Publisher: Self
Publish Date: Out now
How I got this book: ARC from the author
Kit Colbana is always biting off more than she can chew. She has a knack for finding trouble. This time, though, trouble finds her. Someone from her past drops a case into her lap that she just can’t refuse…literally.
People on the Council are dying left and right and she’s been requested to investigate the deaths. The number one suspect? Her lover, Damon. If she does not clear his name, he gets a death sentence. Even if she succeeds? They still might try to execute him. Oh, and she’s not allowed to tell him about the case, either.
The stakes are high this time around, higher than they’ve ever been. Kit may be forced to pay the ultimate price to save her lover’s life…a price that could destroy her and everything she loves.
This blurb came from the author’s website.
***Potential trigger warning Night Blade contains references to and the aftermath of violence and rape***
I am a huge fan of Shiloh Walker’s writing. I am also a huge Urban Fantasy fan so the combination of Walker writing UF as Daniels is a wonderful mix. Night Blade is the third story in the Colbana UF series following Blade Song (#1) and A Stroke of Dumb Luck (#0.5). I enjoyed reading the previous installments so when I received this ARC I was happy. After I finished reading, I promptly went on twitter and asked for the next installment only to be told that it wasn’t ready for readers yet. This means I will spend the next umpteen how many months waiting, wondering, hoping and sometimes pestering Daniels for updates. A lot of events happen in Night Blade but since I feel strongly that the journey Daniels has crafted is an integral part of grasping the situation at the end I am going to remain pretty vague on the actual content details.
As Night Blade opens, Kit is dealing with her new position as Damon’s mate. Damon happens to be the new Alpha of the cat clan. They have kept the mating relatively quiet because Kit works as a neutral messenger, courier, investigator who backs up her neutrality with her weapons skill not to mention her not completely human ancestry, and the assistance of her friends and allies. Of course, Kit has also gained some enemies along the way who really don’t know when to call it quits.
Kit and Damon were trying to feel their way through their relationship and balance Damon’s mated instincts with Kit’s independent nature. Damon was also in the process of consolidating his power and control as the new Alpha, which was a rather bloody process. Kit’s job also had some inherent danger, which was an extreme test to Damon’s drive to protect his mate. In addition to working on their personal lives, they also had to deal with the intricacies of their individual day jobs, confidentiality, and what happened with the day job interfered with their lives.
It was refreshing to see a relationship albeit still relatively new go through some issues. Kit and Damon were both extremely strong willed yet they made some pretty impressive concessions trying to accommodate the other. However, each also kept what could be called “trade secrets” or just assumed some things were common knowledge instead of species specific. That led to some misunderstandings and demonstrations of both temper and love as they learned how drastically their lives had changed.
Daniels provided an edge of the seat read that also required the use of some tissues, maybe some chocolate consumption, possibly some wine drinking and now a seriously amount of impatience. Kit, Damon and some of the other characters who were first introduced in Blade Song showed some pretty impressive growth. I think my favorite happened to be Damon’s nephew **grin**. Daniels also expanded the world building and provided some interesting details on the nonhuman social structure its rules and mores. I also saw rather definite signs of an upcoming confrontation that I think is going to be pretty amazing. I enjoyed reading Night Blade and I seriously cannot wait for the next one.
I give Night Blade an A
Nice review, thank you. I have the first book on my TBR, looking forward to starting this series someday. Is the prequel absolutely a must?
I flat out bawled at the end of the book 🙂 Ooh.. I was so mad.. lol She does an excellent job with the 2nd book and I really cannot wait til Broken Blade (# 3 i think?) comes out. While I loved Kit and Damon… Doyle really grew on me in this book.
Heh- Aurian – Nah – I started out with the first book, Blade Song, and understood everything just fine. (at least, in my opinion)
@aurian: You don’t have to read the prequel to understand what is going on. It has been referenced twice I think out of the two novels. YOu might still be able to find it on the Tor.com website as a free read.
@Readsalot81: Doyle *happy sigh* I can’t wait to see how he turns out and yes Broken Blade needs to be in my greedy hands right now :D.