Review: Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3) by Jenn Bennett

In the third book in this beloved and “riveting” (Romantic Times) urban fantasy series, demon-friendly tiki bar owner Arcadia Bell discovers more about her own evolving, and possibly destructive, magical abilities when her bar is the target of a demonic crime wave.

Renegade mage and bartender Arcadia Bell has had a rough year, but now the door to her already unstable world is unhinging. When a citywide crime wave erupts, Cady's demon-friendly tiki bar is robbed by Earthbounds wielding surreal demonic abilities that just flat-out shouldn't exist. With the help of her devilishly delicious boyfriend, Lon Butler, Cady sets out to find the people who wronged her—but her targets aren't the only ones experiencing unnatural metamorphoses. Can Cady track down the monsters responsible before the monster inside her destroys everything—and everyone—she loves? If she survives this adventure, one thing is certain: it's last call for life as she knows it. ~ Goodreads

Source: Purchased

Review: 
My interest in UF has waned over the years because for the most part (there are always exceptions) the genre has gotten repetitive. Kick ass heroine that everyone wants to f*ck, hot alpha dude who runs hot then cold, lots of angst. It's all very predictable.

Then we have Arcadia Bell. This is the third book in this brilliant UF series and I went into this one terrified for several reasons. First being the third book in a series is usually when the predictability kicks in and things start to happen just to stretch things out. Then there have been a few things looming in the background that I was SURE were going to come to a head in this book. They did….but not in any of the ways that I was expecting. This book blew me away.

I'm not going to get into the spoilery details. If you haven't read the series start now with book #1 Kindling the Moon. You'll be hooked.

I bow to Bennett's brilliance with this book. She could have gone several ways here with Cady, Lon and Jupe. It would have been fine. Interesting, Heartbreaking even. But predictable. Instead she flipped the whole thing on it's head writing a deeper story about family, relationships and the human condition rather than taking the easy way out. Every time someone tells me they need such and such trope to create tension/drama, I will point to this series.

I'm so completely in love with and invested in Cady, Lon and Jupe at this point. I've just never read this type of dynamic written so well. Their relationship leaves me warm and hopeful.

Jenn Bennett has upped the stakes for Cady and company in Binding the Shadows, adding new characters seamlessly while shocking us with new information that will spin this series on it's head once again. I can’t recommend this series enough.

All I can really say is….wow. Job well done.

Author: website | twitter | series extras
Buy the book! Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell)

My reviews for: Kindling the Moon (#1) | Summoning the Night (#2)