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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Review: T. G. Ayer's SKIN DEEP

Today I have the great pleasure of sharing my Kiwi friend, T.G. Ayer's new skinwalker novel, SKIN DEEP.

Panther Shape-shifter Kailin Odel just wants to be normal. Leaving her clan, and her Alpha responsibilities, to live with her grandmother in Chicago had been the best thing for her. Only then did she discover her ability to track and kill the soul sucking undead creatures called Wraiths. Now she protected the humans, and had something to be proud of.
But, when she discovers the body of a murdered shape shifter, Kailin has to come to terms with the reality that her own kind are just as vulnerable as the humans. 
The closer Kailin gets to the killer the more she has to face the intricacies of her people. When the time comes can she accept who and what her real purpose is?

You may have already read Tee's other books in her Valkyrie series, which starts with Dead Radiance. I loved her take on the Norse gods there and was looking forward to seeing what Tee did with a shapeshifter.  I'm pasting my review from Goodreads below.  I hope you'll take a look and if you think you might enjoy this novel, please add it to your TBR list, or pick up a copy now.


First, even if you're not really into shifter stories, don't shy away from this book. Kai is a panther Skin Walker, but she tamps down her urges to change most of the time. This is not a story about packs of panthers roaming around or anything like that. What this book really reminded me of was a teen Silence of the Lambs. And I remember as a teen, I loved that book. You have a madman committing some really horrific crimes (but they are mild enough in description for teens) and two supernatural teens who inadvertently team up to find the killer/kidnapper. I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. The plot had many twists and turns and you were never quite sure who was going to pop up next or what the main character was going to do. She needed rescuing sometimes and sometimes she was the rescuer, so it was a good balance as far as that goes.

Where I'm conflicted is that I never really connected with Kai's voice. I liked her and was rooting for her story. I liked following her daring (if not stupidly-brave) antics, but I wanted to hear more teen voice from her. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I had connected with her better. Also, she was constantly tamping down her inner Panther and I didn't understand why. That wasn't explained well enough for me. She has this deadly force inside of her but refuses to use it even when attacked (repeatedly). If it had been me, I felt like I would have gone "all Panther" on some people a lot sooner than Kai did.

Ayer left some great cliffhangers, and there is still much to be explained in the next book. If you are more into action-driven, rather than character-driven stories, you will probably really love this book. I guess I am finding out that I am more of a character-driven reader.

* Many thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. *

1 comments:

Meradeth Houston said...

Sounds like a fun read! I tend to lean more on the plot-driven side of things so sounds right up my alley!

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