Monday, June 16, 2014

Influential Magic by Deanna Chase

18857205

Synopsis from Goodreads:
It’s tough being a faery in New Orleans, a city fraught with vampires… especially when their very existence drains your life-force.

Willow Rhoswen, owner of The Fated Cupcake and part-time vampire hunter for the Void is having a rough week. Four years after her twin brother’s mysterious death, Willow’s life is threatened and the director saddles her with a new partner—her ex-boyfriend, David. To her horror, he’s turned vamp, which causes her physical pain whenever she touches him… and any other specimen of the undead.

In order to save Willow’s life, David agrees to turn double agent against the most powerful vampire organization in New Orleans. Or so he says. And she’s convinced they know something about her brother’s death. Unsure where David’s loyalties lie, she turns to Talisen, her childhood crush, to help her solve the mystery.

Caught between two gorgeous men and a director who’ll stop at nothing to control Willow’s gifts, she’ll have to follow her instincts and learn who to trust. Otherwise, she risks losing more than just her life.


My review:
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, other than it might be a YA book, but it wasn't at all. I actually really enjoyed it - it's fast paced, nerve-wrecking in places with a fair amount of romantic tension too.

Willow is a fae, with sparkly wings and a sweet nature. She runs a bakery well known for its heavenly goodies that are bespelled to do a range of things and she also works for the Void agency, a supernatural police force. After a trip back to her home town, she returns to find out that her pathetic ex-boyfriend, who dumped her by text, has been turned into a vampire and he has a dire warning for her: someone wants her dead. There's no real indication of whom that might be nor why, but Willow's not one who wants to die easily.

Her aunt is the Director of the Void agency, but she's a nasty piece of work, or is she? There's more to her than we know until the end. Her best friend Phoebe is a witch and loves taking on dressing up roles to find the information she needs. Talisen is her brother's best friend that Willow has had a crush on for years, but with the reappearance of David and old feelings returning, will Willow make any decisions about which man she wants? But the best side character has to be Link, Willow's shih tzu dog who turns into a hulk of a wolf when he's angry or if Willow is being threatened. Love it!

In order to find out who's behind the murder plot, Willow makes some rash, sometimes stupid, decisions that seem to end her up in more trouble than she was. The vampires are all involved and the Void agency is not a good place for Willow to be either. Many secrets are revealed at the end of the book,, some of which were a great surprise.

Willow was an odd character to like - she wasn't your usual kick ass heroine. She was much more peace loving than everyone else around her and really didn't like the idea of using violence to get the information she needed. However, sometimes you got to do what you've got to do. I much preferred Phoebe's feisty nature.

I will read the next book in this series and hope that the love interest between Willow and Talisen picks up. I did receive a copy of this book from Netgalley and would like to thank the author and publishers for letting me have it!

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