Fallen

Wasn't really feeling this one. I still enjoyed the mystery that crops up in all of Suzanne Wright's books. Potential duplicity from every corner...and it ended up coming from every corner except the shunned bimbo. How vaguely refreshing.
But some things didn't really make sense to me. For instance, the descendants, apparently, would have been shunned by the other demon breeds for needing to drink blood occasionally. But...there are vampires in this universe and it doesn't seem like there's lots of strife between the two species, given that Knox-Sam-Jared crossover from way back when.
Additionally, the significance behind Raini's oh-so-dangerous-and-secret power was dropped in a weird place. Yes, it is nontrivial and yes, there was a very big and important reason why she should hide it and avoid drawing attention to herself. But continually saying it's secret and powerful in the first half of the book really ain't ramming it home for me. They felt like empty words and caused more frustration than eager curiosity.
As for the MCs, I didn't hate them. But Raini was so understated (since she had to avoid drawing attention...maybe) and Maddox...Wright described his eyes as “vacant” a few times in the beginning. And I've got to say, having a man with no spark in him whatsoever does nothing for me. He only seemed to light up around Raini past...at least 20% of the book. The first part, yay. I'm all for that. But the moment that clicks is usually a lot earlier in the story. So the first part of the book was very “gray”, as Wright wrote, with Raini and Maddox dancing around each other. It didn't feel like there was much tension so I wasn't really invested in their relationship. I just didn't sense the same passion that usually permeates Suzanne Wright's stories.
I like Suzanne Wright. And I finished this book within a day, as usual. And these were some difficult characters to write and make interesting when there's reasons for their “blah”. So now I'll revive myself by rereading another one of her books.