Sunday, June 26, 2011

Dark Descendant by Jenna Black

Nikki Glass is a private investigator who isn't quite sure how to solve the issue her current client has hired her for. Emmitt had hired Nikki to investigate a rumored cult house that his girlfriend Maggie had migrated to. So when Emmitt calls Nikki during her doomed blind date, she latches onto the handy escape route and leaves to meet Emmitt. He is sure that the gate to the house is unlatched and that he and she can get Maggie out of the house, a house where Emmitt is convinced she is staying against her will.

However, when Nikki gets to the large, looming house, Emmitt is nowhere to be seen. She decides to drive up the icy road and loses control of her car when she swerves to avoid Emmitt, who is standing in the middle of the road. The out-of-control car still hits Emmitt and then a tree. As she lies on the ground, convinced she is badly hurt, Nikki is shocked when men surround her, angrily yelling at her for killing Emmitt and then kick her in the head.

When Nikki awakes, she learns a few things. Emmitt was a member of the house and used her to seek his death. The house is full of immortal beings, children of the gods. In fact, they believe that Nikki herself is a descendant of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. She doesn't believe them, but the tattoo appearing on her forehead and her speed healing cause her to pause. Not to mention her unsurpassed accuracy at shooting her gun or her new agility and speed.

The Olympians are a rival clan of immortals, and they believe in seeking and destroying all descendants who do not bow to them. Nikki isn't sure which clan she belongs to, even though the clan that beat the crap out of her tells her that they are the good guys! But when Nikki's sister is threatened, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

DARK DESCENDANT is a thrilling new urban fantasy with large doses of mythology. Nikki is a terrific heroine; complex, gritty and yet, she still retains her feminism. The world-building is fascinating, the cast of characters eccentric and compelling and the dialogue sharp and entertaining. DARK DESCENDANT grabs you from the first page and holds you in its relentless grip to its exciting ending. Don't miss it!

1 comment:

  1. I've been meaning to read this one, but it keeps getting pushed further down by TBR pile as other new releases catch my attention.

    Yay, for solid world-building, that's what I like to see. Too many books these days have been skimming on that element.

    Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete

The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.

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