Original Sin

Title:  Original Sin
Author: Allison Brennan
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 442
Why I read it: received review copy from the publisher
Grade: C+

Synopsis:
Haunted by chilling memories of demonic possession and murder, Moira O’Donnell has spent seven years hunting down her mother, Fiona, whose command of black magic has granted her unprecedented control of the underworld. Now Moira’s global search has led her to a small California town that’s about to become hell on earth.

Tormented by his own terrifying past and driven by powers he can’t explain, ex-seminarian Rafe Cooper joins Moira’s dangerous quest. But Fiona is one devilish step ahead. Hungry for greater power, eternal youth, and stunning beauty, the sorceress is unleashing upon the mortal world the living incarnations of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Together with a demonologist, a tough female sheriff, and a pair of star-crossed teenagers, Moira and Rafe are humanity’s last chance to snatch salvation from the howling jaws of damnation.

My review:
Original Sin started off a little slow, and didn't really grab me up front.  When I was about 100 pages in or so, I started feeling like there must be a previous book with some of these characters, because events kept being eluded to in such a way that it seemed like there had been another book.  So I looked online, but there wasn't.  I guess it's just the author's style in giving backstory, just different than I'm used to.

But then things started picking up, and I got very interested in what was going to happen.  I knew going in that this was the first book in a series, so it probably wouldn't wrap up all neat and tidy, and it didn't.  I wasn't sure if I was going to continue on with the series, but because of something that was hinted at near the end, that I can't talk about because of spoilers, I'm going to have to read on. 

I've never read a paranormal quite like this one.  The world was different, in that magic was bad.  Even in the characters who were good guys, or who wanted to do the right thing, using magic wasn't a good thing.  It's definitely a different idea, because usually in paranormal stories, although there are always bad witches/wizards, magic in itself is never inherently bad.

I would recommend this to fans of paranormal.  If you're not a paranormal reader, this probably isn't the place to start.