Blood of Eden by Tami Dane

TDane-Blood of EdenI wasn’t really sure what to expect with Blood of Eden by Tami Dane when I received it for review.  The description/blurb makes it seem rather ambiguous…is it a PNR, a UF, a contemporary?  It mentions paranormal, but are those just suspicions?  And to be honest after reading, I still can’t put my finger on where to put it, other than to say, just read it. Trust me, you’ll like it. *G*

Sloan has a sky-high IQ, a chaotic personal life, and a dream: to work for the FBI. Her goal is within reach until an error lands her with the FBI’s ugly stepchild: the new Paranormal Behavioral Analysis Unit. She’ll get to profile criminals, but the pool of suspects is a little more…diverse. Yet even as Sloan tackles her first case–a string of victims, all with puncture wounds to the neck–she can’t silence her inner para-skeptic.

To catch the killer she’ll have to think like one. That means casting aside her doubts, and dealing with the bizarre nightmares that started with the job. But the strangeness is only beginning, as Sloan pieces together the shocking truth about a case that’s more personal than she ever would have guessed.

Blood of Eden immediately captured my attention and held it pretty much throughout the book.  Ms. Dane’s pacing was great.  I did find myself wondering several times, though, just what in the heck is going on and how in the world is she going to tie any of this together in a way that makes sense.  You’d think by now, I’d be more trusting of authors. But…yeah.  Ms. Dane did a superb job with tying it up and making all those little threads she wove in there make sense and come together.

I loved Sloan…though one thing that really kind of bugged me was the interchanging of how people called her.  Sloan Skye, so at times she’d be Sloan and other times she’d be Skye.  Now, this is common. I have people who will call me only by last name.  But what got weird (maybe it’s just me since both seem like they are first names) was at times the same person would do the interchanging.  I think I would’ve liked more consistency.  Like I can see why at first our main “love interest” JT would call her Skye.  Their at the FBI, he’s an agent, Sloan’s an intern.  The FBI is just one of those places where everyone is known by last name.  As time goes on and JT is set up more and more, you can understand why he may start calling her Sloan.  But, he’d interchange between calling her Sloan and Skye throughout.  I don’t know, it just kinda bugged me.

I digress…back to why I love Sloan.  She’s super smart, somewhat socially awkward (hey those geniuses can be kinda awkward at times), she has a good sense of humor, and most of the time, a good head on her shoulders.  She’s caring and supportive of those she’s close to.  But going back to that social awkwardness, she can come off a little aloof and naive at times.  It just made me want to shake my head, giggle, and go “oh honey, we need to talk”.  She definately isn’t your typical “badass” heroine, but for Blood of Eden, it works. She isn’t whiny and needy, either…so I think that’s why I’m OK with her just being…normal.  Normal is good at times. Made her very relatable and someone any reader could (for the most part) easily identify with.

*Minor spoiler alert*

I am curious to see if there is going to be a love triangle at some point.  Part of Sloan’s naivety and aloofness comes from her not seeing that Gabe was in love with her.  Her friend Katie hit that nail on the head with a figurative “duh…hello” type comment.  So, we have 2 guys who are very interested in her…but right now Sloan only has eyes for JT.  I know I’m intrigued.

I think part of the reason I really like Blood of Eden is because it is so difficult to classify.  I’m thinking this series is a set up (at least at this point) as a UF but has strong RS/contemporary pieces.  So, to me, there’s something for every romance/UF reader to enjoy.  Blood of Eden is set in modern day Washington DC metro area and there really isn’t any world building to do…until the end.  Nope, not gonna give it away, but I will say that there is good reason for the Paranormal Behavioral Analysis Unit to exist *wink*.  I’m hoping to find out a LOT more about the world Ms. Dane has set up in her next book. Definately a good addition to the TBR stack.

*So far it appears at least 3 books are scheduled for the Sloan Skye series, but as of the time of this review, books 2 & 3 were untitled and no release date information provided via author’s website.

About Nicole 146 Articles
Attorney by day, Publicist for Barclay Publicity and reviewer/LE (assistant) editor by night. I'm a huge book nerd and love to read. I have 2 dogs, both Labrador retriever mixed breeds, who are very rotten and think they run the house. Let's not lie, they totally do, I just can't them know it ha ha! My usual genre is romance or urban fantasy. I love all things having to do with paranormal, with the occasional good contemp/BDSM/erotica thrown in to spice it all up.