Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Release Day Review: Veiled Menace by Deborah Blake


33311689Veiled Menace
(Veiled Magic #2)
Deborah Blake
Release: April 18, 2017
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
Since Witches came out of the broom-closet in the early 21st century, they have worked alongside humans as police officers, healers, stock traders, and more. But they aren’t the only paranormal entities in our world...

Witch and police officer Donata Santori is no stranger to magical mayhem, but lately her life has been unexpectedly charmed. Her job as a Ghost Yanker now includes the occasional paranormal investigation, and she’s advancing her magical abilities with the help of an ancestor’s treasured spell book. And while both of her former love interests—reclusive half-Dragon art forger Peter Casaventi and disgraced Shapechanger Magnus Torvald—are nowhere to be found, she’s not averse to being wined and dined by wealthy businessman Anton Eastman.

But Eastman isn’t what he seems, and what he wants from Donata is far more than she’s willing to give. When a mysterious relic, the Pentacle Pentimento, resurfaces, along with Peter’s Dragon father and a shocking Santori family secret, Donata must fight to save herself, her friends, and just maybe the fate of the world from a magic as old as it is dangerous…
Review:

Veiled Menace is set about six months after Veiled Magic, the first book in the series. "Witch-cop" Donata Santori has finally gotten out of the basement, helping the chief of police with potential paranormal cases in addition to her job as ghost yanker. She's starting to see an increase in paranormal crimes that risk bringing the supernatural world to the attention of humans, who are aware only of the existence of witches.

I'm a big fan of paranormal police procedurals, so I'm a little bit disappointed that Donata doesn't spend the book working an official case. Most of what she does is exploring the unanswered questions from the previous book. I'm relieved that Donata finally solves the mystery of the sixth supernatural race though. I had some of it already figured out and was starting to get frustrated with her. What surprised me was how her family history came into play.

The love triangle that started in Veiled Magic gets even more complicated. The romance plot reminds me of more than one Keri Arthur series, though Blake is not as generous or as graphic with her sex scenes. I still enjoy the supporting characters in the series, especially Ricky the Kobold, but I wish that more new ones were introduced. There are still some supernatural groups that we haven't learned much about.

I feel like this series wants to be a trilogy. Donata may have solved the mystery, but there are still complications to be dealt with. Not to mention something of a cliffhanger in her love life. I hope that another book is in the works - I'll definitely want to check it out.


   1/2 
3 1/2  stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
Veiled Magic


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