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Battle Scars Blood of the Pride eBook Sheryl Nantus

Download As PDF : Battle Scars Blood of the Pride eBook Sheryl Nantus

Battle Scars Blood of the Pride eBook Sheryl Nantus

I liked a number of things about this read, especially the way it turned out, and I can congratulate myself on predicting one event that Reb didn't have a clue was coming. However, Reb's doubts and fears that Bran would get involved with Angie were foolish. That's not a choice he would have made, even with the tangle of regrets he felt over what he'd been unable to do for the street kids before.

Red is a great new character, and that's just one reason I hope Ms. Nantus is not finished writing stories in this world. Yes, the central romantic relationship has grown solid by withstanding tests on both sides, but that doesn't mean they have nothing left to be explored (Reb's sporadic ability to change, for instance), or investigations to carry out.

I do find the physical violence of Bran's temper a smidge troublesome (something I considered mentioning re. the previous volume), though he's never done anything to hurt Reb or even Jazz (Reb's/their pet cat). I guess it makes him able to more nearly accept the all-too-"traditional" way Felis usualy settle disputes, i.e., fists-and-claws challenges, and to fully accept carnal dominance play (including injuries) with Reb. (N.b., for those who don't want bedroom stuff in their urban fantasy, the series is fade-to-black, not explicit.)

As for proofreading/editing, there were over a half-dozen spots I marked this time. I noted a couple iffy wordings, such as "less" which s/b "fewer" when referring to people, and "farther" which I believe s/b "further" when referring to medical treatment, and "in three days", which sounds like a set time rather than the time LIMIT intended, better expressed using "within" or "by". One distinctive bit of descriptive imagery, I remember her using before: a long, thin guy who ((paraphrasing)) "could slip down the shower drain" — not an error, per se, but an editor should've advised against the repetition. There are also a subject/object error ("prompted Brandon and I") and one missing verb ("then I her home").
There were also a few points that I'm pretty sure are internal inconsistencies. Two are minor: what time it is when a meeting takes place (after a drive then a long nap), and scanning both kids' photos, despite one having been received already in digital format (emailed). However, one repeated confusion relates to the central conflict: who caused whose grandmother's DEATH in the feud-initiating Challenge, and which family lodged a formal complaint with the Grand Council? I'm pretty sure that gets misattributed more than once, too precisely for the irrationality of those descended from the INJURED participant to justify.

Regardless of nitpicking, though, I was entertained by the story. I really ought to go through all my Kinde-posted reviews, sent simultaneously to Amazon and Goodreads, and fix the ones which, like this, deserve a four on Amazon, since that's their "I liked it" level.


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Battle Scars Blood of the Pride eBook Sheryl Nantus Reviews

Stayed up until midnight to finish this one. Fourth in an urban fantasy series about Toronto P.I. and outcast Felis shifter Rebecca and human investigative reporter Brandon. This time the plot had shades of Romeo and Juliet as well as an interesting look at teen runaways on Toronto streets. Very readable with some nice plot twists. I like how Rebecca and Brandon's relationship has developed across the series as well as Rebecca's uncomfortable push-pull relationship with Jess, a Felis leader.
And so we come to the fourth and, so far, final novel in Sheryl Nantus' Rebecca Desjardin series, and Rebecca is still a private eye in Toronto, she's still hooked up with Brandon Hanover, she's still living on the boundaries of both the human and Jess Hammersythe's shapeshifting Pride, and Rebecca STILL can't totally shapeshift into her inner cat. And she's still not a morning person.

And now into her life comes Jake Middleston, an old-school Pride member with a problem, well, two actually. The first is that he doesn't really trust Rebecca because of her inability to totally shapeshift, and because of who she's chosen as a mate, and the second is that he resents bringing her into his personal problems. The big problem is that his baby girl has run away from home a few days shy of her eighteenth birthday, and, HORRORS!!, Lisa's done it with Evan Chandler. Bad news because the Middletons and the Chandlers are having a blood feud, and they've done gone and dragged their kits into it.

While out there doing her gumshoe best, Rebecca and Brandon meet Angie Degas, ex-street kid, who Brandon couldn't help years ago, and whose presence will start complicating things.

They also find that they are being shadowed by a couple of bruisers, one each from the Chandler and the Middleton clans, and things will get nasty as one of them will end up putting Rebecca into the hospital.

With each consecutive novel, Nantus has been drifting away from her urban fantasy roots in this series, and with "Battle Scars", the urban fantasy elements are put on the backburner for her main story. Good detective and mystery stories have always had at least one foot stuck into some form of social commentary, so here Nantus rips into blood feuds, prejudice, classism, cloisterism, and other things as Rebecca finds herself embroiled, again, in the Toronto Pride's politics, trying to do the right thing and not get herself stomped into the ground at the same time.

And then the unthinkable happens, one of the offended parties commits the ultimate sin. They kidnap somebody close to Brandon, guess who, and it's not Rebecca, and they just might cause the spotlight of publicity to be shown on the cloistered and secretive Prides.

On the positive side, even though this is the last Rebecca Desjardin novel, at least for a while, Nantus still leaves the ending of "Battle Scars" open for another novel in this series, whether or not it stars Rebecca, or even a solo novel starring Jess. Heck, if Carole Nelson Douglas can give us a Midnight Louie series, why not a Jazz story? I'd read that.

