Review: Great book but the cover doesn't fit the story
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2014
It was the morning of her twenty-sixth birthday, and Liv Johnston couldn’t shake the feeling that today was no ordinary day. Thus begins a supernatural romp through the streets of Glasgow, with side stops that cross dimensions and lead to worlds within worlds that a simple internet advertising office plodder, sending out emails that people hated to receive and tossed without a thought. But today is, truly, no ordinary day.Out the door on her way to work, Liv is interrupted by a courier – a courier with a very strange message, instructing her to fly from her home in Boston to Glasgow, and there to proceed to a certain house,on a certain street. Along with the message, there is an even stranger package. The Celtic Myths and Legends, by C.L. Dryfus. Huh? What in the world could it all mean?Tossing it all aside to think about later, Liv gets to her office, only to find that her job has been made redundant, as have the jobs of everyone else in her branch of the company. Well, darn. So, having a bit of savings, and an encouraging friend, Liv hops a plane to Glasgow, certain this must be some sort of joke – but who could resist a bit of mystery and adventure? Especially when you don’t have a ‘day job’ and could really use a bit of vacation.Liv soon finds that life, as she knows it, will never be the same. Thrust into a world she neither knows or understands, she still somehow feels at home, safe and secure. Though she truly is neither safe nor secure – and things are about to get a lot weirder.The hero character and love interest is Bastien, a Fomoiri Demon. Having lost his love over two hundred years ago, Bastien has withdrawn into himself and become even more of what he is – a warrior for the Guild, a group whose sole purpose is the protection of humans from the dark, whether it be physically or in the form of knowledge of the other races.Liv is a strong character, taking her new situation in stride while showing a lot of backbone and more than a bit of temper. I really liked that about her. She takes no nonsense, and doesn’t fawn and whine over Bastien, the (of course) hunky and drool-worthy Demon. She handles herself well under the circumstances and doesn’t back down from anyone – even a bad tempered, hostile Demon who is determined to cut her out of Bastien’s life – and out of life all together.There are great women characters in the book. A meddling Witch, Carman: Carman had worked for ages to build a solid reputation as an evil Witch so that most other beings, especially humans, left her alone to do as she pleased.” I loved her to pieces, good hearted (though inept) meddling and all. Leanan is the mother of all Vampires, and has a wicked sense of humour and is more than willing to get into trouble right alongside Carman. Well, she is the mother of the good Vampires, that is. Those bad ones? They are called Droch Fhola, and are the descendants of Abhartach. . . Well, that is a whole other story. Then there is the Kelpie, the Grandmother who isn’t a grandmother at all, and one bad ass Warrior Goddess with a nasty attitude and an even worse temper. How cool is all that?The only thing I didn’t like about the book, honestly, is the cover. TERRIBLE cover for this particular book. Yes, yes, you are all pretty with your naked, oiled up chest. Get over it. This book is more about Liv than the not-quite-bright Demon Boy. And yet, she is nowhere to be found on the cover! That stinks. Really. Ok, right, fine. Some people want to get all hot and bothered over covers, and Demon Boy is pretty as a ‘picture,’ I will give you that. But this is a LOT more than a simple erotica, and the cover really blows for a book with a good story line and great characters. I hope it gets changed, but I won’t hold my breath.I received this book from Bookplex in return for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.