Title: Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic #1)
Author: Melissa F. Olson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: 47north
Publication Date: May 1, 2015
Kindle Edition: 302 pages
Source: Kindle First
After her twin sister’s brutal murder, former US Army Sergeant Allison “Lex” Luther vowed to protect her niece, Charlie. So when two vampires try to kidnap the baby, it quickly turns into a fight to the death—Lex’s death, that is.
She wakes up to two shocking discoveries: she has miraculously survived the fight, and baby Charlie is a “null,” gifted with the ability to weaken supernatural forces…and a target for creatures who want to control that power. Determined to guarantee her niece’s safety, Lex makes a deal with the local vampires. She sets out with the mysterious—and undead—“fixer” Quinn to track down whoever’s responsible for the kidnapping, sharpening her newfound magic skills along the way. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her powers become.
Boundary Crossed is a dark, thrilling journey into a world where the line between living and dead isn’t nearly as solid as it appears…
“The third time I died was early on a Monday morning, a week after Labor Day.”
The opening line of Boundary Crossed is, by far, the high point of the novel. Olson does a great job of capturing your attention in the first chapter, but I found my interest waning in chapter two. From there it plateaus into a flawed but easy read, allowing you to relax and enjoy the Benny Hill sketch that is Boundary Crossed complete with vampires, secret witches and whispers of werewolves.
The character of Lex Luther has so much potential. Unfortunately, she fails to live up to her borrowed name. Olson could have told the story of a troubled character struggling to deal with the ghosts of her past as well as the vampires of her present. Instead, we read the tale of a woman who seems to be awfully well adjusted for having died three times and served two terms in the US Army.
I expected a character who was still trying to hold her life together only to have it thrown back into chaos when her niece it kidnaped. Olson delivers on the chaos, but from the point of view of a character who barely reacts to being thrown into a car by a person she just met. It seems to me that that author was too caught up in writing a strong heroine that she failed to make the character feel whole.
Unfortunately, Lex is not the only character who feels underdeveloped. The entire roster of supporting characters suffer a similar fate. Though, I must admit that supporting characters in a series may develop more over time. The main character, on the other hand, should have felt more complete from the start.
But the book wasn’t all bad; the fast paced plot is often fun and engaging, with few lulls, and there is a bit of romance that I suspect will progress further as the series continues. If you are looking for something fun and fast, this new series might just be right up your alley, but remember, don’t look at the first installment with too much scrutiny, or you might be disappointed.
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WEEZLED 