Allegra Fairweather

Book Details:
Genre: Paranormal
Page Count: 209
Publication Date: May 26, 2010
Why I read it: netgalley review copy
Grade: B-

The plot:

Allegra Fairweather here. Paranormal investigator. Got problems with specters? Shapeshifters? I'm the woman to call. Just don't call me a Ghostbuster. The last guy who did that ended up flat on his back with my boot at his throat.

With my 99.5% success rate, solving the mystery of a bleeding rose that has sprung up on the shores of Loch Furness should have been an easy gig. But already I've heard the shriek of the local banshee, discovered two bodies (and then lost two bodies), and had a near-death encounter with a three-hundred-year-old ghost. And perhaps most dangerous of all, the hot pub owner who hired me now wants to show me exactly what's under his kilt.

Luckily, I'm ably assisted by my very own guardian angel. I'm grateful for his help-but he's also drop-dead gorgeous. A bit distracting when I've got a mystery to solve, and the clock is ticking...

My review:
Let me tell you right up front that I think this book is only available in e-book edition. I enjoyed this one, but it was really nothing more than a fun, easy read; a good way to pass a couple of afternoons. What I liked best, I think was the setting. I would love to travel to Scotland. Forget the handsome men in kilts, I'm jealous of Allegra just for the scenery. And it was very much a part of the story, so that's good.

Allegra is a fun character, even though she seemed to have a bit of a hard time figuring anything out. If she really does have a 99.5% success rate, I don't know how she did it. She kind of bumbles around and figures things out only with luck. But still, she's fairly tough (although it does help that she has a guardian angel to get her out of all kinds of scrapes), and definitely likable.

There was a little bit of romance here, but not too much. It didn't overshadow the story, at least. It seems that this is the start of a series. Book two is already written and has been acquired by the publisher. So that's good news for those who liked this first one, but I'm afraid of the direction it'll take. I didn't think her romantic interest in her guardian angel was all that great, but I think it'll become more and more the focus. We'll see, it could be done well. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal romance, especially if you're not as interested in the romance. If you're looking for a hot and heavy bodice-ripper type novel, this isn't it.