Kate and Curran are back, and they're in fine form. While the Kate/Curran relationship isn't the only reason I read this series, it is a big attraction for me, and I love that the Andrews duo isn't screwing these two up. Many authors are much better at writing burgeoning sexual tension than they are at writing people in a committed relationship. (Maybe that's why Eric Northman's balls--along with his sense of humor--seemed to go missing somewhere around the time his Maker was brought into the Sookie Stackhouse series.) Not so in this series.

This is not to say that everything is smooth sailing for Kate and His Furriness, but they're working on it. They have communication problems, they get frustrated with each other, and Kate has some serious trust issues--which aren't made any better with revelations about her childhood that are presented in this volume. And yet, their passion and their commitment to each other is thud-worthy and moving at the same time. These two can melt me like butter and stick me in biscuits. Plus, their banter is hilarious.

The plot centers primarily around a large threat to the magic users of Atlanta, but there are ties to the overarching plotline--the eventual showdown between Kate and Roland--as well. I did feel like certain elements of the mystery were a bit rushed; more than once, I found myself thinking that potential culprits were being narrowed down awfully quickly. That said, the mystery itself is engaging, with high stakes both for the Atlanta population and for certain characters Kate holds dear.

I loved seeing Andrea back in this one; she and Kate make a great team, and Andrea helps give us a break from the constant machinations of the weres at the Keep, which start to seem exhausting even to me after a while. We also meet some new characters and see a few twists with old ones, and I'm already very curious about what kind of role they'll play in future Kate novels.