ARC Review--Sin's Dark Caress by Tracey O'Hara

An ancient darkness has risen from the ashes…and terror has been loosed upon an unsuspecting world.

Forensic witch Bianca Sin has never seen anything like it: homeless teenage girls torn to pieces by dark magic in the cold shadows of the city. More terrifying still is the symbol written in blood on an alley wall—the unmistakable seal of the Dark Brethren.

Teaming up with NYPD homicide detective Lancelot McManus and an elite task force headed by the shapeshifter Oberon DuPrie, Bianca knows her worse fears have finally come to pass. A new war of annihilation is looming that will plunge the worlds of vampire, shapeshifter, and human into chaos—and two adversarial tribes locked in uneasy truce will need to take up arms together to save the children. Trust will be essential for Sin and McManus, as the hunt forces them to confront their deepest terrors.

For the ultimate evil is no longer approaching.

It’s here.

I received this ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss

Tracey O'Hara's Sin's Dark Caress was phenomenal! This series is really turning out to be a good one! It doesn't follow the standard series format where we see the same characters again and again, and I kind of like that! It's how I'm formatting my series as well!

So we meet Bianca Sin this time around, she's a forensic witch, working on murder cases where magic was involved and using her abilities to try find clues from the magic left behind. Her partner, McManus--as his first name isn't really used--helps out as well. McManus is human, noting incredibly super about him. He also has a bit of a drug problem.

He and Bianca are working on a case involving a set of murdered young women, who have had their stomachs ripped open, and their unborn children are missing. But something is very odd about this case, for some of the victims were never said to be pregnant by their loved ones. Dark forces are involved and it soon gets very dangerous for both Bianca and McManus.

I will admit that the beginning was a little slow. I can't recall how long that lapse went on for me, but it does pick up! And once it does, there's never a moment where I want to put it down! Bianca is a fabulous character! She's spunky, fun and takes her work very seriously. 

McManus, on the other hand, is a handful! He's the sarcastic, bad boy type. Getting into trouble at every corner, yet he has a good heart. That much is made abundantly clear from the get go. 

There wasn't a whole lot of romance going on between McManus and Bianca. They tried once in the past--something that's mentioned--but it didn't work out. But they're still friends, partners. Yet there's definitely some tension between the two, and possibly some lingering feelings. You can pretty much tell where the romance is going, but as the danger in the book is stacked pretty high, romance will have to wait.

The body count continues to rise and Bianca and McManus are no closer to discovering who the murderer is than they were at the beginning. It was pretty mind-blowing! I admit to falling for things I should've seen as being suspicious! But that's also fun sometimes, because then you are just as shocked at the murderer as the characters are!

Antoinette and Kitt both make brief appearances, which just amps up the fun for me! I like seeing the other characters pop in for a bit! Oberon, from Night's Cold Kiss, is there too!

A darkly delicious read that comes packed with action, excitement, magic, murder and dragons! This series definitely has some strong potential! O'Hara continues to surprise me with every book! This is definitely a series to be read!

Overall rating 4.5/5 stars

Sin's Dark Caress releases July 1, 2012