Review: "Iron & Velvet" by Alexis Hall


Iron & Velvet is the first book in the Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator series by Alexis Hall and also happens to be the first F/F paranormal series that I've read. It tells the tale of a private investigator named Katherine "Kate" Kane who is hired by a vampire prince named Julian Saint-Germain after a werewolf shifter is found murdered outside a club she owns. From there, Kate's already cluttered life becomes all the more chaotic with a combination of vampires, werewolves, mages, and humans...oh my! 

Kate Kane's still dealing with the murder of her partner at the hands of an ex-girlfriend when she's requested to take on the case of a werewolf shifter who's been murdered in a rather gruesome manner outside the club of a vampire prince. Oops. Sorry. A "motherfucking vampire prince". When Kate meets Julian Saint-Germain, she comes face to face with a beautiful and tempting woman. Kate has a rule against sleeping with vampires and with clients, but she's never been one to really follow rules.

As Kate investigates the case, she's forced to work with Patrick Knight, her ex-boyfriend who just happens to be a vampire she met and dated when she was 17, Nimue, her ex-girlfriend who just happens to be the Witch Queen, and Tara Vane-Tempest, a beautiful model who just happens to be an alpha werewolf. Then, you've got the other paranormal characters either helping Kate out or simply trying to kill her. Ah, the life of a paranormal investigator!

The case itself was interesting, leaving you guessing as to who is truly after Julian and what the motivation may be. Readers are also left wondering who the real bad guys are or if each group of paranormals happens to have its fair share of good guys and bad guys within each realm. The fact that Kate also happens to be a faerie princess with powers she derives from being her mother's daughter makes her an even more complex character because while she doesn't have much of a relationship with the mother who abandoned her on someone's doorstep, she does use her powers whenever its convenient.

I enjoyed the book as a whole and must say that Iron & Velvet is a good start to a series more stories can be cultivated from. Kate is a no-frills character (though Julian seems to have a thing for frilly tops) who does a pretty good job of investigating a case when she really puts her heart and head into it. I decided to read this book because the second one, Shadows & Dreams, is on my list of books that need to be reviewed, and I'm glad that I did. ^.^  Four stars for Iron & Velvet!

Date read: 26 September 2014

Learn more about author Alexis Hall here.

Grab a copy of Iron & Velvet and Mr. Hall's other books on Amazon | Barnes & Noble.

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