Review of Cindy Spencer Pape's Motor City Mage

Title: Motor City Mage (Urban Arcana #4)

Author: Cindy Spencer Pape

Publisher: Carina Press

Format: eBook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: March 12, 2012

Rating: 4 out of 5

My introduction to Cindy Spencer Pape’s Urban Arcana series was through the third book in the series, Motor City Wolf, and I liked the book so much that I immediately bought the first two in the series. I’ve really enjoyed these paranormal romances set in Detroit, and I wish these books were available in print, because I suspect fans of paranormal romance would love this series. Motor City Mage is the fourth book in the series and has a road trip feel to it that’s not present in the other books, but it’s a lot of fun nonetheless.

The titular mage of the book is Desmond Sutton, member of the Wyndewin League, an organization of witches and mages that police various elements of the supernatural world. The League isn’t particularly friendly to the other supernatural races, which has Desmond in a tight spot, since his sister is marrying a Fae lord. In prior books, Desmond has found himself reluctantly aiding the other supernatural groups in their fight against a demon-influenced designer drug, and he continues that fight in this book, even in the face of criticism from his employers.

Lana Novak is a sexy werewolf who’s fighting her attraction to Desmond, especially since he’s made it clear in the past that he’s not particularly friendly with werewolves. But when she runs into Desmond on her college campus and reminds him to attend a family dinner for his sister’s sake, their attraction flares. Lana offers to help him acquire samples of the drugs, but when they try to banish the demons responsible for the drug to another dimension, their plan backfires, and they find themselves traveling through various dimensions to get home.

At times this book felt a bit like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, because for most of the book Des and Lana are busy traveling to new dimensions and meeting new creatures. This is a departure from the other books in the series, which have been mostly set in Detroit with a few short excursions to Faerie. All Desmond and Lana’s adventures in other dimensions bring them a lot closer, and some of the creatures they meet are hilarious (ele-cows, anyone?). I liked the different settings, because the focus was mainly on Desmond and Lana’s growing relationship, but I did miss the interaction with the other characters from the series. We get to see the others at the very beginning and at the end in the big fight scene, though, so that makes up for it a bit.

Desmond and Lana’s chemistry is off the charts, and I liked both the hero and heroine, especially Lana. She’s strong and kick-butt and so sexy Desmond can’t think straight, which is pretty darn funny. She manages to surprise Desmond time and again, first with her advanced degree, then with her ability to think on her feet while they’re traveling.

In the earlier books Desmond had a strong prejudice against both the Fae and werewolves, and I wish that this had been dealt with more in this book, since he’s the hero. I really wanted to know why he was so antagonistic towards werewolves, because that would have added a bit more tension to his decision to have a relationship with Lana. In a prior book he does mention his past issues with the wolves, but it really didn’t come up here, and while new readers probably won’t notice, I’m sure returning fans of the series will.

I did feel that the epilogue was a bit superfluous. At the end of the book, Desmond has to face down the Wyndewin League, and I felt that scene wrapped up the series quite nicely. The subsequent epilogue (without going into too many spoilers) brings back all the former characters and ties up any loose ends, but I’m not really sure it was all that necessary.

The Urban Arcana series is a lot of fun and highly recommended for paranormal romance fans. I’m a bit sad to see it end, and I would love to see Ms. Pape write a spin-off series about the demons in which we’ll see some familiar faces!

Review of Cindy Spencer Pape's Motor City Wolf

I’m continuing to feature a rescue dog a day as part of the “Write a Post, Save a Dog” bloghop. Today’s pooch is my sister’s pit bull, Dittany. Dittany was a real pistol when my sister adopted her 10 years ago, but with lots of training and love, she’s made a great pet!

Title: Motor City Wolf (Urban Arcana #3)

Author: Cindy Spencer Pape

Publisher: Carina Press

Formats: Ebook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: August 29, 2011

Rating: 4 out of 5

This was the first book I’d read by Cindy Spencer Pape, but as soon as I finished it I went online and purchased the first two books in her Urban Arcana series. Motor City Wolf is a short read (only about 64,000 words), but it’s action packed, and the romance skillfully developed. I read it while reading several other books for review, and once I started it I couldn’t put it down. Ms. Pape writes in several genres, and I’m looking forward to reading more of her books in the future.

Detroit is one of my favorite settings for paranormal romance, and Ms. Pape does the Motor City right in her Urban Arcana series. Motor City Wolf is the third book in the series, but I had no problems entering her world and meeting characters new to me but familiar to fans of the series. Fianna Meadows is an exiled Fae who’s been turned mortal and forced to work at manual labor as punishment for her involvement in a Fae racial purity movement. She’s working as a waitress at werewolf Greg Novak’s bar, but from the first she is a much more sympathetic character than one would think. It’s made clear that her role in the racial purity movement stemmed from misplaced family loyalty rather than any belief in the movement’s principles. Greg is attracted to Fianna and is impressed with her strength of character, but he’s reluctant to act upon that attraction since he’s her supervisor. When Greg’s grandfather, the Prime Alpha Werewolf, demands that Greg marry by the end of the year, Greg seizes the moment and declares his intention to marry the now-human fae. But when werewolves start dying in mysterious attacks, Greg and Fianna must face the threat together while dealing with opposition to their upcoming marriage.

