Guest Review of Blade Song by J.C. Daniels

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Inc & Hydra Publications (depends on the format)
Series: Colbana Files #1
Release Date: August 1, 2012
Buying Links:  Amazon    Barnes & Noble   The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

Reviewed By: Mikel. Mikel is a friend of mine from the message board of Patricia Briggs. He was looking for a place to post this review and I happily offered him a space.


Mikel's Thoughts:

Firstly, this book is not for everyone. It is not Kate and Curran. It is not Anita and her entourage, nor is it Mercy and her pack of wolves. What it is however, is Mercy’s courage, Kate’s perseverance, and thankfully, none of Anita (No offense to Anita fans. Anita is not an easy act to want to follow).

 From the beginning I found myself drawn into how Kit Colbana, half breed Investigator thinks in this world where Non-Humans have their own law and order to keep themselves in check with the Humans. You get into the depth of her thoughts and fears and how they play into this world created by J.C. Daniels. The rules of the world are straight forward, don’t kill the Humans or the Humans will kill us by any means necessary. In Kit’s case, she is enough of a half breed, she is often mistaken as a human, which as an investigator can make her job both easier, and harder. This also leaves plenty of avenues for the author to explore as Kit can interact with the authorities for both the Non-Human and the Human laws, taking investigative jobs on both sides of the coin.

Kit herself is the product of her upbringing, in more ways than one. Her upbringing breeds her courage and her perseverance. Her drive to see things through because anything less was unacceptable to herself. No matter how much she just wanted to walk away and crawl into a hole. At the same time, that upbringing wants to make her go crawl in a hole, pull the world in after her and nuke the rest.

Kit is a character with flaws, real flaws that you can sink your teeth into. Flaws, that some of us out there can relate to on some level, and see how it could crop up at just the wrong time landing you flat on your butt with the bad guy laughing at you. To me it is a nice departure from the impervious protagonist. She doesn’t forget what she can do, and doesn’t change the rules just so she can get out of harm’s way. Though, having a very large, well-built solid hunk of pissed off Cat-Were as backup can lead you to dive in over your head, but at least you get the hangover later to remind you of what you did.

The introduction of other characters is done smoothly; with just enough info you can figure out who is going to be a bit player, and who is in for the long haul. Something I rather enjoy in books I know are going to be a series from the beginning, and believe me, once you’re done with this book, that tidbit of a taste is going to sit on your tongue like a fine piece of chocolate tempting you to take a bite of the next book in line.

 "Night Blade", the sequel cannot get here soon enough!  

3 out of 5 stars-Solid book, but could have been a bit longer, allowing for more investigative story time.

Mikel received a PDF for review from the author.