Hooked on Books

Pandian has an ingenious concept here! She really does. I think this was one of the more original and creative mysteries I've read in a while. A 400 year old vegan herbalist and alchemist, Zoe, and a living French gargoyle chef, Dorian, are the two main characters. They are likeable, fun and they both have very interesting and unique life histories. Dorian needs Zoe's help and Zoe wants to start over so Dorian follows Zoe in a packing crate from France all the way to Portland, Oregon and they end up meeting for the first time in Zoe's new ramshackle house and the rest they say is history...well that's all I'm saying anyways because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I think the author has a lot to work with here so there shouldn't have been any reason for her to commit one of my biggest pet peeves which is using too much filler and fluff and extraneous useless information! Get my point?! : ) Zoe is a vegan herbalist and alchemist and Dorian is a chef- I get that -so a little bit about cooking vegan food here and there is ok. I have no problem with that but there was way too much fluff about food and cooking meals especially since there was so much more relevant and intriguing information about ancient alchemy and Zoe & Dorian's background that could have been expanded on! I'm hoping though, since this was the first book in the series that the author's writing will develop with time and we won't see that much filler again in future installments. Don't take me the wrong way, it was still a very enjoyable read. I loved the setting, the story and the characters. It just works! I would definitely recommend giving this series a chance. Pandian really has a great thing going here. She just needs to take full advantage of her premise and flaunt it in the next installment, The Masquerading Magician. It is due out soon so I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy and seeing how it plays out.