Friday, October 13, 2017

Short Book Reviews: A Magical Bed and Breakfast, with Occasional Werewolf

The Innkeeper Chronicles, Volume One, by Ilona Andrews, Subterranean Press, 2017. (Clean Sweep, Sweep in Peace, One Fell Sweep).


This husband and wife writing team, using her name, Ilona Andrews, obviously had a terrifically good time with their free, serialized urban fantasy “Innkeeper” novels. 

A charming young innkeeper, Dina Demille (from the innkeeper family of the same name), is like any other innkeeper bonded to her sentient and extremely powerful and magical inn, Gertrude Hunt. Scattered over Earth, these inns provide neutral havens for interstellar creatures. Dina is dedicated to the safety and comfort of her guests, many of whom would otherwise be at each other’s throats. Predictably, events and blood-thirsty, revenge-driven and otherwise unlaw-abiding forces collude to interrupt that peace. 

Although blessed with supernatural powers within the inn’s grounds, Dina becomes ordinary the farther she gets from home. To meet the various threats, she therefore acquires allies and (sometimes would-be lovers) in the form of sexy werewolves and equally sexy vampires, but the real charm of these stories lies in her courage and resourcefulness, coupled with a not inconsiderable thread of whimsy. 

Humor, romance, and suspense are nicely balanced against each other, and the central characters are so appealing, I was sad when I finished the last page. (Not to be too sad: the Innkeeper website assures me there will be more! Check it out here: http://innkeeper.ilona-andrews.com/)

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