Arcadia 'Cady' Bell is gingerly settling into her new
relationship with earthbound demon and award-winning
photographer Lon and his quirkily charming son Jupe. Her
newly-awakened Moonchild powers are not her first choice for
magic working, the lingering stain of her near death at the
hands of her insane parents colors anything she might choose
to do with them but with a reawakened serial killer
endangering the children of La Sirena she may not have a
choice.
Jenn Bennett has written another fantastic novel. SUMMONING
THE NIGHT is book two in the Arcadia Bell series and I think
even better than the first. I totally enjoyed the first one
Kindling the Night but now that I am familiar with
the characters and world she built reading the second was
just a notch higher on my personal scale. I laughed out loud
(especially with the dead-on dialogue of teen Jupe), became
tense and read a lot more quickly as the pace and suspense
built and even cried a bit here and there. Although
primarily an urban fantasy there are elements of romance,
and those scenes between Cady and Lon are hot yet realistic
with appropriate elements of humor; a refreshing change from
the continual use of words like 'heaving' and 'turgid'.
Bennett is one of those authors who can make a reader feel
at home in the world they created with just a few deft
sentences. She
excels at urban fantasy where the mundane is woven with the
extraordinary. Arcadia's world is filled with humans,
demons, magic users; danger and humor. Each character is
complex but not confusing, the main plot line is clear but
the additional tendrils involving the emotional journeys of
Cady, Jupe and even some of the more minor characters enrich
and expand the story.
Sometimes a second book can fall a bit short, no matter how
enthusiastic I am about finding a new-to-me author, but not
in this case. I can't find enough superlatives for the
enjoyment each of Bennet's books has brought. She has won a
life-time fan in me.
The second in a not-to-be-missed urban fantasy series about
a freewheeling magician who slings drinks at a
demon-friendly tiki bar.
Renegade magician and tiki bar owner Arcadia "Cady" Bell is
rebuilding her life after narrowly escaping her fate as
sacrificial scapegoat. When a fiendish bogeyman sends the
community into a fear-fueled tailspin, the influential head
of the local Hellfire Club asks for her help in tracking him
down. Now that Cady is dating the club’s wayward son, she
can hardly say no.
Cady and Lon soon untangle a gruesome trail of clues that
puts all the Earthbound children of the club members in
danger—including Lon’s teenage son, Jupiter. If Cady can
conjure up a little metaphysical help from her demonic bar
patrons, she might just be able to figure out the true
identity of the Sandpiper Park Snatcher and stop him before
he takes another victim.