Review: Fantastic follow-up to a stellar debut!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 29, 2013
After finishing Deer In Headlights, the first book in the series, I was hooked. It was funny, witty, interesting and romantic. To have been a debut novel it was very well written and upon going into Snake In The Grass I wondered if this one would be just as funny and witty. What I got was nothing like what I expected. Where Deer In Headlights was funny, sarcastic and upbeat, Snake In The Grass takes a more serious turn. Now that all the players have been introduced the games get more fierce. In this installment Aphrodite (Dita for short) is pitted against longtime on again off again rival and lover, Ares. He wants to win so he can finally claim her as his once and for all and stops at nothing to get what he wants. With Ares being the God Of War his choice in a human is more dark and mysterious than we saw in Deer In Headlights with Dean.Enter Dillon. Irish Descent. Bare knuckle fighter and complete bada** dude nobody wants to tangle with, his reputation in the ring is unmatched. He never loses and Ares believes him to be the one to finally take Dita down. Dillon has a tragic past that fuels his inner demons and makes him dangerous to anyone who gets close to him when he lets the hold on his control loose. Ares believes Dillon is way too damaged to actually be in a relationship. I have an extreme emotional attachment to Dillon's character and it's unexplainable. His character was dark, broody and fierce but there was something about him I couldn't help but be drawn to. Finding out that he was abused by his drunken father and being witness to something horrible as a young boy that changed the life of him and his brother solidified my devotion to him. Throughout his childhood he was subjected to beatings in place of his younger brother Owen. Dillon did whatever he could to protect him and often became a target because of it. He doesn't think he can be in a relationship because when he loses his temper, the only person who can bring him back is Owen. Until He meets Kat..Kat is just as messed up being one of two daughters to a secretive Japanese mafia enforcer named Tanaka Katsu. Growing up Kat had to look out for her sister Kiki due to her father's enemies posing a threat to their safety. When the story opens the sisters are on the run from Kiki's extremely volatile ex boyfriend Eric. Leaving everything they love in Vegas they head to be with their father in New york to hide out. When the girls begin working at a local Irish pub/bar they are thrust into the lives of Dillon and Owen. Kat's character was one of those females I look up to. She was fierce, independent and protective. She felt that it was her job to look after Kiki and kept herself from serious romantic entanglements so she didn't lose her head in love. What surprised me the most about her character was her love of street racing. She turned out to be kicka** behind the wheel and in a sport dominated by testosterone she encounters a few men who hate losing. Especially to a woman. Behind her tough outer exterior she had a vulnerable side that called to the mother bear inside me. My heart went out to her having such serious responsibility thrust upon her at a young age. Apparently the Japs take their promises seriously and Kat felt her promise to her father was of the highest importance.The main thing I loved about this book and the series in general is how you get two COMPLETELY different stories within one book. Not only are the Gods in competition in this one also but the story between Dita and Ares develops into this emotional entity you can feel brewing from the start. For thousands of years Dita has loved Adonis and has pined for her murdered love. When she finds out the truth behind the events that took the life of her beloved, nothing will be left standing in the aftermath of her wrath. The relationship between Kat and Dillon is going on at the same time also and getting to watch Dita work her magic on them was very rewarding. These two people needed each other to be able to heal from their past experiences and by the time everything was resolved I was an emotional mess. Snake in The Grass was so well written that once you get settled into one side of the story the landscape changes and you get to take a break from one side and get to another. It never felt jarring or choppy and was so well written that I got lost in the plot. I was completely sucked into this world and for moments at a time almost forgot that this was Paranormal/Supernatural in nature. Yes it's about Greek Gods but the way it is written, with the Gods living in a modern setting takes you out of the realm of the unbelievable and makes you actually think this world exists. I love when a book can do that, I think it shows signs of a phenomenal writer. To be able to tell a story and make you forgot it's a story.The secondary characters pulled me into their world just as much as all the main players. Katsu and Kim, the parents to Kat and Kiki became this amazing super couple in this book for me. I found myself getting small glimpses of them through their kids' eyes and wondered to myself what their story was. How did they meet? Fall in Love? and how have they stayed together through his marriage to another woman and her living on the other side of the country. The author pulls you into not only the Gods' world but the backup characters as well. It's very rare that I get drawn so heavily into the secondary characters that I beg for a book about them but with Katsu and Kim their relationship came off as so amazingly genuine and romantic that I couldn't help but want more from them.The relationship between Owen and Kiki served as the catalyst to Dillon and Kat's union and for that alone I love them. They were a great supporting set of characters and watching Owen be so sweet to Kiki was refreshing after seeing her suffer at the hands of her ex.Overall Snake In The Grass was an even bigger win for me than Deer In Headlights. It's more emotionally intense, romantic and Dramatic and proves this author knows how to write both humor and heart. I absolutely loved this story and can't recommend both books in the series enough.