Review: Awesome urban fantasy crime suspense series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 20, 2011
Forgive the odd spelling, but I don't know which word is making this review rebounce!I loved this book a lot. It's actually two books in one, with two different cases investigated by Roan.Roan and Paris are infected by a virus that causes them to shift to felines five days a month. They are partners in life and partners in their private investigation agency. During their viral cycle Roan becomes a lion and Paris a tiger. In their changed form they have to lock themselves up in order not to be on the loose ad risk to kill someone.Roan and Paris have different personalities but they fit perfectly together. Roan is more laid back, reserved, with a dry humor and smarta$$ comments. He doesn't try to captivate the sympathies of the people he meets, on the contrary, he deals with them at his own terms. He was also born infected and, as the stories progress, we can see how this makes him like no one else. Paris is extremely handsome, a charmer, he is bisexual, a born actor, a guy who doesn't need to convince people to do something, because he manipulates them into doing it. Being a tiger he knows that he is on borrowed time, because his virus is the most debilitating one and he knows he will die young.Roan and Paris have to face a society which is hostile to them because they are infected and they are gays. Their relationship is probably the most precious thing they have and even if they don't tell each other everything, they understand each other profoundly. It's very touching to see how one anticipates what's troubling the other and how they have to drop the bull$h!t, because they can smell or read each other perfectly. The book has no sex, but it doesn't detract from the attraction they feel, it shines through the pages, even if the mood of the book is rather dark and Roan is a jaded man.The book combines a couple of elements I love: the investigation and urban fantasy. It's not a book where you have to figure out the killer, because the process is more important than the result. The paranormal element adds a bitter edge to the world where Roan and Paris live, since it's not magic, it's a disease, it's a virus with odds effect.Knowing from the beginning that Paris' health is in danger gives a sense of doom that makes me hurt, and I don't even know if this book could be defined as romance, but if you've never read m/m, I'd highly recommend this book.