Genre: Publication.Date June, 2013 Pages: 230 Published By: Melange Books Website Tori L. Ridgewood Wind and Shadow on Goodreads My review copy: Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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Rayvin Woods, photographer and natural witch. She just wanted to start her life over again after a series of misadventures. She didn't count on rekindling a lost love when she came home to Talbot...or battling a malevolent vampire and his coven for her life.
Grant Michaels, police officer. He thought Rayvin was a murderer. He will do whatever it takes to protect the community he loves from danger...but will he learn to trust his heart, and the word of a witch, before it's too late?
Malcolm de Sade, cunning vampire, imprisoned underground for a year by Charlotte Fanning and Pike Mahonen ("Mist and Midnight", Midnight Thirsts). His accidental release unleashes his hunger and ambition on a small, sleepy town…
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Facing the past can be a nightmare. It's worse when a vampire is stalking you.
(Goodreads)
As much as she did not want to look at him, she was unable to stop herself. Her Gaze flicked back to watch him in the rearview mirror. She held her breath until he finally turned to march back to the police car.
How fitting that the last person she had looked in the eye ten years before in this town, was the first to do so again.
No, he would not let her have any power over him now. He was a police officer, an upstanding citizen. Grant Michaels' reputation would not suffer because he had a case of blue balls over a chick from high school.
What was harder, she wondered; coming back to a place where she knew she wasn't welcome, or knowing she really didn't have any other place to go? It wasn't giving up, really. To her, it was starting over. This, with a supernatural battle she would have to fight on her own. Why couldn't she have a team on her side, like Buffy?
Somehow, his connection to the small woman in the bed had grown and strengthened. The thought of her in danger, of the suffering she must have endured for God knew how long...what if he hadn't gotten there when he did?
What I wasn't expecting is exactly what I got out of this book and that isn't a bad thing. That isn't saying that I was expecting bad things but I was surprised to find that it was more Adult than YA. There was sexy scenes that I just was not expecting but I loved them as I really do enjoy a book containing them every now and again. Not to mention that the characters and the plot were original, so it was so easy to fall right into it all. I would also like to mention that this lovely paranormal read takes place in Canada!!! The author is also Canadian... A fellow Ontarian at that. Um...YAY!! I love books that take place in Canada and there just are not enough out there if you ask me. Told from both Ravyin and Grant's point of view I found the story easy to follow and fall into.
Though Witches and Vampires have been done and are either normally at war or at peace, Wind and Shadow kind of made its own way. There is no doubt that Rayvin did not like Vampires or agree with them but she never denied her attraction to the bad guy...De Sade aka evil vampire. However she also had many other problems to deal with and the biggest one was the town that hated her, oh and not to mention the sexy Grant Michaels that she couldn't get over. Though they never dated he was the one guy that she had always wanted that never seemed attainable. It seemed that everything that Rayvin never wanted and never expected to happen was bound to happen to her. Though some things may have been minor predictable most things just weren't and I love that!
Ravyin made her way into the very short list of witches that actually made me want to read a book. Those of you that know me know that witches and I have a very strained past but there seems to be a lot of them redeeming the ones that brought them down for me lately. Ten years after leaving the town that condemned her for something even the law claimed her innocent of the people still remember. Rayvin started off seemingly meek and I found myself panicked that I was going to be dealing with a weak character. Turns out that once Ravyin calls upon her inner witch and a strength that I didn't think she had, she is seriously a force to be reckoned with. She isn't untouched by peoples nasty words and hatred but she manages to be the bigger person and push past it all. It is also only once I started this review that I realized that I didn't really have any problems with this woman as a character and that speaks volumes for how well she was written.
When it comes down to Grant I have two words that come to mind: Alpha Male. The fact that he was a cop could not have been more fitting. He took his job and his town very seriously but Ravyin kind of made him go a little overboard. Sometimes I think it was because he did want her to just give up on being there and going home but for the most part it was that he couldn't help but want her. He seriously got on my nerves at times because of his stubborn beliefs and inability to believe, but in another way it made him believable as a character. I know that if he had just taken everything and believed it right away that I would have been ticked that he was automatically okay with everything that he was told. I also found myself looking forward to his inner dialogue because he was constantly at war with himself.
Holy hot romance guys!! I loved that Ravyin and Grant didn't just fall into love or into bed together, in fact despite their common attraction they fought it...and each other. There was so much chemistry between the two that I understand how easy it would have been for them to just get pulled in right away but because of the past they just had some serious banter. The moment that they did finally just let go and start to trust each other (a good way into the book) it was amazing!! These two had more chemistry and heated moments than I had expected but they were amazing and a lot of the time so much fun. I would also like to put it out there that despite the ending I feel that there is more behind their connection than what has been laid before us in this book. The only thing was that De Sade created somewhat of a triangle... I say somewhat because despite Ravyin's physical attraction there was no emotional and she most definitely did not want to be with him.
Wind and Shadow was an amazing start to a series and was written by an author that has an amazing talent when it comes to character dialogue. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment to this series and like always when waiting for the next book I have some hopes and expectations. There was a bit of a cliffhanger but isn't there always when a second and third book is expected? For those of you that hate to be left hanging don't fret this one is tolerable but you do know that the ending is open and set up for the next book. I would recommend this book for people 18+ that love paranormal and like taking a break from the YA scene every now and again or just love adult reads that have the steamy between the sheets scenes added in.
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