Publisher: Torquere
Press
Date
published: 12/5/12
ISBN: NA
MM
Paranormal
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Obtained via
publisher
Howl is a
magician who has ordered his life so that everything is exactly how he likes it
to be. Detective Reyes, on the
other hand, is distractingly handsome and generally much too attractive. It’s
just a tad annoying that Howl has been forced to work with him to find an escaped
illegal dragon, when he’d much rather be curled up on his couch drinking wine
and watching Holiday movies.
This is a
cute story, but it is definitely not erotic, and only marginally scrapes into
the category of romance. It is Howl’s story. His life has turned gray and
dismal this past year, and while he has used magic to order it as he wishes it
to be, nothing can replace the excitement and joy that was extinguished with
the passing of Jinksy.
Reyes’ and
Howl’s search for the escaped dragon, Howl’s fixed meal plans, even his mother,
are all used to advantage to set his story in place and tell us details about
his character. The world building is cleverly woven into the plot in completely
incidental ways that show the reader facets of life without wasting words on
description, a most suitable technique in stories of this very short length.
The book is
told in first person by Howl. Normally I prefer books to have at least one
scene in the other main character’s POV, but this time, since it is all about
Howl, being in his POV throughout works okay.
I’ve read a
couple of other books by Ms. Dalton and I’m impressed with the way she sketches
her worlds so enticingly yet so quickly with no wasted words. Writing short
stories is a distinct skill, and Ms. Dalton definitely has what it takes to do
it.
This is an objective review and not
an endorsement of this book.
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