Review: Powerpoint presentations and Vampire executions..all in a day's work
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 4, 2014
By now in urban fantasy it really is hard to create something that feels new.  Especially when you include vampires and vampire hunters in the mix.  At some point while reading I inevitably think something seems familiar or derivative.  And if an author tries something a little too outré, I will inevitably think they are just trying too hard and it comes off as desperate.  I think Dane has built a world that, while seeming very familiar, also feels somewhat unique.  I got very immersed in her world and didn't constantly flash to or need to compare with some other series by some other author (which unfortunately does happen).The Vampire Nation and the Hunter Corp meet to hammer out an amendment to their longstanding treaty at their annual meeting known as the Tribunal.  The Tribunal is basically what you would imagine a meeting of a supernatural UN Security Counsel session/G8 summit.  They have small group sessions, powerpoint presentations and handouts.  The office wrangling and  the bickering over points of policy and following Roberts rules of order was a nice backdrop to the more typical UF fare of bad ass heroine, sexy hero and big gleaming swords.But, no fear, there was a lot of that too.  The vampire faction that doesn't want this to happen are particularly vicious and seek to sabotage Rowan at every turn.  While also trying to undermine Theo's (the head vampire) authority.  So there is a lot of showing of teeth, and verbal throwdowns etc.  A few great confrontations and a couple of to-the-death  fights.  So a leetle more exciting than your average industry gathering at the Holiday Inn Convention center.There is also some wonderful relationship drama as well.  Rowan and Clive have a hot sexy relationship that is somewhat scandalous given their respective positions.  I love the two of them together.  She is so brash and he is so proper.  She teases him about the precision of his pocket square in his Savile Row suit.  He gets turned on when she punches a snotty vampire in the mouth.  They are magic in the sack.But probably most intriguing is Rowan's relationship with Theo. I loved how complicated their relationship is.  We get a glimpse of it in the first book, but the uneasy/deep abiding love they feel for each other is explored more deeply in this one and we get the root of why/how Rowan was raised as Theo's daughter and how that formed who she is now.  Good stuff.And the final show-down between Rowan and the main villain in this one was epic and hard to read.  But it sets the stage for the next book.  Which I am looking forward to.My biggest criticism of this book is the same as the previous one.  The author sells Rowan's bad-assery waaaay too hard.  She keeps telling us how hard, vicious and what a killer Rowan is.  We. Get. It. Now.  Stahp.  Just let it happen.  I like potty mouth Rowan.  The Rowan who is a little vulgar and crude.  Who is also funny and likes to yank Clive's chain and ruffle his proper British sensibilities.  I also like it when the author shows when that funny Rowan morphs into the dead-eyed killer.  Much more effective than constantly telling us.