New Orleans, Louisiana - Present Day

Ace reporter Natalie Severin works for NONE, the New Orleans News Eyes newspaper that specializes in stories of the weird. Natalie herself is living out the perfect story as if it were being written for her paper. Her dead husband dabbled in black magic, and her brother is missing and could possibly be dead. Natalie thought things were bad with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but when she gets the inside scoop on illegal animals being smuggled into the United States, she is about to enter a world much more strange and scary that she ever thought possible.

One humid and foggy night, Natalie thinks she is going to have the perfect story as she watches what seem to be drug runners in the middle of their run. But actually, the two thugs are in the middle of torturing a helpless dog. Before she can call the authorities, local veterinarian Ramses Montgomery comes to the dog’s aid. Natalie watches as Ram fights off the two degenerates and heals the dog before her very eyes. Ram shrugs off her questions about saving the dog and his own reason why he’s out on a night such as this. Natalie also doesn’t know what to think when what she believes to be containers filled with drugs are opened, they turn out to be tubes stuffed with priceless and exotic birds.

Ram has so many secrets, and he must keep them away from Natalie. Ram is a Mage who also uses magic that specializes in the healing of animals. He figures out that these exotic birds that are being sold illegally are not only to make a profit but to enable those who buy them to do black magic. Natalie assumes Ram is hiding something, and her reporter intuition is on alert. Ram needs to stay away from Natalie, even though he is very attracted to her. But all that changes as one night Natalie is brutally attacked and Ram comes to her rescue.

Both decide then to work together. Natalie will get her story and Ram will be able to stop those in the underground magic community who will do anything, even kill to make their powers grow stronger. Things are hitting closer to home for Natalie, because her brother could possibly be involved in this black magic. Ram wants so much more with Natalie than just a working relationship, but Natalie is dead set against magic of any kind. And Ram is not certain if they can be together since using his magic makes him energized, especially when it comes to making love.

Kathleen Nance takes on a multitude of topics in PHOENIX UNRISEN. This is not some simple, straight to the point love story. There are paranormal aspects that deal with magic, current events that include the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and a very pressing issue such as the illegal smuggling of poor defenseless animals just because they could be worth millions of dollars. Ram and Natalie have their own personal missions and demons they must confront. Natalie comes across as a hard hitting reporter, but her issues, which include a husband who betrayed her in the worst possible way and finding a missing brother, make her romance with Ram a hard one. There are major trust issues galore, and both Ram and Natalie don’t know whom to trust, or even if they can trust each other. Some readers may be uncomfortable with the open abuse of animals and the means these smugglers will go to in order to get what they want, but it brings an important issue to readers’ attention.

PHOENIX UNRISEN is a very gritty story set in the underbelly of New Orleans. There is tension, and the air is ripe with murder and a supernatural element that has damaging results. I found both Ram and Natalie to be original and interesting characters. They end up becoming the perfect team, and I especially enjoyed how they both care for Val, the dog Ram rescued. Kathleen Nance has written an incredible story that has captured the atmosphere of New Orleans along with the mystical and magical aspects. I found PHOENIX UNRISEN to be a sexy paranormal mystery that was quite a surprising and welcome read.

Kate Garrabrant