SYNOPSIS
Shiloh Harrison was hoping for a few days off to recover from a particularly nasty assignment, preferably with the help of the talented hands (and, well, the rest of his body too) of her sexy boyfriend, Vincent. But when a group of vampires takes an entire trailer park hostage, there’s nothing to do but make her apologies and get to the scene.
Such is the life of a Federal Marshal in the Paranormal Investigators Unit.
Yet this isn’t like her typical track-and-nab case: something is going on that has vampires scared, and it takes all her strength not to imagine what could frighten such powerful creatures. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have that option. Her boss is MIA, someone is snatching vampires, and there’s a ticking clock that can only end one way: a bloodbath.
Unless she can stop it.
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Born and raised in Southern Delaware, Kelly Meding survived five years in the hustle and bustle of Northern Virginia, only to retreat back to the peace and sanity of the Eastern Shore. An avid reader and film buff, she discovered Freddy Krueger at a very young age, and has since had a lifelong obsession with horror, science fiction, and fantasy, on which she blames her interest in vampires, psychic powers, superheroes, and all things paranormal. She is also a mama to two amazing fur-babies named Jinx and Puck.
NEXT IN THE SERIES
Stray Moon: A novel
Expected publication: November 13th 2018
About Kelly Meding
Born and raised in Southern Delaware, Kelly Meding survived five years in the hustle and bustle of Northern Virginia, only to retreat back to the peace and sanity of the Eastern Shore. An avid reader and film buff, she discovered Freddy Krueger at a very young age, and has since had a lifelong obsession with horror, science fiction, and fantasy, on which she blames her interest in vampires, psychic powers, superheroes, and all things paranormal. She is also a mama to two amazing fur-babies named Jinx and Puck.
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REVIEW
Stray Magic: A Strays Novel by Kelly MedingMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Title: Stray Magic: A Strays Novel
Series: Strays #1
Author: Kelly Meding
Release date: June 19, 2018
It's been quite a while since I've started a new urban fantasy series, so when I was offered the opportunity to read an early copy, I shuffled my schedule in order to make it happen. I've never read any other books by Kelly Meding, but it certainly sounded promising.
I loved that Shiloh is a paranormal Federal Marshal. She's seen and experienced a lot of things that have left her hardened and a bit cynical, and she's made the choice to avoid romantic attachments because of her career. Half human, half djinn, she has a significant edge with the gifts given to her by her earth djinn father. She's much harder to kill or injure than the average human, she can walk through solid objects, sense power, and unable to be turned by a vampire. But she also has something called the Quarrel that if not kept under control can affect the combative nature of humans and draw out their anger. It's a constant battle of will to dampen that side of herself.
Master vampire Woodrow Tennyson was a pretty layered character. At over five hundred years old, he's acquired a lot of intelligence and experience, and his power is rivaled by few. He holds a close bond with all of his "children" that he's turned over the years, and would go to any lengths to keep them safe. His line is being threatened by an unknown source, so he finds an unlikely ally in Shiloh and they begin to work together to solve the puzzle of the massive werewolf and vampire disappearances. I thought he was really well done. He didn't give much away emotionally, but those moments when Shiloh got a peek into his head through their telepathic bond really revealed a lot about how deeply he cared about those he loved and lost. His respect and deference to her position of power was admirable, especially considering how djinn and vamps are known for their animosity.
Her team consists of a fallen incubus, an skin-walker, and a dhampir. Each a set of magical abilities and rules that interacted with each other in varying ways. The world building was exceptional and really detailed. I must admit, it did hinder the pace a bit. While the plot was action-packed, it wasn't necessarily make it a compulsively readable book. I feel like we just scratched the surface on some of the supporting characters.
I was somewhat detached from Shiloh-I understood her, but I wasn't fully engaged. Most especially in regards to the romance that's very subtly teased. I honestly couldn't get a handle on who the love interest even was. She spent most of the book thinking about her lover that she was in a casual relationship with, and she even had conflicted feelings about her ex who was part of the para-investigation unit. Then there was the bond between her and Tennyson thrown into the mix. So the possibility of something developing there didn't really draw out any excitement. As this is just the first in the series, there is plenty of room for something more defined, but at the moment it's a story arc with unfilled potential.
There was also an impulsive decision made by her that was really unnecessary with some extreme consequences. I didn't see why she didn't try other avenues before resorting to something so awful, and it made me feel like she placed her job over the most important people in her life because of how quickly and easily she made that choice. However, it added a giant wrinkle of a plot twist that added a decent conflict to be resolved later. I was pretty shocked at the reveal at the end in relation to that, I honestly wasn't expecting it at all.
Overall, I found the pace to be a bit slower than I would have liked, and the romance veering on the ambiguous side, but I was intrigued by the world building and the addition of the necromancy to the central story. I would definitely continue on with the series to find out what direction the author to take things. If you're into urban fantasy with strong elements of mystery and suspense, this could be just the series for you.
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