DRAGON WYTCH

Author: Yasmine Galenorn ISBN: 9780425222393 7/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: BERKLEY

We're the D'Artigo sisters: savvy—and sexy—operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But being half-human, half-Fae short-circuits our talents at all the wrong times. My sister Delilah shapeshifts into a tabby cat whenever she's stressed. Menolly's a vampire who's still getting the hang of being undead. And me? I'm Camille, a wicked-good witch, trying to juggle faulty magic, gorgeous men, and the demonic war in which we're embroiled. Sometimes, it's hard to know just who we can trust... The Equinox is coming, and mayhem rules. A crown-prince unicorn offers us a legendary gift, but it vanishes. Goblins and trolls swarm the streets of Seattle. And now Smoky, the sexiest dragon alive, decides to stake his claim—on me. Overshadowing it all, the third spirit seal surfaces and Shadow Wing's after it. But I've discovered a secret that could change everything. A new power is rising—a dangerous force from the past—one that intends to restore balance to the worlds...whether we like it or not...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

DRAGON WYTCH, book four of Yasmine Galenorn's Sisters of the Moon series, is thoroughly entrenched in the series' history at this point. Much of the relationship building between Smokey and Camille has occurred in the previous book, DARKLING, in fact. Morio, one of her other lovers, also was just there with assumed background for those who read the other books.

I'm at mixed odds with the book. On the one hand I enjoyed it because it had a unicorn in it, the Prince of unicorns, in fact, and he was a little spit fire! I enjoyed his interactions with Camille (and the others) and renewed my interest in that mythical beast. I also enjoyed facets of Camille's personality—her vivacity, tenacity and willingness to get what she wants, not to mention her deep loyalty to her sisters.

What I was less pleased with was her indecisiveness over her deal with Smokey from the last book. Having not read the last book, I only have the bare facts as they were laid out in this book, but I would think any deal that results in you being afraid of pissing off the other person, should have been better thought out. The chemistry between them just was off—the intimate scenes weren't particularly romantic or appealing. Draconic passion indeed.

It's worth mentioning that Camille does have multiple lovers for the better part of the book. Since I'm more of a one man for one woman sort of person, I was initially unhappy with this, but I got over it. In the context of Camille's needs and her magic, the multiple lovers bit makes sense.

The details in the book are rich, everything from Camille's shop to what the girls ate for lunch is described. I love details, the more the better, quite frankly, but I can see where others would feel they bog the story down. Sometimes you just don't need to know the exact kind of sandwich someone is having in order to feel like you are part of the story.

Overall this was an enjoyable, if sometimes confusing, read. I highly recommend DRAGON WYTCH to readers of the series to begin with, but if you are just beginning the series like I am, try to borrow the first three books to understand the back story better.

Alexandra Cenni