WINTER HALO is book 2 in the Outcast series by urban fantasy writer Keri Arthur. Arthur's heroines are always gutsy women with magical or supernatural gifts who are suckers for helping those in need. They also tend to be sexually free, sleeping not only with the hero of the series but many other men as well, which usually causes a problem for the heroine. Arthur's heroine, Tiger, is definitely true to form.

I am a rabid fan of Arthur's early work. HerRiley Jensen series and Dark Angels series are both fantastic, and I think they are what keep bringing me back to her currents works. I've actually given up on her Souls of Fire series this past year, but I will be continuing with this Outcast series. WINTER HALO is an entertaining futuristic fantasy. This series definitely needs to been read in order, though, because Winter Halo relies on the reader knowing what happened in book 1, City of Light.

Tiger is a déchet, a humanoid supersoldier created by humans to help them win the interspecies war with the shapeshifters. Tiger was created as a lure, specifically created to infiltrate shifter camps and seduce those in charge, and harvest their memories via touch for intel, then kill them. In book 1, Tiger and her reluctant allies discover that Central City's children are being kidnapped and experimented upon as part of the bad guys' plan to create vampires that can be immune to light.

Tiger is a total badass, and is incredibly loyal, which I really like. She will throw herself into dangerous situations against unbelievable odds for things she believes in, which means the author can throw her into all kinds of wild situations. And what Tiger really believes in now is saving these kidnapped children. She is willing to die to try to save those she deems in need of the greatest protection.

Saving the endangered children is the prime driving force moving Tiger and her erstwhile allies as they battle evil henchmen and try to infiltrate the location where the kids are being held. Sometimes it seems a little insane that everyone is so focused on saving the children instead of trying to defeat the bad guys and prevent the UV- resistant vampires from being created. Witches, shifters, humans, and déchet alike would be wiped out if the vampires can overcome the one way humans can defend themselves, ya know?

It seems like anything that can go wrong will as Tiger works to achieve her mission. The tension remains believably high throughout the book, with the stakes just rising and rising for Tiger and her companions. Arthur does a great job of keeping me glued to the pages in WINTER HALO, and I'm hoping for more forward progress with the overlapping challenges in book 3.