A Trace of Moonlight by Allison Pang

Drinking from the waters of lethe and offering herself up as Faerie's sacrificial Tithe ... these just might be the least of Abby Sinclair's problems.

Abby's pact with a daemon — whether or not she remembers making it — is binding, so she'd better count herself lucky that (in the words of a daemon who knows better) there's nearly always a loophole. But her friends' reckless attempts to free her, well intentioned though they may be, set off a disastrous chain of events. In no time at all, Abby turns her incubus lover mortal, then gets herself killed, cursed, and married to an elven prince whose mother wants her dead. On top of everything else, she's lost the Key to the Crossroads to her mortal enemy, who promptly uses his restored power to wreak havoc on the Otherworld and put its very existence in jeopardy. Only one person can make things right again, but to find her, Abby must place her trust in allies of mixed loyalties, and conquer her nightmares once and for all.

So after becoming the Tithe, Abby has no memory. As she floats around thinking she has a perfectly happy life, she stumbles on Taliver & Moira discussing her and realises life isn't as she thinks it is. She accidentally turns Ion mortal, becomes handfasted to Taliver (not accidentally but not planned either), gets killed and comes back to life (thanks to Phineas). She has to save the Barras as well as the Key and also Ion - so all in a days work then?

OK, so it took me a long time to get into this book and the only reason I can come up with is that, at the beginning, it wasn't really Abby but a very twittery little child-person. As soon as she became herself again, I didn't want to put it down (stupid need to sleep made me put it down though ~ grrr) - and Pang didn't disappoint. This is full of the usual humour and sexiness that we've come to expect from the previous books.

Sadly the last book in the series, as announced by Pang on her blog, but it seems like the story has been ended nicely. There's no cliff hanger ending or anything so I can't help but wonder is Pang had planned this from the beginning, and if that's the case - it's a good and bad thing. Bad that the series is finished but good if the series got its planned ending.

If you haven't read this series, I suggest giving it a read. Great world building with some great characters (Phin being my favourite).


Book Depository: A Trace of Moonlight
Amazon UK: A Trace of Moonlight

A Sliver of Shadow by Allison Pang

Just when her new life as a TouchStone — a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds — seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate's away ... let's just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed.

The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faerie is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding elven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen's magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she's making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves.

Abby is coping with being full-time mum to Moira's baby while Moira is dealing with the backlash of what happened in A Brush of Darkness. She's also got a full-time bodyguard in the form of Moira's brother, Taliver. When a woman claiming to be the new protectorate tries to force Abby to be her touchstone, consequences aren't just dire - they're shite! So Abby has to travel to the Faerie via the Crossroads and convince the queen to reopen the Crossroads so all the Otherfolk don't die. But Faerie is on the brink of war - a war which isn't helped when Abby shows up. And not only is the war a major downer but she has to put up with a cock-measuring contest between Taliver and Brystion as they both compete for her and try to outdo one another.

I really, really am loving this series and as much as I enjoyed Brystion in the first book, I'm glad he wasn't as prevalent in this one. Although when Abby was seriously thinking about how much she missed him and how she wanted him, I wanted to grab her and scream at her for being an idiot! Why would you want Brystion when Taliver is there being all hot and stuff? It's obvious where my heart lies, isn't it? Yup I much prefer Taliver to Brystion, 'cos Brystion was a bit of an ass.

The actual storyline was really good and had just enough action to keep you interested but not so much to make you bored by it. Plus I have a new sidekick to keep me amused after losing Giguhl (from the Sabina Kane series), Phin reminds me in so many ways of Giguhl and makes me not miss his snarkyiness as much. I think it's the tiny cute thing that's also horny as hell.


Book Depository: A Sliver of Shadow
Amazon UK: A Sliver of Shadow

A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and as sexy as sin incubus who shows up searching for his sister — and is convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invading her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As Abby is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, she realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart — and there’s no one she can trust to save her.

The cover of this intrigued me when I saw it ages ago and I know my friend Julie is a huge advocate of Allison Pang so I decided it would be the first purchase I made for my new shiny kindle.

I love the world Pang has created here and I really liked Abby's voice. The storyline itself was really very intriguing and original, at least to my eyes. All her characters are well written and stand out on their own, I really loved Phineas (read it to see why) and hope he's in the next book.

A great debut (I think(hope!)) from Pang with the potential to be a good fun series.


Book Depository: A Brush Of Darkness
Amazon UK: A Brush of Darkness