Edie has accepted a new job working in Y4 as a nurse for the paranormal and in return her they will keep her older brother clean. Edie has watched all the training videos but nothing prepares her for raging dragons, vampire blood ceremonies, zombies or shapeshifters that look like fellow nurses. It’s going to be a lot for her to handle but she can’t give up because she needs the money to feed her cat and keep her brother drug free. When Edie’s patient accidentally dies she compelled by him to find Anna but it isn’t ill she arrives at the man’s apartment does she know who Anna is.

Edie knows she needs to find Anna but when she finds her and happens to save her she has no idea she will be held responsible for the death of her vampire captors. Soon Edie will have to track down the girl she saved before the vampires force her death. With the help of a former zombie patient she sets out to do just that but will she find Anna in time? Will she survive her trial with the vampire even if Anna is found?

I love Edie she’s a broken girl with issues but doesn’t let them drag her down because she does what needs to be done. Edie is my favorite type of character she’s a kick ass heroine who doesn’t rely on a man to help her. She also has a good heart risking her life to save others even those who would try to kill her. Edie has an interesting taste in men but I like that she looks for the good ignoring what’s on the outside. She has a lot of potential as a character who may be a nurse but is a lot more.

I’ve had Nightshifted on my bookshelf forever just never seemed to find the time. After having finished the book in my free time over the last couple of days I can’t believe I waited so long. Edie lives in a world where humans don’t know the supernatural exist but they have a medical place, and their own councils that rule. I really enjoyed the unique idea of using a hospital as the backdrop for Edie’s story it was fresh, and exciting. I really like the way the author mixed the different supernatural beings throughout the story even giving us new ideas like the zombie Ti. I just loved Edie she’s a great character who I was easy to connect with and can’t help cheering her on through the book. I honestly really enjoyed Nightshifted I can’t think of anything I didn’t enjoy it’s well written and exactly what I hopped for when I picked it up. I can’t wait to get current with the series I have the second one and plan to order the rest. A brilliant first installment in an exciting new series.

This review was originally posted at Vampire Book Club.

Any author who can weave wit, subversive undertones and clever world building into a novel gets my attention.

Cassie Alexander demanded my attention with Nightshifted. She took a scenario that could become very campy very quickly — namely a nurse working in the supernatural ward of a hospital — and molded it into a tale of self-strength, desperation and noble causes.

Edie works the crappy shift at the bottom-run hospital. She’s new to working on Y4, the secret ward for supernatural types. And she’s only doing to because the beings in charge agreed to keep her drug addict brother clean. Her work there finds her embroiled in vampire affairs, trying to save a child-like vampire girl.

But she’s not doing it because she wants to save the world. Just this one girl. Because something deserves to go right here. Atonement is Edie’s game.

Things on the romance front are awkward for her. She tends to be a one-night-stand type of woman, which is working just fine. Until it isn’t. And she meets a zombie — not the rotting kind, but a kind fireman. And he cares. And maybe she cares. And it’s complicated. And messy.

The merger of dark tone and wry humor make Nightshifted a must read for fans of Jaye Wells, Stacey Jay and Stacia Kane. I’m eager to read the next book, Moonshifted, to see how Edie progresses.

Sexual content: Sex

Edie is a nightshift nurse on the mysterious Y4 ward of County Hospital. She didn`t start out her career thinking she`d end up in a dead-end job with a dead boyfriend and more strange patients than you can shake a thermometer at, but when the mysterious beings called Shadows offered her the job in exchange for making her junkie brother high-proof, she took it.

Edie`s been saving her brother`s ungrateful behind her whole life, but Y4 is nothing like she`s ever seen before. She has to deal with rejuvenating zombies, almost-vampire humans, out of control weres, on top of the normal day-to-day politics of nursing.

It`s enough to drive a girl to drink (which Edie doesn`t do because of her brother) but Edie lets out the stress by going dancing and picking up one-night stands. When she accidentally lets one of her charges hurt himself, Edie finds herself drawn into vampire politics in an attempt to save a mysterious girl named Anna.

This is not your usual urban fantasy. I loved how much inside, realistic, nitty-gritty nursing procedures and details were in this; it brought me back to the early days of reading barmaid concerns in Charlaine Harris` first Sookie Stackhouse book. But as much as I love the gritty reality as a base of supernatural doings, the resemblance ends there. Don`t look to this book for gothic romance or vampire sex. While Edie does have fairly uninhibited, modern sexual encounters, the author has made her relationships an aspect of her loneliness rather than focusing on the romance.

I am a romance junkie, so I spent some of the book wishing Edie could hook up emotionally as well as physically, but felt the end of the book was true to her character as well as how events played out in the story. Truthfully, the supporting cast is so much fun (german ghost in a cd player) I didn`t miss the lack of `shipping too much.

If you thought you were tired of urban fantasy, or enjoy a heavy dose of reality with your supernatural, this is the book for you. I can`t wait for Moonshifted to come out and see what Edie gets into next.

This Book`s Snack Rating: BBQ Kettle Chips for the distinctive flavor of gritty nursing details on solid characters and urban fantasy world building

Excellent urban fantasy, one of the best I've read.

Edie is a nghtshift nurse at a county hospital, working on the "paranormal" ward, Y4 Vampires, weres, zombies, shapeshifters and dragons show up on her ward, and she's expected to handle them just like any other patients. She's a little promiscuous, a little jaded, and a lot lonely. Her brother is a drug addict, but she's made a bargain with "The Shadows" that she'll keep working on Y4 and they will make it impossible for her brother to get high, no matter what drugs he takes--and he keeps trying.

I enjoyed the interaction with Edie's co-workers, and felt like it was a pretty accurate representation of the way a hospital night shift works. Without the falling in love with a zombie part, of course.

A debut novel and it shows, but it has some fun ideas.

Review previously posted on my blog: http://lbrychic.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-nightshifted-by-cassie-alexander.html

Ever wonder where the supernatural get medical attention? Well, Floor Y4 at County General is where they go and Edie Spence is the newest edition to the nursing staff.
It's been mentioned a few times that it's rather a paranormal "Grey's Anatomy" and I can see that a bit. Edie gets herself in trouble with the Vampires and has to track down the one person who can help her win her case. This book has a little bit of a lot.... Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Zombies and Spirits to name a few.
This was a good start for the series. Can't wait to pick up Moonshifted to see what happens to Edie and the gang next.

Paranormal chic lit. I thought that the main character was a kick.