I just read the Redemption Saga by Kristen Banet. It was so
fucking good. I wasn’t looking for PNR when I picked it up. I asked for recs where
the MC is an assassin. Someone gave me this series. I didn’t specify I wasn’t
looking to step out of reality. Nevertheless, I loved this series to pieces.
It’s not so heavy on the PNR that you spend a whole book on
just world building. The Magi are out of the closet a la True Blood style. The exist
alongside humans and all is pretty “normal” more or less. Sure, Elijah can make
fire from nothing, but he also watched a lover die and is scared to enter
another relationship so he covers it up with humor. And Vincent has an animal
bond with a grumpy crow, but he is also trying his damnedest to make a name for
himself in Magi law enforcement to separate himself from his crime loving
family.
They all live in the same world as you and me, just with
some extra abilities.
The plot is solid. Things move in the books. There is internal
monologue from Sawyer, but not too much. The POVs change and it works. I liked
seeing into everyone’s heads. It’s a slow burn. There’s no other way the
romance could’ve developed within the context of the story. This isn’t love or
lust at first sight. It’s trust building over time.
There’s action. Shit gets blown up. We go deep in the Amazon,
engage in a few different high speed car chases, watch our MC beat the shit out
of people. There are also broken people that help put each other back together.
Trust goes from a liability, to a luxury, to a necessity. It’s beautiful.
