Nightshift is already difficult enough... now add in the supernatural and things will get interesting. This has a very unique premise and storyline. It is a fantastic read with interesting characters and stroytelling. I was hooked by the first chapter. I am already invested completely in this urban fantasy series and can't wait to read the continuation of Edie's story.

Shapeshifter, weres, zombies, vampires, dragons, yippee!! With hot yummy Brits, exploding magical critters, hot zombies (yes I mentioned zombie already, but I have to emphasize hot), magical German speaking CD players that’s a secret weapon, a special hospital for supernaturals, mysterious shadow beings that run the hospital, and a tough nurse. It spells for a good read.

Yet, most of my reading buddies have had a hard time getting into this one. Even I had to try once or twice before I got into the swing of things. This is a title that you HAVE to be in a a reading mood before you can sink in. If you're even slightly burned out, back away and put it on the shelf for sunnier reading days.

Yet . . . This book just fell a little flat. The world is never really explored. Things just happen. Edie has been working in the paranormal unit of her hospital for a while and she just does it. There's no questions or real drive for knowledge. Personally I'd want to know everything, especially since you're taking care of these beings. Not only on a medical level, but for protection. Knowledge is power.

Things just happen. (Yeah, broken record here.) Edie is pulled along by random events. Basically like leading a dog around on a leash. That's nothing that really interests me. Sure she ends up on the Night Shift because she's protecting her brother from an overdosing again. Yet the emotional connection is never there. That's the biggest issue for me. Edie is an emotionally detached character. As she's pulled along on her journey through the dark and magical she wakes up bit by bit. Like she's been swimming with her head in the water and just realized that she needs to stop and take a breath.

In the end this was a bit of a disappointment. A few months after reading it took me quite a while to remember what happened. After a year I'm pretty sure that this title will simply fade away as a fond, and distant, memory. The world has promise and ever since the Demonica series I've been wanting someone to explore a paranormal hospital. So yes, I'll continue. Here's to hoping that the “it just happens” as a basis for a plot ends. Edie needs to grow as well and become more accessible.

Sexual Content: One night stand, sexual chit chat, humor, and so on.


2/5- Average/disappointing, library check-out

Orginally reviewed at Book Whispers.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book captured my attention from the first page and held on to me through the whole book. The main character, Edie, both had my sympathy and made me so mad for some of her decisions. But every great book elicits a wide range of emotional response from the reader! I would definitely recommend this story to anyone that loves urban fantasy. The reasons I didn't give it 5 stars include: some of the medical terminology left me confused; some things weren't explained thoroughly and left me with questions - like why the hospital shadows went dark in some areas. I made my own assumptions at the end of the book but I like nice tidy explanations.- and finally, Asher. No spoilers but his character confused me as he bounced back and forth between villain and hero. Overall though, the book was excellent and I am very much looking forward to book two!

I give this book a generous 3.5 stars.

It wasn't a bad book. But it wasn't great either. The plot took along tine to amp up to a point I was interested in, and the waves of action left a but to be desired.

I picked this one to read at this time because it seemed like a light, fun book and I was doing DragonCon this past weekend. It definitely fit the bill. With the dragon sillouette on the cover and the "shifted" in the title, I thought this was going to be a lot more about shapeshifters. It is not. It's also very icky/gory in quite a few places and it didn't feel like it added to the story, so that kind of turned me off. In the end, I liked this one well enough, but didn't love it. I doubt I'll read more.

Edie Spence is a nurse. As she was with her brother, who'd been brought in on an ovewrdose, someone came by and promised her that if she'd work for them at County, they could keep her brother clean, or at least not drugged out. So, she agrees. She is assigned to Y4, a floor that houses all the supernormal who are injured = zombies, weres of all kinds, shapeshifters, vampires, etc. Biohazard clothing is kept outside each reoom to wear when entering because you don't want to get bitten or contaminated. She works the night shift. On her shift one night, a vampire daylight servant has been found with pneumonia. His armsa re tied down to keep from pulling out his breathing tube. He indicates he wants to speak to her, so she takes a board in and he writes Anna on it. She leaves, but in a few minutes there is an alarm and he is flatlining. She forgot to tie his arm back down and he has pulled out the tube and can't get enough oxygen. She tries CPR, but just before he dies, he mouths "Save Anna". She feels guilty for letting him die and decides whatever it is, she must save Anna. She finds out his address and goes there, finding files with hundreds of girls being held in captive misery. Then she finds Anna and discovers an address. She goes there and releases Anna, who cannot free herself because she is kept half-starved and, incidentally, kills a vampire with holy water - altho another vampire present sets him on fire. Edie finds she is summoned to a vampire trial for the death and is referred by a friend on the staff to an attorney that handles these things. The Shadows who hired also want her to find out information for them on something happening across the city that they haven't been able to pin down. In the meantime, she falls for a zombie patient who is re-growing some limbs that were burned off in a fire he's a firefighter) and with the aid of another firefighter - a wer - he helps her to track down and find out what is going on in the city. It's nice to have a boyfriend (I guess) whom it is difficult to kill when you're doing dangerous things. Like facing up to vampires. There is a whole mystery around Anna, whose parents sent Anna and her brother from Europe hundreds of years ago to escape some vampire feuds.

This review is clouded by the fact that I am an ICU nurse and some of the prose felt patronizing. I understand 99.99% of readers don't know what an ET tube is, or Propofol, but I found myself skipping around more than I'd have liked just to skip those parts.

Some of this book just felt plain... Unbelievable. I have no issues suspending disbelief if the disbelievable parts are good. Some of them were.

It was a fun read, but the plot holes, a weak probable love triangle, and awkward pacing weighed this one down.

This book nearly has it all: vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, dragons, shifters, immortal void creatures, and even nurses! It's a paranormal smorgasbord!

Edie is a nightshift nurse at the county hospital on a floor that exists to care for the supernatural. A tragic mistake leads her on a mission to find and save a young girl named Anna, who in turn, must save Edie's life.

It's the first book in a series, so there are several characters who are introduced that I hope make repeat appearances: a love interest, a family of scent-tracking werewolves, a shifter who might become a love interest, and of course, Anna.

It's a great book for those times when you hear about crazy hospital stories, people complaining about the nightshift, and you can't help but wonder: is there a whole world that we don't really know much about??

(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)