Raven's Cove: An Alaska Iconoclast Mystery

Disclosure: I received a PDF ARC of this book from netgalley.com.

I'm reviewing this book from the angle of one who loves to read urban fantasy and supernatural fiction. The back copy of this book intrigued me and I envisioned a book that blended urban fantasy with the legends of the native american tribes from Alaska. I've been to Anchorage, and Alaska is the perfect place to host a supernatural setting. This book is about a town that comes under attack from a group of demons. However, these are not demons that many from the paranormal communities would know, they're more biblical in nature.

In fact, Raven's Cove read more like I'd expect to find on the Christian shelves, with the town battling good versus evil. I'm pagan, and I can deal with this black and white thinking. But when all was done, the book was written a bit flat and did more to tell, rather than show. Raven's Cove begins like any other book, outlining our small town and the impending doom. But as the story unfolds, we're told more than we're shown. For example, the main characters, Kat and Kenneth, have an attraction to one another that isn't really shown. They just accept their attraction and even Kat's grandma tells them to “just get together.” The tension also plateaus, rather than ramps up. The final battle, if you can call it that, fell flat and the loss that happens doesn't come through as being felt.

I've been given the second book in the series and I'm hoping that it will ramp up the supernatural threat, show us why our characters felt so drawn to love one another, and show us a tale worthy of the Alaskan wilds.