PURE BLOOD: A Nocturne City Novel - Caitlin Kittredge

From the back of the book: In the shadows of Nocturne City, witches lurk and demons prowl, and homicide detective Luna Wilder must keep the peace---while living life as a werewolf. Now bodies are turning up all over town, the brutal murders linked by a cryptic message: We see with empty eyes.....

To make matters worse for Luna, she can't get wolfishly handsome Dmitri Sandovsky out of her mind. The last time he helped her with a case Dmitri suffered a demon bite that infected him with a mysterious illness...and now his pack elders have forbidden him from associating with Luna. But she'll need his help when high-level witches start turning up slaughtered. Because a war is brewing between rival clans of blood witches and caster witches---a magical gang war with the power to burn Nocturne City to the ground.

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Luna took care of business in book one, got the guy and all should be better. Not so much. Her cousin, Sunny, a caster witch has returned home to their grandmother's and away from Luna's influence.

And the guy, Dmitri, is back in Ukraine with the elders of the Redback clan. So the house is empty feeling and Luna throws herself into her work. There's a clan war between the witches and it's brutal.

Luna is a strong character, keeps moving forward through heartache, brutality on the job, dark magic. I look forward to reading the rest of the series, SECOND SKIN, WITCH CRAFT, and DAEMON'S MARK.

Five magical beans.....

NIGHT LIFE: A Nocturne City Novel - Caitlin Kittredge

From the back of the book: The first book in a thrilling, addictive new series by a talented new voice in dark fantasy. Welcome to Nocturne City, where werewolves, black magicians, and witches prowl the streets at night.....

Among them is Luna Wilder, a tough-as-nails police officer whose job is to keep the peace. As an Insoli werewolf, Luna travels without a pack and must rely on instinct alone. And she's just been assigned to find the ruthless killer behind a string of ritualistic murders---a killer with ties to an escaped demon found only in legend....until now.

But when she investigates prime suspect Dmitri Sandovsky, she can't resist his wolfish charms. Pack leader of a dangerous clan of Redbacks, Dmitri sends her animal instincts into overdrive and threatens her fiercely guarded independence. But Luna and Dmitri will need to rely on each other as they're plunged into an ancient demon underworld and pitted against an expert black magician with the power to enslave them for eternity.....

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Caitlin Kittredge is no longer a 'new voice' in dark fantasy. She has Nocturne City series, Icarus Project (with Jackie Kessler), Black London and Iron Codex. All highly excellent either from the reviews or actual books I've read.

I won the first two books of the Nocturne City series from Bitten By Bookshttp://www.bittenbybooks.com/ a couple of years ago and, for whatever reason, the two books sat in the third drawer of chest of drawers number one since. I started my campaign of clearing the drawers and shelves before buying more books...at least in theory...and found the two waiting for me. I pulled the two of them and brought them to work since it's been so quiet. And read them in quick succession.

Luna Wilder is indeed tough. She has to be since she's a lone werewolf in a world that knows supernatural beings exist and not everyone is happy about it.

She and Dmitri don't exactly get off to a good start since Luna is positive that Dmitri is the prime suspect in the deaths of women all around Nocturne City and Dmitri is all alpha pack leader macho which rubs Luna the wrong way to say the least...as much as she's drawn to him. Makes her nuts.

I don't like paranormal romance and this could read that way, but it's more action on the streets than in between the sheets.

Five action on the streets beans.....

BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE - Annette Curtis Klaus, narr Alyssa Bresnahan

From the back of the book: Vivian Gandalon is a teenaged werewolf with problems. Her father, the pack leader, was killed in a fire, and so the pack is in disarray. The young male members of the squabbling pack howl for her, but still she feels alienated and alone.

To be more than human is a lonely thing. Vivian longs to have friends and fit in as school. She yearns to escape her legacy of violence and forbidden appetites, but the beast within her longs for something elementally deep and rich. She glories in her ability to change form woman to wolf. How can she choose between being human or beast? She fiercely hopes that her relationship with a kind and sensitive meat-boy, a human, will help her find some answers.

Talented narrator Alyssa Bresnahan casts a spell over listeners as she becomes the beautiful and sensuous young werewolf princess. This suspenseful, haunting, and magical tale is best read by the light of the full moon.

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Alyssa Bresnahan, the narrator, is the reason I kept listening to this story. I did not like Vivian at all. Klaus wrote the character well as I wanted nothing more than to reach inside the story and smack the crap out of Vivian, spoiled and self-centered creature that she was. She couldn't understand why no one wanted to be her friend, since she was so special and beautiful.

The story of the pack and the hierarchy was a fascinating aspect that didn't get a lot of play. Another little downfall, I figured out who the bad guys were as soon as the bad stuff started happening to Vivian.

Alyssa Bresnahan kept me listening, though. Some narrators can do that for a story. I will look for more of her narrated works.

Four because of the narrator beans....