In Karen Victoria Smith's urban fantasy, [amazon-product text=”Dark Dealings” type=”text”]B007Z9DEEI[/amazon-product], the mystical world overlaps reality through sabotage, murder and magic. Investment banker Micaela O'Brien has spent her entire life trying to forget the day her parent's plane exploded over northern Dublin leaving her to explain how she was the sole survivor of the tragic event. Left under the care of her grandmother, Micaela quickly learned that she was not like her friends for she had visions and understandings that went well beyond her youth. After years of tamping her visions down, even convincing herself that they may have been caused by something medically wrong, she has learned to live her life without the nightmares and visions that plagued her youth.
That is until the deal of a lifetime brings everything back. Not knowing who to trust, Micaela is left to turn to the one thing she denied herself all these years, her visions.
Smith's writing is spot on. Her characters are well thought out and developed and she reveals just enough about the players without giving too much of the story away. At first there does seem to be an influx of characters in the beginning of the story but Smith handles the character development well, quickly fleshing out a spot for each of the main characters in the reader's head. I quickly came to understand and feel for Micaela as she fought for clarity and safety as her visions returned and her world was threatened by an unknown villain.
I would have liked to know more about her parents. They seem to have been highly respected and regarded in her grandmother's Druid community, but the details about the explosion and how Micaela survived it (and what that meant) were few. It's mentioned a few times in regards to her gift and legacy but never exactly what happened or why she survived.
I appreciated the different layers of story telling Smith infused into her work. Suspense, action, magic, mystery, all with a dash of romance, created an extremely well written story about a woman discovering her true path in life. Smith's voice is strong and seasoned and I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the urban fantasy genre.
One response to “NEW REVIEW Karen Victoria Smith's Dark Dealings”
Great review Karen. Sounds like a must read Author Karen.