Monday, December 1, 2014

Shadow Burns by S.M. Reine [Review]

Shadow Burns by S.M. Reine
Shadow Burns (Preternatural Affairs #4) by S.M. Reine
Format: ebook
Source: provided by the author for an honest review
Date read: September 20, 2014

Preternatural Affairs
1. Witch Hunt
2. Silver Bullet
3. Hotter Than Helltown
4. Shadow Burns - Kindle
5. Deadly Wrong
6. Ashes and Arsenic

S.M. Reine
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Synopsis (Goodreads):
When more than a dozen people die at a retirement home, the official story is carbon monoxide poisoning. Cèsar Hawke is convinced the reason is less mundane and more infernal. But that’s his job. As an agent working for the Office of Preternatural Affairs, he’s always looking for supernatural answers to deadly questions.

Isobel Stonecrow agrees to help him find the truth. With her powers of necrocognition, she can speak to the dead and get the real story.

But when they return to the crime scene, they find a lot more than cadavers. They find a nightmare that they can’t escape—a nightmare from Isobel’s past, which even she can’t completely remember thanks to the contract that signed away her soul.

Cèsar will have to disinter Isobel’s secrets to save her. He’ll learn who Isobel used to be, what she’s done, and the price she paid…no matter how deadly the knowledge might be.
Thoughts on Shadow Burns: Cèsar might not be the strongest witch working for OPA, but he certainly has a flair for getting out of sticky situations. And bloody situations. And situations that would just downright drop other witches. So, you know, way to go Cèsar!

Sure, you have to tangle with some seriously nasty supernatural baddies, but you crawl out of the wreckage you end up in with STYLE!

 Not going to lie, this book messes with Cèsar's life in a big way. He might not be comfortable with everything he has to do as an agent of OPA, but he has a place and a routine (as crazy as it might be at times) and he makes it work. The secrets he unearths here could have repercussions down the line for both him and those around him. And when I say "could have" I kinda mean they mostly likely will. Because this world is messy and screwed up and things rarely go as planned.


As always, S.M. Reine delivers a fast-paced story with plenty of action. And entrails. These books just wouldn't be the same without those entrails. That's right, blood, guts, and demons abound. I don't know if Cèsar appreciates it, but I sure do!


  1. I've been wanting to try this author for a while. Looks great.

    1. She's one of my favorite UF authors. SO MUCH CRAZY GOODNESS!