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Eshu Chronicles #1
Given
Black History Month; African American Historical Paranormal Shape-shifter
Despite the danger of working on the Underground Railroad and being stalked by vengeful witches, Eshu shifter Jacob is determined to wed and bed the gorgeous Mary Katherine, though not necessarily in that order.
As a member of Eshu, those who can shift into any animal at will, Jacob Adams is used to knowing and getting what he wants. And when he meets Mary Katherine Day as they work together on the Underground Railroad, he not only knows that she’s going to be his wife, but he expects her to accept her fate willingly. A businesswoman of independent means, Mary Katherine has no interest in marrying, which to her mind is bondage only slightly less vile than the slavery she works so hard to help others escape.
Jacob embarks on a campaign to lure her into his bed by awakening her virginal body to the delights to be found there. Though she struggles against her sensual nature, Mary Katherine eventually succumbs to the irresistible lure. Initially she’s convinced that they can maintain their sexual relationship without marriage, but their passion is too intense to hide in such a small town.
But marriage is just the first hurdle; then there's the enemies and the secrets that threaten to destroy their lives.
Despite the danger of working on the Underground Railroad and being stalked by vengeful witches, Eshu shifter Jacob is determined to wed and bed the gorgeous Mary Katherine, though not necessarily in that order.
As a member of Eshu, those who can shift into any animal at will, Jacob Adams is used to knowing and getting what he wants. And when he meets Mary Katherine Day as they work together on the Underground Railroad, he not only knows that she’s going to be his wife, but he expects her to accept her fate willingly. A businesswoman of independent means, Mary Katherine has no interest in marrying, which to her mind is bondage only slightly less vile than the slavery she works so hard to help others escape.
Jacob embarks on a campaign to lure her into his bed by awakening her virginal body to the delights to be found there. Though she struggles against her sensual nature, Mary Katherine eventually succumbs to the irresistible lure. Initially she’s convinced that they can maintain their sexual relationship without marriage, but their passion is too intense to hide in such a small town.
But marriage is just the first hurdle; then there's the enemies and the secrets that threaten to destroy their lives.
120 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2010
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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August 30, 2012This was a really enjoyable book! Ultimately, I think the mix of romance and paranormal thriller didn't work, because it was so unbalanced in favor of the romance. The bad guys seemed to attack at moments that were awfully convenient for the emotional development of the relationship. Aside from that, however, everything about this book worked. The lead guy was kind of a dick, but in a likable way, and UST was nicely done (loved the bathtub scene). The sex scenes were hot. I loved the fact that the heroine was a more mature woman who was pretty sure about what she wanted in life, what she'd give up and compromise on and what she'd hold her ground on.
Another positive: a secondary strong female character. There's a great discussion between the women about nascent feminism and race relations that gives a history lesson without being preachy. I loved that part of the book.
I'm definitely going to pick up the sequel at some point, although I'm concerned about how cardboard the bad guys are. Still, the unique approach of this book actually lured me into reading a shifter book (which I generally avoid like the plague).
Highly recommended for people who want a unique historical paranormal romance book and don't mind that the suspense plays second fiddle to the romance.
Another positive: a secondary strong female character. There's a great discussion between the women about nascent feminism and race relations that gives a history lesson without being preachy. I loved that part of the book.
I'm definitely going to pick up the sequel at some point, although I'm concerned about how cardboard the bad guys are. Still, the unique approach of this book actually lured me into reading a shifter book (which I generally avoid like the plague).
Highly recommended for people who want a unique historical paranormal romance book and don't mind that the suspense plays second fiddle to the romance.
September 22, 2018
I'm a sucker for historical shapeshifters
January 2, 2025
A quick, fun read. Felt rushed, though.
March 9, 2014
Given is the first entry in a series set in Ohio in 1850, a time when the Underground Railroad is actively ferrying runaway slaves from the Deep South to freedom up north. The authors toss in some fantasy elements into the mix: we have the Eshu, folks that can change into animal forms at will, and were once part of a failed crusade to eliminate the agents of evil, Thakathi, from this world. The Thakati would clearly want payback, and it seems like they are willing to wait until it's time to strike.
In this story, Mary Katherine Day is a conductor, doing her part to give her "passengers" shelter and some comfort before they move on to their next stop. Also in the neighborhood choo-choo train brigade is Jacob Adams, who makes her naughty bits tingle every time he's within her sight. When he actively makes the moves to get into her bloomers, how is a woman to resist? Too bad he neglects to inform her that he's an Eshu who favors the bear form before she gets a glimpse of his ursine assets, and that's even before he drops another bombshell that would make her go, "What? Oh no, you didn't!"
Mary Katherine is a pretty memorable heroine. She's feisty in a good way, she's capable, and she doesn't take any crap from anybody, not even Jacob. I like her, although there are times when she seems to be a little too capable to the point that I have to wonder how she came to be how she is in the story. There has to be an interesting story there, surely. Jacob is stubborn - oh boy, he really is - and he has some way to go before he gets that "communicating effectively with your partner" thing right. However, the authors manage to make his mule-headed moments more amusing than obnoxious, and it also helps that I'm convinced that Mary Katherine knows how to handle this man when he gets too overbearing.
