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Sins & Shadows (2009)

by Lyn Benedict(Favorite Author)

3.32 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0441017118 (ISBN13: 9780441017119)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Ace

series

Shadows Inquiries

review 1: Sin and Shadows by Lyn Benedict2 to 2.5 stars.I would give this book more stars for writing style which is very good and some interesting ideas, but the ending pretty much ruined any chance I was going to continue the series. **Spoilers from this point in the review**Sylvie Lightner is a paranormal PI with a ton of baggage and she is about to close up shop when the book opens. Some reviewers complained that because this backstory is apparent but not explained and that the story feels like book 2 of s series. I don’t mind – origin stories are old fashioned. The entire urban fantasy genre is trending toward hit the ground running approach to story telling. Enter Kevin Dunn, a man calling himself the god of justice complete with the Eumenides in tow, arrives at her door ... moreand tries to hire her to find his lover. She tries to refuse but it turns out she doesn't actually have a choice. The god’s love is a young man named Brandon Wolf and he is sure there is foul play because he can find any one any where but he can’t find Brandon.After questioning Kevin Dunn about his missing boyfriend, Sylvie began tracing his steps and working the case like an ordinary missing person. Meanwhile Kevin’s need to find Bran causes the world around him – especially cops to increasingly become obsessed with that same goal.Her investigation turns up a name from her past and Sylvie can’t believe it is a random coincidence. Then the story wonders through some procedural drama as Sylvie tracks downs leads, dead end – some literally as her best suspects keep turning up dead. About half way through we learn that Sylvie is a daughter of Lilith That comes out of nowhere and just muddies up the story. Then she actually meets Lilith who is involved in the plot. Turns out Lilith had been running a long game and Sylvie is just in time for the grand finale.She finds Brandon trapped in an oubliette but it turns out that finding him wasn't the problem. Getting him out turns out to be the real puzzle. Brandon is really Eros and Lilith wants him dead so she can take on his power. Fortunately, he is much better at surviving than she expected. Sylvie ends up trapped with Bran and he tells her his story. He left the realm of the gods to become human then made his human lover into a god. She realized that the only way they are going to get out is to convince Bran that he can get himself out. By the time they do, Kevin is in a battle with Zeus as the skies literally rain blood.Surviving that, he must face one more battle with Lilith and Bran must die to return to being a god.This started really well and was actually pretty good until about page 300 of 357. The end was just too over the top and left me feeling meh instead of wowed. I just didn't feel like continuing with the series. One of the biggest problems for me was that the story of Kevin and Bran was actually very interesting but when the series is supposed to by about Sylvia, being far more fascinated with the side characters just doesn't give me reason to read book 2. I was left with almost no feeling at all about Sylvia by the end of the book.Oh and Justice turned a bunch of bad guys into flowers. Yeah, that happened.
review 2: I truly wanted to like this "Sins and Shadows." As a matter of fact, I was so convinced I would love it, I bought the first three books without question. Boy, was I wrong. The story lack sufficient action, humor, intrigue to keep me interested. After reading 210 pages, I just could not continue. The really sad part of all of this is that this book could have been great! Sylvie Lightner is a Private Investigator who specializes in the paranormal. After the death of one of her employees while assisting her in completing a job, Sylvie has decided to close up shop and retire. Unfortunately, that is before the god of justice, Kevin Dunne comes to her door with an offer she cannot refuse. His lover, Brandon Wolf is missing and he will stop at nothing to get him returned. Sylvie reluctantly accepts the job only to discover there are dangers and secrets she could never have imagined. If she is to find Brandon, she must survive first and that is going to take a lot of effort. Sounds great uh? Well, the premise is good but the execution was not so good. I was not a fan of the author's writing style and certainly felt that the story line was too serious to make it a really good reads. When you are dealing with a paranormal story, humor for me is a must. There were moments of lightweight bantering but nothing I would call inspiring. In short, the book was just okay for me and I just could not finish it! God, I am in a reading funk and just cannot seem to get out of it. I cannot wait for new installments for some of my favorite series to come out!!!!!!!!!!!! less

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