**Actual Rating 2.5**
Characters/Plot
I had a hard time with the characters. Let me rephrase, I had an issue with Amelia hooking up with her boss right out of the gate. Plus they had this insta-love connection that I just didn't buy (focused on the sexual attraction way too much that it felt fake). Plus Amelia's flippant attitude about the murder in the beginning did not make her feel professional at all, in fact she seemed to treat it like one big game. Add in that most days she seemed to set her own schedule and treated her job like a joke was very off-putting. To say the least I was not a big Amelia fan and Robert was even worse, but more believable as a character. On that note, Serafina was quite likeable. Thankfully the plot...well most of the plot, redeemed the story. The historical aspects of this story saved this book.
Overall
This book's writing needs some TLC. That is to say, it had so many redeeming qualities that were bogged down by stilted dialogue, poorly used tense, and lack of story cohesion. Add in logical fallacies in the plot and head hopping multiple times mid chapter (which I loath) and I struggled at times to continue.
That being said, I loved the setting in New Orleans. The author captured the charm and the mysticism. The supernatural aspect mostly enhanced the story (even if the characters reactions to it was utterly baffling). The mystery was real and the 'bad guy' felt like wind that was going to come and kill them off any second creating the right amount of tension. If the book had focused more on the historical aspects (which were much better written then any other parts of the book), this story would have been much more enjoyable.
Rating
2.5 stars (rounded down)
The settings, historical, and supernatural aspects couldn't fix bad writing/storytelling and a character I just couldn't seem to like.