{Review} Anathema by K.A. Tucker

Anathema by K.A. Tucker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE:  Paranormal Romance
THEME: Vampires/Magic
RECEIVED: Received for Review from Author
AUTHOR: K.A. Tucker's Site

BLURB:

Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.

When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.

With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities . . . like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.

In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.

REVIEW:
Anathema had a very original plot using the typical vampire paranormal romance, but Tucker was able to create a very unique plot that really intrigued me.  The story is full of deception and adventure, the lead character being pushed and pulled in every direction and as the reader you’re along for a very adventurous ride.

Evangeline is a young girl who has a very trustful mind, but all the while lives a very lonely life until she meets Sophie. From there her life changed dramatically after meeting Sophie’s acquaintances that are very mysterious and usually friendly. While living with them Evangeline begins dreaming every night of a world similar to her own… but there something different…something more terrifying about it. She soon becomes enthralled in this new world after meeting a group of people who take her in and befriend her, one of which is named Caden. A man whom Evangeline cant stop thinking about.  Little does she know that both her world and the world she’s dreaming of have one very dangerous thing in common, vampires.

I really enjoyed the plot to Anathema; though the beginning pace was a bit slow for me. Once the story developed a little more I was sucked into Tuckers writing and her characters were fun, exciting and enthralling, I just couldn’t get enough.  The story takes you back and forth between each world without it being confusing, the characters were all well developed and I have to add there are some really awesome animals in the book. My favorite being a dog called Max who is Evangeline’s protector and friend and is a lot more than what he seems.  

The romance wasn’t an in your face typical romance, it was paced well with bumps in the road that made it realistic and fun. I enjoyed Evangeline as the lead, she was thrown into a situation that was difficult and she handled it like any real person would: she was scared, distrustful when she knew something wasn’t right and always questioning, making for a smart lead character.

Overall this was a great first book in the Casual Enchantment Series, the ending really leaves you wishing that the next were in your hands. I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, but I was actually happy with what Tucker did and thought it was a perfect fit to get me ready for the second installment. If your looking for a paranormal romance, with adventure, plot twist, and a great big cast of fun characters then this is the book for you!

RECOMMENDATION:
This is adult book but is suitable for many ages; fans of the adventures in Rachel Caine and Nalini Singh’s writing will love K.A. Tuckers Anathema.

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PURCHASE: Anathema by K.A. Tucker