Immortally Yours by Angie Fox (Monster M*A*S*H #1)
Paranormal Romance
Released: August 28, 2012
St. Martin’s

Reviewed by May 

Dr. Petra Robichaud was drafted into service, and taken into limbo to serve as a doctor in a MASH unit for the young gods (who are at war with the old gods). There wasn’t much choice about it –

Both armies were allowed to recruit anywhere on Earth. And I use the term recruit lightly. It was more like a shanghaiing. A rep from the young gods spotted me first. Army officials had given me one hour to close my practice and say my good-byes. There would be no home leave, no return.

My dad couldn’t even see me off as they led me out into the depths of the bayou to a portal that hung like a misty cloud amid a tangle of cypress trees. Before I could say Bad idea, I was in the red, flat wastelands of limbo.

She was used to life in the unit, patching up demi gods and soldiers in the never ending war between young and old gods. She has been there for several years when we meet her – and she meets Galen of Delphi a demi god with a life threatening injury. A decorated unit commander and head of the Green Hawk Special Forces team – he’s unlike any patient she’s ever had. When he nearly dies and she (literally) touches his soul – the pair discover they are drawn to one another. Of course, Petra must hide her ability to see (and touch) the dead.

My power to see the dead, to talk to them, was outlawed by the gods. And the gods had a thing for strange and horrific punishments. It was like a divine version of The Godfather.

Now events have been set into action that will have Galen and Petra working to stop the war and save countless lives. Can they do it?

This is indeed a unique world and set up. I appreciated the author’s sense of humor, and how she kept the story moving right along. From the “news network” that covers things like prophecies and oracles to the cast of supporting characters this was indeed an interesting world.

I can speculate as to why these characters are meant to be – both are strong, alone, and fiercely devoted to their work. I felt that they were well matched and I really liked both Petra and Galen. Each was heroic in their own ways, each had skills, talent, and a lot of potential. I would love to see them back in another story, though I would have loved it more if they had been given a stronger story in this book.

My problems with the book were many though, and ultimately this was not a satisfying reading experience. Starting with the world itself- it is full of vampires and werewolves, gods and mortals, a sphinx, imps, assassin scorpions, and there is reference to fay beings as well (our heroine’s own mother was fay). There are references to fiction (and the suggestion that it is actually fact), but what makes this a world that I should want to read about? It never developed further from the first few chapters, instead by the end it felt like plain vanilla PNR fare for me – a disappointment indeed.

For example: there is a vampire friend (who is always brooding and dark), and a werewolf friend (who has a mate and litter of kids back home that he longs for, he sprays his mate’s scent everywhere…) – neither were particularly interesting or well developed. They were simply there.

I also had issue with the story itself. Our heroine watches and waits for prophecies to be read by an oracle to know what to do next. Where is the adventure or awesomeness in that? So she hears what the next part is, spoiler alert style, then can’t try to influence it but has to do whatever it is that she’s supposed to do next because she is the chosen one. But nobody knows she is the chosen one (except Galen).

Petra is a great doctor, and I enjoyed the scenes where she is treating patients and at her best. Especially considering that she has essentially been kidnapped (as have countless other mortals) and forced to live on this other plane where she has none of the comforts of home and everyone is miserable. We never really address who is responsible for this aside from “gods” and we never really get satisfaction – or any indication that she may be able to return home to Louisiana ever.

I don’t ask that a paranormal romance be realistic, but I do demand that it is believable, and that a world is well developed. There can be crazy rules – as long as there is consistency and I can follow the logic. I didn’t feel like we got enough about the world or who inhabits it in this story considering that it mostly took place in the MASH unit and involved very little travel, action, or adventure. It was character driven, so I expected a lot more character and world development.

On top of a plot that felt flat, we had a relationship that jumped right from “I’m avoiding you” to “couple mode” because (conveniently) they have touched souls and so they just know that they have found THE ONE. (even if they deny it) The sexual tension was somehow missing, and once they do consummate their relationship lacked any kind of intensity and was not at all memorable. As I write this review it has been just two days since I read the book, and I can’t recall the sex scenes, or any one special moment between Galen and Petra romantically.

My biggest problem here, is that there were some interesting characters stuck in a weak plot with nobody to properly tell us of their smexy escapades, and they were given very little to do in their world. I do not wish to share spoilers about the book so I will stop here. While I did see glimmers of humor, good story telling, and potential, overall this book just really flopped for me. If you are looking for a fun and light PNR taking place in a MASH unit in the middle of a war between gods then perhaps this will be more to your liking.

Grade: C-

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