Like many Loose Id titles, this one seems to lose track of the plot once the characters start getting physical, and the sex goes on for a bit until any momentum in the plot up to that point is completely dissipated. Indeed, I feel that the story's biggest flaw here is its inability to balance its paranormal and romantic/erotic elements. The story starts out with a compelling prologue about the Eshu's failure to take out the bad guys, but when the story moves to 1850, the focus is limited to basically Mary Katherine and Jacob getting it on, with some loose ends in their relationship wrapped up in last few chapters.
Sure, the bad guys show up now and then, but their scenes feel like pure filler. The epic scope, the battle of good versus evil, everything about the prologue - these elements seem largely disconnected from the rest of the story, to the point that I actually wonder why they are included in the final package.
The romance is pretty fun to follow, if a bit on the under-developed side at times, but I can't help feeling that the story ultimately doesn't know what it wants to be. If the bulk of the paranormal elements are removed and substituted for more down-to-earth elements, such as if this was a straightforward historical romance, it would still work pretty well. And that's the problem in a nutshell. Why serve a paranormal historical romance in such a rarely-used setting if the paranormal elements end up just sitting there looking pretty and doing not much else?
In this story, Mary Katherine Day is a conductor, doing her part to give her "passengers" shelter and some comfort before they move on to their next stop. Also in the neighborhood choo-choo train brigade is Jacob Adams, who makes her naughty bits tingle every time he's within her sight. When he actively makes the moves to get into her bloomers, how is a woman to resist? Too bad he neglects to inform her that he's an Eshu who favors the bear form before she gets a glimpse of his ursine assets, and that's even before he drops another bombshell that would make her go, "What? Oh no, you didn't!"
Mary Katherine is a pretty memorable heroine. She's feisty in a good way, she's capable, and she doesn't take any crap from anybody, not even Jacob. I like her, although there are times when she seems to be a little too capable to the point that I have to wonder how she came to be how she is in the story. There has to be an interesting story there, surely. Jacob is stubborn - oh boy, he really is - and he has some way to go before he gets that "communicating effectively with your partner" thing right. However, the authors manage to make his mule-headed moments more amusing than obnoxious, and it also helps that I'm convinced that Mary Katherine knows how to handle this man when he gets too overbearing.
Like many Loose Id titles, this one seems to lose track of the plot once the characters start getting physical, and the sex goes on for a bit until any momentum in the plot up to that point is completely dissipated. Indeed, I feel that the story's biggest flaw here is its inability to balance its paranormal and romantic/erotic elements. The story starts out with a compelling prologue about the Eshu's failure to take out the bad guys, but when the story moves to 1850, the focus is limited to basically Mary Katherine and Jacob getting it on, with some loose ends in their relationship wrapped up in last few chapters.
Sure, the bad guys show up now and then, but their scenes feel like pure filler. The epic scope, the battle of good versus evil, everything about the prologue - these elements seem largely disconnected from the rest of the story, to the point that I actually wonder why they are included in the final package.
The romance is pretty fun to follow, if a bit on the under-developed side at times, but I can't help feeling that the story ultimately doesn't know what it wants to be. If the bulk of the paranormal elements are removed and substituted for more down-to-earth elements, such as if this was a straightforward historical romance, it would still work pretty well. And that's the problem in a nutshell. Why serve a paranormal historical romance in such a rarely-used setting if the paranormal elements end up just sitting there looking pretty and doing not much else?
February 17, 2013
The good: I really loved it. There isn't enough historical paranormal romance with independent black main characters and this book is all that and more. The world the writers created is intriguing, the friendship between the 2 women is a joy to read and the heroine and her hea are very sexy together.
The slightly less good: The pacing of the book is very uneven. For example in the first 10 chapters of the book the heroine didn't want to get married at all, but in the final paragraph of chapter 10 it was mentioned that they got married 2 days later... How did he convince her? How did they plan the wedding at such short notice? What did she wear? How was their weddingnight? And seriously, how on earth did he convince her? 10 chapters of anti-marriage sentiment were ignored like they never happened. I expected something like her explaining to him why she didn't want to get married and him promising to respect her independence followed by a courtship during which he backed up his promise with his actions.
Besides the pacing the couple could do with a bit more communication and the bad guys were very plot-convenient and not very impressive but because I enjoyed the story a lot these things were just minor things that didn't bother me to much. All in all it was definitely worth it and I hope the next part will be released soon because I can't wait to read what happens next.
The slightly less good: The pacing of the book is very uneven. For example in the first 10 chapters of the book the heroine didn't want to get married at all, but in the final paragraph of chapter 10 it was mentioned that they got married 2 days later... How did he convince her? How did they plan the wedding at such short notice? What did she wear? How was their weddingnight? And seriously, how on earth did he convince her? 10 chapters of anti-marriage sentiment were ignored like they never happened. I expected something like her explaining to him why she didn't want to get married and him promising to respect her independence followed by a courtship during which he backed up his promise with his actions.
Besides the pacing the couple could do with a bit more communication and the bad guys were very plot-convenient and not very impressive but because I enjoyed the story a lot these things were just minor things that didn't bother me to much. All in all it was definitely worth it and I hope the next part will be released soon because I can't wait to read what happens next.
August 18, 2015
I liked the book, but it could have been better if it was longer.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews