Vicious Grace (#3 The Black Sun’s Daughter) M.L.N. Hanover
Urban Fantasy
November 30, 2010
Paperback
Pocket

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote:” The tricky part about innocence is that you don’t know you’ve got it until you’ve lost it.”

Jayne Heller and her team are headed the Chicago at the request of Kim, Jayne’s boyfriend Aubrey’s ex wife. She has come across an unusual case and needs their help. Jayne’s not comfortable with this as she knows reasons that Kim left Aubrey. Reasons she never shared with him. Reasons that could break them up. Once they arrive at Grace hospital in Chicago, they find a dream study where it appears a demon is infiltrating the test subjects dreams and patients are going AWOL.

Jayne soon discovers that something terrible was buried under the hospital. Something straining to break free it’s prison. As Jayne and her team struggle to defeat this force, another evil is waiting in the shadows. It wants Jayne for it’s own and won’t stop until it owns her body, her soul, and her life.

Vicious Grace, book three in The Black Sun’s Daughter series, takes us back into Jayne Heller’s dark world of magic, possession, and the unknown. Ms Hanover’s series are sure to appeal to those who enjoy a more noir urban fantasy where HEA’s are not the norm. Steady pacing coupled with smooth writing resonates within this heavy character driven storyline. Deception and consequences play a huge role in here and I found myself drawn into it’s emotional and mental aspects.

It has been a pleasure to watch Jayne grow through this series from an weak collage girl unknowing of this world into a strong courageous young woman who, while still not comfortable with her role as leader, is adapting more to her destiny. In here Jayne gets blind sided a few times but admirably and realistically deals with each situation. She has to make some difficult decisions and also learns some things about her uncle’s past that leaves her reeling.

Aubrey and Jayne are still a couple in here but I found the chemistry between them lacking. The love triangle between Aubrey, Jayne, and Ex is still present but more an offhand comment here and there. The arc doesn’t blend well with the romance and it sits uncomfortable-like an uninvited guest.

The story starts out strong but slows down during the dream study scenes. Hanover gets in depth and convoluted with the explanations and theories that, to me, were boring. Once passed, the story picks right back up with it’s multiple sub plots and story lines. As we cruise towards the ending, the action picks up and we see Jayne once more on the receiving end of danger and suspense. The main conflict is resolved in a blaze of glory and we are left with some questions that hint at huge changes in the series.

Rating: C+

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