I Want a Magical House

 

TITLE: Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #1)

AUTHOR: Ilona Andrews

PUBLISHER: NYLA

PUBLISHING DATE: May 20, 2014

PAGES: 225   

SOURCE: Own Library

FROM GOODREADS: On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina. 

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

MY THOUGHTS: I was thrilled to be asked by Anne of Books of My Heart to participate in the read-along for the Innkeeper Chronicles and share my thoughts. May kicks off the first book and after reading it, I can wait to continue on with a book a month for the next few months.

Dina runs a local inn in a small community.  No one really knows who she is or what she does, and she works hard to keep everything on the down-low which keeping her patrons safe. The book starts out with local dogs turning up dead and Dina trying to find out what is going on.  She ends up enlisting Sean to assist because he knows there is more to Sean than meets the eye.  Sean is new to the neighborhood and is a werewolf, trying to stake out his territory.  Sean finally agrees to help Dina and the action ensues.  

Before we know it, the reader is introduced to an otherworldly creature called the dahaka and his stalkers, and a hot vampire, Arland, who has come to Earth hunting it. Along the way we also meet Dina's permanent guest, Caldenia, who has murdered lots of people and who would be killed immediately if she left Dina's property, an extremely suspicious local cop, and a few other neighbors. 

Up front, this book started out on the wrong foot with me by the whole killing dogs plotline. However, I love the authors and trusted their process and I ended up loving both the journey and the resolution and am glad I gave the book a chance. Dina is a fun character and it was interesting to see a new world being developed from the beginning.  The inn Dina's runs is magical and shapes and shifts to keep her and her guests safe as well as foster its own growth and capabilities.  I also love Dina's Shih Tzu Beast and just know there is more than meets the eye to this little one.

Finally, I can't go without mentioning Sean and Arland and the brewing love triangle which may be forming.  Sean pulls at my heart because I love me strong moody shifter, but Arland is a mysterious hot vampire.  I feel that Dina couldn't go wrong picking either as a suitor but given the ending, have no clue which way the authors are headed.  

I will always recommend Ilona Andrews to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy.  The Kate Daniels series remains one of my top favorites and I am sure the Innkeeper Chronicles won't be far behind!  This could have been a 5/5 read for me if not for the dead dogs in the beginning.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS