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The world we find ourselves in is one where traumatic events or great emotional distress is imprinting itself on every day objects used at that moment. Now they act as some kind of battery for psychic energy, getting stronger with age but of course no one would know about it if there wouldn't also be people able to use that energy. Unfortunately mostly untrained people and mostly by chance which leads more often than not to explosive destruction. We all know how humanity likes to deal with such danger and the people causing it. As you'd expect, at book six of a series, there is some repetition. In particular the on-off / will they-won't they relationship between Marwood and Catherine is starting to grate a little. But this book is saved by the plot around Charles II and his amorous adventures, in particular his attempts to bed Louise de Keroualle. The ways in which those in the Court and the Governments of both England and France vie for power and influence is fascinating. If you think Ariana Nash's books are too dark or triggering, but you still really want to read her work, I definitely recommend this series! Compared to her other work, Twisted Pretty Things is less graphic and the sex isn't elaborated, which makes it the perfect candidate! Ariana Nash doesn't disappoint with her new foray into M/M urban fantasy set in London, where magical artifacts and those who would do harm with them are hunted by the Kempthorne & Co. Artefact Retrieval Agency. The atmosphere is eerie and scintillating; it's a world where magic can be both very dangerous and alluring.
On Facebook, Joe sends Alexia a message trying to explain he is not a two-timer, is significantly different from is old self and wants to put things right, wants a chance to talk with her. Since she thinks both Joe and Other Joe are the same person, the note could sound a bit nuts. The amnesia is supposed to be the defining event. After the fake mountain biking accident, which caused the fake amnesia, Joe is presenting himself has a better person and he is. An absolute delight in a series that goes from strength to strength’ S. G. McLean, prize-winning author of the Seeker series I really felt immersed in the period of the time and the historical facts and characters many of whom were real to that time were really believable. It went along at a good pace ensuring I wanted to read on to the end to find out who did what and why. Which leads me to the other main element in the story – Charles II’s ruthless pursuit of a penniless young Frenchwoman half his age, aided and abetted by his own chief minister, the French ambassador and the King of France himself. The poor woman didn’t have a chance. There was no #MeToo movement to come to her defence.Overall, I found this an excellent work of historical fiction. I feel that aside from a riveting political thriller, Andrew Taylor effortlessly captures a sense of life in 17th Century London portraying characters from a variety of social classes. I look forward to whatever comes next for James and Cat. In the military, I’d been a pawn in someone else’s game. Used. Sacrificed. It was always the way with latents, but I didn’t want that again. And I was good, or trying to be. All the book is from Dom’s perspective. Not gonna lie, I’m intrigued by Hollywood and Kempthorne’s POV. Especially the latter. But, due to Dom’s obliviousness I get why we can only see what he’s thinking. I started reading the book expecting to find a dominant, alpha jerk. But I loved this version of a Love Interest much better. Please, let him be the REAL love interest. Hollywood is booOOooring. This was my first Ariana Nash book, but it won't be the last and not just because this book ended on a cliffhanger. I got an advance copy of it so I knew going it probably wouldn't be fully resolved by the end, and I'm okay with that. In case you're not, here's your warning.
In this sixth outing Taylor places Marwood and Cat in the heart of Charles II's court, the King desires a young impoverished French woman and so those in power realise that by using this woman they may be able to achieve their desires, patriarchy at work. Enter the third wheel in our story, the mysterious Kage (aka Hollywood), a trigger-happy American, who keeps showing up to 'help' Dom on his latest case. And to tempt him in all the worst kind of ways too😈. The IRL - Institute of Registered Latents. A government-funded agency that controls, tests and registers latents, making sure they're safe to be a part of society. His little sister is now an adult, (about 30 years old) and the Other Joe she grew up with no longer exists. This other version of Joe lived a life of privilege, had plenty of girlfriends, was in the commercial properties business with his father, owned an upscale antique shop and lived in a fancy apartment above the shop, equipped with all the amenities, a terrace, Jacuzzi and all. Gone are the life time of memories Other Joe had made between the summer of 1997 and January 2020. Yet another triumphant novel, exposing the corruption and power politics in the court of Charles II where lives are ruined at the whim of the aristocrats as they jostle to gain favour. Both Cat and Marwood are subject to the caprices of wealthy men pushing and pulling them in different directions. What I like about Andrew Taylor's novels is although the investigation process may be convoluted I often suspected the person from the start so the unveiling of the murderer's identity has a sense of rightness to it.There's Kempthrone, his boss, who seems to have his own agenda. And who has secrets that get unravelled bit by bit. Very intriguing, hot, and straight (?). The is the latest in the Ashes of London series, and if you have not encountered it before, you are in for a treat. Kempthorne’s real smile melted all the leftover ice in his glare. “I simply meant you’re worth more than any man there and you needn’t have felt uncomfortable.” Amy reminds Joe how as a kid she misquoted the Star Wars saying. “ May the forks be with you!” And it's still something she'll say when out to dinner with her friends.
I loved the take on time travel that nothing in the past is fixed and that watershed moments have quite profound effects on future timelines. I also enjoyed the ramifications of making a profound jump in time and "fixing" something to find that you're suddenly thrust into the life of the "not-you" whom you've displaced with your meddling. Protagonist Joe faces this exact problem, popping into the timeline and displacing "other Joe" and trying to convince everyone that he just had a bump on the head (mountain biking "accident") and figuring it out on the fly. His new life throws him even more complications in the form of a group of "fixers" who intend to recruit him into service whether he wants to join them or not (he doesn't). Latent - Someone able to generate and manipulate psychic energy. (John "Dom" Domenici is a latent).
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stars. I have been looking forward to this new series from one of my favorite para-authors, and I jumped right on it as soon as I could. Ariana Nash writes some of the absolute best paranormal & fantasy fiction I've ever read. However, for much of this book, this was me: Molly the antique shop's manager made tea for Other Joe with plenty of milk and sugar, but Joe was a coffee man and couldn't stomach her sweet and milky concoction.
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