Witch Wolf (Kassandra Lyall Preternatural Investigator, #1) in Mostly Sapphic

Apr 30, 2016 Verechnaya rated it it was ok

Shelves: rape-culture, f-f, romance, urban-fantasy

Additional tags :
— U-haul at first sight
— Character who's part human, part werewolf, part witch, part psychic, part this, part that, and probably 1/64th cherokee or something like that. New powers will be added to fit the story.
— author mistaking bdsm roleplay for actual social interaction, thus turning this book into a giant sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen. Come to think of it, I've yet to read a book where a character explicitly consents to sexually dominant & controlling behavior ...more

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Dec 26, 2013 Jem rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime, gifted-girls, cops-feds-detectives, paranormal

Paranormal stories involving vampires are my least favorite form of romantic fiction. Its hard to dissociate blood and cold skin from death, Twilight notwithstanding. But this book comes highly recommended. Also, the promise of a good crime story might mitigate somewhat the less-than-appealing romance. The result is, surprisingly, the opposite of what I expected.

Kassandra is built up by the blurb to be a hotshot paranormal PI who likes to work alone. But on her very first investigative outing in Paranormal stories involving vampires are my least favorite form of romantic fiction. Its hard to dissociate blood and cold skin from death, Twilight notwithstanding. But this book comes highly recommended. Also, the promise of a good crime story might mitigate somewhat the less-than-appealing romance. The result is, surprisingly, the opposite of what I expected.

Kassandra is built up by the blurb to be a hotshot paranormal PI who likes to work alone. But on her very first investigative outing in the book, she drags someone armed to the teeth with her, lol. She is also built up by the book to be something of an empath--someone who can sense other people's feelings. But this gift rarely came into play, and wasn't much help at all in figuring out the good guys from the bad guys, or even, what two alluring ladies' intentions towards her were. On the other hand, her werewolf-y sense of smell is uncanny, and is undoubtedly her "secret" investigative weapon of choice. :) Which isn't to say that there was a lot of investigating going on. If I recall correctly, it was just one time. And the rest of the time, Kassandra was either called to the scene, stumbled onto it, or was dragged into it. There were no surprises in the case at all and one can pretty much guess who the guilty party might have been from the very first time the name came up. I know that even hotshot PIs make mistakes but it doesn't do the mystery justice if the reader can see through it but the main character can't. Maybe if she had actually spent more time in the field investigating the case, especially the missing person one. After all, 'Investigator' is the title of the book.

As for the romance, there isn't really any, in the traditional sense. No courtship or dating here. Its more of the one-look-and-you're-mine variety, which I suppose, is typical of non-human romances. :) Which is not to say it isn't hot, because it sizzles! I love Lenore even though she is a vampire. The book makes her bigger than life yet humanizes her at the same time. I can totally understand Kass' fascination with her. What I can't understand is what exactly does she see in Kass, other than physical attraction, because in all their encounters, Kass seems more like a helpless though promising protege than an equal lover.

As for the paranormal stuff, I was a little confused. When Kass goes into werewolf form, she retains human-like speech. She also does human-y moves like put on a seatbelt, grabs someone's wrist and twist them to the back, knees someone, etc. I had to re-read several passages to be sure I didn't miss something--maybe she changed back, only to have confirmation a few lines later that she still has a tail so...what is this, a partial-change? a were-lady? a lady-wolf? I had trouble visualizing it but Penny kindly provided a visual that helped somewhat 8-)

THere is also something I've always wondered (view spoiler) so when it actually happens in the book, I was like, Yes!, now I finally get to find out. But then nothing happens and they never even talk about it. This is lesfic--they NEED to talk about things, not put it off to the next day or even, the next book :)

While the crime/mystery part was so-so, the paranormal bits iffy, I found the character interactions very engaging. Kass and her stakeout partner, Kass and her police contact Arthur, Kass and Lenorre (of course!), and surprisingly, Kass and her wolf self. The latter are involved in a constant struggle for dominance, control and recognition--and I'd have to say these are the highlights of the book.

