Review – Chase the Dark (Steel and Stone, Book 1) by Annette Marie (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young/New Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Annette Marie
Release Date: October 12, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0993910211
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Steel and Stone series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book through NetGalley. This is the first book in a young adult series called Steel and Stone. The third book in the Steel and Stone series, Yield the Night, is expected to release in March of 2015. I really really enjoyed this urban fantasy book, it had wonderful characters and excellent action scenes.

Piper Griffiths is training to become a Consul. The Consuls keep the peace between humans and daemons. However all her plans crumble when her father asks her to spend a rather awkward evening making sure that the Incubus, Lyre, and the Draconian, Ash, stay out of trouble. Then things get worse, Piper’s father disappears and a number of important Consul members are killed. Now the world (both human and daemon) think Piper, Ash and Lyre have a powerful artifact called the Sahar Stone. They are forced to flee and solve the mystery of what really happened the night her father disappeared and the Sahar Stone went missing.

I found this to be an incredibly engaging and entertaining story. This seems to be one of those books that would fit well into the New Adult category. Some of the scenes are a bit too intense/sexual for young adults but it never really gets to an adult level.

This book had some really excellent characters, they were just completely engaging and had great chemistry. Piper is very fun to read about; she is tough and sassy but still uncertain and vulnerable at times. She is definitely a badass but never in a way that is completely obnoxious or unbelievable.

Lyre and Ash were two very awesome characters as well. Both, of course, are described as very sexy and competent males. I enjoyed learning about their different powers and about the world they came from. Ash in particular stole the show; he is a Draconian and the whole of who he is and what he can do remained a mystery for much of the story. I however, fell absolutely and completely in love with him as a character.

Piper, Lyre, and Ash all have great chemistry together. There is a lot of well done tension between the characters that really keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat.

I loved the world as well. Although, not a completely unique idea, I do enjoy the idea of a world where the creatures of what we would traditionally think of as heaven and hell become involved in the human world in order to save it from destruction. It reminded me a bit of Jana Oliver’s Demon Trapper’s series in tone. It’s a dark world and this book just touches on all the interesting creature from both above and below that dwell in it now.

Additionally I really loved the breath-taking fight scenes and all of the action. They were very well written and very “edge-of-your seat” engaging. There are some points where you have to suspend your belief a little bit (especially some fight scenes where Piper takes out adversaries much bigger and badder than her). That didn’t really bother me though because they were just so much darn fun to read.

Overall this was a incredibly fun and very engaging urban fantasy read, I had a lot of trouble putting this book down. This book was very well balanced; it had an awesome world, engaging characters, fantastic action scenes, a well done mystery, and some incredible romantic tension. Everything was very well done and it was well written and easy to read. I was very impressed with this book and had a great time reading it. I will definitely be reading more books in this series in the future! If you love urban fantasy you have got to check this series out!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge