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Book Review of You Slay Me (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Bk 1)

You Slay Me (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Bk 1)
PengQueen avatar reviewed on + 114 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


This is my third attempt at a Katie MacAlister book, and happily it was the most enjoyable. I gave this book 3.5 stars for being a generally likable fantasy.

The story is told from the first person perspective of Aisling, a woman embarking on a new carrier as an international courier. Said career is cut short when she finds her first client dead, the victim of ritualistic murder the police think she was a part of. Shortly thereafter Aisling discovers that demons, dragons, mages, and other innumerable mythic creature exist and that she is fated to be a part of them. Not only is she Guardian (of a portal to hell, apparently), she is also the mate of a very sexy dragon named Drake. Now Aisling must solve the mystery, prove her innocence, discover her place in the world of paranormal creatures, and try to resist Drake's advances.

To try to place this book in some sort of category, I'd say that it has similarities to Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books, or Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. You have a plucky, debatably incompetent heroine who is forever in some sort of trouble. Aisling never has any idea what's really going on, but she isn't afraid to take action anyway. I couldn't help but cheer her on even as I groaned at her ignorance and stubbornness. This, to me, is one recipe for a good narrator/protagonist. She and her sidekick demon dog, Jim, basically make the story worth reading.

Other good points: This book is set in Paris, which just adds to Aisling's struggle and the comedic level of the story (she doesn't speak a word of French). Drake is sexy and mysterious.

He's also underdeveloped, which brings me to the negative part. It's as though the author felt she really didn't need to spend too much time on Drake or the potential relationship between him and Aisling, since she was planning to do so in later books. This sort of thing always frustrates me, as I prefer books to be able to stand alone to some degree. The romance was just lukewarm, with some vague promise of heating up later on. That's a shame since there's a lot of potential between Aisling and Drake.

The plot was serviceable but predictable. I think had it not been told from Aisling's hilarious perspective it would have been utterly dull. The author chooses to focus on Aisling's discoveries of the world and her powers rather then any meaningful story arc. Understandable for a first book, but a bit tiresome.

Overall, it's a comical light read for the paranormal fan.