Review: Simply Awesome!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 5, 2013
Sacrificed in Shadow is another awesome book from S.M. Reine featuring the characters from her Descent series & Seasons of the Moon series.Elise Kavanagh (Descent series) is called in to investigate a possible werewolf serial killer by Lincoln Marshall the towns deputy. What draws her into this is the name of previous client who couldn't possibly be among the missing victims & assuming it's a trap for her, she heads to Northgate to see what she can find out. What she finds when she arrives is another thing.... For strange things are afoot in this small town and there are too many coincidences occurring to be dismissed. So, along with the help of the last surviving werewolf pack lead by Rylie Gresham (Seasons of the Moon series) Elise sets out to uncover the truth... but is she prepared for what the truth will bring?I loved this book, the author just knows how to pull you into her world and keep you there. What I love about her books is that they are a darker paranormal read, the reader isn't spared from the more grotesque details or the violence but this gives them a gritty realness and I wish they would be picked up for a movie. I have always liked Elise as a character, I can connect to flawed characters on a better level than those that seem too good to be true and Elise is one of those characters that you want to see come through all of her baggage and get some happiness - she isn't there yet  - but there's always hope. Her skills are amazing and even better now (than they were in the Descent series) in one way and not in another, so a double edged sword but she is still seriously bad ass and I love that about her! Seeing as this is a crossover book we get the characters from the Seasons of the Moon series too and I liked their introduction and how they were tied to this story. I hadn't read that series but following this, I want to, I want to get to know the characters considering most of them were in this and Rylie totally gave Elise a run for her money and really surprised me.The story line was typical of a `Descent' book and seeing as how I loved those, I was always going to love this. We are brought along on an investigation where the usual suspects are usually the least likely to have committed the crime & where everyone is hiding some skeleton. Elise is a huge factor in this and a lot of this is focussed on her and her acquaintances with the wolves being brought in as they become suspects in the discovery of mutilated bodies, there is a big focus on magic, a lot of misdirection with some big surprises along the way. When you're reading and you think you have it worked out, think again..... but that just adds to the appeal of the book. Its dark, it's creepy, it's exciting, it's kick ass and there's even a little sexytime which is always welcome. Even though this is a new series incorporating two sets of series characters, I did feel like I was missing bits of information and I wished I had read both of the other series in their entirety so I could understand who everyone was and what they brought to the larger world especially Elise because I hadn't finished the series and I feel like I have missed a chunk of her development but that didn't take away my enjoyment of the book because it was simply awesome!. 5*s