this week is different….

On April 14th, I’m having a surgery that requires two weeks of recuperation. I doubt I will be quite as bloggy during that time, so I pre-scheduled a review of a series for you. The posts will be shorter, but I have it scheduled so WordPress is publishing one each day. I hope you enjoy!

a note about the series

S.M. Reine created a whole universe of characters. That means that much like the Valdemar series I read by Mercedes Lackey, you get series within a larger “series.” While you do not have to read any other S.M. Reine series before you get to Preternatural Affairs, they do take place in the same universe, so if I comment on a character I was glad to see back, I’m referring to either The Descent series or Seasons of the Moon/The Cain Chronicles. Reine is a skilled at world building, rewarding her loyal readers.

witch hunt (#1 PReternatural affairs)

Cèsar Hawke is an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs, Magical Violations Department. If anyone asks, he says he’s with the FBI. No need to cause a panic and let humans know there is a department that manages interactions with humans, angels, and demons. Or that the world is always teetering on the brink of collapse of these three planes of existence. After Cèsar wakes up in his apartment thinking he merely had a great night, he realizes his date is dead in his bathtub, he has scratch marks on his arm, and a pistol he doesn’t recognize in the living room. Will the OPA come to the assist? And who killed the woman?

While I didn’t feel like I got to know Cèsar well in this first installment, other than he’s a witch, I enjoyed S.M. Reine’s trademark snark. Cèsar describes being in a holding cell: “I was alone with my view of the drizzly spring day for about an hour. Just me and my thoughts and a determined sparrow shrieking. It was kind of nice. Meditative.” And though you may shy away from urban fiction, be aware Reine mixes reality with fantasy in a pleasurable way: “This was the guy that had once stolen a dozen MacBook Pro laptops from an Apple Store while it was open — and escaped without getting caught. Casting a circle of power around a bar filled with demons unseen was nothing compared to his battle with the Geniuses.”

For the next book: I want to know more about what makes Cèsar unique and to read more action action scenes and less running around playing detective trying to clear his name.