Serafina and the Psycho Sous-Chef by Marie Treanor

Serafina and the Psycho Sous-Chef
by Marie Treanor
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
I like this series. It's a fun, adventurous read with some romance thrown in. I've read book one, missed books two and three, and this is book four, but I didn't feel lost or confused. This story referred to events that happened in the middle books, but it was always in a way that I got the information I needed without huge catch-up information dumps. I will have to read books two and three sometime, but even without those two, it didn't disturb my enjoyment of this book.

The series is a large arc and it's still not complete in book four. There were many things you know will be sewn up in later books, but also no cliffhangers. This novel is the story of Linnie and Phil. I liked Phil in book one. He was a fun, devil-may-care guy with a obviously big heart. Being a vampire, he's a bit morally ambiguous but he's loyal and cares about his friends. It seems Linnie has some air time in the middle books, but I don't know which ones and I won't spoil this book by sharing too much about her. In this story, she went from fragile, frightened co-ed to strong, confident woman. I liked her.

What I have to say about this book (and the series) is that each character is not 100% good or right. They all have their own moral code and in each book someone is wrestling with their understanding of who deserves empathy and compassion.

Phil and Linnie reached a positive conclusion; like I said, no cliffhangers. The book is their story but there's a lot of overall arc happening too. The sous-chef was only a minor character in my mind, but added a certain depth and gave the mystery-solvers some important clues. It's an engaging adventure with thought provoking characters. Although it has some elements common to vampire romance, it's a broad story of supernatural beings and an original take on the paranormal with some elements that are not canonical. I recommend if you're looking for a charming paranormal saga with likable characters who live in the shadows. A little bit of sex, a healthy dose of romance, some shared secrets and a thought provoking tale of shared species humanity.

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of LietoFine