Dead on the Delta (Annabelle Lee, book 1) by Stacey Jay
Genre: Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 1439189862 (ISBN13: 9781439189863)
Edition Reviewed: Paperback
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Paperback
Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dreams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood—and for most humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death. Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn’t most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicycle-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty work most humans can’t. Including helping law enforcement— and Cane Cooper, the bayou’s sexiest detective—collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town.
But Annabelle isn’t equipped to deal with the murder of a sixyear- old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle’s life is imploding: between relationship drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run—from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of a darkness waiting just for her. . . .
Review:
By the time I finally picked up this book I didn’t know what to think! Is it YA, does it have vampires and werewolves, is it a romance. Sure I should have just looked it up on Goodreads, but that wouldn’t be as fun. After randomly buying it and jumping in before I lost my courage I was pleasantly surprised. Fairies. Not just any kind of fairies blood sucking ones!
When hurricane Katrina happened something else occurred right along with it. The fairies that no one believed in suddenly mutated. (Annoyingly, what mutated them is really never explained.) Not only had they always been real, but now they were bigger and ready to suck on some human blood. With one bite the victim can go insane or die instantly. About 5 percent of humans are immune to the fairy bite and can actually kill the fairy that bites them.
Annabelle Lee is one of the lucky humans immune to the fairy bite. However, she might not be as lucky as people think. Her special gifts have made her see things that have driven her to drink and develop an addiction to her sleeping pills. Again and again, I found myself jumping from loving to hating the main character. Usually characters with addictions like that put me off and I can’t stand the weakness. Annabelle hasn’t had it easy and the more of her past that is revealed it’s harder to hate her. By the end I was left with hope that Annabelle could get over her addictions.
The main bit of story focuses on the murder of a little girl who is the daughter of one of the richest families in town. This little mystery turns out into a full blown holy-cow moment that Jay deserves a standing ovation for. Taking a simple mystery of “who done it” into a drug deal and invisible people plot line is just amazing!
The murder brings to town Annabelle’s ex-boyfriend, Hitch, and even though things ended terribly they still have a spark. The two are just too stubborn and at times to deal with—and Hitch was just unlikeable all around. Annabelle is still obsessing about the sod in a manner that really made me hate her. She has a wonderful new man—Cane—that she’s trying to convince herself she doesn’t love. Even though he understands her and wants her to be herself—plus, is man enough to say what he wants from her—she can’t get over her old flame. All in all, this is a pretty awesome love triangle. You love, hate, and feel everything right up there with Annabelle.
Dead in the Delta delivers something fresh in the world building, heroine, and love story that drives readers’ into throws of happiness. The genre is over populated and it’s truly a pleasure to read something that goes out there and makes the genre instead of just borrowing bits and pieces. Some readers may not like Annabelle for her drug and alcohol addictions, but sometimes loving to hate your main character is part of the fun. This debut is only the beginning into something that is sure to be amazing.
Sexual Content: Our southern bell Annabelle is quite the dirty little bird. While there’s never a sex scene happening there’s dirty thoughts and fond memories of past sexual exploits. A bit of incest to through on top.
4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it.
| Previous book(s) in series: | ||
| Reviewed on BW: | Amazon: | Goodreads: |
| Blood on the Bayou (2) | Blood on the Bayou (2) | |
