A.R.R - Shadows Of The Past by E.A. Jensen

Shadows of the Past by E. A. Jensen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 2 days

Blurb From The Back Cover

Release date March 29, 2012

For five years, Kirsa Heinrich has tried to leave her past behind. Yet in a blink of an eye it all comes back to haunt her. A call from her old boss informs her that a series of heinous murders has occurred in her hometown. Each victim is protected under the Paranormal Laws, each one killed in a different manner. At each scene a cryptic message is left for Kirsa. Now Kirsa has to face her own past in order to solve the crimes. Ayden O'Brian is a member of an elite group of Vampires that work for the Vampire Council. He has been handed a case that hints at a traitor in their midst, one who is giving secrets to their biggest enemy. When the information that is being leaked pertains to Kirsa and her family's connection to council, Ayden is sent to New Jersey to help Kirsa solve the case. Together they will unlock a long hidden secret about Kirsa's family and an old war between vampires. For within the past, they will discover the secret to the traitor and the person responsible for the killings.

My Review

Kirsa is not your normal human, she has always been surrounded by vampires and has a rare blood condition. She works as an international agent for the OPIA (Occult and Paranormal Investigating Agency) which means she can travel to help solve crimes. Bodies are building up and at each crime a note is left for Kirsa so she is drafted in to consultant on the case. Soon it becomes apparent that the case is more to do with Kirsa and her family than anyone could have guessed and secrets and betrayal and at the heart of it.

First I have to say this book would have rated higher but there are a lot of grammar and spelling issues (not so much that it detracted from the story for me but this has been the case for some people). My only other issues are that in one chapter you have several different scenes with different people yet all that separates it is a spaced line between the sentences. This is very confusing at times and you have to go back and re read the previous sentence and then realize it is a different scene. I think this could be easily rectified by the use of a symbol, something in line with the theme would be great or even as simple as the star about the number 8 on a keyboard.

Back to the story, I really enjoyed it. The story starts with a cat and mouse scene that draws you in and the action starts from there. The chapters are short in length which is great because there are so many characters, types of creatures (ware-cats, witches, vampires to mention a few) that you need time to digest what you have read. I love the character of Kirsa, there are so many levels to her and you get to follow her journey as she develops. She has been through a lot (which you find out as you read) yet she is still a fighter, it is refreshing to read a strong female character. Ayden is another great character, apart from being a vampire (who doesn't love them, right?), he is very loyal, fierce and protective but also has a sensitive side.

The author has created a whole new kind of vampire tale (mixed with other creatures) and a law and council dedicated to them. The Vampires have different traits (and some of the same) as ones we have read about before but this is the first book I have read with vampires of different kinds. I could go on and on about this book but for me I think this is my longest review so will stop here. If your looking for something new and love vampires you should try this book although it isn't exclusive to just vampires. I gave it a 3/5 and would read this author again, thanks so much for introducing me to your work and giving me the opportunity to review it. This book is available in ebook edition and print.

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