Lannister's Reviews > Raven Cursed

Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series must be one of the most under-rated UF series out there. It rarely gets mentioned in the same company as Kate Daniels or Fever, or other high profile series, and it really should. These books are every bit as good, and they get better as they go on.

Many of the plot lines from the previous novel, Mercy Blade, spill over into this book, as Jane returns to her home turf to provide security for a parley between a local fanghead and Gregoire, one of Leo's associates. There are also a couple of rogue werewolves from the last book on a killing spree, and Jane's guilt compels her to become involved. Molly's family feature prominently again too, with Evie's odd behaviour in Mercy Blade becoming significant. Jane is placed in a difficult situation having to deal with divided loyalties and her fear of bringing harm to those she is closest too. The luscious Ricky Bo is around too, dealing with his own Big Cat issues. I'd hoped for a little more development in Jane and Ricky's relationship, but he has a lot to deal with so I can understand why it wasn't forefront.

I've always liked the vampires in these stories, with their political scheming and manipulating. I love a sexy vampire as much as the next gal, and the fangheads that Jane Yellowrock deals with are gorgeous and intoxicating, but they're also dangerous and unpredictable. I was a little disappointed at first that Leo and Bruiser didn't feature much in the book, but Gregoire and his twin blood servants filled the gap nicely.

Something happens with Beast in this book (won't go into detail), and I was as upset as Jane was about it. Beast is such a fabulous character, with her own unique identity, despite existing only in Jane's head. There's an awesome scene between Beast and Kem-Cat, where we learn just who is alpha, and I was practically cheering when I read it! I also love how Beast gets horny when she spots a good-looking guy. Jane tries to deny what she's seeing or feeling, but Beast just purrs! Rrrrrr!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. I'm just disappointed that I'll need to wait possibly a year to find out what happens next.