Review--As Lie the Dead

EVANGELINE STONE, A ROGUE BOUNTY HUNTER, NEVER ASKED FOR A WORLD DIVIDED BETWEEN DARKNESS AND LIGHT...

...or the power to die and live again in someone else's borrowed body. After a murder plot meant to take her out leaves an entire race of shapeshifters nearly extinct, Evy is gnawed by guilt. So when one of the few survivors of the slaughter enlists her aid, she feels duty-bound to help--even though protecting a frail, pregnant shifter is the last thing Evy needs, especially with the world going to hell around her.

Amid weres, Halfies, gemlins, vamps--and increasingly outgunned humans--war for supremacy is brewing. With shifters demanding justice, her superiors desperate to control her, and an assassin on her trail, Evy discovers a horrifying conspiracy. And she may be the only person in the world who can stop it--unless, of course, her own side gets her first.

Finished As Lie the Dead earlier today, but I immediately jumped to my next read because I am utilizing the time I have today since I'm off and tomorrow it's back to work.

As Lie the Dead was a terrific followup to Three Days to Dead. It's been awhile since I read it, so it took me a little while to catch up and remember who the players were, other than Evy and Wyatt of course. It didn't take too long for me to get caught up because basically they wrap up the aftereffects of the last book in the beginning chapter.

Evy plans to take a nice week long nap, but her plans are waylaid on the way to the car directly following the cleanup. Literally. In the form of a man with wings, and no he's not an angel! Basically the cover shows you the first glimpse of the event with the winged man on the car.

After my initial slump of trying to play catchup the book became an increasingly fast paced read. Once again Evy is working on a timeline, but this time it's to save the life of another person. One she considers her friend, *cough, not lover, cough*. ;) Just a little hint for you.

But complications arise, when one event leads to another. She has to take on protecting a pregnant shapeshifter to help save their race, a race she had a minor part in destroying by default, and then another task weighs her down when she has to do everything she can to prove a man's innocence.

With Wyatt and the shapeshifter as her backup, it should be easy, right? Not a chance! Especially when complications of Chalice, the body she now resides in, arise in the form of an unexpected visitor.

Of course that's only the beginning of unexpected visitors in this book!

I said it was fast paced, but I guess well paced is better because it was well paced and yet still there was a dire need to know that the clock was ticking, hence our getting the time again like we did in the first book. It definitely built up the tension.

The characters were all great, both new and old. Evy is the perfect snarky female protagonist that I love. She tends to act and speak before she thinks, which isn't that how we all are sometimes? Wyatt, still a pretty secretive guy, but a lot about him gets revealed and you gotta love a man with a bit a mystery to him. Although Wyatt has a bit more than a bit!

New characters such as the shapeshifters, Phineas and the female Aurora were entertaining as well. Phineas is a strange one because you never quite know what his game plan is, can he be trusted or is he playing Evy? Quite a few of his actions leave some lingering doubts. Aurora, the pregnant female was definitely a surprise. Sure she starts out pregnant and helpless, but her character definitely becomes something stronger and she's more than someone in need of protection.

The romance was a little sparse in the book, but there are definitely certain moments that are mindblowing. No matter how small. Just tender moments between Evy and Wyatt, you know, when they actually get the chance to have a moment when they aren't running for their lives.

Overall I give it 4/5 stars! Definitely a series I'm sticking too! Can't wait for the next book, which sadly, isn't until next year. It's okay, since my TBR pile just keeps on growing instead of decreasing as I finish books!

Almost finished with Total Eclipse as well! It's turning out really GREAT, part of why it took so long for this review to come up!