Urban Fantasy Review With Bernita Harris

Dark and Disorderly
Author: Bernita Harris
Kindle Edition
File Size: 414 KB
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: 8/28/10
Available at Amazon

SUMMARY: Lillie St. Claire is a Talent, one of the rare few who can permanently dispatch the spirits of the dead that walk the earth. Her skills are in demand in a haunted country, where a plague of ghosts is becoming a civic nuisance. Those skills bring her into conflict with frightened citizens who view Talents as near-demons. Her husband comes to see her as a Freak; so when Nathan dies after a car crash, she is relieved to be free of his increasingly vicious presence. Lillie expects to be haunted by Nathan's ghost, but not to become Suspect #1 for her husband's murder and reanimation.

I asked to review Dark and Disorderly because I thought it sounded like a cross between horror and paranormal romance, which I really enjoy. I was delighted with the book from start to finish. The author has a wonderful way of describing the world she has created for the reader. When the main character is in her garden, or investigating a cemetery, I felt as if I were in that location. Don't get me wrong though, the author's descriptive words do not make this a soft or gentle read. Dark and Disorderly is fast paced mix of mystery, horror, romance and urban fantasy. The twists in the plot are superb and the discovery of what was really happening was paced perfectly.

The main character, Lillie, is stubborn, intelligent, and passionate. Do to her white hair that proclaims her a "born talent" she has been labeled a freak her entire life. She trusts her instincts, but nothing and no one else. I loved her character right from the start. Yes, her self esteem needs an extreme boost, but she does what she believes is right, despite knowing she will be persecuted for it.

John Thresher, is a psi-crime detective that has come to Lillie's town; his presence calms her while at the same time his personality annoys her. He's arrogant, brooding, and yet he's also protective and steady. John throws a wrench into Lillie's life that is unexpected and frustrating for the most part. I loved John for many reasons. First, he's a solid, observant man who always looks out for Lillie, even when he's frustrated with her. He almost always keeps his cool, and he's sexy as hell, especially when he makes small, but caring gestures such as running a bath for Lillie or making sure she eats.

Dark and Disorderly is a great read, and by the end of the book I desperately wanted to know what was next for Lillie. There is another reason the reader will be begging for the next book. The sexual tension between Lillie and John is so hot I thought my Kindle was going to burst in to flame. I kid you not. I understood Lillie not giving into John's advances, or at least not letting it get too far. I have always been annoyed in movies and books when the heroine is at Death's door and suddenly she decides it's time to try out a new man. Never mind that they just met, or that zombies may come upon them just as they take a tumble. It's refreshing to find a heroine who backs up and says "Whoa, wait a minute fella...". Sometimes we forget just how sexy it can be as a couple builds up to that special moment.

Dark and Disorderly is available at Amazon. You can also learn more about the author and her writing at her blog: http://bernitaharris.blogspot.com/