Review – The Scribe (Irin Chronicles, Book 1) by Elizabeth Hunter (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 292 pages
Publisher: Recurve Press LLC
Release Date: October 15, 2013
ASIN: B00EENAPDQ
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Irin Chronicles
Source: Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“To the outside world, Ava Matheson is a successful travel photographer from a privileged background. But Ava’s spent a lifetime battling voices in her mind she can’t understand, and her fractured family has convinced her she’ll never belong.
Malachi is an Irin scribe, descended from an angelic race and sworn by blood and magic to defend humanity from the Grigori, the sons of fallen angels who could ravage the world. A chance meeting in Istanbul will change both Ava and Malachi’s destinies forever. Their attraction should be impossible, but it could also be the only thing that will keep them alive.”
Series Info/Source: This is first book in the Irin Chronicles series. There are seven books in this series right now. I borrowed this as an ebook for my Kindle through Kindle Unlimited.
Thoughts: Previous to reading this I had read Hunter’s Moonstone Cove series, her Cambio Springs series, and her Glimmer Lake series and really loved them all. This first book in the Irin Chronicles definitely shows its age compared to those books; it is a very typical alpha male type paranormal romance series. It reminds a lot of many other paranormal romance books I read in the earlier 2010’s. That being said it was very well written and I enjoyed it; it was nostalgic in a way.
This book features a race called the Irin who are descended from angels and have special powers. They are on Earth to protect humans from the Grigori, sons of fallen angels who were not forgiven and remain monsters. In the past most of the Irin children and women were killed and left a race that is mostly male and on the brink of extinction. Enter, Ava, who has been different all her life and is a travel photographer. She runs amok of some Grigori in Turkey and ends up involved with the Irin when they step in to help her.
This is incredibly well written, just like all of Hunter’s books. The writing flows well and is very engaging. I liked the characters and the chemistry between them is good. There is some excellent world-building and solid plot to balance out the romance. I also loved all the exotic locations and settings we visited.
As I said though, this is a very typical paranormal romance story. Malachi is very alpha male and Ava is to be protected at all costs. Ava does have a tough side to her as well, but she is thrown into situations way over her head. She ends up being rescued quite a bit but also does some rescuing of her own. Malachi’s fellow Irin brothers give this a very Black Dagger Brotherhood type of feel to the novel. If you enjoy paranormal romance series like the Black Dagger Brotherhood, you should enjoy this series as well.
It looks like the first three books in this series focus on Ava and Malachi, while the later books take the more traditional approach of each focusing on a different romantic couple.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a fun quick read and a well done paranormal romance story. The excellent writing sets this above a lot of other paranormal romance series. However, the themes, story, and plot are very similar to many other paranormal romance series out there; alpha male, mysterious powers, the need to protect the females of the race, etc. I plan on continuing the series when I am in the mood for a quick PNR read. However, I wasn’t dying to read more of this when I was done, it just reminds me of too many other PNR stories I have read in the past.
