Iron & Velvet, the first Kate Kane book, had taken me by surprise, in the best way. I’d really enjoyed the gothic vampire / film noir atmosphere, and the cynical but benevolent Kate. I therefore had great expectations for the next one, Shadows & Dreams. I was not disappointed.
Kate is on trial for the murder of one of the London Vampire Princes (read the first book). As she waits for the Council to decide whether her killing him was indeed murder, Kate, with the help of her assistant Elise, a living statue, tries to stop some sort of vampire zombie army from killing everyone in London, all the while dealing with too many girlfriends, past and current, including the one who killed her partner, and all sorts of witches, werewolves, sorcerers and even more vampires.
I won’t even try and get into the details of the story, spoiling it would be a shame. Suffice it to say it’s just as fun, dark, cynical and zany as the first instalment. There’s an excerpt from the third episode at the end of the book, which I didn’t read because I’d rather wait for the whole story, but what matters is that there’s a third episode coming (the first two were reprints, this one seems entirely new). And that’s really good news.
Jude in the Stars 