I was unsure what to expect of this novel. Years ago I read the first five books of Moning's Fever series and had very conflicting feelings about them. The main character, MacKayla, started out shallow and fluffy, but keep maturing and growing as the books progressed. I came to like her. However her love interest, Barrons, was a jerk. Moning perhaps meant for him to be an “alpha" but he turned out to be what I consider to be an insufferable ass. So I approached this novel with caution.
A couple of aspects of this novel remind me of those previous books. Like MacKayla, Zo Grey has a powerful heritage and she has been kept in complete ignorance of its ramifications. This is not unusual in urban fantasy, but Moning really leans into it. Zo is a bomb walking around the town of Divinity. Secondly, her “mentor", Mr. Balfour, is an older male lawyer who is bound by the arcane provisions of the will of Zo's predecessor, Juniper Cameron. So, just like Barrons in the Fever books, Balfour doesn't answer questions and then gets annoyed when Zo screws up. How can she avoid making mistakes when she knows nothing about witchcraft and no one will spill the tea?
That said, Zo has very little judgment. Yes, her mother spent a lot of energy suppressing Zo's talent and emotions, but once free of that influence Zo makes very little effort to control herself. I know how difficult it is to take advice on trust. I'm sure I would be antsy to get on with my education too, but Zo doesn't seem very good at seeing any point of view but her own. Her best friend Este tries her damnedest to give Zo useful information, so why does Zo refuse to read the notes that Este and her mother wrote especially for her? She claims to want knowledge but she won't apply herself. When the stakes are so high why is she unable to contain herself for two weeks?
Well, of course the answer to that conundrum is that sensible Zo would not provide the dramatic tension that wildly impulsive Zo does. And the book ends on an uber dramatic cliffhanger. I do have to admire the surprise involved in the ending. I have to admit that I really don't want to read the next book and that despite that I may find myself with it in my hand some day. I have no idea how to rate this thing. 3 frustrated stars.
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