Title: Quick Fix
Author: Linda Grimes
Series: In a Fix #2
Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery
Source: Kindle
Pages: 345 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Available at:
Blurb: (via Goodreads)
The second installment of the original urban fantasy series starring human chameleon Ciel Halligan
Ciel Halligan, an aura adaptor with a chameleon-like ability to step into the lives of her clients and fix their problems for them — as them — is working a job at the National Zoo with her boyfriend, Billy, and his ten-year-old sister, Molly. It's supposed to be a quick fix, giving her time to decide if it's wise to pursue the romantic relationship her charming scoundrel of a best friend wants, or if she should give Mark, the CIA spook she's crushed on since hormones first rattled her pubescent brain, a chance to step up to the plate.
Molly has already begun to show signs of being an adaptor herself. She's young for it, but she's always been precocious, so it's not impossible. What is impossible is her taking on the form of the baby orangutan she touches — adaptors can only project human auras. Until now, apparently. Worse, Molly is stuck in ape form. She can't change herself back.
Escaping from the zoo with their new baby orang, Ciel and Billy head for NYC and the only person they know can help: Ciel's brother James, a non-adaptor scientist who's determined to crack the aura adaptor genetic code. But when Billy winds up in jail, accused of attempted murder, Ciel begins to suspect Molly's unusual adapting ability is more than just a fluke. Who's been experimenting on Molly, and what do they hope to gain? And will Ciel survive to find out?
My Review:
SO! You guys know me! When this book came out at midnight today I stayed up until 4am so I could read through the entire thing! If you haven't caught on by now, I am a firm believer in reading books in one sitting, but maybe thats just because I can read books expertly fast... Anyways, I did not write a review for the first book in this series when it came out, however, there IS another reviewer out there who has! So, if you would like to read her review of In a Fix, book one of the In a Fix series, click HERE.
Linda Grimes has taken the cliched version of animal shape shifters and made something a little more unique. In her book's universe, adapters are basically shape shifters that change into other people, rather than animals, by using someones aura, or energy. Changing into another animal if impossible for these adapters... or at least that was true in book 1 of the series...
Quick Fix starts off with Ceil doing a job for a friend of a friend at the zoo. She is playing the part of a middle aged woman trying to get on the board of directors for the zoo and she has her psuedo-cousin, Billy, and his little sister, Molly, there for back up. After wrapping up the job and enjoying the orangutan exhibit, the impossible happens: Molly, who should be too young to shift, turns completely into an orangutan herself and can't change back. Quick Fix leads us through Billy and Ceil trying to get Molly back to her human self (with a little help from their family) while in the midst of all the confusion, someone is trying to kill off people they know... and Billy is getting blamed. And of course, don't forget about that love triangle between Ceil, Billy, and Mark (Ceils major crush for 13 years) that In a Fix left dangling in front of our eyes! Ceil finally makes her choice in this instalment of the series.
Plot wise, I actually enjoyed this book. In the first instalment, the plot was a little stereotypical when it came to the vikings and while it wasn't a huge deal, it made the book more comical than mysterious and action packed. I'm glad to report that between meeting more of the adapter community, trying to get Molly back to her human self, someone trying to kill her friends off and blame Billy, and some decision making on the love triangle front... this book was anything BUT boring. Lots of action, lots of fantastic witty lines from Ceil and good writing to go along with it! The only problem I had with the plot was that there weren't many clues to help the reader solve the mystery along with the characters in the book. Information came in clumps, here or there, but a majority was just thrown together and given to us at the end. There was a lot of misdirection, but not exactly in a good way. While the author made us look one way, nothing was really happening the other way.
Character Development was amazing, as it was in the first book. Every character is so unique and have very distinct personalities that combine to make a great combination. We got to see more of Ceil's family and see how she grew up and what her brothers are like, as well as learning a few of their secrets. She gets to bond with each of them in a new way and that made it really interesting for the reader. I can't stress enough how amazing this book was for character development, which is probably why I loved the book so much; I am a huge stickler for good development in my favourite characters!
So, overall, I am going to give this book a 4.5/5. It could have been a bit better plot wise, but for its minor plot faults, the development of the story and the characters were phenomenal. If you are a fan of shape shifters, paranormal romance, or urban fantasy... I say take a chance and read this series. I doubt you'll regret it! I DO wonder if there will be a next book in the series though. The author did seem to wrap things up... I will keep you guys posted!
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