Andrea Speed

3.5 Stars rounded up

For those looking for something a bit different from the typical were/shifter canon, this is your book. In this reality, if you're not human, you're either born with a cat affliction or infected with one of the various cat viruses. Regardless, this change to animal form occurs monthly without conscious effort or retaining one's humanity. This series focuses on Roan, an ex-cop turned private detective, who along with his lover Paris, somehow finds himself smack dab in the middle of solving cat related crimes - intentional or not.

MC Roan is a born cat. On the outside, he's kinda an asshole - jaded, stoic, grumpy, and cynical. However deep down he's a fatalistic tragic hero with a heart of gold and a strong yearning for justice.

Paris, infected by the cat virus, is his equally fatalistic partner - a seemingly gentle, charismatic soul who wields his charm expertly with a manipulative edge and grit.

That being said, those who want erotica, you're not going to find it here. It's actually a dense with details, paranormal mystery as Roan inevitably uncovers something more sinister while investigating his various cases. This book has kidnapping, murder, cultism, hate crimes, and religious fanaticism. It also has self deprecating humor, wonderful wit, sexy banter, and unfortunately tragedy, for being infected is "not cool, not sexy, not exotic; (but) painful, heartbreaking, agonizing".

There is romance and it's a very touching, emotional one at that - but all smex is off page. At it's core, it has wonderful world building, interesting suspenseful plots, and great complex characters who have a lot of story left to tell - especially as Roan's special abilities grow and Paris's ultimate fate is further explored. An overall great entry to the genre!

And a shout out to a great BR with Sofia, Rosa, and Otila. Thanks girls!
… (mehr)

4.5 Stars

If you have not started this series or are waffling about finishing it, don't. It has everything you could want in a great story - action, love, devastation, redemption. Oh no doubt you'll have palpations, you'll most likely cry, you'll definitely be angry and outraged and horrified. But as I've said before, this is also one of the smartest series I've ever read too. Rich story telling, grand love, gruesome violence, genius humor, and that ever so present harsh reality that never, ever pulled its punches.

Speed is amazing at such great snark, with insightful peeks into human nature and the psyches of all her characters - each having many layers for you to discover. Is it perfect? No. But this was so fucking full of cynical sarcasm and wit - the truth hurts but man does Speed make you think on it and see it in a new light.

So in reference to the title - this does commemorate the life and times of Roan. He's done what he can, he's reconciled quite a few issues, and he's definitely left his mark on all those having the honor, or misfortune, to come in contact with him. I admit I'm a bit lost, waffling between sadness and relief at this bittersweet ending. I only hope to come across this amazing character in future works, and of course see him being the happiest typical asshole, ex-batman, bastard that he is.

Thank you Otila, Rosa, Sheri and Sofia for this final round! Drinks on me!… (mehr)

4.5 Stars

So the saga of Roan, aka Batman, continues and I was not disappointed. In this installment, there was a lot of character development where motivation and feelings were explored more. We see a different side to Dylan. Though he feels powerless to keep Roan safe, he makes his needs known, pushing Roan to be more aware of the consequences of his actions. He's deceptively insightful, surprisingly forceful. Holden too plays a major part, becoming an invaluable part of the team. He's full of street cred, the perfect partner as he works the opposite angles of their investigations. His moral ambiguity allows certain things to get resolved. Will it complement Roan or corrupt both of them further? And let's not forget the fabulous group of kickass hockey players. What started off as a client/investigator relationship changed to almost a surrogate family. Tough, fierce, crazy - their loyalty and acceptance were a joy to read.

I continue to appreciate the exceptional humor, the bitter sarcasm. At times this was a lot of fun - at others, the mysteries/cases were particularly dark and disturbing. Speed as always, continues to show the absolute horrible depravity and evil that some are capable of, and this was probably the most brutal entry yet.

There's a lot of debate and back and forth, regarding Roan's other half. Some are scared of it. Some want him to embrace and own it. Others want him to use it to champion all infecteds, while many condemn him for merely existing. He too, constantly struggles with the uncertainty of his condition. Can he keep his humanity? Who's in control of whom? Surely he must realize that his very nature allows him to do what he does best - protect and mete out justice. But of course being a "superhero" does have potential consequences; his greatest fear being that it will hurt those he loves. Time will only tell if Speed allows him to come to peace with this internal fight and whether or not his living by the sword will be his undoing.

"He was born this way, caught between human and virus, lion and man, a hybrid compromise between two incompatible states... he was a thing that shouldn't have been."


Thanks to Desinka, Meep, Otila, Rosa, Sheri and Sofia for another fabulous BR!… (mehr)

Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

What an exceptional ending? this book was to the Infected series. Roan and Dylan are having their relationship ups and downs due to their own insecurities and a long tally of lies on Roan's part. The virus seems to have mutated making Roan one of a kind Infected and Dr. Rosenberg doesn't even have a clue about what is happening in Roan's body. Roan manages to pick up two big clients. He is hired by Grey Williams who is a professional hockey player to find the killer of a pre-op transsexual friend of Grey's. The case has been sitting cold in another precinct but Roan soon heats it up. Roan and Dylan also manage to inherit Grey's entire hockey team and a great extra cast of characters. The second client is a creep of a software billionaire named Robert Hatcher who wants Roan to find his missing son, Jordan. The Hatcher case brings more of a focus on Holden and his many talents as Hatcher has more secrets in his closet than you can imagine. I did not read the previous Infected books so this new, novel approach to shifters was all new to me. Ms Speed has created a dark and edgy new world which I fell into easily. Roan, Dylan and Holden were all perfectly thought out and developed characters with their own strengths and flaws. I was a little bit lost about Paris at first because of starting with book five but that was the book the publisher wanted reviewed. I plan on starting the series from the beginning very soon. The hockey team was a riot the way they just picked up Roan and integrated him into their ranks. Scott, Grey and Tank were fun secondary characters. Holden was my personal favorite character with his no bullshit attitude. Yes Roan and Dylan were the central characters in the book but Holden was clear cut and not as angsty as Roan and Dylan. Robert Hatcher was just evil incarnate and should have been killed in my opinion. I am in awe of how Ms Speed managed to juggle such a large cast of characters and still have the storyline read almost flawlessly. The action and suspense in this book never let up and while the book can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone as I read it, I would suggest that the books be read in order so some holes are filled in. I heartily recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique spin on a shifter story with more than enough action to keep any reader's attention.… (mehr)