Level: Young Adult
Recommended Age: 16+
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Tags: aliens, romance, magic, vampires, war
Mature Content:

  - Mild violence: physical fights resulting in injury and death, descriptions of dead bodies.

  - Mild sexuality: brief kissing and brief descriptions of nudity.

  - Mild language: some swearing.

Dina runs a quaint bed and breakfast in a small town in Texas, but when she’s not supporting local businesses and chatting with her neighbors, she’s hosting aliens and negotiating contracts on other planets. As an innkeeper, Dina is a neutral ground for any foreign creatures to seek a safe haven on Earth. Her power is both in her inn and her position as innkeeper, making her magic largely dependent on the house and property.

Dina was raised by innkeepers, but when her parents disappeared she eventually settled down at an inn of her own to follow in their legacy. Her business involves both charming small town neighbors and politically charged situations with werewolves, vampires, and other alien creatures. And of course, there are monsters.

Dina finds herself in the middle of a dispute between a vampire clan and an alien bounty hunter (who is over 7 feet tall, lives on human flesh, and keeps vicious dog-like creatures that also enjoy blood). She joins forces with one of the vampire leaders, along with a rogue werewolf, to take care of this intruder on her territory. Her inn is small and still building a reputation, but she will defend it with everything she has.

Review:

Magic that thrives in a home creates such a personal connection with the characters, and that definitely shows in this series. The inn itself is basically its own character, and it fusses over its innkeeper like a doting grandparent. Dina, in turn, pours her heart and soul into her inn and heaven help anyone who dares to insult her beautiful home.

Her interactions with these paranormal creatures, especially the werewolf and vampire, are hilarious. She has a dry sense of humor that reflects her southern upbringing and keeps the story from getting too serious. Her reactions to both men flirting with her are refreshing, with her seeing right through their attempts to pass territorial instinct off as romance. Plus, there is a threat in her neighborhood and that level of danger near her inn is unacceptable.

She’s a straightforward character with a clear sense of self and maturity, but with the empathy necessary to dedicate her life to caring for others. She watched her parents fulfill their innkeeper roles and consistently reflects on those lessons she learned growing up in an environment full of very different creatures all seeking a safe haven.

While there are many books with vampires, werewolves, and demons, these are not your typical character types. Vampires are classy soldiers with a strict code of honor, who seek glory on the battlefield and prestige in their elevated behavior. Werewolves are cut off from their home planet, and tend to travel in an effort to find somewhere that feels like home. Like vampires, they are skilled fighters. There are aliens and demons off all sorts, some resemble fuzzy foxes, and some look like walking garbage.

The imagination and detail in this world building helps create a version of our world that is touched by astonishing magic, and each book in this series just adds more layers. We learn more about the ethics and physics of different species and their homes, as well as character backgrounds and families. There are only brief glimpses of Dina’s upbringing and family in this first book, but each book builds so we get a clearer picture of who she is and what she stands for. This is a lighthearted urban fantasy mixed with jargon heavy science fiction, creating its own corner of a genre that is both startling and refreshing.