Piper Griffiths wants one thing in life: To become a Consul, a keeper of the peace between humans and daemons.
There are three obstacles in her way.
The first is Lyre. Incubus. Hotter than hell and with a wicked streak to match. His greatest mission in life is to annoy the crap out of her, but he isn't as harmless as he seems.
The second is Ash. Draconian. Powerful. Dangerous. He knows too much and reveals nothing. Also, disturbingly attractive — and scary. Did she mention scary?
The third is the Sahar Stone. Top secret magical weapon of mass destruction. Previously hidden in her Consulate until thieves broke in, went on a murder spree, and disappeared with the weapon.
And they left Piper to take the fall for their crimes.
Now she’s on the run, her dreams of becoming a Consul shattered and every daemon in the city gunning to kill her. She’s dead on her own, but there’s no one she can trust — no one except two entirely untrustworthy daemons ... See problems one and two.
Chase the Dark is the first book in the YA urban fantasy Steel & Stone series.
At first, I thought, here we go again: A young bratty heroine complaining about how life is so unfair and a serious need to grow up, the typical flirty guy and his tall, dark and emo best friend, and an instalove triangle. What I got instead was a speedy read urban fantasy with amusing characters, NO instalove, fast-paced action and an intriguing world filled with daemons and other supernatural creatures.
Living in a world where magic talks, Piper has to rely on her fists to do her talking. All she wants to become a Consul and she works hard every day to earn the respect of her father. When she's asked to essentially babysit a couple of daemons visiting the Consul on the night of the biggest political event of the decade, she's annoyed to no end. As it turns out, it goes south and Piper is left to trust her instincts and two daemons to survive long enough to clear her name and that of her father.
Feisty, emotionally vulnerable, yet with an inner fire that won't let her back down, Piper is a kick-butt heroine. Combined with Lyre and his harmless flirting (after all he IS an incubus) and Ash doing his brooding emo raging, they make an interesting trifecta as they face danger together.
While it is YA, it doesn't strike me as extremely immature unlike a lot of other books in the YA UF genre. I think the lack of instalove helps that. Although some of the scenes get a little intense, it doesn't crossover into adult territory. However!! Let me say that again...However!! This is not a love triangle, nor is it a reverse harem story. If you like that sort of thing, great, but this is not it. With enough heat to keep it interesting but not enough to distract from the storyline, the dynamic between the three is a lot of fun.
With a ton of action, fight scenes and paranormal baddies, Chase the Dark is an engaging urban fantasy. It was a well thought out calculated balance between furthering the plot, character engagement, well-written fight scenes, and the romantic tension. I had a hard time putting this one down.
Get your copy here:
Annette Marie is the author of YA urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, it's prequel trilogy Spell Weaver, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter. Her first love is fantasy, but fast-paced urban fantasy, bold heroines, and tantalizing forbidden romances are her guilty pleasures. She proudly admits she has a thing for dragons, and her editor has politely inquired as to whether she intends to include them in every single book.
Annette lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it’s not quite that bad). She shares her life with her remarkably patient, comparatively sensible husband and their furry minion of darkness—sorry, cat—Caesar. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in one art project or another while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.Find out more about Annette and her books:
Website/Twitter