(Careful! While the Shayne Davies series can be read as a stand-alone, this book does reveal certain spoilers from the Nora Jacobs series, so be warned! See the recommended reading order below for reading both series together.)
Sharing a life with Jay Brenner is everything Shayne hoped it would be: date nights out, mornings sleeping in, and full access to his heart, body, and mind. Life would be perfect…if there weren’t half a dozen underworld villains who want them dead. They can’t step one foot outside without somebody trying to kill them. The Detroit underworld is lethal for even the most powerful beings, so how in the world will Shayne be able to protect a mere human? If vampires and demons don’t kill her, the constant worrying will. Everybody knows that love always comes with risk, but c’mon, this is ridiculous.
To make matters worse, Brenner discovers a major clue in the case of the revenants who killed his sister, and now there’s no stopping him from picking a fight they can’t possibly win. Shayne’s first instinct is to run and hide, to stay out of sight. But as deadly threats, both old and new, begin to pile up, she must accept the hard truth: the only way to have any kind of life with Brenner is to stop running, face their enemies head on, and end this fight. All Brenner wants is to avenge his sister, no matter the cost, but for Shayne, the only success that matters is for Brenner to still be alive when the dust settles.
Recommended reading order for the Underworld books (Nora Jacobs and Shayne Davies): - Don't Rush Me (Nora Jacobs #1) - Don't Cheat Me (Nora Jacobs #2) - The Devil to Pay (Shayne Davies #1) - Don't Bait Me (Nora Jacobs #3) - Magic in Those Eyes (Shayne Davies #2) - Don't Tempt Me (Nora Jacobs #4) - Heart and Soul (Shayne Davies #3)
Jackie May started out writing young adult and contemporary romance under the name Kelly Oram, but she can’t seem to stay in one lane and loves all things paranormal so Jackie May was born. She loves playing RPGs and has her own set of dice that no one is allowed to roll but her. Unfortunately, those dice are cursed and only roll high numbers when she’s taking damage. Since that usually doesn’t work out so well for her, she has to achieve her victories and happy endings through her books. (After torturing her characters for a while first, of course.) She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat, Vader. (Yes, as in Darth.)
I confess that when I was alerted to the release of this book that I’d presumed the authors had abandoned the series.
As it is, on the reread to remind myself of the previous books, although I generally like the style of the Shayne Davies series, I equally disliked the Snora Jacobs-thing. The books are well-written for the most part (despite making obvious editing mistakes using “your” instead of “you’re”) and I like the mysteries, but Nora is a chronic disappointment. Aside from using an Alexis Bledel lookalike for the covers, the authors fall face first into the trap of making Nora an all-powerful Mary Sue. Quite literally ever man who ever crosses paths with Nora falls in love with her instantaneously. Every single addition to the series ratchets up Nora’s “appeal” and power. She starts book 1 down on her luck and ends up as the vaunted, venerated all-powerful God-Queen of the Underworld by book 4. Like I haven’t read that before. Yawn. In sharp contrast, Shayne doesn’t have every single person who ever crosses her path throwing themselves on the ground to prostrate themselves at her feet. She not only has to work for a living, she also has to fight tooth and nail to both get the job and get the job done. If Nora had a fingernail sliver’s worth of Shayne’s independence or hardship, she’d be a far more interesting character and the books would be better for it.
Unfortunately, given the extended hiatus between books 2 and 3 of the Shayne Davies series, the authors have decided to revisit Nora Jacobs. Again. And now she can add Shayne Davies to her list of admirers. Big whoop. If the authors ever get around to finishing the Davies series, book 4 is set up to be yet another ode to Nora and the multitudes of men who worship her.
This was a lot better than the first two installments in the series for me. Yes, it does have a very different vibe from the Nora Jacobs series, and Shane doesn't come across as all that likeable initially but she's growing on me - her cleverness and creativity, her courage in the face of danger and how she takes risks to protect others.
And I especially liked seeing Shane and Jay together! Jay is so sweet, caring, understanding, supportive, and thoughtful! Shane is very caring, protective and understanding too. It's not easy navigating the Underworld with no pack for a lowly fox shifter when everybody seems to have it out for you.
This was a lot more intriguing and entertaining, and I liked where things are going for a couple of the supporting characters too. It was really nice to see Shane, Jay, Charlotte and Russo working together, despite the ending. Damn it, Jay! :/
One more book to go! Maybe in a couple years I'll reread both these series in the intended order. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I like Nora Jacobs but I love Shayne Davies!! I enjoyed this book so much!! It's action packed and the ending is spectacular! There wasn't much Elle in the story which I was sad about because I love her too but she played her part in the story unfolding. We get to know more about Hellerman's backstory and Madison West's. We get to meet Brenner's police partner. We see fallout from Shayne leaving her pack.
It feels like I have been waiting a long time for this book and the next and final one in the series won't be released until next year but I am willing to wait if it is as good as this one. I will satisfy myself by anticipating the audiobook as I really like the narrator for this series.