All-in-all, it's obvious to me that Nantus is not only improving as an author she's become more and more comfortable with writing Rebecca, and I'll honestly miss her. After all, Rebecca and Brandon are one of the most enjoyable couples in the detective fiction field that I've met since I first watched the Thin Man movies over forty years ago. Maybe if Steven Spielberg decides to turn this series into a movie she'll reconsider her ending the series, but until then, I'll look forward to her next writing adventure.

While the reader benefits from reading all four of the Rebecca Desjardin novels in order, the reader can also read them as stand-alones.

Oh yeah, and Jess gets a boyfriend. Maybe.

For this site I have reviewed these other urban fantasy books that have a mystery theme

Allie Beckstrom #1 Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom, Book 1) by Devon Monk.
Allie Beckstrom #2 Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk.
Allie Beckstrom #3 Magic In The Shadows by Devon Monk.
Allie Beckstrom #4 Magic On The Storm by Devon Monk.
Allie Beckstrom #5 Magic At The Gate by Devon Monk.
Blood Of The Pride #1 Blood of the Pride by Sheryl Nantus.
Blood Of The Pride #2 Claws Bared (Blood of the Pride) by Sheryl Nantus.
Blood Of The Pride #3 Family Pride (Blood of the Pride)by Sheryl Nantus.
Genevieve "Evie" Scelan #1 Spiral Hunt (Evie Scelan) by Margaret Ronald.
Genevieve "Evie" Scelan #2 Wild Hunt by Margaret Ronald.
Mercy Hollings #1 Beg for Mercy (A Mercy Hollings Novel) by Toni Andrews.
Mercy Hollings #2 Angel of Mercy (Mercy Hollings, Book 2) by Toni Andrews.
Mercy Hollings #3 Cry Mercy (A Mercy Hollings Novel).

And this anthology which contain some urban fantasies

 Crime Spells edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Loren L. Coleman. Which contains the first Allie Beckstrom story.
Huntress.
A blast from Bran's past sets Reb back on her heels when they enlist his old flame to crack their latest case, offering delightful juxtaposition to the Felis widower pawing at Reb back in "Claws Bared." Surprises abound in this "Romeo & Juliet" retelling, including the lengths to which two warring Felis clans will go to return their wayward children home.

We're treated to a view of Felis culture and clan politics from the inside, both from the point of view of the young lovers (the teen runaways, that is) and that of "Ol' Red"--a grizzled street veteran who any underestimate at their own peril (including 'Felis matron Jess after he melts her stony heart.) Reb takes the fight right back to the Pride, dropping one of the warring clans' would-be enforcers like a bad habit! She and Bran enable the teens to set right generations-old grudges and slights, paving the way for Reb and Jess to do likewise.

But before all's well can end well, Reb and Bran must defend themselves against a savage attack in their own home by one of the warring clansmen. Their love for each other (and a conveniently placed set of stairs) helps them carry the day and shout a clear message across the Ontario countryside--"we too are Pride!"
I liked a number of things about this read, especially the way it turned out, and I can congratulate myself on predicting one event that Reb didn't have a clue was coming. However, Reb's doubts and fears that Bran would get involved with Angie were foolish. That's not a choice he would have made, even with the tangle of regrets he felt over what he'd been unable to do for the street kids before.

Red is a great new character, and that's just one reason I hope Ms. Nantus is not finished writing stories in this world. Yes, the central romantic relationship has grown solid by withstanding tests on both sides, but that doesn't mean they have nothing left to be explored (Reb's sporadic ability to change, for instance), or investigations to carry out.

I do find the physical violence of Bran's temper a smidge troublesome (something I considered mentioning re. the previous volume), though he's never done anything to hurt Reb or even Jazz (Reb's/their pet cat). I guess it makes him able to more nearly accept the all-too-"traditional" way Felis usualy settle disputes, i.e., fists-and-claws challenges, and to fully accept carnal dominance play (including injuries) with Reb. (N.b., for those who don't want bedroom stuff in their urban fantasy, the series is fade-to-black, not explicit.)

As for proofreading/editing, there were over a half-dozen spots I marked this time. I noted a couple iffy wordings, such as "less" which s/b "fewer" when referring to people, and "farther" which I believe s/b "further" when referring to medical treatment, and "in three days", which sounds like a set time rather than the time LIMIT intended, better expressed using "within" or "by". One distinctive bit of descriptive imagery, I remember her using before a long, thin guy who ((paraphrasing)) "could slip down the shower drain" — not an error, per se, but an editor should've advised against the repetition. There are also a subject/object error ("prompted Brandon and I") and one missing verb ("then I her home").
There were also a few points that I'm pretty sure are internal inconsistencies. Two are minor what time it is when a meeting takes place (after a drive then a long nap), and scanning both kids' photos, despite one having been received already in digital format (emailed). However, one repeated confusion relates to the central conflict who caused whose grandmother's DEATH in the feud-initiating Challenge, and which family lodged a formal complaint with the Grand Council? I'm pretty sure that gets misattributed more than once, too precisely for the irrationality of those descended from the INJURED participant to justify.

Regardless of nitpicking, though, I was entertained by the story. I really ought to go through all my Kinde-posted reviews, sent simultaneously to and Goodreads, and fix the ones which, like this, deserve a four on , since that's their "I liked it" level.