In short, it was an exciting, smart and funny book. Dr. Peeler knows how to let her characters grow and how to develop the story along with them. Jane's growth from the sad and isolated young woman in the first book to the increasingly confident and strong woman we see by the end of this book feels real. There's no instant heroism here, Jane has a lot of learning to do, socially, sexually, magically, etc., and her story is brought along in a way that feels real. That includes her relationship with Ryu. It was clear to me from the beginning that Ryu, while a great guy, just isn't the right guy for Jane. But she needed the experience of being with an worldly man, traveling a bit, and exploring her emotional and sexual sides, before she could be mature enough to have a deeper relationship. I love the way Jane's crush on Anyan develops as well, it just felt real. And fun! We've all had crushes, and fantasies about things actually working out with them. Watching those two slowly get closer feels like living out the fantasy in a small way. Ryu and Anyan are also symbolic of the fast life vs. the simple life, and it's always been clear what Jane prefers.
The story of what's happening in the magical world that Jane's been caught up in develops similarly, with increasing levels of jeopardy for Jane and the wider community with each book. This is a staple of series fiction that is used very well here and in the the set-up for the next book. In the first book there was what seemed to be a simple conflict. New levels of intrigue were developed over the last book and this one. And now the entire political and social aspects of the magical community have been turned upside down, both by the ongoing infertility issue in the magical community and by a very shocking event that totally took me by surprise. Jane involvement in these events has been established in a believable way; she's no Mary Jane with all of the answers and central to every situation. She's a woman who's been caught up in events beyond her control, but who's coming into her power magically and into her strength of will and bravery.
The humor in the story (including but by no means limited to Jane's internal dialogs with her libido) adds to but doesn't distract from the very solid story underneath. There is silliness but the book is far from silly. The banter adds to the story instead of becoming the story, as I see too often from books that try too hard to be funny.
I also really like that Dr. Peeler always introduces me to mythological stories that I've never seen before. While her take on the fae, or factions as she calls them, feels familiar enough to be easily accessible, she also mixes it up and keeps it interesting. And even her vampires and elves have an original twist.
Plus I totally dig Anyan. And his thighs.
My only complaint about the book was the much too frequent use of the word kerfuffle. I know Jane has a big vocabulary and I usually enjoy it. But it stuck out to me the first time and was irritating by the third. Small complaint, right?
So here's the summary: there's a reason this author teaches creative writing and writing of urban fantasy. She builds a solid story while including really exciting battles, poignant relationships, thrilling (and sometimes awkward) romance, lots of laugh out loud moments, and memorable characters. I've read a few books lately that were silly for silly's sake, throwing as many crazy, fantastic ideas together on a page as possible, combined with silly banter and lots of sex and explosions, and hoping that would be enough to keep readers interested. That doesn't work for me. This does. Tell me a real story, make me care about your characters, make me eager to turn every page, and make me both happy to reach the end and completely frustrated that it's over. Not so simple, but Dr. P. does it and does it well. The book is just right for what it's supposed to be: fun and funny, smart entertainment. Read it!