Review: Sleight of Hand
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 26, 2009
Sickly Edwin is on a train, traveling with his mother and sister to his sister's fiancé, when he begins to have odd dreams.  Then he meets the magician, Satori, and things get even stranger.  With a history of spells of black despair, Edwin can't be sure if his attraction to the strange magician is real or not...Sleight of Hand is an odd and hot paranormal tale in which things are not as they seem.  Katrina Strauss did an excellent job of evoking an atmosphere that was mysterious, and even a little spooky.  I couldn't always determine what was reality and what wasn't right away, which kept me reading to find out.  It was easy to sympathize with fragile, earnest Edwin.  Satori was a bit harder to get a handle on.  His motives were murky and although he clearly wanted Edwin, I wasn't sure I bought that he loved him.  There's a big twist at the end that sort of explains Satori's behavior, and quite a few other things.  Overall, Sleight of Hand's hot, kind of creepy vibe held my interest, and I enjoyed the story.  While the romance part might not have been the most convincing I've read, Sleight of Hand was certainly a memorable and page-turning tale.CassieReviewed for Joyfully Reviewed