Review: Vengeance Borne by Amanda Bonilla

Vengeance Borne by Amanda Bonilla
Series: Sentry of Evil #1
Published by NYLA
Published on: September 3rd, 2013
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 297
Format: eBook
Source: Author

| GoodReads

Fated to Hunt…

As the local hunter, and a ward of the Sentry, a secret organization dedicated to eradicating the forces of evil, Jacquelyn has been protecting the small town of McCall, Idaho for the past five years. The hours are horrible, the pay is nonexistent, she has to work with her jealous ex-boyfriend – and forget about quitting. She’s in for life.

Destined to See…

When a rugged drifter comes through town, Jacquelyn immediately knows what he is – an Empath who can read emotions and sense what others are thinking – even though it’s clear the handsome stranger has no idea what, or how powerful, he is…

A Town in Peril…

When people in McCall start turning up dead, viciously ripped to shreds as if by a wild animal, Jacquelyn knows better. Furies are loose in Idaho and hell-bent on exacting revenge. But against whom? And for what purpose? Jacquelyn has until the full moon to stop the Furies’ killing spree and save the people of McCall, figure out how to work with her ex – oh, and there’s a handsome stranger in town who’s in desperate need of some schooling…

Any novel that opens with a Dean Winchester reference within the first one hundred pages is a surefire winner in my opinion so let me introduce you to Vengeance Borne, book one in Amanda Bonilla’s brand new Sentry of Evil series. As a long-time fan of her Shaede Assassin novels, I knew that I was in for intriguing world-building, scorching romance and complex characters; this story delivered that and more!

Bonilla’s supes reminded me a bit of Rachel Vincent’s “skilled” characters in her Unbound series; the emotional connection between Waerds and Bearers is somewhat similar to the latter’s blood bonds. I enjoyed unraveling the intricate web that links the Sentry’s soldiers to their healers. It certainly added an extra, albeit problematic, element to an already complicated love triangle! I don’t know what the future holds for Jacquelyn, Finn and Micah but its sure going to be fun finding out! My only complaint with the Sentry of Evil universe is that I wish more had been explained. I realize that Bonilla has the rest of this series to do that but that doesn’t stop me from still wanting more now!

The Furies are one of my favourite big bads in Urban Fantasy because their motto is pretty much kill everything in sight which means that Vengeance Borne and action-packed are practically synonymous. I always enjoy a good vendetta driven plot line because emotional killers are the most entertaining kind of psychopaths. Unfortunately, I figured out who the culprit was rather early on which made this novel’s ending somewhat predictable. I think this is one of the reasons behind my complaint about the world-building; I needed something to distract me from the obvious villain. The love triangle was a good start but it just wasn’t enough.

I enjoyed Jacquelyn’s character although she does seem a tad bitter about her lot in life. I’m going to hold off passing judgment for now until I learn more about the Sentry. I have a feeling that I’ll have a lot more sympathy for her once I understand the whole picture. Finn irritated me but I’m not certain whether it was because being an Empath has its own set of challenges or simply because he’s a douche. Micah is also a Bearer and I took an immediate liking to him. He’s broken, conflicted, brave and head-over-heels in love with a demon slayer. Poor boy. Things are definitely going to get a whole lot more interesting in the small town of McCall.

Vengeance Borne hits all the right notes with great writing and promising new mythology; welcome to the Sentry of Evil series!

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