In The Air Tonight (ARC Review)

Sisters of The Craft: In The Air Tonight | Lori Handeland

Published by: St Martin's Paperbacks, June 2nd 2015

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Pages: 352

Format: Ebook

Source: St Martin's Press, via Netgalley

Four centuries ago, in a small Scottish village, three baby girls escaped the wrath of a witch hunter. Today, one young woman will learn about her secret history, her heart's destiny, and the sisters she never knew she had...

With her blue-black hair and dark eyes, Raye Larsen has never fit in with the Scandinavian community of New Bergin, Wisconsin. Being adopted is part of the reason she feels like an outsider, but what really sets Raye apart is her ability to see dead people. Everywhere. 

She’s learned to keep her visions to herself . . . until she stumbles onto the ghost of a murder victim who needs Raye’s help. Enter Bobby Doucet, a distractingly handsome homicide detective who has been tracking a killer all the way from New Orleans. Could this be the break in his case he’s been looking for all along? 

Meanwhile, the deeper Raye gets involved with the case—and with Bobby—the closer she comes to unlocking the mystery of her own origins. What she discovers about herself could destroy everything she knows . . . and everyone she loves. Is finding the truth worth the risk?

Filled with dark magic, dazzling romance, and dire suspense, this is the first book in a thrilling new series by New York Times bestselling author Lori Handeland.

It took me absolutely ages to get into this book. There's a disconnect with the POVS, one of which is first person and the other is third, and the book is peppered with references to things I just do not know. They're definitely regional, and because of this cultural difference it took damn forever to get used to the writing style. But by around 30% these dropped off and the gem of a story started to show. And I really, really liked it.

The main character, Raye, is a witch who sees ghosts. Except she doesn't realise she's a witch, ad she pretends she doesn't see the ghosts so people won't think she's crazy. Bobby, the other MC, is a cop investigating a serial killer who just rolled up to Raye's town and killed a woman. The serial killer turns out to be a witch hunter, and is after Raye because she can see ghosts. It's a pretty complex plot, and there's a lot to it, but it's great. It's not a plot-heavy book, though - it's very set in the real world and relationships (even if some of those relationships are with ghosts) so at some points I did skim some pages. 

There's a couple obligatory (and unnecessary imo) sex scenes but they don't delay the story too badly, and they do link into the character's growth. It turns out this book is a lot more paranormal romance than urban fantasy, but I still enjoyed a lot of it. My only issue is how Raye and Bobby went from sex to marriage in a matter of weeks. That seems ridiculously unrealistic to me - why would you jump into marrying someone when you don't 100% know them yet? Date first, kids. You'll find out all their problems before you're bound to them by law.

It's a much better book than the beginning set me up for. I did wish for more ghosts and supernatural stuff at parts, but the bits we did get were amazing and make me want more. The cult conspiracy thing is awesome and definitely interested me, and I liked this story enough to want to read the next one right away. I'd definitely recommend it for urban fantasy and paranormal romance fans.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world-building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

This book is very close between 3 and 3.5 for me. So technically, it's a 3.25 star!