Customer Reviews

Second Skin (Nocturne City, Book 3)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow. Where do I start? There is so much I didn't like about this installment of this series. The general concept of the series is great but, when I dislike the main character it makes it tough for me to have any sympathy or empathy for that character.

Luna's general nasty disposition and rudeness, makes her an unlikeable character. Sure sometimes it can be funny, but mostly she lashes out at people who don't deserve it.

Others have given a synopsis of the story. So I'll just point out the things that really bothered me about this book.


SPOILERS BELOW

While investigating a case that she was not supposed to, Luna knowingly participates in aiding and abetting a killer. Said killer then tries to kill her on several more occasions and she still does nothing to bring the killer to justice as she swore she would do when she initially got involved in the case.

Her relationship with Dmitri is shakey at best, but she doesn't do anything to make it any better. On several occasions she goes out of her way to humiliate and embarass him. (As a side note: It's been a while since I read that book, but, didn't Dmitri get bitten by the daemon as a result of trying to help Luna in the first place?)

Since the main character doesn't appeal to me on any level I most likely will not continue to follow this series.

No plot summaries or spoilers, though be warned I do touch upon the romance aspect a bit.

This is BOOK 3.
Series:
Book 1: Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1)
Book 2: Pure Blood (Nocturne City, Book 2)

HIGH LEVEL: This isn't my favorite series, but its gritty, edgy style is sometimes exactly what I'm looking for. The characters are strong, the magic is visceral and the conflicts are desperate. The magic is intense. You'll find werewolves, witches, demons and any manner of cruel, evil beasts. The atmosphere is dark and wretched and hope is sometimes elusive, but always ready for a fight. It isn't the smoothest series and "romance" is closer to a four letter word than anything you might be familiar with. It isn't sexy, but it is tough with equal parts wry humor and grit rooted in a procedural cop mystery with a magical twist.

That said, this book took some real patience to read. I'm one of the most stubborn, contrary women I know- but even I wanted to punch my dear Luna (the heroine) in the jaw more than once. Don't get me wrong- I like her and I still like her, but her thorns grew more than teeth in this installment. Her normally obstinate nature, became completely obnoxious. She just seemed to be picking unnecessary fights constantly and it went beyond humorous. There wasn't much character growth here.

PLOT: was pretty good- brought in some new creatures, new magic. The use of a couple of supporting characters was also good. It left me with a solid impression of the story, but there was so much more to this book emotionally that just felt wrong. The character's prickly nature made it hard to stomach. The romance took a nosedive in a seemingly pointless fashion. I can only hope that this gets fixed in later books. Seriously- you'd have to be a saint, or a serious sinner, to fall for Luna and Dmitry should be getting an award, not the cold shoulder.

HOWEVER: The final resolution was, as usual, well done and satisfying and the set up at the end felt right- as if future books will finally have something of a solid base to work from. It was unfortunate that the relationships were somewhat torpedoed in the process, but at the end I was glad I read it and I plan on continuing the series- on another day when I'm feeling somewhat self-destructive and masochistic.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Karen Chance's two highly energetic, very sexy vamp series Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, Book 1) and the related series (start reading Cassandra's series first) Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir, Book 1)
Jeaniene Frost's vamp mystery packed with action Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)
Jennifer Estep's stone-magic wielding, hard, cold, vicious assassin Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1)
Kim Harrison's witch/vamp/pixie team of private eyes in Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1)
Lilith Saintcrow's two series, both darker and far more gritty Night Shift (Jill Kismet, Hunter, Book 1) and Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1)
Nalini Singh's creative use of angels and vampires in Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter)

This series started off with a good premise - a hard-as-nails police officer, plenty of paranormal stuff happening. But after a while, I grew to dislike the heroine. She has a nasty temper, which she does little about and feels little remorse for, which makes her a jerk. (Her relationship with her boyfriend is borderline abusive - and like the typical abuser, she cries when he leaves her). The story also became unbelievable -- she is rewarded for her hard-headed, bad behavior by being promoted, in a laughably unlikely plot twist.

I would like to have seen this character grow and develop, but she just doesn't. It's bad when all the supporting characters are so much more interesting than the main one. I wanted to go spend time with her sister and grandmother, who are practicing withces, and leave this heroine to her destructive and self-pitying rampages.

