Early Review – The Taken (Celestial Blues, Book 1) by Vicki Pettersson (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: June 12, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0062064646
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Celestial Blues series
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got an advanced copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This is the first book in a new series by Pettersson called Celestial Blues. Previously Petterssen wrote the Signs of the Zodiac series which I enjoyed. This book was an interesting start to a new series; I enjoyed the characters and the world was decently done as well.

Griffin used to be a PI, now he is a Centurion…an angel who escorts people to their place of rest after they die. When he helps out a dying woman (against the angelic laws) he is sentenced to dwell in human flesh until he collects the soul of Kit Craig. Kit is investigating a prostitution ring and has no idea how deep in trouble she is. This is no ordinary prostitution ring; and Griffin will have to decide if we will do his angelic duty and watch Kit’s death or go against his duty and save her.

I really enjoyed the two main characters; they were fun to read about and a bit different from the normal types of characters you get in these paranormal series. Kit follows a rockabilly life-style; I liked her dedication to something different and enjoyed how it gave an old-fashioned flare to Kit’s character. I really enjoyed Kit’s sunny attitude and how she strove to find something good in everyone. She does come off as a bit too perky at times; but since most urban fantasy heroines are all bad-ass and serious, I enjoyed the change.

Griffin is your typical hard-boiled PI type; except he is understandably a bit old-fashioned (being he’s been dead for 50 years or so). I like the gruff, stoic hard-boiled types and again enjoyed the old-fashioned flare he had. I loved how he acted respectful, yet a bit old-fashioned toward Kit but he still respects her strength and her tenacity.

The romance between the two isn’t all that compelling, but their mutual respect makes it a relationship that is nice to read about. There isn’t a lot of sizzle here…more of a slowly building relationship of trust.

The story is a well done murder mystery of sorts. This is definitely a book for adults. There are a few orgy scenes, lots of violence towards women, and some sex scenes as well. If violent sex or violence towards woman (Kit and Griffin are trying to bust a rather disturbing prostitution ring) really bothers you a lot I would not recommend this book.

There are some good twists in the book, they made the book engaging…if a bit disturbing at times. There are definitely parts here that will give you a bit of a yucky feeling; but I still thought they were well done.

The book ends well and left me looking forward to Kit and Grif’s future adventures.

Overall a good start to a new paranormal/urban fantasy series. I really enjoyed the unique and fun characters; I love the old-fashioned flare added to a modern day story. I enjoyed the twisty turny plot and thought the writing was well done. There isn’t a ton of romance here, and what is here isn’t all that compelling. The book also gets a bit graphic in the sex/violence arena. I would recommend this book to fans of investigative urban fantasy. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series to read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
– 150+ Books Reading Challenge