Overall, I did enjoy this first in a series. Not as much as I'd hoped, but enough that I just might be interested in the 2nd one...if we get more Lenorre hotness. I want to know what she's all about, what makes her tick, how she became what she is, and who turned her..stuff like that. So yes, its THE VAMPIRE I'm interested in now...

3.9 stars ...more

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Mar 31, 2022 maya rated it liked it

Shelves: 2022-ratings

3.5

A crime-mystery? Thrilling. With a paranormal element in an urban setting? More excited. To top it all off, sapphics. I enjoyed this for what it is.

We follow a preternatural investigator ex-cop named Kassandra who works closely with the Oklahoma police department, and she's part witch part wolf. She's a prickly one, reactive and stubborn, and I like that about her. I enjoyed the banter she has with a fellow cop Arthur, the camaraderie with Rupert, the curt talks with the impatient the assista 3.5

A crime-mystery? Thrilling. With a paranormal element in an urban setting? More excited. To top it all off, sapphics. I enjoyed this for what it is.

We follow a preternatural investigator ex-cop named Kassandra who works closely with the Oklahoma police department, and she's part witch part wolf. She's a prickly one, reactive and stubborn, and I like that about her. I enjoyed the banter she has with a fellow cop Arthur, the camaraderie with Rupert, the curt talks with the impatient the assistant June and the dynamic she has with Lenorre (and Rosaline, albeit short).

In the beginnings of the book, we're given reasonable exposition on their world and paranormal beings. It doesn't get more in depth but it gives enough of an idea on their world works. It wasn't overbearing, sometimes nuanced. But I do always want a more layered world building throughout the book to tick off that atmospheric itch in me. I enjoy a gritty paranormal world with complex histories, politics, and societal paranormal hierarchies. The writing suits me. Never bored, never felt like it dragged on, the story keeps moving. It's what I like about in crime-mystery books a lot, not a lot of unnecessary frills but still packed emotional weight if written competently.

I would have liked to see more of Kass's personal development to feel like she actually earns the moments. Sometime, it feels like Kass's passiveness only allowed her to just merely react to the things happening around her. Her character is mostly shown when reacting to the people she's with. It doesn't really feel like we know Kass since she rarely lets us (readers) in. There's a sort of detachment I get from the writing of her, which was unusual considering she is the main protagonist. I think the only time she does, fleetingly, is when she's around Lenorre.

Kassandra meets a very alluring vampire countess, Lenorre. I am invested in their interactions. What I enjoy about written paranormal beings are their heightened senses. They're aware more, feel more especially around with another paranormal they're attracted to. The best part is that they can tell the signs - vampires can sense a raced heartbeat, wolfs can smell wants or desire - that sort of thing. I've always enjoyed reading it play out in a story.

A quote that somewhat reveals a hint of their starting relationship. I always enjoy a push and pull. "Was it just Lenorre, or did all vampires have the ability to caress with a look? I really, really fucking hoped not."

There's a scene with Rosalina that skirts on my discomfort concerning consent (Kass's wolf wants it, her human side is like no....?) and is somewhat explained. I don't know how to feel about it. The thing is we get a scene with Lenorre who showed that consent is important and rejected Kass when she wasn't acting wholly herself. Naturally, we compare the two scenes. I'm guessing that was the intention, am not sure about the execution.

On the crime-mystery aspect, I thought the killer was obvious. I figured it right away when the name was mentioned. Like, yeah, ofcourse. So when the supposedly result of the mystery was being unfolded, I wasn't all that impressed. I felt like the highlight or climax of the story was the exchange of trust between Kass & Lenorre, and Kass turning into a raven. Despite the power these characters have, there are substantial downsides - the loss of control, succumbing to their paranormal side regardless of strong feelings, and the general acceptance of the dark natures of their being. I quite enjoyed the mix of faithful and modern paranormal interpretations.

Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this. It was a quick fun read - always have a soft spot for urban paranormal stories. ...more

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