There are many things to like about this novel, but the strength of the characters is what really sold me on it. You really like Fianna. She made some bad decisions in the past by trusting the wrong people, but her regret over those decisions is palpable. She’s vulnerable without being weak, and it’s entertaining to see how she’s adapted to living as a human. By learning her own strength, she becomes all the more attractive to Greg, which in turn makes the hero all the more appealing to us. Greg has befriended Fianna while fighting his feelings for her, because he believes that it would be inappropriate for him to act on those feelings since she has no choice about being his employee. It would be so easy for the book to get bogged down in Greg’s fighting this attraction, but Pape has written Greg as a reasonable, mature adult male, and quite frankly it was a relief to see the two characters interact without big misunderstandings. Despite the sparks that fly when they first meet, their relationship develops over time, and it’s a pleasure to read.

The book is action-packed as well, and I enjoyed how the mystery behind the violence facing the werewolves is resolved. When I went back and caught up on the first two books in the series, I realized that even though the story arc is completed within the book, it also fits well within the overarching arc of the series. My only complaint is that I was able to identify the villain fairly early on. I was also bothered by the overly sexualized and negative portrayal of Sofia Bartok, something aggravated when compared with Fianna’s innocence, fair skin and blue eyes, but this is a minor complaint.

It was a pleasure to read this paranormal romance by Ms. Pape, and I can’t wait to read more of her books. My only regret is that it was so short, but fortunately I can look forward to future books in the series.  

Labor Day Weekend Preview

Despite having Monday off from work, next week is going to be busy! Here’s a preview of some upcoming reviews, plus a list of books being released on Tuesday, September 6, that I’m really excited about.

This week I’m participating in the “Write a Post, Save a Dog” bloghop. Here’s a picture of my favorite rescue beagle, Lettie! This is probably the only action shot I have of her since she's usually busy sleeping. What a great life, right? I’ll be posting pictures of other family rescues along with my posts all week long. If you are thinking of adopting a dog or cat, I highly recommend getting one from your local shelter or a rescue society. The pets we’ve adopted have made fun and loving companions.

Upcoming Reviews:

Motor City Wolf by Cindy Spencer Paper This was a fun, short paranormal romance that was a bright spot among some not-so-great books by other authors I was reading at the time. I enjoyed the book so much that I purchased the first two in the Urban Arcana series. Definitely recommend this one!

Shadow Wolf by Bonnie Vanak This Harlequin Nocturne will have the dubious distinction of being the first 2 out of 5 stars review on the blog. There’s lots of lusting after one’s destined mate while fleeing for one’s life, plus a deus ex machina moment that drove me nuts. It comes with a short story at the end and the deus ex machina bit appears yet again. Yikes.

The King’s Courtesan by Judith James I’ve just started this historical romance and so far so good. I’m intrigued to see how the conflict is resolved, since the King marries his favorite mistress off to an Earl so she’ll be close to court. That’s gotta make for some interesting politics.

New Releases this Week (September 6)

Just to make it all the more difficult to focus on teaching next week, here are some long-awaited releases by several of my favorite authors. I’m hoping I’ll luck out and find a few of them early at the local bookstore!

Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh This fourth installment of Singh’s Guild Hunter series features archangel Raphael’s right hand man, er, vampire, Dmitri. Since Dmitri is smokin’ hot and I love the world building in this series, I cannot WAIT to read this one. Early reviews have been very positive.

One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire I’m excited about the fifth book in McGuire’s October Daye series because the blurb on Amazon says that Toby’s dating again. Dare I hope she’s dating sexy Cait Sidhe king Tybalt? Love this Urban Fantasy series, and Toby is one of my favorite UF heroines. This might be my favorite book cover of the series as well.

The Dragon Who Loved Me by G.A. Aiken Anything Shelly Laurenston writes under the name G.A. Aiken is pretty much an autobuy for me, because her books are sexy and hilarious. How can you go wrong with that combination? This is part of her Dragon Kin series, and features Cadwaladr clan dragon Rhona the Fearless and Northern dragon Vigholf the Abhorrent. This could make for some funny, funny reading.

Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly I loved Kelly’s debut mystery cozy, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (see my review), and I can’t wait to read this second book in the series. The end of the first book hinted at a romance between a detective and the librarian heroine with her magical cats, so I have high hopes for this book.