by Terrance Mc Arthur

Details on how to win a copy of Blackheart at the end of this review.

Madeline Black’s grandpa is Lucifer.
Maddy used to work as an agent of Death.
The Agency wants her dead.
She’s pregnant.
She has wings.

In Christina Henry’s latest Black Wings novel, Black Heart, the Agency’s Retrievers want to eat Maddy’s soul, even though she defeated the vampires who were taking over the Second City (and it was caught on TV, for goodness sake!) in the previous book. Her new love, Nathaniel, sends her through a portal to “safety.” She tangles with water demons, giant preying mantises out to destroy all life forms, a manipulating trickster and her first dragon…who is almost like family to her. She even looks for her late husband in the Land of the Dead. Back in Chicago, takes on a lot of super-supernatural enemies and dangerous friends, is learning how to use her talents and discovering ways to use magic that she had not suspected were within her abilities. Her greatest fear is that she will turn to the darker side of her powers, because she is finding it easier and easier to destroy others. Maddy is starting to enjoy it…and so is the baby within her.

An author of a paranormal series has a dangerous balancing act to accomplish. If the character stays a powerless doormat, dependent on the actions of others to get her out of trouble, readers will get tired of her and not come back for the next installment. If she grows too powerful, there is no real jeopardy; readers don’t want a character that can defeat an army without raising a sweat, because the Superman Syndrome sets in and you need a Kryptonite to knock her down so that she has real obstacles to overcome. Maddy is discovering new powers as Lucifer’s granddaughter, but she doesn’t have the control to make them reliable weapons. That gives us a sense of discovery that parallels hers.

For urban paranormal action, this is a good choice. If you like quirky mini-sidekicks, there’s a gargoyle with an attitude in here that you should meet. If you want to hobnob with Lucifer, Puck, Titania and other immortals, you’ll have a great time.

Black Heart really has a heart of gold.

To enter to win a copy of Black Heart, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Black,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 4, 2014. U.S. residents only.

Check out more fantasy book reviews in our fantasy and fangs section.

Use this link to purchase your copy of Black Heart & a portion goes to support KRL:

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a California-born, Valley-raised librarian/entertainer/writer. He lives in Sanger, four blocks from the library, with his wife, his daughter, and a spinster cat.