The Fallen Siren Series, Prequel #0.5
by S.J. Harper
GENRE: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance
Join FBI Agents Emma Monroe and Zack Armstrong.
She’s a Siren. He’s a Werewolf.
Their mission is redemption.
Emma Monroe is a Fallen Siren, cursed by the gods and banished to Earth for her failure to prevent the kidnapping of Persephone. She’s had many names and many lives, but only one mission: redemption. Now she works for the FBI and is on temporary assignment in Charleston. Solving this next missing persons case could be the key to ending her ancient curse—unless the temptation that’s her new partner gets in the way.
Zack Armstrong is a Werewolf. Tall, dark, and dangerous, he currently works for one of the bureau’s elite Child Abduction Rapid Deployment teams. In many respects the man is every bit as mysterious as his secret and perilous past. But there are two things he’s certain about, that he’s going to get his man and his woman.
When Zack finds himself suddenly shy a partner and a third child goes missing in Charleston, Emma goes from consultant to CARD team member in the space of a few hours. The abductions of the first two boys ended in murder, an outcome that neither Zack nor Emma can abide. As they race against time to track down the kidnapper and rescue the latest victim, they find themselves fighting something just as treacherous—a growing attraction that can’t be ignored or denied.
The first book in this series, Cursed, came out last year and I loved it (review of Cursed). At the beginning of Cursed we meet Emma and she is pretty freaked out when a certain smexy shifter shows up to help her on a case. We find out they worked a case together in Charleston, S.C. and had a one night stand. Captured is about what went down during that investigation...and I don't mean just the case ;)
I really like the concept of this series; Emma is a Siren trying to earn redemption from the vengeful goddess Demeter, and Zack is a werewolf looking for redemption for all the deaths he caused as a Black Ops solider.
There is a romance and one erotic sex scene in Captured, but the series is written like an urban fantasy/crime/mystery (I'm sure there is a niffty sub-genre title for this <G>) from the POV of Emma. Cursed is also written like this.
There's a lot of suspense as the two agents track down the killer and I was never sure what the outcome was going to be until the very end. The writing style is a nice change from what I usually read in urban fantasy. I don't want to piss anyone off, but...<G> men and women write UF differently, generally speaking. SJ Harper reads like a male written UF, so it was a little jarring to run across the erotic sex scene. Felt all wrong <G>. There were some places where the story lagged a bit, but over all an excellent story.
I am such a sucker for a good UF cover and I love the cover art on this series. I have had book one on the wishlist and definitely adding the next two. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. (psst I agree with the gender writing styles and it is always surprising when the author or as in this case authors break the mold a bit). I am a total story driving gal and a good story will cover a multitude of sins in my mind so this sounds like a dandy read ;)
ReplyDeleteMe too! Fantasy covers are also amazing. I will forgive a lot for a good story too :)
DeleteNice review! And thanks for introducing me to a new UF series, its been a while and I need a new UF series to pick up!
ReplyDeleteyour welcome! You might want to look at Dead Things by Stephen Moore.
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