Mad Lizard Mambo

The second in the Kai Gracen series picks up right after the first, and right in the middle of the action: Kai being chased by a dragon who is none too happy he is trying to steal her egg!After the action, the author provides a brief recap of the status quo (helpful if you read book one a while ago) before Ryder shows up at Kai’s place to get his help in investigating some ruins in Nevada. The Sidhe have a problem: despite being so long-lived, they have very few children. When confronted with humanity, that breeds easily and frequently, he fears his people face extinction. A university professor believes the ruins hold ancient fertility rituals, but the trip will be dangerous. Kai doesn’t have much choice but to agree; he could lose his stalker licenses if he doesn’t. When the professor is murdered, and the party attacked before they even leave the city, the stakes become higher than anyone could have anticipated.Like Black Dog Blues, this book is action packed and the descriptions of this changed world are vivid and easy to imagine. More importantly, the author also provides a lot of development for main and supporting characters. Kai’s “family” expands, and we learn more about his painful past throughout the story. The ruins hold much more than a possible solution for Ryder – Kai’s past is also key.I enjoyed this sequel immensely (finishing it in one day), in particular the will they/won’t they tug of war between Ryder and Kai. It helps that Kai’s reluctance is more than just not wanting entanglements or hating Sidhe – he has a deeply rooted distrust of his own people and his fear of being vulnerable to one of them has a believable and realistic foundation. That Ryder sees and tries to understand makes him likeable, but he remains a bit underdeveloped. Since Kai endeavors to keep him at arm’s length anyway, it doesn’t hurt the narrative, but I hope book 3 expands on his character more.Overall, I am absolutely hooked on this series and cannot wait to dive into the next one. Highly recommended.