Holly’s review of Crux (Southern Arcana, Book 1) by Moira Rogers
Jackson Holt makes a decent living as a private investigator in New Orleans, home of one of the largest underground supernatural populations in the United States. He and his partners have never met a case they couldn’t crack…until a local bar owner asks him to do a little digging on her newest hire.
New Orleans is the fourth destination in as many months for Mackenzie Brooks, a woman on the run from a deranged stalker. After all, any man who shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her destined lover has more than a few screws loose. But crazy doesn’t explain why he always finds her no matter how far she runs.
When her well-meaning boss puts a PI on her case, Mackenzie comes face to face with the incredible truth: magic is real, and whatever spell has kept her hidden and separate from the paranormal world is rapidly deteriorating.
With time running out, she has no choice but to trust Jackson as he struggles to uncover the truth of her past-and her destiny.
Lately I’ve really been loving shifter books in general and Moira Rogers‘ shifter books in particular. My first book by them was Cry Sanctuary and I really enjoyed it. I was told this series is better than that one, however, and I think I may agree. I’m going to reserve judgment until the next book comes out.
Mackenzie’s life was pretty normal and boring until she met a crazy who claimed he was her soul mate and they must marry. That combined with all the crap he was spouting about magical abilities and a paranormal world convinced her it was time to get out of dodge. Now she’s been on the run for months. She’s tried, scared and ready to give up when she lands in New Orleans. She finds a job as a bartender and the owner realizes there’s something wrong. She asks PI Jackson Holt to check her out and make sure she’s ok.
Jackson doesn’t believe for a second that Mackenzie is as fine as she claims. Especially after seeing where she lives and sensing the fear inside of her. He senses something else inside of her, too. Something he can’t quite place, though he thinks she might be a shapeshifter. Together they start to unravel Mackenzie’s past, as well as the attraction between them. But there may be more to both than either of them ever imagined.
I’m really impressed with Moira Rogers so far. I really enjoyed the world and the two main characters, along with all the secondary characters.
Mackenzie was thrown into a new world it was hard for her to accept. Giving her several months of “wondering” if what she’d heard was true made her adjustment once she found out the real truth much easier to take. Although she got hit with an information overload, I think she dealt with it well.
Jackson was a sweet good-ole-boy. I really liked him and the way he dealt with Mackenzie. Something that bothered me, however, is the way it was alluded to that he the face he showed the world – a laid back kind of guy – wasn’t who he really was. Mahalia says he needs to see if Mackenzie can accept the real him. But..that was never explored. Other than the one mention, we didn’t see Jackson – either from his perspective or anyone else’s – as anything other than a sweet, laid back kind of guy.
Which brings me to the second problem I had with this book; Something about Jackson bothered me. I can’t quite put my finger on what, but I think it had something to do with the way he..not submitted to Mackenzie, but..I don’t know, deferred to her? He almost seemed like a beta hero at times.
Otherwise I enjoyed both him and Mackenzie. They were very well suited for each other, and I the chemistry between them was very well done. The secondary characters added additional flavor to the story, though they didn’t overwhelm the main protagonists. I’m definitely anxious to read more about them in the future.
This is a fast-paced, adventurous ride. Moira Rogers has an excellent talent for drawing me in and keeping me glued to the pages. Despite my few issues, I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait for the next book in the series.
4 out of 5
The series:
This book is available from Samhain Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Enjoyed reading your review. Kind of a seat stiring book. Don’t want to stop reading.