I received a copy from Bindery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Samantha Harker has always wanted something more than life as a researcher. It’s why she jumped at the chance to get some hands-on experience with her new partner, Dr. Helena Moriarty. Unfortunately, Hel doesn’t have a good track record with partners because they always die under strange circumstances. While their partnership is still fresh, they work against the clock to find the werewolf-like beast that’s been on a murder spree.
I was excited to read this because it sounded like an interesting supernatural gothic story that combined the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. Instead of following the usual suspects, we’re following the daughters of the characters we know very well. With a romance brewing between the characters, it was sure to be a hit!
The main plot is pretty interesting. Sam and Hel travel to France to investigate the mysterious and seemingly random murders committed by a beast. However, this beast seems to be a werewolf when werewolves are long gone. Along the way, they struggle against society, each other, and Sam’s abilities as a channel. I found the mystery plot pretty interesting, but I do think it started to drag somewhere around the halfway point. It was different and had me excited about the world it takes place in even though I would never want to visit it.
That said, I am extremely disappointed in the romance. Sam and Hel have absolutely no romantic chemistry, so I don’t know about the “unmistakable attraction” that was described when I requested the ARC. They don’t even have almost friend chemistry, which sold their rocky partnership, but not the romance that develops out of the blue at the end. If you manage to find the romance plot before it suddenly materializes with nothing to back it up, I will give you a gold star because I certainly didn’t find it before it suddenly smacked me in the face.
All in all, I liked a good portion of the paranormal mystery and I think there is a ton of potential there. There’s a cast of interesting characters for us to love and hate, and if the friendship and romance between Sam and Hel actually worked, I think I would’ve loved to see this turn into a series.
