Now or Never: Wizards of Nevermore by Michele Bardsley (Mar 6, 2012)

Book 2

-------------->REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SLIGHT SPOILERS------------> 

 I love mysteries.  Usually the more complicated they are, the happier I am.  But have you ever read a mystery that had so many different mysteries going on at one time that you couldn’t keep a line on all of them?   Unfortunately, that is what seems to happening to this series.  It is only two book in and I’m wondering just how Ms. Bardsley is going to be able to keep up this nearly manic pace she has set for her readers.

We have the mystery that started in the first novel – who is trying to get the demon Kahl to the earthly plane and what may the outcome be.  Then in this novel we have that AND the mystery of Lenore and her powers which starts in the prologue, suicides and a mysterious gun, then Lenore and Taylor.  This is supposed to be their love story.     We do not get to read anything about them until about a third or more into the novel. This is less a romance with mystery and speculative undertones and more a paranormal novel that just happens to have a tiny bit of romance in it.

Then there is the mystery surrounding a magical named Cullen, the type which becomes obvious quite soon.

Unfortunately, although the synopsis states that the sheriff will uncover the mystery surrounding the gun and the suicides, ¾ of the book is finished and you have yet to find him doing any investigative work. .And you won’t in the last quarter either

Mundane or non magical people gaining magical abilities left and right -----the Goddess bestowing prophecies and gifts left and right.

As I mentioned with the last novel, the author seems to be using dues ex machine a little too much and too easily and I am getting a bit uncomfortable with this.  Not that we can really expect logical reasons for what is happening, since it IS speculative fiction; but still.  One should not have to stretch their credulity so much when reading a novel.

------àRANTISH< ----------------

Unfortunately to add to the novels problems, is a habit some authors get into of having characters repeatedly explain things to other characters in the book.  It is usually something   germane to the story; however, the reader does not need to re-read it multiple times in the same chapter.

-----------------àRANT OVER<---------------

This is in no way a horrible book, but it is not of the quality of the first novel in this series, and that will make me pause before picking up the next book in this series. The ending is less than satisfying, sometimes downright confusing and the romance is not there like it is in the other books by this author.