Author: Tami Dane
Series: Sloan Skye, book 3
Publisher: Kensington
ISBN-10: 0758267118
ISBN-13: 978-0758267115
Source: From publisher for review
Buy it here: Amazon | Book Depository
For more information visit Tami Dane's website
Reviewed by: Ronnie
I picked up Blood of Dawn because I really enjoy urban fantasy and the jacket copy sounded like it would be within my wheelhouse. I am a total newcomer to this series, not having read Blood of Eden or Blood of Innocence. It has the urban fantasy requisites: kick ass chick, multiple love interests (sigh), and the odd creature or two. However, part of what I find problematic with starting a series that’s already in full swing is that often times, the reader will miss out on the emotional development of the characters or the inside jokes merely because they haven’t been reading along since the start of the series. Confession time, I came very close to not reading beyond the prologue.
Blood of Dawn starts off with Sloan Skye just coming off a case for the Paranormal Behavioral Analysis Unit and is immediately swept into an undercover investigation to find out why teenage girls are having the blood drained out of them while they’re sleeping. In the midst of her investigation, Sloan is also asked to be “courted”by DamenSylver, who is next in line for the throne of the Elves. If you haven’t been reading along since the start, perhaps your frame of mind is like mine. “HUH?” “WHY?”. Sloan is also fending off the attentions of one her coworkers, Jordan Thomas, who makes it very clear he’d like to be more than just co-workers at the PBAU. Did I mention that there’s her ex, Gabe Wagner, who makes an appearance every few chapters apparently so Sloan can have her plate full of men.
I found the writing to be awkwardly phrased and silly at times. “He looked at me with some shifty eyes.” “He looked at me with some sparkly eyes.” This seems to be a common phrase which I’d like to have seen abolished from the text altogether. While reading through Blood of Dawn, quite a bit of attention was focused on the mess that is Sloan’s love life rather than the actual investigation. Blood of Dawn comes across more as a poorly disguised PNR with a procedural feel rather than Urban Fantasy. The absence of worldbuilding and character development made me less and less interested in continuing on within the book. Do interns go undercover? Could her status have been “probationary agent?” Am I wrong to think that going undercover in a high school means more than putting on some “slutty teen clothes”?
The actual storyline isn’t hard to follow, but the vague references to the undead former fiancé, and her father not having been in the picture for years may leave you wondering what you’ve missed. If you’re a fan of the series and have read the earlier books, I can see how you’d enjoy Blood of Dawn. Not having read the earlier two books will leave you missing out on some much needed knowledge.
My Rating:
4 Comments:
:( Sad when a book just doesn't work for you.
Yeah, the potential was there, but all throughout the book there were just references to things I had absolutely no knowledge of and that did interfere with the enjoyment of the book.
It does definitely has a procedural type of feel, which I do like (being a devourer of all things like Criminal Minds on CBS etc).. but even that wasn't enough to change my opinion.
Ronnie/Readsalot81
I haven't read this series of this author, and I'm sorry to read that you didn't liked the book. Thanks for your honest review!
Well, it seems to be one of those series where you need to have been reading along from the start to catch everything that's going on. That was my biggest beef. I was missing out on a lot.
But c'est la vie. If you have been following the books, you'd probably enjoy this one.
Ronnie
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