I loved the first two books in this series but I was a little disappointed in this one. One of the main characters is not introduced until the middle of the book. Luna's character does not seem to develop or change but she gets even more stubborn, if possible. The ending is what really frustrated me. Also, I liked Dmitri a lot more than I liked Luna in this book. I hope Witchcraft is better. At this point, I think I prefer Rachel Vincent's werecat series.

I love Luna as a police officer. Her personality is completed suited to being a hardcore, gritty, kick butt cop. But as a girlfriend?...she's awful! Why was she so nasty to Dmitri all the time? Sure, Dmitri has major issues, but Luna has a nasty streak that is very off putting.
The second half of this book was terrific. Dmitri gets smart and leaves...Lucas enters and it was a great read from there.
I can't say I like Luna, but she's a great cop, and all in all, I like this series.

This is one of several books written by this author and it is an excellent read. I downloaded via Whispernet for my Kindle and have enjoyed it tremendously. She is an excellent writer and the story line is very addictive. Thanks!!!!!

I read the first book in this series and then the second and I loved them. I devoured them in a weekend. then, I get to this one.

To start, I really think she ruined Dmitri. He was a good character and he had potential to be a great character. However, she threw him into Luna's house sitting around and just being an "annoyance" to her. I put that in quotes because I just think Luna is overall a rotten, unhappy person who doesn't know how to talk to anyone. She's continually abrasive to Dmitri and I don't think his "underhanded" means of trying to mark her is a big deal. Especially since she doesn't let him help her in any way.

His dominance doesn't bother me because he's still several steps below Clay from Kelley Armstrong's books and I love Clay to death.

I think that Luna, like many urban fantasy female leads, has just gone in a terrible direction. Being a strong heroine doesn't mean you are a relentless, rude person to everyone and that being mean to your supposed mate is alright.

I wanted to read the whole series but now I don't think I will. I hardly got through this one.

And don't be fooled. This is not paranormal romance. The closest to romance is every time Luna flips out on Dmitri for hardly any reason.

Luna retains her abrasive personality but grows up a little bit. I think that she is using "werewolves are short tempered" as an excuse. Some of the characters are getting better. But overall the plot is weak. Some surprises but not terribly intriguing. '''''' or dæmons are "good or malevolent supernatural beings between mortals and gods." Which occupied a lot of Plato's writings. Today they are a type of computer programming construct. In neither case are they similar to or equivalent to demons. EMT procedures are pretty screwed up in this story. Yes this is a fantasy but unless there is a bases for differences then realistic procedures should be followed. (For instance how would current EMT/Paramedic procedures change if you had to deal with werewolves?) Also the exploding car gas tank--just doesn't happen in real life unless a business associate makes it. Besides at this point its a real cliche. These minor annoyances detract from the overall flow of the story.

I really enjoyed the 3rd book in this series because it shows Luna taking chances even though she knows she could come out a looser in all. I found this to be a "cant stop til the book is over " read. The only sad note is the ending of this book...it leaves a definate LOOSE ending and I do not want to give away the ending but I am hoping there is resolution in book 4 "Witch Craft". Other than the ending -which does have a huge impact on Luna -I loved this book and definately recommend it for all!!

Although Nocturne City werewolf police officer Luna Wilder has been transferred to SWAT to allegedly better use her aggressive behavior, her former partner in homicide Detective David Bryson pleads with her to assist him on a weird case. He is investigating the execution style deaths of four weres from the oldest most powerful packs.

Luna quickly finds a link to the legendary Wendigo shapeshifters who drink the blood of their victims. Neither she nor the coroner is prepared for the four dead were to reanimate into something deadlier. Luna survives their assault, but knows her unknown adversary is becoming increasingly powerful and soon will be invincible; what she also does not know is that their leader Lucas has special plans for her.

The latest Nocturne City police procedural fantasy (see NIGHT LIFE and PURE BLOOD) is an exciting homicide investigation in which the legend proves lethally real. The brass still thinks Luna is a lunatic with her obstinate independence, but also knows she gets results. However, this time failure may prove even worse than death as Lucas has chosen Luna for a chosen role in his Wendigo pack. Fans will relish this action-packed thriller from the opening execution to the final graveyard visit.

Harriet Klausner