Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Twisted Pretty Things

SERIES:  Shadows of London

AUTHOR:  Arian Nash

PUBLISHER:  Crazy Ace Publishing

LENGTH:  330 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 5, 2021

BLURB:

Something wicked is moving in the shadows of London…

In the underground world of glitzy illegal auctions, fast cars, and stolen magical artifacts, John “Dom” Domenici knows he’s out of his depth. But he needs the job at Kempthorne & Co like he needs to breathe. The alternative—going back to the organized crime gangs of London’s East End—is unthinkable.

So when Alexander Kempthorne, boss of Kempthorne & Co Artifact Retrieval Agency, wants him on a special case to track down an illegal artifact dealer, Dom can’t say no.

It shouldn’t matter that Kempthorne’s world is full of deadly secrets. It shouldn’t matter that the billionaire is sexy as sin, and it really shouldn’t matter how there’s an American agent stalking Dom, an American who knows more than he should about Dom’s case, including the real reason Alexander Kempthorne hired Dom.

The only thing that really matters to Dom is solving the case and finding the artifact dealer. Because there are worse things in London than a conflicted billionaire and a trigger-happy American. Something wicked is stalking London’s streets, and if Dom doesn’t stop it, its shadows will rise and consume them all.

***

Twisted Pretty Things is the first book in the all-new Shadows of London MM urban fantasy series. Action, mystery, and MM romance combine in this fast-paced adventure from the author who brought you the award-winning Silk & Steel series and the best-selling Prince’s Assassin series. Coming August 2021.

Triggering content: mention of past mental and physical abuse.

Please note the Shadows of London series is set in London and the characters are all British (so is the author). Although the series has been edited in US English for the larger US market, to include US spelling and grammar, many English slang words and spelling remain as part of the character of the work.

REVIEW:

John “Dom” Domenici is on a special case for Kempthorne & Co.  He’s taken this job after leaving the military and it’s his lifeline.  His job is to retrieve magical “artifacts” and help control “latents” who can manipulate magic/energy.  Artifacts are important because they contain and can amplify energy.  Latents are able to manipulate and control psychic energy.  We learn early on that Dom is good at his job.

But when he’s on a special mission with Alexander Kempthorne, he’s thrown deeper into a world that he’s been skirting the edges of for some time.  While Dom understands some of the situation he’s entering, it seems that Alexander has many secrets also.  Then there is the American agent, Kage Mitchell who now seems to be stalking Dom as well.  There is a strong attraction between Dom and Kage (Dom dubs him Hollywood because of his looks).  Dom is kept quite busy negotiating the unsettled landscape of this shadowy secret world and we are along for quite a wild and action-packed ride 🙂

I was intrigued by the blurb for this book and while I’m not a high fantasy fan, I do really enjoy a good urban fantasy.   This is the first book I’ve read from this author, but if her other series are in a similar vein, I may give them a try.  The world-building here was really good although I still have a lot of unanswered questions which was frustrating a time or two, but mostly I enjoyed the reveal of this London 🙂   Hopefully things will become more clear in the next book in the series.  The characters, particularly Dom, were so engaging and I was left wanting to know more which bodes well for the future 😉  The three main characters, Dom, Alexander and Kage (Hollywood) are each interesting in their own right as are the supporting cast.  Since the story is told from Dom’s POV, we know more about him than the others.  The chemistry between Dom and the other two men is intriguing and while their definitely are romantic elements, I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as a straight up romance.  That being said, I’m really looking forward to seeing what the path is ahead for all three of these guys.  There are some surprising twists that come up and there is still a lot of mystery here to be uncovered 😀  I enjoyed the action and it’s a bit of a roller coaster ride.  Really never a dull moment.  But if you’re hoping things will be neatly tied up at the end, you will be disappointed.  But they will whet your appetite for what comes next 😉

Definitely recommended for fans of urban fantasy.  I’m anxiously awaiting the next installment and thankfully Tide of Tricks will be out at the end of November!

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon