21 September 2010

Early Review: Siren Song by Cat Adams

*This title will be released on September 28, 2010*

Book Description

Nothing if not resilient, Celia Graves is slowly adjusting to being a half-human, half-vampire Abomination. But her troubles are far from over. Her best friend’s murder is still unsolved, the cops are convinced she should be in jail, and her old lover, the magician Bruno DeLuca, has resurfaced in her life, saying he has something important to tell her.

The vampire attack that transformed Celia kicked her latent Siren abilities into high gear, and now she’s been summoned to the Sirens’ island to justify her existence—and possibly fight for her life—in front of the Siren Queen. Celia isn’t sure she’ll survive to make the trip. The demon she defeated in Blood Song hasn’t exactly gone quietly—he’s left Celia suffering from a powerful curse.

Review

Book 2 in The Blood Singer Series

Celia Graves, bodyguard turned half-vampire/half-siren is back in this follow up to the truly excellent Blood Song that finds her once again hunted at every turn by mages, sirens, demons and even humanity. Unlike in most urban fantasy books, vampires in The Blood Singer series aren’t sexy love interests, they are the scourge of the earth. Feared and loathed by almost everyone, Celia has to navigate this story filled with lots of action, betrayal, and fragile romance--all without getting staked.

I thought the fight scenes in Blood Song were cool (and I don’t often find myself impressed with detailed fight scenes), but SIREN SONG is packed with fast and fun fights that had my adrenaline slamming through my system. Celia is believably capable and resourceful, yet she is still acclimating to both her vampire and siren abilities. She never gets easy victories (getting jumped outside a grocery store with nothing but baby food jars as weapons, for example) and she never emerges unscathed.

Another high note in SIREN SONG is the romance. It is much less overt in this book as opposed to Blood Song (and there is a significant reason for that), but the new romantic lead in Celia’s life is a surprise to both her and the reader, and yet by the end of the book, I couldn’t imagine a better match.

As with the previous book, Adams laces SIREN SONG with subtle details in the early part of the book that tie together later on for a truly robust ending. Sadly, I thought that those details contributed to SIREN SONG being a little slow out of the gate. A number of side plot elements needed to be tied up, which I appreciate, but Blood Song ended with Celia being summoned to Siren Island for a trial and that storyline didn’t pick up until halfway through SIREN SONG. From then on, the story races along at much more satisfyingly pace. Demon Song will be out sometime in early 2011 and I’m already anticipating another action packed blast.

Sexual Content: References to sex. References to homosexuality. A scene of sensuality.