3.75- probably not a series for my read again" pile but well done ( )

I hate to do this to this author because I love her Beginner's Guide to Necromancy series but I just couldn't get into this book.

The characters were blah so I couldn't connect. I couldn't feel the romance at all. it just didn't flow.

I had to force myself to get through the book. ( )

Dog with a Bone by Hailey Edwards
Book 1 of the Black Dog series. Urban fantasy novella. New adult (heroine is 18), older hero.
Thierry is a half blood and has no options in a career other than as a Marshall. Her first week on the job has her fighting for her life along with her partner Shaw against a surprising foe.

The reader is thrown immediately into the action of her training and then her first couple of cases. There isn’t much world building but we get brief glimpses of a friendship and trauma of her past. The attraction of Thierry and Shaw preexists the start of this novella. I didn’t really feel the attraction but some of the innuendos are amusing.

Excerpt:
“I thought a rogue bear broke the camp’s perimeter. I returned the favor.“
“Do you often run out of tents naked to confront danger?”
He didn’t blink. “Commando is more comfortable for me.”
“What about the rest of us? Nine other campers saw your twig and berries.”
Excerpt from Dog With a Bone by Hailey Edwards

3.5. I will read the next book to get more of the world building. ( )

Dog with a Bone is a prequel, of sorts, to the rest of the Black Dog series. It introduces us to Thierry, graduating her training and starting to work as supernatural law enforcement. One particular thing about Thierry I liked is that her father is the Black Dog, a magical fae leader, and everyone expects her to live up to his abilities and respect him, while she knows him only as the absentee father who left her mother alone to raise her.

It's your basic urban fantasy, with mysterious fae deaths, a hot partner, and some new and maybe uncontrollable powers. It read like a stand-alone adventure (MOW), which was a nice break from reading so many series that build and build until their opponents are mythical.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.

Hailey Edward�Ûªs first book in her urban fantasy Black Dog series is a fun afternoon read. We meet the main character, half-fae Thierry, as she completes her training and begins her career as a marshal (fae peacekeeper). Her academy instructor, Shaw, becomes her real world partner and trainer and the pair is immediately thrust into an investigation with far-reaching implications.

During the action-packed story, Edwards creates an engaging world and builds a solid foundation for character growth. Thierry and Shaw‰Ûªs interaction is engaging and Edwards does a superb job of edging their relationship from student/mentor to potentially romantic. The interconnected and seamless advancement of story and character leaves the reader smiling. In the end, the immediate threat is satisfyingly neutralized and the next story is dangled in front of the reader without frustration.

Story length makes this a 3, not a 4, star read for me. Book 2 is definitely on my to-be-read list.
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