Prodigal Son by Debra Mullins

A bounty hunter and a computer geek team up to save the geek's wayward, ne're do well brother. 

This book does a nice job blending the occult with action adventure and some romanticism.   Rafe Montana's character is fraught with guilt and fear over his inner demons.   Cara Mc Gaffigan is filled with self doubt and weak self esteem.   The author does a nice job portraying emotions and feelings that are believable based on the novels circumstances.

There are some steamy scenes that probably put this book into the romantic category but the action and general story are certainly palatable to the male reader.  No, that is not a sexist remark, that is an observation that most guys won't admit to reading an kind of romantic novel.  I do not categorize this book as a romantic novel.  I think it is a good action/adventure/urban fantasy with romantic overtones.  Huh!  How's that for a description.  

Oh, the occult relates to survivors of Atlantis and their innate powers.  Ms. Mullins uses Basque for her Atlantis language which was a nice, realistic touch. 

I am hoping this will be a continuing series.  The book was easy to read, captivating and entertaining.

I recommend it.

Web site: http://www.debramullins.com/bookshelf/prodigalson.php

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Etched In Bone by Adrian Phoenix

This is the fourth book of Heather Wallace and her vampire lover series.

This is the fourth book of the series and the biggest fault I find with it is a lack of a clear back story.   It jumps right into the action and that is fine but you are left scratching your head over who is who and whether they are good or evil.  That isn’t really clear in the book.   It is another segment of the overworked vampire genre that seems well done but redundant considering the astounding number of vampire books currently on the market.

I liked Heather’s character but not Annie’s so much.   They had a rather bizarre relationship with their father.   Good action, typical far fetched vampire antics abound.  I guess how I differentiate between fantasy and vampire books are that vampire books are often set in contemporary society with the addition of the occult.   Fantasy is often set in a totally fictional environment.  I find the totally fictional environment easier to identify with, rather than vampires at the bus stop. 

I guess I’m just not enthralled overall with vampire books. 

I think if I had read the previous three books, I would have liked this book a great deal better.  

Body of work of Adrian Phoenix

Web site: http://www.adrianphoenix.com/