A Book Obsession..: Review: Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne

Review: Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne

, by Kt Clapsadl

Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne

Underworld Detection Agency #1

Sick of wrongful-death lawsuits every time a full moon comes around?

Call the Underworld Detection Agency.

As a human immune to magic, Sophie Lawson can help everyone from banshee to zombie transition into normal, everyday San Francisco life. With a handsome werewolf as her UDA boss and a fashionista vampire for a roommate, Sophie knows everything there is to know about the undead, the unseen, and the uncanny. . .

Until a rash of gruesome murders has demons and mortals running for cover, and Sophie finds herself playing sidekick to detective Parker Hayes. Dodging raging bloodsuckers, bad-tempered fairies, and love-struck trolls is one thing. But when Sophie discovers Parker isn't what he seems, she's got only one chance to figure out whom to trust. Because an evil hiding in plain sight is closing in. . .and about to make one wisecracking human its means to ultimate power. . .

Sophie Lawson has an unusual job. She works for the Underworld Detection Agency, assisting the creatures that go bump in the night to make their transition into the regular world. Unlike the rest of the staff, she's human. Although, she isn't quite ordinary as magic cannot touch nor harm her, she has complete immunity. If they knew, other humans would think her insane for immersing herself in this world, but to Sophie, it's just everyday life. She even has a vampire for a roommate. However, her life gets turned upside down when she is drafted to help a detective get to the bottom of a string of murders that points to the underworld. Only problem is that he isn't quite what he seems, and she will quickly have to decide who to trust before it costs her everything she's ever known.

Typically a flaky character will get on my nerves and really turn me off of a story. I'm also not a big fan of chick lit and fashion. However, Under Wraps may just be the exception to the rule. Instead of being annoyed, I found Sophie to be rather endearing. Her antics and behaviors had me laughing out loud so many times to the point of tears, that I couldn't help loving Under Wraps. I'm really hoping Sophie doesn't become jaded by the danger that is sure to come her way. I just want her to continue to stay so sweet and naive, and honestly a little ridiculous as these qualities make her very entertaining.

The mythology behind Under Wraps was quite intriguing. It isn't an "open" world per se, but the things that go bump in the night are completely immersed in the regular world. In fact most of them are really rather normal despite just being a different species. They live, eat, and work with regular people. It's just that the humans don't notice them due to a natural disbelief in the paranormal. Also, the really out there characters that couldn't really hide in plain sight are hidden by a veil or glamour. There is just something intriguing about everything being right under the regular people's noses as it gets you thinking about our own world and the possibilities.

I do not typically talk about covers in my reviews, as I prefer to stick to the actual book. However, in this case I feel the need to. Don't get me wrong, I like the cover, but I don't think it fits the story at all. Picking up this book, I expected the heroine to be tough as nails and have kick butt skills. However, that just couldn't be further from the truth. I hate to be stereotypical, but Sophie really is a flaky redhead, there is nothing tough about her nor does she look anything like this cover model. When you combine that with the chick lit feel of the story, it really left me scratching my head at what the cover artist was thinking. Granted, it does look nice, but I still feel a little misled. Even so, I'm not really complaining because if Under Wraps had had a typical paranormal chick lit cover, I highly doubt I would have picked it up, and then I would have missed out on a highly enjoyable read. I cannot wait to dive into the next book!

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