#BookReview Pike by Brea Viragh

“Lavinia Cutler can see the future. Sometimes. Not well. It was a charm-gone-wrong from a spell book, and the only thing she could see with startling clarity was the man she’d find to love. The man who would break her heart.

There is more than meets the eye to Pike Radclyffe. It’s not just his dashing English accent. Or his super hearing, magnetic sex appeal, and inherent magic. There are secrets he is unwilling to share. Lavinia is in over her head even though she knows she can’t leave him alone.

In order to deal with her budding psychic gift, the ghouls stalking her, and make sure her visions of the future do not come true, she must find a way to understand Pike and his dark, hedonistic world. Before she’s drawn in beyond hope of redemption.”

 

Four stars!

 

Who’s driving this thing?

Lavinia Cutler, a young woman gifted with foresight after a dare gone wrong during high school. Trying to get her gift to work in ways she can understand while fending off the plethora of magical creatures drawn to her by some mysterious compulsion, Lavinia is thoroughly out of her depth.

I loved Lavinia as a character because she is more or less clueless but will not let that stop her. I worried for her constantly during this story. Thank goodness for Pike, who, despite his lone-wolf tendencies, takes it upon himself to teach her and keep her safe. Lavinia is an innocent soul who grabs life by the horns and doesn’t see any obstacle as a permanent fixture in her life.

 

What’s this all about?

Lavinia gets into trouble frequently, because the ghouls, succubi and sewer creatures are so drawn to her. Pike splits his time between wooing women he doesn’t intend to stay with and teaching Lavinia to defend herself from supernatural creatures. Pike throws Lavinia into some really cool but dangerous situations that makes for some great story-telling.

Because this book is a novella, it’s shorter than usual and though there isn’t an over-arching plot line that isn’t romantic, it’s bulked out with some awesome mini-adventures.

What’s so great about it?

Complex characters: they’re so easy to emotionally invest in and have some interesting personal struggles.

Off-the-wall adventures: Some days Lavinia and Pike are in dark alleys fighting ghouls, in clubs resisting the temptation of succubi or in the sewers settling a debt. Nothing ever goes right and it’s super-fun watching them fight their way out of their scrapes.

Pleasing writing style: I enjoyed reading this author’s work!

 

What’s not so great about it?

Scene-setting could have been better: Not going to lie, it was easy to picture the settings but the scene-setting was minimal. Considering the world is imbued with supernaturals, there could have been more done to paint a really unique picture.

Vampires aren’t vampires: This was the biggest and probably only real disappointment with this book. The vampires in this world don’t drink blood, they feed off emotion which is a completely different supernatural creature altogether. While succubi are traditionally women (incubus being the male equivalent), that’s basically what vampires are in this world.

 

Should I get it?

Don’t reckon vampire lovers are going to be huge fans, but fans of supernatural, paranormal and magical books in general are sure to love this story.

Here’s the sweet deal. You can buy it on Amazon if you want to, BUT author Brea Viragh actually gives this one away for free when you sign up to her newsletter. Check that out!

Thanks for reading my review! Have you read this book? Let me know what you think.