I would say she's more on the adventure/humor side of things than the angst side of things. A least in the Cassie Palmer series. Dorina tends to angst a bit more, but the books are not inherently angsty; she just is.
But damn, a good deal of the Cassie books takes place in a hell-themed (and supernatural-run) casino in las vegas. Complete with zombie floor shows and an incubus-run spa.
The books are in the first person, but the author does a good job of hinting at the character's blind spots. There's a scene where she's hanging out with a bunch of vampires...and up to that point, you're just a bit wary of them because she is, but not too wary, because her wariness is more "I'm getting pulled into a game of politics, and that guy, while sexy, is undoubtedly turning on the charm in order to manipulate me" than "OMG, monsters." But then in the very same scene, there'll be things that are going on that send home the message that while she may be desensitized, there's actually freaky, horrifying stuff going on. It's well done. There are a lot of mafia comparisons, and it works. For all the 'sexy', there's no whitewashing of how awful parts of it are.
The first book was pretty good but I didn't get really hooked until the third, when some of the rougher parts of the first book (apparent dropped plot elements and a few random details) suddenly become signs of brilliance.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-06-01 07:28 pm (UTC)But damn, a good deal of the Cassie books takes place in a hell-themed (and supernatural-run) casino in las vegas. Complete with zombie floor shows and an incubus-run spa.
The books are in the first person, but the author does a good job of hinting at the character's blind spots. There's a scene where she's hanging out with a bunch of vampires...and up to that point, you're just a bit wary of them because she is, but not too wary, because her wariness is more "I'm getting pulled into a game of politics, and that guy, while sexy, is undoubtedly turning on the charm in order to manipulate me" than "OMG, monsters." But then in the very same scene, there'll be things that are going on that send home the message that while she may be desensitized, there's actually freaky, horrifying stuff going on. It's well done. There are a lot of mafia comparisons, and it works. For all the 'sexy', there's no whitewashing of how awful parts of it are.
The first book was pretty good but I didn't get really hooked until the third, when some of the rougher parts of the first book (apparent dropped plot elements and a few random details) suddenly become signs of brilliance.