UNCHAINED

Author: Sharon Ashwood ISBN: 9780451230737 7/2010 PARANORMAL Publisher: SIGNET

Ashe Carver, monster-killer, has the scars to prove it. But faced with a custody battle, she's hung up her stakes and taken a job at the public library, determined to show the courts and her ten-year-old daughter that she's as good a mother as she is a hunter. Easier said than done. There are lovelorn vampires haunting the library, a slime demon in the shopping mall, and her new-mom sister needs a hand with her ghostbusting biz. Then, after centuries guarding a supernatural prison, Captain Reynard strides into her world like a hero from the library's Must Reads. Smokingly gorgeous, passionate and courageous to a fault, he has only weeks to live unless Ashe finds the thief who took his soul. Ashe picks up her weapons to save the day—but not every problem can be solved with a stake. With so much tragedy in her past, Ashe fears the disaster she sees ahead—and prays she doesn't fail everyone. Again. Memories are the hardest monsters to kill.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I freely admit that when Ashe was first introduced, I didn't like her.  She went immediately on the offensive with her sister, didn't try and assess the situation before jumping to (several) erroneous and nearly fatal conclusions, and was bossy.  I was less than pleased when it dawned on me Ashe was getting her own book; I'm never a fan of secondary characters I can't stand getting a solo book.  However, I loved Ashwood's writing, and I do genuinely enjoy the Dark Forgotten world, so I still was determined to read UNCHAINED.

I'm not sorry I did. Ashe began the book as irritating as last time, but I quickly began to feel bad for her.  She has had to mellow so greatly in order to be a 'normal' mother, I kind of missed her bluster.  Of course she couldn't stay that way, and when the vampires come a-calling, Ashe finds herself in a pretty pickle.

Enter Reynard, also a secondary character from previous books, who only got more charming.  Whereas Alessandro and Mac (from RAVENOUS and SCORCHED) were more or less adjusted to straddling the line of modern day and paranormal, Reynard had no clue on anything.  He tried, bless his heart, he tried; but his attempts were often sadly humorous. 

Ashwood conveys her wit and unique brand of storytelling without making it seem like we're reading a different variation on the same story.  This is not a book you could read without prior knowledge of either RAVENOUS or SCORCHED, especially when characters refer to details not as important from past books that matter now, but this was a good continuation of the books.

I would have preferred some more background on Reynard in this book, and less antagonism from Ashe (in regards to Alessandro), but those are smaller nitpicks than anything else.  In the end, I actually was enjoying reading about Ashe and looked forward to her snark, forgiving her for past irritations easily.

Alexandra Cenni