Let me start off by saying if you have not yet read Cassie Scot "Para"normal Detective, then there is absolutely no reason to read this review yet because, this being the second book, you will get some spoiler alerts from the first book. That being said...Cassie Scot, non-magical adult child from a highly magical family, finds herself in a bit of a bind at the end of book 1 when her long-time some-time best friend, Evan Blackwood, saves her life from a vampire intent on killing her. Being what the author calls a "life-debt", Cassie must now do whatever
Evan
commands...and Evan wants her hand in marriage.
Does he want it enough to force her to marry him, or will he let her make the decision on her own? As we saw at the end of book 1, he retracted his accidental command for her to marry him, leaving Cassie not only reeling from the life-debt, but also from the magical disownment her parents placed on her. Now Cassie must learn to live on her own in the real world, despite having parents who claim to still want to help her even though they disowned her.
Now that we have the spoiler of the events leading up to book 2 in the Cassie Scot series, on to my review of Secrets and Lies.
What does it mean to lose the protection of your magical family in a community of largely magical entities? Does it mean that everyone will leave you alone, since you have absolutely no magic of your own? Or does it leave you vulnerable, while everyone stronger than you tries to declare "open season" on the magical throwback with, as we will find out (sorry, book spoiler alert), huge magical potential in future children? Evan Blackwood sees what Cassie refuses, and tries to make it known to everyone, including her own "former family", that she is under his protection. Remember this for later on in the book, and in the series please, dear readers, because it is a MAJOR theme that I am seeing being brought to the forefront.
Main storyline...Cassies distant cousin, Regina, and Evans distant cousin, Laura, are discovered missing from Camp Ozark, the summer camp they were attending. When neither Cassie's nor Evan's parents can locate the girls with magic, Cassie's brother enlists her aid to find Regina, while Evan asks her to help with Laura as well. Being normal, Cassie wonders what she can do to help that hasn't already been done, but accepts the job anyway. A trip to the camp, a cabin exploding that doesn't really explode, a family falling apart by the seams, and realizing she's in love with the guy who now owns her life await Cassie in this thrilling follow-up.
What will happen to the two missing girls? What will happen when Cassie finds herself at the mercy of a wizard intent on draining and selling magic, and selling drained, repressed, or magical throwbacks as breeding stock? Will Cassie finally find her place in the middle of the magical and non-magical communities of Eagle Rock? Will she be able to save her family, and mend broken bridges after finding out her mom is in the hospital?
While I loved Cassie Scot "Para"normal Detective (sorry, I can't figure out how to do the strike thru the author has in the title), Secrets and Lies was a very well-written sequel, and I must admit, I've already read it more than the first one. Since I've already given out enough spoiler alerts for the book, and you now have my opinion on the book as well, how about a starred rating, and then an excerpt to end it all?
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Excerpt:
"I want to pay you for this case," Evan said, finally.
The word "no" was right on the tip of my tongue, but I had trouble forming it. I needed the money, and taking it from Evan wasn't quite as bad as taking it from my parents, was it? Of course, there was still the life-debt.
"I think it would be better if we just let this chip away at the debt I owe you."
He didn't respond for a long time, and I thought I understood why. Helping today wouldn't make much of a difference to this particular debt. That was the real problem. If I'd set out with a plan to get myself as deeply indebted as I could, I couldn't have dug myself much deeper. Nicolas and I had spent days going through all the complex variables together, looking through books he snuck out of his parents' library, some of which specialized in nothing but magical debt. By the time we were done, it reminded me a lot of the tax code, except that in my case, I couldn't find a loophole. No one else could have saved me that night. I would absolutely have died if not for Evan. He had nearly drained himself to save me. He wasn't family, nor had he renounced debts entirely. (This option was for people like my cousin, Jason, who regularly saved people from vampires. He could accept favors without penalty, as long as he continued to pay it forward to the community.)
Evan didn't mention any of that, though, and finally, I broke the silence. "Okay, fine, I'll take the money, but we really do need to figure out a way for me to repay you. I... I can't live like this."
"I offered you a way. You weren't interested."
He meant marriage. Biting my lip, I turned to stare out the window at the rolling hills passing by. For some reason, his Prius didn't have any trouble with the steep inclines. I suspected magic was involved.
"I shouldn't have brought it up again," Evan muttered.
I couldn't argue with that, so I continued staring out the window.
"It's just, I can't help but wonder what happened." Evan paused as he maneuvered through several hairpin turns. "That day you came to Master Wolf's cabin-"
The day I'd kissed him. Twice. And learned the truth behind the rumors claiming that he put love spells on girls. "It was a mistake. I was upset."
"You're still upset," he said.
"Yeah."
"I'm still here."
He was, but with so many strings attached I couldn't count them.
"Will you at least look at me?" he asked.
I turned away from the window, looking at his face in profile. He looked composed, as usual, but there was something beneath it all - something in his eyes, perhaps, that hinted at a man out of control.
"What do you want from me?" We both knew it wasn't for us to be friends.
"I want.... to take care of you."
"To take care of me?" The words echoed hollowly around the car as I thought of a response that could even come close to my feelings on the matter. "I'm not a child."
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Yes, you did."
"So, now you're a mind reader?" He was growing angry. I could tell from the gentle breeze that began playing with my hair and had nothing whatsoever to do with the air conditioner.
"Of course I'm not a mind reader." I glared at him, giving him the full force of my ire. "You know I don't have so much as a gift, let alone magical talent. But that's why I'm out."
"Out?"
"Out." I slowed down, sounding out each word carefully, so he couldn't misunderstand. "I don't want anything to do with magic." The including you was implicit.
"That's great," Evan said. "I'll just tell that to Jacob Travis next time I catch him following you. I'm sure he'll understand and won't bother you."
"What?" I could feel my heart beat faster. "When?"
"Never mind."
"It was Thursday, wasn't it? When we went to the movies? I thought someone was following me."
"You thought right."
I sank back in my seat, my anger fading as I tried to absorb the implications of his words. Of course, I had known there would be danger, on some level. I only wished I understood what they wanted from me.
"Why?" I asked. "I've got no magic. What do they want?"
He didn't answer for so long, I didn't think he was going to answer. We were just pulling into the road leading to camp, beneath a painted sign proclaiming, "Welcome to Camp Ozark," when he gave me the truth, or at least, part of it. "They want you, Cassie. They want access to your family, their secrets, and even to the magic that might have skipped over you, but will probably show up in your children."
My mouth formed the word, "Oh," but I don't think I said it. I wanted to deny the possibility, to argue with him, and to find some way to avoid needing his protection - either in truth or in his mind. But we had arrived, and two girls needed me.
*Disclaimer: This review is my own honest opinion. I was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for anything in this post. The only thing received by myself was a copy of the book reviewed in electronic format for my honest review.*
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