Loved it...want more. I love the writing style of this dynamic duo. The book is full of humor, oh no moments, sad moment and $%$$ ya moments. Definitely recommend!!!
https://songedunenuitdete.com/2021/10... Ce troisième tome pour moi est un vrai coup de cœur. Je pensais que maintenant que Shayne et Brenner étaient ensemble, ça serait moins piquant, eh bien… vous savez quoi ? C’est à ce jour le meilleur de la série ! Oh mon Dieu ! Je ne m’en remets pas ! Il y a tout dans cette suite : action, amour, rebondissements, révélations et surprises avec les ascenseurs émotionnels, très nombreux, qui vont bien avec. J’ai refermé ce tome avant-hier soir le cœur battant avec l’envie dévorante de savoir ce qui allait arriver ensuite. Mais il va falloir attendre un moment.
Dans cette suite, j’ai trouvé Shayne quelque peu plus assagie même si elle garde son caractère bien trempé et ses blagues connues d’elle seule. Sa relation avec Brenner n’est ni mièvre et encore moins insipide. Ils ont beau être ensemble, rien n’est acquis ou réglé pour autant. Shayne a fait une croix sur sa meute et Brenner cherche toujours à venger sa sœur.
C’est là que tout s’accélère ! Parce qu’avec Hillerman et le collègue de Brenner, Russo (il y a une scène avec lui d’anthologie, croyez-moi !), nos ami. e. s sont à deux doigts de réussir à trouver ceux qui ont tué la sœur de Brenner et l’époux de Charlotte Hillerman.
Et croyez-moi, je n’ai pas pu lâcher le livre parce que nos deux auteur. e. s sadiques arrivent même à faire quelques petits cliffhanger en fin de chapitre. Mon cœur a failli ne pas s’en remettre d’ailleurs. En tout cas, l’intrigue est super bien menée, les personnages bien campés. Comment ne pas éprouver d’amour et d’empathie pour Shayne ?! Cette petite renarde est aussi loufoque qu’attendrissante. Il y a des moments où j’ai même eu tellement d’empathie pour elle que j’ai failli verser quelques larmes. Les autres personnages ne sont pas non plus en reste ! Et cerise sur le gâteau, Nora Jacobs fait enfin son apparition, reliant de manière plus forte son propre arc à celui de Shayne.
La fin est… je ne m’y attendais pas pour tout vous dire. Pourtant, certaines choses auraient dû me mettre la puce à l’oreille. Bref. J’ai adoré ma lecture. Shayne Davies et une héroïne badass bien campée qui mérite que vous fassiez sa connaissance. Drôle, sexy avec autant d’amour que d’humour et le tout secoué par de sacrés rebondissements pour pimenter ce troisième tome.
Je ne suis pas ressortie de cette lecture indemne ! Et je prie pour que les auteur. e. s écrivent rapidement la suite !
Ayant beaucoup aimé les deux opus précédents, c’est ravie que je me suis plongé dans ce troisième tome. Nous retrouvons notre Shayne fidèle à elle-même qui maintenant vie son idylle avec Jay dans leur maison où le chauffage laisse à désirer. Cependant, le calme et la paix ne sont pas encore à l’ordre du jour et bien des épreuves les attendent. J’aime toujours cet humour particulier qu’à Shayne, sarcastique, rentre-dedans mais pas trop vulgaire. C’est une bombe d’énergie qui essaie de voir le positif partout, de vivre sa vie sans dépendre de son clan. Jay est déterminé à trouver les meurtriers de sa sœur, il est étrangement résistant pour un humain mais il peut aussi compter sur Danny son collègue qui le suit depuis Chicago. Nous retrouvons aussi Hillerman, Nick et Nora que je découvre ici car je n’ai pas lu la tétralogie portant sur ce personnage. Pour l’intrigue, c’est un arbre avec de nombreuses branches qui s’entrecroisent et les pièces du puzzle commencent enfin à se mettre en place. Il y a toujours autant d’action et de rebondissements, nos héros ne sont pas épargnés par les blessures et les bleus à l’âme. Concernant la dernière partie du récit, je ne m’attendais pas à ça et cela augure encore une suite à cent à l’heure. J’espère vraiment que la version française du tome 4 ne se fera pas trop attendre car je reste sur ma faim. Pour conclure, ce troisième tome fut un régal. Drôle, divertissant, dangereux mais surtout sans prise de tête et agréable à lire. Des personnages attachants et parfois loufoques. Un cocktail que j’ai adoré. https://la-bibliotheque-du-labyrinthe...
Well, this was an interesting ride. As in the previous books, action does not let up in this one, in fact I think it even ratchets up a bit. There is plenty of sneaking, running, on the spot thinking, plotting and fun turns to keep the reader occupied. Shayne is her snarky self with few tender moments to show how deep she actually feels everything. As Russo would say "Loving it" . Hillerman gets more to her character as well, revealing how and why she is the way she is.
