Review: Adriel and White Feather team up in another paranormal thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2013
In the "Moon Shadow" series, author Maria Schneider has created an original modern-day world in which paranormal creatures such as witches and warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters live among normal people and blend into society. Sometimes, however, they don't blend in so well, and that's when the young witch Adriel uses her witchcraft to earn a living. Under Witch Curse is the third book in the series, and it's a dandy.White Feather, the warlock who Adriel met in Under Witch Moon, has married Adriel, and the two are preparing to settle down in White Feather's home. There's no honeymoon for the two lovebirds, though, since someone is burglarizing shops in downtown Santa Fe, and leaving bodies behind. The evidence points to a local shapeshifter named Zandy, but there's some heavy duty black magic involved, and shapeshifters aren't capable of that. Or are they?As with the first two stories in the series, there's a great cast of colorful paranormal characters. Adriel is still learning how to use her earth magic, and learning to work with a partner, the enigmatic White Feather, who uses the wind to his advantage. One of my favorite characters in the series is Matilda ("Mat"), the witch who runs a magic shop in town. Matilda has been smitten by love, and woe be it to the suitor who disappoints her - she's a powerful witch who can destroy entire city blocks when she's upset. Lynx, the young shapeshifter who's helped Adriel before, is back, and his turbulent romance with White Feather's sister Tara continues.As Adriel and White Feather get closer and closer to solving the murders, the action ramps up as the two realize their lives are in peril from a powerful practitioner of black arts that their own white magic may not be capable of defeating. The climactic scene wasn't quite as dramatic as the cataclysmic display of hellfire and damnation in the second book's ending, but the showdown with Adriel and White Feather fighting for their lives against the most deadly paranormal creature they've ever encountered was plenty exciting enough.Five stars and two thumbs up for Ms. Schneider's latest entry in the Moon Shadow series.