A Book Obsession..: Early Review: Under the Gun by Hannah Jayne

Early Review: Under the Gun by Hannah Jayne

, by Kt Clapsadl

Under the Gun by Hannah Jayne

Underworld Detection Agency #4

When you’re near the top of the Underworld Detection Agency, the claws really come out…

Quick thinking and loyalty have taken human Sophie Lawson a long way in the UDA—along with a healthy dose of magic immunity. But when her old boss Pete Sampson asks for help after a mysterious two-year disappearance, she’s determined to find out what high-placed demon has put two ruthless werewolf killers on his tail. Of course, sucking up to her icy vampire department head and negotiating a treacherous inter-office demon battle are the kind of workplace politics that could easily get a “breather” way worse than reprimanded. And sexy fallen angel Alex is doing whatever it takes to heat up Sophie’s professional cool and raise feelings she’s done her best to bury. Too bad their investigation is about to uncover the Agency’s darkest secrets…and powerful entities happy to sign one inquisitive human’s pink slip in blood…

After being gone for two years, her old boss, Pete, was the last person Sophie Lawson had expected to show up on her doorstep. It turns up that he has been on the run from werewolf hunters that would like nothing more than to see him mounted to their walls. It seems they think he is responsible for a path of brutal murders that make even seasoned cops lose their lunches. Determined to clear his name, Sophie sets out to solve the cases for herself. But this time, even her half demon nature may not be enough to keep her safe as she may just have bitten off more than she can chew.

I have to say that I was scratching my head in confusion over the romance department in UNDER THE SPELL. In my review of UNDER SUSPICION I talked about the dreaded love triangle formation, and that while I'm not the biggest fan of them, I did like that Sophie seemed to be leaning in another direction. It's just that Alex has too many issues and isn't supportive enough for my tastes. So, I had been hoping for things to be continuing on with Will in this book. So, imagine my surprise when Will suddenly leaves town rather early on in the book and doesn't return for the duration. So of course Alex is back in the forefront, and Sophie has completely forgotten about Will saying there never was anything real there. I'm sorry, but I can't help wondering what was the point of even introducing Will as a romantic possibility in the first place if he was only going to be in the running for less than one book. I could have understood doing that if it had of made Alex wake up and realize that he would lose Sophie if he didn't start treating her better, but nope, Alex is the same old frustrating man he's been.

I really loved the first book in this series, but it seems each new installment is a little less impressive than the last. With UNDER THE GUN things really seem to have settled into mediocrity. I'm not saying that the book was particularly bad or anything, it's just that nothing made a real impression on me. I mean, I was able to easily finish the book as it didn't drag, but there just didn't seem to be any point to the plot or the progression. I guess my biggest problem was that I'm a big fan of plots that serve to entertain for the current installment, but also further a long the overall plot. In UNDER THE GUN, I just felt like things were meandering along without any true path or guidance, and more than once I found myself wandering what was the point of it. Quite frankly I think the whole progression could have been greatly shortened and made into a side plot for this book, leaving room for something else to take the forefront. Something like Sophie's parentage, or her role as the Vessel of Souls as that would have tied into my burning questions for the series a whole lot more.

Even though a lot of things in this series haven't exactly thrilled me, I do really like the uniqueness of it, and the hilarious moments involving Sophie's antics. In fact, I really think between her craziness, and of course Nina's (her vamp roommate) own hilarious moments, the two of them carry this series. To be honest, I probably wouldn't be continuing on with the series if I didn't want to see what craziness (Mostly Sophie) the two of them would get in to. Hopefully I'll get my wish that the focus return to Sophie's Vessel issues in the next installment. While I can't say that this was my favorite installment in the series, UNDER THE GUN is still a decent read full of rather hilarious moments that should please fans of the series.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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