If I have to complain about anything at all, then I would complain about mixing this series more with Nora Jacobs series. While I liked her books, this crossover is not a good one. Especially with how her men had unpleasant presence in these series. I am afraid it means that the next book will take the focus off our fox and put it back in worshipping Nora and her clan. Personally, I think this was not a good move on authors part at all. But, hell, I will read the next book when it will come out and hope Noras clan presence will be kept to bare minimum. I don't want Shayne to fall under Noras spell and I don't really look forward to descriptions of how wonderful Nora is and how she will save the day. I was done and over with her series.
Anyway-great action book with minimum romance and even that is kept only to feelings and nothing physical.
I thought I might have missed something and now realize that I read book 3 before 2. It did jump forward. So with that... I wasn't loving this as much as the first. Mostly it is the chemistry that was lacking a bit yet that could be the jump also. After saying that, the plot just was dragging for me and I didn't find humor in it. The furthering of our characters was quite good but the main plot with the demons was a bit inane. So with that, it ends in a cliffhanger, big major cliffhanger. What we get instead is a epilogue that crosses the two series set in this world and we are set for Nora to be a big part of the next book. Really this series is quite different as Shayne is go get it perky with an eye to everything and able to pick out the clues. I love the character but so far the main plots just drag and bring it down. Right now I'll give this a 3 but I felt more like 2.5 and bumping down for the CH but since I really don't know if I would feel more connected to the plot if I had the 2nd book. I bump it up. The characters are still great
This is the funniest UF series that I’ve read in a long time. I had to put book 2 down last night bc my husband was trying to sleep, and I couldn’t stop lol’ing. I was hiding under the covers like a kid, giggling to myself, and then a huge laugh would come out of nowhere. The dogs took it that it was time to play, and chaos ensued.
I fell in love with Shayne in book 1, and absolutely loved her character growth. Her friendship with Elle is great. I wish there were more strong female friendships in books these days. And I really hope we get an Elle spinoff. She (and her complex sorcerer powers/position in society) is probably my favorite side character. The slow burn Brenner is perfection (even though I wish we got some on-page steam). That bromance with Brenner and Russo made Russo go from a small side character, to a character that needs his own book. And Hillerman….where to even start. That plot twist, I did not see coming. Like, not one bit. And I wanna know so much more about her (like her + Russo in a new spin-off).
3.5 star listen finally we have our mmc and fmc together but nothing is as it seems with the coyotes in her pack.
the team is on the hunt of the revenants and i do really enjoy the side characters in this book. i thought this was a trilogy but the book ends in a hook that we need answers too. So here ill sit waiting for the forth one releases.
im yet to read nora jacobs so looking forward to reading that one in the mean time.. there is no smut in this series, no detailed sex scenes and limited steam which to me is a little unfortunate.
While set in the same universe as Norah Jacobs, this series couldn't be more different. Shane is kick ass, sassy and just plain crass. She lacks self esteem but isn't the wounded soul Norah is. In fact, she hates Norah! Lol I live the contrast between the two leads, and I do hope that Shayne ends up with a harem of ger own . This is a great spin off series.
I wasn't sure about this. It took a while for me to get through thus. It started okay but not enthralling. It was easy to put down. So I did. But I also wanted to finish it. The ending brought the book back from the dead, really pulled me in. So overall it gets a 3 because I didn't love it until about 80% in, then wow.
I still love cocky, dry, snarky Shayne and this crazy supernatural CSI urban fantasy world of Detroit, but this one was a bit slow in parts, and I'm not super fond of how lovey-dovey she's gotten with Brenner. But the other characters are developing in fascinating ways, and the story definitely picked up at the end! I'm 100% grabbing the next one as soon as it's out.
This story didn’t keep my attention and I had to force myself to finish it. At this point, I don’t think I will finish the series and I don’t feel any interest on how it ends. I still disliked it when the fourth wall was broken and the mc talked to the readers. It is very jarring for me and immediately pulls me from the story.
This was absolutely the perfect way for this story to go!! I can’t even be salty about having to wait almost a year for the next book because.... WOW! I’ve been waiting to see if and imagining how the “meet” would go down and it was simply perfection. Love it!!
We all need a Shayne Davies in our lives. And her inner monologue, and some of the things she comes out with had me choking in laughter. Love these books and can't wait for the next one so looking forward to Nora and Shayne working together.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I recommend this book, and the series in which it is, to readers who love well written Urban Fantasy with kick a** characters that have each others backs. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book that combines Nora Jacob's group with the smaller group of Shayne's.
I love Jackie May, but the first half of this book took me forever to get through. The second half I couldn't put down. The ending was also a pleasant surprise.
The best one so far. Shayne is less bratty, Hillerman is still running things, Brenner becomes likable, and Russo is my favorite along with Elvira. There’s a lot more action and fewer Shayne tantrums.
It’s been a long time since I was so obsessed with a storyline and world! Alternately hanging on the edge of my seat and laughing out loud with this book!
DNF. Shayne Davies is a terrible character that is foolish, impetuous & jealous. I had to stop after about three chapters in. It’s no wonder the other characters barely tolerate her.
Was hit and miss for me, parts were good, parts were slow and confusing…. The ending wasn’t what I expected and I wonder if there is another book to come?