Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective by Christine Amsden
Series: Cassie Scot #1
Published by Twilight Times Books
Published on: April 15 2013
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 260
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow of her family's reputation isn't easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs.
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I put this book on my wishlist months ago after seeing several back-to-back positive reviews of it by trusted bloggers.
But you know how it is . . . SO many books, SO little time . . . extremely small press . . . weird cover . . .
If the book doesn’t go on sale immediately after it’s caught your eye, by the time it does, the stellar endorsements have become vague remembrances, and all the reasons you originally tossed it on top of Mt. TBR become overwhelmed with past experiences—BAD experiences—you’ve had with this type of (practically indie) book.
I’m really glad I decided to give it a shot anyway.
Cassandra Morgan Ursula Margaret Scot is the eldest of seven children. Her parents are powerful sorcerers, living in a magical hot spot, and while her brothers and sisters all have various and sundry magical gifts, Cassie . . . is a dud.
A “throwback.”
Normal.
In the beginning, it was hard to have much sympathy for her predicament—her casual references to her parents extreme wealth firmly typecast her as a poor, little rich girl, and that scenario has rarely pulled on my heartstrings—but as the story progressed, and Cassie gained depth . . . I reluctantly decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
And despite the somewhat rocky start, the further I read, quitting became less and less of an option, and by the time I was 86% in, I took a quick break to one-click the rest of the books in the series.
True story.
I, admittedly, began reading this book with extreme reservations, and I won’t lie . . . whether due to my own cynicism, or to legitimate reasons, for the first 20-25%, those reservations seemed justified: a Bad Boy from Cassie’s past breezed back into town, causing her to question her long term relationship with Nice Guy, who exists only in theory until his first on-page appearance nearly halfway through the book . . . and that’s it, really. Well, that and Cassie as poor, little rich girl.
But after Cassie had a “hunch” to check out the last known location of her prime suspect in the murder she was investigating for Bad Boy (<-----MAJOR peeve of mine to refer to common sense as a "hunch"), I checked out the relatively low page count, and decided to push through for just a bit longer . . . and that's when things finally started to get interesting. SO. Are we clear on the rough start? I don't want anyone running out to buy this book, reading the first few chapters and thinking, "Ye GODS, what is this?” then boycotting all of my recommendations for eternity.
Back to the interesting, unfortunately, there’s not much I can say about it without spoilers, but Cassie makes some decisions that prove she’s a worthy heroine, and the concept of magically incurred debt, which is similar (but different) to the Fae system was unusual and impressive.
There were also lots of hints of secrets to be revealed in future books, and most of those hints did their intended job of peaking my interest (as the aforementioned one-click binge can attest), but I was a bit disappointed that the most obvious of the secrets had not been addressed by the end of this installment . . . A magical dud named Cassandra who is consistently shown to be intuitive . . . ? Come now . . . you’re not fooling anybody. Why drag it out?
But overall, a surprisingly good start to a promising series. Highly recommended, especially to readers who like their Urban Fantasy with a side of Mystery.
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My name is Jessica and I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I’m trying my hand at writing, but mostly I read. My favorite genres are Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, and the YA versions of those genres, but if there is a book of a different color getting lots of buzz, I’ll read it too, just to be informed. If I’m not reading or writing, I’m probably on Goodreads or Pinterest or baking blueberry pies because I love them.
I’m so glad you stuck it out and enjoyed this book. I’ve read all of them and they just get better! I reviewed her newest book, Madison’s Song, today. It’s a companion novel to this series, and enjoyed it every bit as much. That “obvious” secret you mention….I think you’ll be surprised!
Laura Thomas recently posted…The Malevolent Twin by Author Mary Sage Nguyen ~ Tour reveiw and Giveaway
Actually, I love it when books do that. I love character development and I love to be surprised.
It is only .99 —just might have to pick it up 🙂 I do like my UF with a whole lot of mystery but a little bit will do!
Felicia The Geeky Blogger recently posted…Blogger Confession: 3 Star Follow-Up What I have learned
Curiosity has gotten the better of me so I one-clicked it since it was only .99 to check it out..not sure when but I have it..lol. I might not have tried it cause I am a cover judge and these covers are not all that fantastic..lol. Great review!
Stormi recently posted…Audiobook review of Secrets That Kill
Yes, the cover is a bit weird 😉
blodeuedd recently posted…Dark Horse – Michelle Diener
I have looked at this series and even have the first one on my TBR pile as well. Some of my reservations included the indie author issue and bad cover issue. I am planning on devoting September to my TBR pile. Looks like this one needs to be on that list.
judy recently posted…Review: Deception Cove by Jayne Castle
It’s great when an author manages crossover appeal. I’m not a big fan of the cover, but I admit that I’m interested in the story. Great review!
Ramona recently posted…5 Signs That You’re A Writer
Sounds like a nice little gem. I will read the beginning and wonder what you got me into though. 😉 Hm… I agree with you about the cover but I’m glad this one pay off for you in the end.
Melissa (Books and Things) recently posted…Cover Reveal: GAIA by Karen Ann Hopkins
Glad it was a nicely discovered underrated gem. I’ve had this one on my wishlist too.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon #Review #NeverEndingSeries
Those covers would not be something to sell the books to me at all, but I after your review I know I’ll probably give them a try once I see what you think of at least the next book in the series!
And thanks for the warning about the rocky start!
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I’m glad you stuck it out and it ended up being a great read, Jessica. And although I wouldn’t boycott your reviews/recommendations anyway, I do appreciate the *warning* about the rough start. I have to agree – Gah! Poor little rich girls are not favs of mine. But since Cassie turns out to be *not* such a dud…well, slow start, *interesting* cover can be set aside. I’ll add this to my tbr. 🙂
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…New Release Review ~ With Visions of Red #2 ~ Trisha Wolfe
Sometimes indie books are the best ones! I’m glad you ended up really enjoying this one and have one-clicked the rest of the series. I totally know what you mean about the rough start, Cassie does sound like a bit of a snob…but it does get more interesting. Lovely review Jess!
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