AUTUMN WHISPERS - Yasmine Galenorn
Otherworld Series, Book 14
Jove Books
ISBN: 978-0-515-15282-1
October 2013
Paranormal Romance

Seattle, Washington - Present Day

As summer gives way to autumn, the tranquility of the past few months is shattered for the D'Artigo sisters.  Grandmother Coyote (one of the Hags of Fate) requests that Delilah and Camille investigate the Farantino building and the dark, daemonic energy that infuses it.  Delilah is also contacted by two vampires to find their co-worker and friend, a Fae named Violet, and then later that night, she and Camille are attacked—by something—on their way home; something that takes a chunk out of Delilah and leaves behind a nasty toxin.  With Iris—the Finnish house-sprite who is like another sister to them—a couple weeks past her due date, and Sharah (an Elvin friend) about to give birth, the sisters would like some peace and quiet.  Unfortunately, this is only the beginnings of their troubles. Menolly's bar is burned to the ground, causing eight known fatalities and no idea of how many vampires may have died. 

While trying to follow the threads of their investigations, the sisters as well as Delilah's fiancé, Shade; Camille's husband Trillian; and their friends, Sharah and Chase, have been summoned to Elqaneve, the court of the Elvin people.  War has been brewing in Otherworld, and a new threat has been sensed.  When all hell breaks loose, Delilah and her sisters are once again caught in the middle.

In AUTUMN WHISPERS, readers see things through the viewpoint of Delilah, the middle sister, who can shift into either a tabby cat or panther, and is now a Death Maiden.  For those unfamiliar with the Otherworld series, the D'Artigo sisters have a Fae father and a human mother, and grew up in Y'Elestrial, a Fae city.  They've lived Earthside for a number of years, and are now running the Earthside division of the OIA (Otherworld Intelligence Agency).  Camille, the oldest, is a Moon witch, and has three husbands; Trillian (a Svartan or Charming Fae); Morio (a Youkai-kitsune or Japanese fox demon), and Smoky (half-white, half-silver dragon).  Menolly is the youngest and is a vampire married to Nerissa (a were-Puma).  The sisters have battled evil together while they adjust to Earthside living, and they've gathered quite a group around them that they consider family.  They've been doing their best to keep Earthside safe from demons and daemons alike, but Shadow Wing, a demon, is trying very hard to break open the portals that keep Otherworld and Earthside separated.  Understandably, it is probably best to read the books in order, as quite a lot has happened to them over the years, and some of this carries from one book to the next.  If you are new to the series, it can be a bit confusing at times to keep everybody straight; nevertheless, it is still a captivating book.

Delilah is adjusting to her new role as a Death Maiden, but at times still struggles with being the person to send a soul on after death.  Her latest assignment was to obliterate a man whose soul was too far gone to be redeemed, and she'll soon learn that he was connected to the building she is to investigate.  There will be many changes in the lives of the D'Artigo sisters, and events happen pretty quickly, making AUTUMN WHISPERS a difficult book to put down.

Jennifer Bishop