Review: Slice and dice excitment!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 8, 2013
BLOOD IN THE STARS is a paranormal romance novel that takes place in a contemporary setting. Chicago provides a neat backdrop for the story. I easily envisioned the novel's action sequences set against the iconic imagery of the Windy City.The heroine, Daria Mathews, is an unaware heiress to developing mystic powers. The forces of darkness are out to destroy her but she has a guardian in the form of Jason, the hero. Following ten unsuccessful blind dates over the course of a month, Daria's luck is about to take a turn for the worse. First, her date turns into a winged demon and tries to kill her. The poor woman somehow convinces herself that the attack was nothing but a nightmare. She trusting in what must be the most horrible dating service in the world, she goes out on yet another blind date.  This time she gets trapped in a bathroom and someone sets a supernatural fire.  I initially had trouble connecting with Daria because of the rapid pacing of the first few chapters, but I concluded that she seriously needed to rethink her dating choices! :)Our hero, Jason, does everything heroes are supposed to do. He comes to the heroine's rescue (more than once) just in the nick of time. He's handsome, powerful, mysterious and a member of an ancient (super-secret) society of paranormal beings. He has a cool sword. He also demonstrates possessive tendencies toward the heroine that made me uncomfortable.  However, the hero and heroine share an immediate attraction and it becomes clear they are meant to be together.  Love scenes have a sweet heat rating.BLOOD IN THE STARS contains a lot of conflict, including plenty of fight scenes. There are a variety of interesting and frightening monsters to capture the reader's imagination. There were scenes I felt should have been deleted to speed the pacing when it dragged. There are also sections when the author slips into passive voice that should have been caught in editing. Jason's unusual and unusually long-lived family makes up many of the most important secondary characters within the story.  Of them, I found Alastor to be intriguing and wanted to know more about him. The book has the potential to become a really exciting urban fantasy series and I'm looking forward to seeing where the author takes us.Urban fantasy fans who like a lot of action with their romance  will enjoy BLOOD IN THE STARS. Happy reading!I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.