Review: Enchanted Immortals 4: The Vixen by C.J. Pinard
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2013
Sexiness, sassiness and sophistication are what you can expect from Kathryn Jones in C.J. Pinard's fourth instalment in this brilliant urban paranormal Enchanted Immortals series, The Vixen. The Vixen takes the reader on a journey through Kathryn's past, from the death of her parents and her sleazy, rough life in Chicago, right on through to Kathryn becoming an Immortal.After leaving Chicago Kathryn settled in LA, but after having a tragic experience and then focusing completely on policing the vampires and shapeshifters, does she then meet the man of her dreams? Although The Vixen concentrates on Kathryn's character and her story I do love how the various groups, i.e. shapeshifters, vampires, sylphs and Immortals, have their own agendas/stories - but it is the Treaty that all of these species have all made with the Zie Council which bring them all together.We begin The Vixen with a dramatic and effective prologue which engages the reader from the off. Poor little Kathryn as a youngster, desperate cold and hungry, being led by her mother to a shelter to escape her father. The reader already has a sense that Kathryn's father is violent and abusive and can therefore understand why her mother is running. However, Kathryn is a scared little girl; scared of her father and scared of running to the unknown.  The Vixen has it's fair share of action and horror and the prologue is no exception to the latter! From this short piece of writing alone, the reader is connected to Kathryn and you have to continue on the journey of this desolate soul.As with all of the Enchanted Immortals books, The Vixen switched from past to present. C.J. writes in such a way to make the story easy to follow and keeps the excitement flowing as one moment we're reading about the 1920's and then present day, back to the 1930's. The story is constantly keeping pace and going back and forth between the vamps, shifters, immortals, etc, keeping the reader informed on the different events taking place. The reader is reminded of how Kathryn met up with Jonathan, how Thomas became an Immortal and also Tony Bianchi - an investigator with the BSI (Bureau of Supernatural Investigation).The reader is also reminded of the shifter, Sheena, and what happened to her. For those that do not know and have not read the previous books of the series - this is a revelation and as well as a great recap, making The Vixen well written and informative enough to read as a stand alone. However, I would recommend that all books of the series should be read as they are all fantastic and each book focuses on a different character:-Enchanted Immortals - Thomas' storyEnchanted Immortals 2: The Vortex - Jonathan's storyEnchanted Immortals 3: The Vampyre - Pascal's storyHaving each book focus on a different character enables the reader to come up close and personal with each one and thus helping to empathise and connect with each character as well as providing a full background for the whole series.Before reading The Vixen I viewed Kathryn as a more supportive character as Jonathan and Thomas, espeically Jonathan, were seen to be the heroes. In the Vixen Kathryn comes to the fore and I now see her as an equal, especially as she is so bold. The Immortals also have their own superpower: Jonathan is extremely strong; Thomas is very fast; and Kathryn can read minds. This makes all of them individually capable of surviving well on their own. As a team they are extremely  powerful.Poor Thomas is left waiting for news of pregnant Malina as she has left their apartment for a short while to contemplate what to do about her future. Being a sylph, after giving birth she will become a mortal, leaving Thomas and her child to carry on without her once she dies. Malina has experimented with the Enchantment in the hope that she would keep her immortality, however thus far no experiment has worked. Thomas is prepared to become a mortal with her, however this would leave their child, not to mention his best friend, Jonathan, without him. Sylph Serina is put into a difficult situation as Malina stays with her but would rather Serina not mention it until she has had time to think.Shapeshifters Seth and Malachi are desperate to be released from the Island's prison. Being cooped up is not doing them all that good, especially when they need to turn and their instinct urges them to hunt. However, after asking for Melina on several occasions, will she finally allow for their release? Not only are Seth and Malachi seeking their release, there is also a discovery that they make. How will this affect them? Has prison helped them learn their lesson, or are they still up to no good? I must admit there was a part of me that felt sorry for Seth. Meanwhile, a new bar, The Polecat, is opening up in town and is run by shapeshifters. The Immortals and BSI go quietly to check it out.Since the demise of vampire Pascal, Angel is looking for a more suitable leader for the remaining vamps. Brandon has taken it upon himself to lead but it seems to have all gone to his head and the others are quite young to lead. Angel visits an elderly human/ex-vamp, Darius, to discuss her plans. The reader is instantly given the impression that Darius is similar to Samuel L. Jackson in both looks and personality. After I thought this, I smiled to myself when it was mentioned in the book which is an example of how clear C.J. Pinard writes.Although the end of the story does wrap up quite nicely, the epilogue leaves the reader hoping for more. What becomes of Angel? Will Seth and Malachi revert to their old ways after the revelation they have learnt? The Vixen, unfortunately is meant to be the concluding book of the series and in all honesty the series could be left as it is. However, there are so many characters that could go on to do more that I cannot help but try to persuade C.J. to write another.There is the novella, BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, that will be released at a later date. I cannot wait for this as the reader experiences an 'X-files' feel when reading about these guys. It is absolutely fantastic stuff - C.J is one of my favourite authors as her work is so full of life, full of different characters, so exciting and action-packed. If you haven't had a C.J. Pinard experience yet then you have to buy these books. You won't be disappointed!I received Enchanted Immortals 4: The Vixen from the author, C.J. Pinard, gratefully. In return for her kindness and because I absolutely love this series I have written an honest and fair review.