S.J. Harper

I've had this series on my TBR list for so so long and while I did read the prequel a little while ago, I only now finished book nr 1 and I must say, I liked it! It was a quick and enjoyable read.

Worldbuilding was good, though sometimes it went a bit too far. I really don't want/need to know the street names and the exact location when on a run. Well, unless you live in the area and want to follow the route I suppose :D
Apart from that little hiccup along the way all was good with every scene clear and well detailed.

Character development was good. We get to know Zack a lot better than we did in the prequel and we learned some new things about Emma and Liz. Emma en Zack really work well together, they have each other's back, even after the short time they have known one another. A new, dark and mysterious player has entered the field and seems to have some interest in Emma (much to the chagrin of Zack teehee). Oh and we get an even darker picture of Demeter, the goddess who cursed Emma.

Pacing and flow were good. Excellent balance between conversation and action, keeping the story moving ahead without slowing it down or rushing it.

The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).

All in all, I was very happy that the romance elements in the book didn't become too much. While I certainly love me some romance (I live vicariously through the characters I'm reading about lol), for this series it would have just taken the focus away from the awesome writing. The main focus really was the case they were working on.… (mere)

I had read Cursed before this prequel came out and loved it. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to read Captured and be a part of the tour.

How can you not love a fallen siren and a sexy werewolf as they use their special abilities to track down missing children? I found Emma and Zack captivating and easy to relate to. The novella is fast paced, easy to read and realistically written (aside from the paranormal aspect, or is it?). I felt a sense of urgency, wanting to tell them to hurry up, time is running out.

Emma is a fallen siren, cursed because she did not save Persephone from being kidnapped. She kept in mind that……

Redemption could be one rescue away.

I would also love to have a best friend like Liz, a super witch.

Zack is a sexy FBI werewolf that specializes in finding missing children.

Zack – more James Bond than Seeley Booth.

I think that is a fantastic description. I love Seeley Booth, but I watched James Bond before there was a Seeley Booth. They are two different kind of “super heroes” and there is always room in the world for another one.

When Emma and Zack come together, it is obvious there will sparks flying, but with two children dead and another one missing, their job is cut out for them.

Emma makes a Note To Self – When in the South, be sure to specify unsweetened tea. When I first moved down here, I came across the same problem myself. I don’t know how many times I would have to send back sweetened to get my unsweetened iced tea.

As Samantha and Jeanne talk about the heat in the South, I can vouch for stepping out and gasping for breath when the air is thick and heavy with humidity. It’s as if someone dumps a warm bucket of water over you, because you are immediately drenched and dripping from the moisture in the air. But….I love it.

Kidnapping, especially of children, brings peoples emotions to the surface, wondering how someone could hurt an innocent and trusting child. Family is always the first to be investigated, hopefully to rule them out.

Why can’t the bad guy look like a monster, instead of a handsome, charming guy who could be your next door neighbor?

I love crime stories, my fave. I love paranormal stories, not far behind. You put the two together and I am a very happy reader.

This is a great read, I loved it. I already knew Emma and Zack from reading Cursed, so I was predisposed to loving them and their story. Still, the story and writing must be good and entertaining, plus keep up a level of suspense that has me eagerly turning the pages, unable to put the book down until I find out the ending. Well done ladies! I look forward to reading Reckoning and being on another investigation with Emma and Zack.

I received an ebook of Captured, the novella by S J Harper, for review in conjunction with the tour.… (mere)

Emma and Zack’s relationship is fraught – Demeter’s interference has left Emma reeling and Zack angry with a terrible case of magical amnesia

But all of that has to be put aside when a multi-billionaire’s son is kidnapped and his babysitter murdered possibly due to an extreme act of revenge or just simple greed? Answers that can only be found by being professional, putting their issues aside – and going undercover in a sex club

As a book reviewer, there’s a repeat problem I have when reviewing a series I like. How do you say “I love this book for all the reason I loved all the previous books in the series” without sounding repetitive or lacklustre? It’s hard to make it clear that the elements that you love about a series are still making these books ones you really love to read without sounding like it’s stalled or run out of ideas

This is a short story in the Fallen Siren Series and, yes, it contains many of the elements that have made this one of my favourites:

We have a police investigation that is interesting, tense, exciting and relies as much and more on actual investigative skills as it does on magic (now I do love magic heavy series but I also prefer my investigative protagonists to actually have skill rather than deus ex machinae powers that are so often used as an easy way to solve the mystery without a coherent plot).

We have characters who have a romance – but put it aside. Again, in a genre where all too often characters have sex at inappropriate times, especially a character whose woo-woo is sex based, it is refreshing to see characters that have such a good sense of priorities. In this story there could be no alternative - you cannot have people in charge of finding kidnapped children be distracted by sexy times. But this also reflects not just in the romance but also the other character developments between them.

Over the course of the books, Zach and Emma have had a fraught history. Her curse, her justifiable fear of love and the constant threat of Demeter has made their relationship difficult and have left them with a lot of issues and rifts between them. And, as professionals, as capable dedicated adults, they are quite capable of putting aside all this emotional drama to focus on the essential task at hand. I really appreciate that.

Read More… (mere)

Novella length continuation of the A Fallen Siren series that follows FBI Special Agent Emma Monroe, a siren who for thousands of years now is attempting to atone to the goddess Demeter for not being able to prevent Persephone from being taken into Hades. Since then she must keep finding lost or kidnapped children, hoping each time this will be the one that pays off the perceived debt. Her current FBI partner is Zack Armstrong who is also a werewolf. She can’t have anything resembling a relationship without the goddess killing off her lover and she and Zack are very drawn to the other.

They are called in for a kidnapping case in New York by a very rich and influential man when his son is kidnapped from the house during a fundraising event.

Emma and Zack are meant to be together and I hope by the end of the series they can find a way to make that happen. Right now the feelings aren’t too good as each is mad or hurt by the other as she does her best to keep him alive by not letting the relationship go any farther. The case itself is interesting, especially as Emma goes undercover. And I found myself getting somewhat teary-eyed at one point.

Together this duo has pulled together a really good series. When is the next book?… (mere)