Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews

Book Review: License to Ensorcell

By Sandy Amazeen Jan 25, 2011, 22:11 GMT

Psychic Agent Nola O\'Grady isn\'t sure returning to San Francisco, and living near her unusual family, is a good idea. Her job, with a psychic agency so obscure even the CIA doesn\'t know it exists, can be perilous, and she\'s afraid of the relatives getting involved. Then the Agency saddles her with Israeli secret agent Ari Nathan, and she has a bigger problem on her hands, because tact and ...more

Part of an ultra secret U.S. government organization charged with paranormal investigations and monitoring Chaos, Nola O’Grady has recently relocated back to her home city of San Francisco where she hopes to keep work separate from family. Used to working alone through an anonymous handler, Nola is unpleasantly surprised to learn she has been assigned a partner. Interpol officer Ari Nathan is capable, tough and determined to protect Nola from herself as she plunges headlong into danger while a shadowy assassin haunts her trail. That same assassin is hunting werewolves and may prove to be responsible for the death of Nola’s brother Patrick and others half a world away. But first, Nola must put her libido on hold in the face of a series of angelic warnings and unravel the secrets contained in Patrick’s notebooks before more people die.

Brisk pacing, more psychic abilities then you care to count, inter-dimensional travel and romance combine for a light, predictable read. While some of the characters come off as formula, the many quirks, a nod toward the “joys” of Catholicism and an eating disorder add enough depth to make up for it. Nola’s arsenal of abilities seems a bit much yet this is a promising start to a new series that one hopes will improve.