ARC Review: J.C. Daniels - Blade Song

Blade Song: Kit Colbana

Release Date: August 1st 2012
Summary:
From Goodreads.com
Kit Colbana—half breed, assassin, thief, jack of all trades—has a new job: track down the missing ward of one of the local alpha shapeshifters. It should be a piece of cake.
So why is she so nervous? It probably has something to do with the insanity that happens when you deal with shifters—especially sexy ones who come bearing promises of easy jobs and easier money.

Or maybe it’s all the other missing kids that Kit discovers while working the case, or the way her gut keeps screaming she’s gotten in over her head. Or maybe it’s because if she fails—she’s dead.

If she can stay just one step ahead, she should be okay. Maybe she’ll even live long to collect her fee…

Review:
This is a fantastic new story from Shiloh Walker using a new pen name. This story is taking place in the United States where paranormals (Shifters, Vampires, Witches, etc..) live openly amongst humans. Their truce is tentative and prejudices against paranormals run strong. Usually if they keep to their own area there is no issue, but the humans certainly don’t care if the paranormals die or if their young disappear. This makes for an interesting, dangerous world that Ms. Daniels built. It is rich and distinctive and really comes to life.

Kit is a half breed Aneira with a bad attitude. She has a very tumultuous past, which sneaks up on her quite a bit while she is hunting for the young boy, something about this case triggers memories she’s wishes she had forgotten. As a half breed she doesn’t really fit in anywhere, but can walk in both worlds. This is also one of the reasons she is so good at her job. Regrettably, being good at your job doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a lot of jobs. It is this desperation for work along with a soft spot for kids that pull her into one of the most dangerous jobs of her career. No matter what Kit keeps on investigating, she is relentless in her pursuit of Doyle, even when attacked numerous times. I love that she is so tenacious and cares so much about finding a kid that she has never met before, so much so that she risks her life on a regular basis with this case. I also love how strong willed she is, she is a half breed so not as strong as some of the other characters we come across, but what she lacks in actual physical strength she makes up for it with mental strength. She does have some interesting powers as an Aneira, which make her unique in this world and give her a slight advantage at times.

In this book we get the super sexy Damon, with smoldering eyes and a bad attitude, almost as bad as Kit’s. He is a powerful cat shifter who refuses to let Kit work alone, and becomes the bane of her existence at least at first. Then we have Jude who is a powerful vampire who is fixated on Kit, he wants to make her his, but Kit has no interest in becoming a vamp’s pet. Jude brings out Damons’ possessive side and adds an interesting mix to this cocktail. What I wasn’t so thrilled with is Kit is so against the male for most of the book, but once her sudden attraction is acknowledged it’s like 0-50 in 0.3 seconds. I think I got whiplash. Besides Kit’s love interest’s we met a lot of other interesting characters. I loved the witches and some of Kits other friends and hope to see them again, assuming this is going to be a series.

Overall, I was really happy with this book. It brought a refreshing element to the urban fantasy genre. I was impressed with the world building and the depth of the characters. Kit was vulnerable yet strong, we had two possible male love interests and plenty of action to keep the story moving. I sincerely hope this is going to be a series, I don’t see anything on Goodreads yet; because I have every intention of continuing on with Kit. It’s been about a week since I read the book and it has remained in the back of my mind since. That is always a good sign of a fantastic read!

*Arc was provided through NetGalley for an honest review, no other compensation was given.

Rating: