Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Alex and Shimmer must discover the cause of a haunting at a bed and breakfast before it has to close for good in this entertaining first book in Yasmine Galenorn’s new series.

Opening Sentence: “Hurry up, damn it!”

The Review:

Shimmer has been exiled from the Dragon Reaches, banished Earthside for a term of five years, during which she must work for Alex, a vampire who runs the Fly by Night Investigations Agency. While her time Earthside thus far has not been easy, Shimmer is starting to acclimate nicely, albeit with some very unprofessional feelings for her boss. The agency’s latest case involves a possible haunting at a bed and breakfast run by Alex’s former friend Patrick. The minute they arrive at the bed and breakfast, Shimmer can feel a difference in the atmosphere, almost as if a cloud is hanging over the place. It doesn’t take long for attacks to begin occurring. It’s now up to Alex, Shimmer, and some friends to figure out what is causing the haunting/attacks and how to stop it before someone loses their life.

Yasmine Galenorn’s books are growing on me. I didn’t really like the Indigo Court series, but I’ve enjoyed the Otherworld books I’ve read, and since this series is a spinoff from that one, I figured I may enjoy this one as well. All in all, my instinct was correct. This was a very enjoyable first book in a series, and you don’t necessarily have to have read the Otherworld series to follow what’s going on. While it was enjoyable though, it did have some slow moments. There were a lot of times where it felt like not much was going on. The book is at its best when dealing with the ghosts and their actions. There are some great spooky moments.

As for Shimmer, I really liked her as a main character. I’m very intrigued by her past and hope we get to see/learn more about what happened to her in the Dragon Reaches. I also just find the fact that she’s a dragon very cool. You don’t get many of those in urban fantasy. On that same subject, I also loved the side character of Chai, who is a djinn. I loved how much thought had to be put into asking/telling Chai to do anything in order to avoid making a wish. I’m curious to find out if he is all that he seems or if he has some ulterior motives for turning up.

All in all, this was a strong book. While it had slow moments, it did keep my attention much of the time and moved at a good pace. It has a great main character as well as entertaining side characters. I’m very much looking forward to continuing the series!

Notable Scene:

I glanced at the clock. Eight thirty. Feeling charitable, I rinsed off our breakfast dishes and stuck them in the dish washer. As I was bending over, somebody pinched my butt.

Hard.

Startled, I stood up so fast I clipped the top of my head on the counter. With a groan, I leaned against the granite, wincing. “Enough, already. Stop it.”

A low laugh echoed through the kitchen and as I glanced into the sink, I saw a bubble of blood rising from the drain.

“Holy fuck – stop it. Just stop it!”

The laughter continued and I slammed the dishwasher door shut and backed away. As I turned around, a plat flew off one of the shelves and whirled past me, just missing me.

I ducked as a teacup followed suit.

“Get out . . . ” The voice rumbled low as the lights in the kitchen flickered off and on. Easing back, I stepped out of the room and waited. A moment later, the heavy atmosphere vanished and I eased my way back in. The energy had lightened and when I glanced into the sink, it was clear – no sign of blood.

I turned on the dishwasher and went in to wake Ralph. If we didn’t do something soon, Patrick’s vision of a bed-and-breakfast would remain just that.

FTC Advisory: Penguin/Berkley provided me with a copy of Flight from Death. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

I enjoy dragon books and I was really excited to see that FLIGHT FROM DEATH featured a FEMALE dragon as its heroine. The fly by night series is set in the Otherworld. I have not completed Yasmine's Otherworld series and there were a few mentions of stuff happening between Alex and Shimmer that seem to have appeared in a previous book (Otherworld #15.5; Fly by Night, #0.5), so I wanted to mention that so you know going in. I don't feel it took anything away from the story and I wasn't really lost, but it probably would be nice to have read it going in.

Shimmer is an interesting character. She has been exiled from the Dragon Reaches and stripped of most of her magic. She's working at the Fly By Night Magical Investigations Agency during her punishment, but she actually likes working there. I thought she was a strong character. We learn about her in little bits throughout the book instead of finding out everything we needed to know in the beginning.

There is some romance between Shimmer and Alex. We find out in the beginning of the book that Shimmer is drawn to Alex and then find out the feelings are returned a tad bit later in the story. They don't really have time to be together with the case they are working, but when they do find time, they are as hot together as you would imagine after meeting them.

I think I might have went into FLIGHT FROM DEATH with too high of expectations. I thought the book was interesting, but I wasn't totally sold on it. I liked the main character and some of the secondary characters definitely kept things interesting. I had a hard time getting completely into the case the characters were working and the resolution didn't blow my mind. I however did like the book enough to want to read book 2, so I say that the start of the Fly by Night series was nice.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )