Review: My Familiar Stranger By Victoria Danann
{The Order of the Black Swan #1}Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: 7th House, April 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-933320-49-6
Minutes ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is forcibly transported to an alternate dimension similar, but not identical, to her own. She is stranded. Alone. Far from home. A stranger in a “strangish” land. Of course a girl could suffer worse problems than having gorgeous suitors. Perhaps more importantly, in the midst of an epidemic of vampire related abductions, can she stay alive long enough to choose between an honor debt, true love, or the breathlessness of single-minded passion?
My Familiar Stranger is a full length, stand alone, Paranormal Romance novel that also sets up the foundation for the Black Swan series. It is loved by fans of paranormal romance, fantasy romance, and urban fantasy.
My Thoughts: *spoiler alert*
I don’t know really in which genre to put this book, but it a good combination of vampires meets historical with a twist of paranormal others.
The story starts heavy with the kick-ass heroine Elora who is forcibly transported through some kind of Star Trek beam to another dimension with similar people, but just a little different than what she is used to. She meets the knights of the Order of the Black Swan and there the story gets interesting.
Although Elora is a mere human (she thinks), she finds out that she’s stronger than the strongest of knights. While at first, they don’t know what to do with her, they find out soon that she will be a great asset to their team.
Victoria Danann has built a great world with fantastic paranormal characters, as well as provided them with a personality that fits right in with this amazing story. At first My Familiar Stranger reminded me a little of The Black Dagger Brotherhood series with the same elements; Brothers fighting to protect the world from the big bad vampire villains. But soon I realized that this book is too unique for that. Victoria’s knights contain different paranormal beings like elves, berserker, fairies, and one hell of a dog. The story contains a good piece of dry humor and some sexual tension in the form of a love triangle with a kick of Baka playing third that makes this an original read.
“Gave him wood!” He shook his head and reached for moisture at his eyes. “This just gets better and better.” All three members of B Team tensed when they realized Baka was in the alley. “She killed him with a toothpick that she grabbed out of some fellow’s mouth as she ran by. Did you know that?”
Ram, Kay, and Storm forgot being wary of Baka and simultaneously turned to look at Elora like she was an alien which, technically, she was. But they were looking at her like they’d never seen her before. Finally, she raised her hands.
“What?” – Victoria Danann
There were also some minor issues, like the beginning that was set a little too slow. I think it was the extensive description that slowed it down too much and I believe that there were some parts that, for my taste, could have been cut to make the story flow a little better.
My Familiar Stranger has a lot of great characters. Everyone is so fascinating to read about. They all have their own story and how-to-handle-manuals. Personally, the Berserker Kay and the Vampire Baka were my favorite characters. I would have liked to read more about them, but maybe that will come in book 2 of the Black Swan Series. I hope every knight of The Order of the Black Swan will get his own book 🙂
This is a great book that combines different genres in an authentic manner. Victoria Danann has triggered my interest in wanting to read more about The Order of the Black Swan and all the characters. I can recommend this story to other adults, as well as adolescents who like to read in their favorite genre or get introduced to something new.
Author Bio: For the past thirteen years, Victoria has illustrated and authored Seasons of the Witch calendars and planners.
Though works of fiction are a departure for her, she has had this series simmering on the back burner of her mind for years. In addition to authoring and illustrating Seasons of the Witch, she plays rock music and manages one of Houston’s premier R&B/Variety/Pop bands.