I devoured Author Blanco's latest paranormal feast, and I was more than sated with her unique blend of damaged souls and crazy characters. She starts the story off with one heck of a sex scene, and immediately I'm drawn in...just like that.
We meet down and out Silas, who seemingly gets a new lease on life after a strange encounter with people who don't seem real. Everything is fuzzy to the addict...until he realizes that fate has come to collect. Author Blanco has a way with description that lures you in as a reader, grasping onto your imagination and not letting go easily.
"She’s in my tub as I predicted, practically swimming around the seventy-two inch, recessed space. The first thing my eyes do is bounce to take in whatever glimpse of her the water affords— there’s none to be found. The water she’s swimming in is pitch black. I feel suspiciously like a kid on the verge of some kind of tantrum, and that only aggravates me more. The lights in the bathroom are off and the main source of illumination happens to be the dozens of candles floating in the air above my head. Shadows play off the white paint, the distressed, exposed brick wall behind the tub."
I was hooked so hard that I read this book in one sitting. By setting this story in New Orleans, it allowed author Blanco to bring in characters of myth that shock and awe the scenes with grit and mystical magic. And she's done her homework... All the characters are fully formed and three dimensional with clever dialogue that fits each of their personal narratives. And there are spells that crackle with authenticity.
""A million different aims, Twisted on the path, Casting all the blame, Incurring their full wrath. Strength of day, Malice of night, I rule over the creatures that manifest fright. Cruelty, pain, etch it in my name, Fading, Fading, Dying in the flames, Siblings that betray, Monsters bathed in shame, Let the righteous in this quarrel rise up and claim the game.”"
And the action scenes... Just wow. They grab a hold of your senses and give you thrills. I was so impressed with how this story came together. Under another less skilled paranormal writer, it may have veered into satire and parody. Author Blanco uses a deft hand to bring a wholly satisfying standalone novel to people like me who love a book that redefines well used tropes.