The Book of Peril: The Last Oracle

Salutations!  Believe Me by J.P. Delaney is out today.  Murder on Memory Lake by J.D. Griffo and Midnight Snacks are Murder by Libby Klein will be released on July 31.  So many new books coming out in the next few weeks.

The Book of Peril by Melissa McShane is the second book in The Last Oracle series.  Helena Davies is the custodian of the oracular bookstore Abernathy’s.  She has been busy cleaning the shop after the attack and the shop is brighter and definitely smells better.  Helena’s birthday party thrown by her best friend, Viv, is interrupted by her ex-boyfriend, Chet.  He has decided he still loves Helena and is determined to win her back despite Helena’s objections (oh dear).  On Monday, Helena performs an augury requests and the oracle provides the wrong prophecy.  She tries it again and it works perfectly.  When it starts happening more frequently, Helena needs to discover what it is transpiring.  Helena needs to learn more about Abernathy’s (the manual does not have an index and it puts her to sleep) and so she visits The Athenaeum (the spiritual successor to the Library of Alexandria).  When Helena continues to have difficulty with auguries, a magical team sweeps the store.  They discover magical origami in Helena’s kitchen.  Someone is deliberately sabotaging Abernathy’s.  When Judy Rasmussen, Helena’s assistant, is arrested for the crime, Helena works to prove her innocence, find the real culprit and evade Chet.

The Book of Peril is not a standalone novel.  You need to read TheBook of Secrets first or you will be lost.   I thought the story was well-written, to have a steady pace and engaging.  I like that we are learning more about the oracle and the magical community. Melissa McShane has created a special magical world (the neutralities, the various types of magic, the oracle, sanguinis sapiens, etc.) in this series.   The handsome Malcolm Campbell is back, and Helena finds herself drawn to him.  However, there are those pesky rules called The Accords that might thwart their budding romance (there has to be a way around them).  I appreciate the strong female characters in The Last Oracle series. Helena is slowly learning her role as custodian, and I find her smart, curious and spunky.  Viv adds humor to the story and is the perfect counterpart to Helena (she is growing on me).  It is wonderful to see the changes in Judy since The Book of Secrets.  She is helping Helena update Abernathy’s and I like that Helena trusts her.  I do want to warn readers that there is a violent scene where a female is badly injured (if these type of scenes upset you, I suggest fast forwarding past it like I did).  I was not thrilled with the ending.  We are left with unanswered questions and we must wait for the next book to get answers. My rating for The Book of Peril is 4.5 out of 5 stars.   The Book of Peril is a fast-paced paranormal novel that will have you reading late into the night to get to the end (and then you will be upset that you finished it so quickly). 

Thank you for visiting The Avid Reader today.  Tomorrow I am featuring The Scent of Waikiki by Terry Ambrose.  It is the ninth novel in Trouble in Paradise series.  I hope you will stop by to read my review and enter the giveaway.  Have a fabulous day and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader

The Book of Secrets: The Last Oracle

Happy Saturday!  Lethal Licorice by Amanda Flower, Color Me Murder by Krista Davis, Hummus and Homicide by Tina Kashian, Raspberry Danish Murder by Joanne Fluke, It Takes a Coven by Carol J. Perry and Dead Calm by Annelise Ryan will be out on Tuesday, February 27.  So many delightful new books to read!

The Book of Secrets by Melissa McShane is the first novel in The Last Oracle series.  Helena Davies is interviewing for a job at Abernathy’s, a local disorganized bookstore.  She is shocked when Nathaniel Briggs hires her and asks for her to start immediately after signing a handwritten contract.  Helena is typing (on a typewriter) labels to mail out catalogues when a customer enters the store looking for Mr. Briggs. Malcolm Campbell is astonished that Helena was hired to work in the store.  Helena goes searching for Mr. Briggs and discovers him dead from a stab wound in the basement.  Who would want to harm Mr. Briggs?  Malcolm must explain to Helena that Abernathy’s is no mere bookstore.  It is a living oracle that provides prophecies.  Helena, as the new custodian (she signed the contract) is tasked with finding the right book to answer the question put to the oracle by Wardens.  Abernathy’s is an important tool in helping them fight the invaders in the Long War (information overload for Helena).  Magic is real, and creatures invade from outside their reality to obtain it.  Unfortunately, Mr. Briggs died before training Helena and the instruction book to assist her is missing.  Malcolm is not the only person surprised by Helena’s appointment.  Judy Rasmussen has been training for twelve years and wants Helena to abdicate (and she is quite pushy about it).  Helena needs to learn her new position while fulfilling her customer’s needs, deal with Judy’s hostile attitude, discover who murdered Mr. Brigg’s before the police arrest her for the crime, and evade the deadly creatures who seem intent on attacking her (that’s not good).  Despite everything that is happening, Helena believes she might have finally found her place. 

The Books of Secrets is well-written and engaging.  It has fast pace that will keep readers on their toes.  I liked the author’s unique take on magic. I would say more but I do not want to spoil it for you.  I did appreciate that the author did not dump out all the details at once.  It develops throughout the story, but readers are not given everything in this first installment (we are left wanting to know more).  The creature’s descriptions are enough to give a person nightmares (it did not stop me from reading though).  Abernathy’s is a fascinating place.  The author’s concept for the store was creative and multi-layered.  Melissa McShane did a remarkable job at creating a one-of-a-kind world for her characters (and for us).  I did feel that the characters needed more development and backstory.  I wanted to know more about Helena’s upbringing and Malcolm’s background.     I was also not a fan of Viv, Helena’s best friend.  I found her annoying, overbearing, and immature.  As Helena’s best friend, she is the logical choice for a sidekick.  I just wish the author had tweaked her personality a bit.  I am glad that The Book of Secrets is just the first book in The Last Oracle series.     For a delightful story containing magic, murder, mayhem and mystery grab a copy of The Book of Secrets.

Thank you for visiting today.  I will return on Monday with my review of Color Me Murder by Krista Davis.  I hope that you have a relaxing and enjoyable day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader