Title: Black Dust Mambo
Author: Adrian Phoenix
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Hoodoo #1
Publisher: Pocket Books
Number of Pages: 368
I think that Black Dust Mambo cast a little Hoodoo spell over me, because I fell in love with it! I took the book with me everywhere until I finished it. This is one of those books that you want to clear your schedule for, because it's super hard to put down once you start reading it.
Kallie Rivere is a hoodoo apprentice who seems to find trouble everywhere, and it has followed her to New Orleans where she is attending the Hecatean Alliance’s annual carnival-which is like Spring Break for people for the magic community. Kallie wakes up one morning hungover from too much partying the night before to find that her one night stand, Gage has been murdered while she was passed out in the bathroom. Before she can call for help, a member of his nomad clan, Layne shows up, and they discover almost too late that Gage died from a Hex. Authorities from the carnival are called, and Kallie has to work to clear her name-they think that she is the one that killed Gage. What ensues is a lot of twists and turns filled with magic as Kallie and her friends work to prove that she's innocent.
This is one of those rare books that no matter how you describe what happens, you really don't do justice to the writing. I loved Kallie. It was nice to see her mature through the book from someone who only cared about herself to someone who saw that it was ok to accept some help from time to time. I thought that all the cajun peppered throughout the book would be hard to understand, but it wasn't and fit nicely in with the story being told. The side characters were great-and I loved how Kallie's friends gave her such a hard time every time she had to thank them for something or she said please. The mystery stumped for most of the book-and even as it came clear how it would turn out, I was still captivated by the story. While there wasn't a lot of romance in this book, and we didn't see a lot of interaction between Kallie and Layne (her love interest) until the end, something tells me he has the potential to become a book boyfriend. I can't wait to see more of him in coming books!
This was a great start to a new series, and though Black Heart Loa (Hoodoo #2) doesn't come out until next July, at least I have a Adrian Phoenix's backlist to keep me busy reading till then!
Curran Crush Meter: Medium (Just because we just got a brush of romance in this book)
Barrons Hero Hotness Meter: High
Rhiannon Kick Ass Heroine Meter: High
Ethan/Merit Sizzle Meter: Medium (See Curran Crush Meter)
