Tuesday, November 20, 2012

5 Stars for PRICELESS by Shannon Mayer @TheShannonMayer #Kindle




When children go missing without a trace, there is only one person who can find them.

Welcome to the world of Rylee Adamson, a woman with unique abilities, some wild friends and a unstoppable drive to save those who can't save themselves.

But when the details of a missing child duplicate that of her worst case, things start to get freaky. And not in a good way.
(Amazon description)



So my hubby walked in last night to find me laying on the floor of the living room laughing over my Kindle.  If that isn’t the sign of a good book, I don’t know what is. 

Priceless is the perfect blend of everything I like in a book--a kick-ass heroine, intriguing mystery, an assortment of paranormal creatures, well-timed comic relief and a red hot lust/hate relationship. 

Rylee is my kind of heroine.  She has supernatural talent, yet is fallibly human.  I like that things don’t always go her way...well ever.  But whether she is leading high speed car chases running from the law, fighting harpies with her trusty blades or going toe-to-toe with magic wielding kidnappers, she’s somehow able to maintain her softness--or maybe a better word is compassion.  After having been abandoned first by her biological parents and again by her adoptive parents, Rylee knows what it’s like to be alone in the world.  As a result, she has dedicated her whole life to helping those in need.  It goes deeper than just rescuing missing children; she is like a beacon to those in need.  This adds a surprising amount of emotional depth to the story.

Regular readers of my reviews know I’m all about the love story.  My favorites are those that are able to balance lust, affection and antagonism. The relationship between Rylee and Agent O’Shea has all of these elements.  Our first introduction to O’Shea is as the FBI agent who has been trying for ten years to prove Rylee murdered her little sister.  She didn’t do it, but O’Shea is too haunted by the unsolved case to see past his prejudice against Rylee.  When the tables turn and he is forced to place his trust in her, O’Shea finds everything he has even known about the world turned upside down.  I loved the way the author handled this relationship.  There is no insta-love here, more like a slow burn.  This is a love story that is meant to roll out over the course of a series, not wrap up with a nice tight bow at the end of the book.  I am so excited to see what happens with this couple.

One of the other strengths of this book is the use of humor.  The dark subject matter and gruesomeness of this story could have caused the book to be too heavy.  Witty dialog and Rylee’s sidekick, Alex the werewolf, keep the book from taking itself too seriously.  Remember my husband walking in on me laughing at my Kindle?  Yeah, that was Alex.  

About the only character that I didn’t like was Rylee’s best friend Milly.  She’s a witch--literally.  Even though the two are as close as sisters, she dumps Rylee because her Coven doesn’t want her to associate with people outside their group.  (This isn’t really a spoiler.  It happens right at the beginning of the book.)  I found Milly to be weak and annoying.  Her efforts to redeem herself at the end of the book fell flat with me.  I assume as the series goes on Milly will either develop a spine or do something so stupid Rylee will sick Alex on her. 

All in all, Priceless is an amazing start to a fun new urban fantasy series.  I can’t wait to see where this is going!

Plot - 5 bookmarks (lots of action!)
Character development - 4 1/2 bookmarks (Lots of depth to Rylee. Now we need to see where O’Shea how O’Shea is going to grow.)
Action - 5 bookmarks
Love story - 4 1/2 bookmarks
Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Gemma Arterton (Rylee), David Boreanaz (O’Shea), Blake Lively (Milly), Frances McDormand (Giselle)

1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much Jesi for taking the time not only to read, but review too! :0) Much appreciated!

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