The plot of the story is half supernatural action, half mystery, as the character try to work out who the werewolf is and how to find it before any more people die. And of course, there's a good bit of interpersonal drama as well - stress born from Ian once pursuing Daisy's sister and the mistrust that kindles between them initially, Daisy leaning more about who she is and what she wants and can do through her friction with other people, and of course, the exploration of Daisy and Ian's growing attraction.

The sex scenes are well written, the mystery plot is engaging if not precisely a mystery (in that I don't think you can figure out too early who it is other than by sheer guessing. The information you'd need to know the answer is withheld in many cases until late in the book.)

It also brings up an aspect of living as a werewolf that I hadn't ever thought about before, and it made for a fascinating answer to the werewolf thing.

There were some problems. I didn't care much for the reveal of whodunit. If you read it, you'll probably see what I mean when you get there. But luckily, for being the central question, it doesn't actually take up that much time in the book, so it's a small complaint. Overall, this was a really enjoyable book, and if you're into historical paranormal fantasy, I think it's definitely worth a read!

Now to go back and read book 1...