Review by Misa

I pre-ordered SHADOWS & DREAMS from Riptide Publishing as soon as it was up, having absolutely loved the first Kate Kane novel. I waited excitedly for it and was not disappointed – where some series can fall flat on the second novel, SHADOWS & DREAMS excels and is better than the first.

Kate is hired to find a missing person – the brother of a girl Kate almost picked up. When she learns the brother walked out of a hospital after breaking a leg, her suspicions are roused. Then comfirmed when she sees a security tape recorded at the hospital. The missing brother is a vampire.

But before Kate can track him down, she’s arrested by the Vampire Council for murdering one of their own. This happened during the final confrontation of IRON & VELVET, though there’s enough information that the reader doesn’t need to have read that book. They should, though, because it’s excellent.

With her life in the balance, Kate has to find the missing brother, prevent an all-out war between vampires and werewolves, and also stop an ancient vampire rising to power… all whilst keeping her own half faery side under control. Oh, and let’s not forget that the woman who killed Kate’s partner has escaped from prison.

SHADOWS & DREAMS builds on Alexis Hall’s urban fantasy world beautifully. I described the novel on Tumblr as being “as if Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman had a love child” and stick to that. The world is the just-off-centre-weird that marks Gaiman’s work (in particular NEVERWHERE), while the humour is fantastically British. You have to love a book that has a chapter titled “Dinner & Wankers”, really. In short, I loved this novel and highly recommend it to everyone.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS

Second rule in this line of business: be careful who you kill.

My name’s Kate Kane. And right now, I don’t know which is more dangerous: my job, or my girlfriend. My job makes me the go-to girl for every supernatural mystery in London. My girlfriend’s an eight-hundred-year-old vampire prince. Honestly, I think it’s probably a tie.

A few weeks ago, I was hired for a simple missing person case. Next thing I know, I’m being arrested for murder, a vampire army is tearing up London, and even my dreams are out to get me. Something ancient, evil, and scary as hell is on the loose and looking for payback. The vampires are in chaos, the werewolves are culling everything, and the Witch Queen can’t protect everyone.

Which means it’s down to me. And all I’ve got to hold back the shadows is a stiff drink, a quirky sidekick, my creepy ex-boyfriend, and the woman who left me for a tech startup. It’s going to be another interesting day.

Length: Novel

Release Date: 16 June 2014

Genre: Paranormal Suspense

Primary Book Format: e-format

Publisher/Imprint: Riptide Publishing

Smart Girls Rating: 5 stars

Available at: Riptide Publishing