Review and Giveaway – Blood of Eden by Tami Dane

Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: review copy from publisher

This mind-blowing new series introduces Sloan Skye, and ambitious intern at the FBI’s paranormal unit, where the usual rules of crime fighting don’t apply…

Sloan has a sky-high IQ, a chaotic personal life, and a dream: to work for the FBI. Her goal is within reach until an error lands her with the FBI’s ugly stepchild: the new Paranormal Behavioral Analysis Unit. She’ll get to profile criminals, but the pool of suspects is a little more…diverse. Yet even as Sloan tackles her first case–a string of victims, all with puncture wounds to the neck–she can’t silence her inner para-skeptic.

To catch the killer she’ll have to think like one. That means casting aside her doubts, and dealing with the bizarre nightmares that started with the job. But the strangeness is only beginning, as Sloan pieces together the shocking truth about a case that’s more personal than she ever would have guessed.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

Dani’s debut urban fantasy novel was one that caught my eye and had me hoping I was going to find my next crack-a-licious UF series.

Sloan is not only insanely smart, but also just a little bit insane. Her life is erratic and crazy with her mentally ill mother, chemist room-mate and her brand new job at the FBI. Working for the new paranormal division, Sloan has a hard time believing, but jumps right into the fray of things. When the first case takes weird after weird turn, Sloan will have to use everything in her arsenal (including some resources from her past she would like to forget) to solve this case.

When things turn from weird to even weirder, Sloan gets pulled into the thick of things and realizes that this case is becoming more and more personal as the days go on. With her sexy partner tempting her at every turn, her arch enemy getting promoted to her team and her personal life crumbling each day, Sloan just might be able to survive another day.

While there were quite a few things I really enjoyed about this book, there were also a few things that I felt were lacking. For a debut novel, there were a lot of great things going on. Sloan was a fun and snark character and although her IQ is off the charts, her lack of streets smarts leaves a little to be desired. But it provides for some awesome comedic relief. However, for those readers who don’t like an endearing but clueless heroine that takes awhile to pick up on social clues, this book wont be for you.

I also liked the set up for the series. I think it’ll be a fun and fast paced series that will encompass a lot of different paranormal creatures (I don’t think I’ve ever read about the particular kind of vamp we had in this story – so fun), and the series has a lot of room to grow and change and morph. I also didn’t feel as if the love triangle was too much. Instead, it felt more relaxed and believable. I just hope it doesn’t get stretched out over time.

I do think that the pacing was a little slow at times, which surprised me a bit given just how much plot was going on. It felt as if there were about 20 different story-lines going on at once, and while most of them did eventually tie in, they still felt disconnected and choppy to me. It did become a little difficult to follow along when there were so many different things going on in each and every scene.

There were also moments that I really didn’t feel the love connection between Sloan and JT. Yes, things developed VERY slowly for these two relationship wise, but there were moments when I just wasn’t sure why they were together, what about each other attracted them. Yes the physical lust was there, but the emotional connection came much later (if at all really).

All in all I think this was a strong urban fantasy debut with a lot of room for growth and improvement. I look forward to reading more about Sloan and JT, I think the paranormal aspects will be unique and refreshing to read. This book seemed to mix a lot of mystery and suspense into the plot as well, so that was great fun as well.
I give Blood of Eden a C+

I have an extra copy of Blood of Eden to giveaway today. Leave a comment below to be entered to win. Open to US/Canada only and ends January  13th. Good Luck!!

25 thoughts on “Review and Giveaway – Blood of Eden by Tami Dane”

  1. I enjoy reading FBI related books. This book sounds like a good read. Thanks for the giveaway.

  2. Personally, I need a break from the super-tough heroines, so I’m excited to read about one who relies on her brains to go through. Thanks for the giveaway!

  3. I have my eye on this book! I want to read more UF and this looks like a great one with room for the characters to develop and grow.

  4. Very excited to read your book ^_^ it’s on my wish list and i’m just wanting on a gift card from the fam. Thanks

  5. I really enjoy FBI stories with a paranormal unit – just gives a nice twist. The blurb certainly left me intrigued!

  6. I enjoyed your review – Blood of Eden sounds interesting and I’d love to win a copy.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

  7. Looks like this series has possibilities. Thanks for the honest review and giveaway. I really appreciate it when reviewers include both negative and positive aspects of a novel.
    MJB
    msmjb65 AT gmail DOT com

  8. Looks like a great book. Will have to put it on my list of books to buy.
    robinky42(at)yahoo(dot)com

  9. While your review isn’t glowing, I’d like to give it a read. Sounds like there are alot of interesting elements. Regarding the slow progression of romance, I thought that’s part of what makes a book UF versus PR.

    acm05atjuno.com

  10. I have always love the FBI element in a story. Put paranormal with FBI, you have an X-Files fan (namely me) waiting to read Blood of Eden.

  11. I want to read this book! I am always a fan of paranormal/urban fantasy fiction and this would be one I would read.

  12. Pingback: Daily Deals: An underrated historical author, an unknown author, and a debut author

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