Cathy Reviews: Delia's Shadow + Undead and Unsure

I'm thrilled today to welcome my mother in law Cathy back to the blog to share her thoughts on a couple books she was kind enough to read and review for me!

DELIA'S SHADOW
Delia Martin #1
Jaime Lee Moyer
Paranormal/Historical fiction
336 pages
Tor
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
It is the dawn of a new century in San Francisco and Delia Martin is a wealthy young woman whose life appears ideal. But a dark secret colors her life, for Delia’s most loyal companions are ghosts, as she has been gifted (or some would say cursed) with an ability to peer across to the other side.

Since the great quake rocked her city in 1906, Delia has been haunted by an avalanche of the dead clamoring for her help. Delia flees to the other side of the continent, hoping to gain some peace. After several years in New York, Delia believes she is free…until one determined specter appears and she realizes that she must return to the City by the Bay in order to put this tortured soul to rest.

It will not be easy, as the ghost is only one of the many victims of a serial killer who was never caught. A killer who after thirty years is killing again.

And who is now aware of Delia’s existence.

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
Delia's Shadow is an engaging and charming historical paranormal romantic mystery. That might sound like quite a task to cover all those genres, but Ms. Moyer does not disappoint. This story is set in San Francisco several years after the 1906 earthquake. Delia has always been able to see ghosts but she feels compelled by her "shadow" to return to San Francisco. At the same time, Gabe, a police detective, is hunting a serial killer targeting the San Francisco area. These two stories eventually cross paths because Delia realizes her ghost was an earlier victim of this killer, and the killer then starts to toy with them as they become his targets.
 
Ms. Moyer is very descriptive in her writing and paints a vivid picture. You are literally dropped into the pages of the story, and can easily feel what it was like to be in that era. She makes you connect with her characters and you truly care about what is happening to them. I am a big mystery buff and Ms. Moyer gives you just enough information to get you a little frustrated, which in turn forces you to keep turning the pages to find out what happens. There is a very nice balance between the mystery and the paranormal; it doesn't feel forced even though we are talking about communicating with ghosts! And remember I did mention the word romance in the opening sentence.
 
There was a line in the book that I thought not only captured the ghosts but also the living characters as well:

They all had secrets or obligations from the life left undone, wrongs they needed set right before they could rest.

This book is well worth taking a little journey to the past. I hope I get to meet Delia and Gabe in a future book. 

Rating: 4/5

Find Jaime Lee

Website • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

 

UNDEAD AND UNSURE
Undead #12
MaryJanice Davidson
Adult paranormal romance
320 pages
Berkley Hardcover
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
It’s no surprise to Betsy that her trip to Hell with her sister Laura landed them in hot water. Betsy isn’t exactly sorry she killed the Devil but it’s put Laura in a damnable position: assuming the role of Satan (she may not have the training but she looks great in red)—and in charge of billions of souls as she moves up in the world. Or is that down?

But Betsy herself is in an odd new position as well—that of being a responsible monarch suddenly in charge of all things more earth-bound: like her vampire husband Sinclair who has gone from relieved to ecstatic to downright reckless now that he can tolerate sunlight. And if Sinclair isn’t enough to contend with, Betsy’s best friend Jessica is in her sixth (and hopefully last) trimester. Considering she’s been pregnant for eighteen months, she’s become a veritable encyclopedia of what not to expect when you’re expecting. Oh, the horror…

And speaking of growing pains, Betsy and Sinclair’s adopted little BabyJon is finally starting to walk. And if the increasingly unpredictable toddler is anything like his extended family, precisely where he’s headed is anyone’s guess.

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
I was so happy when Jenny gave me Undead and Unsure. This was a series that I loved but had lost track of (particularly given this is book 12) amongst all the stacks of books in my house. Betsy is now dealing with not only being Queen of the Undead, but since she killed Satan, she might be Queen of Hell! There are several side stories as well: her best friend Jess is mysteriously pregnant, her sister is mad at her for killing Satan and everyone in the house seems to be lacking focus.
 
 I was very glad to find the same sense of humor in this book as I had remembered in the past ones. Also I love how Ms. Davidson writes in first and second person, so you get the feeling that Betsy is actually talking to you about what is happening in her mixed up life.
 
I realized quickly that I was behind on a few details having missed several books between the last on I had read and this one. Ms. Davidson did a good job catching us up but I felt like I missed the nuances that might have occurred in the previous book. I just had the feeling that this book was an intermediate book; that something big happened in the previous book and this story was simply a set up for the next installment. I did enjoy the story enough to want to go back and catch up though, then I will be ready when the next one is published.

Rating: 3.5/5
 

Find MaryJanice:

Website • Facebook • Blog • Amazon • Goodreads

These books were sent to me by the publisher at BEA  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my (or in this case, Cathy's) honest opinion.