Binding the Shadows by Jenn Bennett [Review]

Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3) by Jenn Bennett
Format: paperback
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: August 21, 2013

Arcadia Bell
1. Kindling the Moon
2. Summoning the Night
2.5. Leashing the Tempest
3. Binding the Shadows - Paperback | Kindle
4. Banishing the Dark

Jenn Bennett
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Synopsis (Goodreads):

In the third book in this beloved and “riveting” (Romantic Times) urban fantasy series, demon-friendly tiki bar owner Arcadia Bell discovers more about her own evolving, and possibly destructive, magical abilities when her bar is the target of a demonic crime wave.

Renegade mage and bartender Arcadia Bell has had a rough year, but now the door to her already unstable world is unhinging. When a citywide crime wave erupts, Cady's demon-friendly tiki bar is robbed by Earthbounds wielding surreal demonic abilities that just flat-out shouldn't exist. With the help of her devilishly delicious boyfriend, Lon Butler, Cady sets out to find the people who wronged her—but her targets aren't the only ones experiencing unnatural metamorphoses. Can Cady track down the monsters responsible before the monster inside her destroys everything—and everyone—she loves? If she survives this adventure, one thing is certain: it's last call for life as she knows it.

My Thoughts on Binding the Shadows: Holy smokes. I need a few minutes to collect myself after the revelations at the end of this book. I'm just... *flails a bit* ... Wow.

Seriously, as if having notorious serial killers for parents wasn't enough, now Cady has to deal with her powers becoming unstable and her abilities ratcheting up a notch or two. The things that happen to poor Cady here aren't pretty. Fortunately, she had Lon and Jupe to keep her head in the game.

Which brings me around to one of my favorite things about this series... the family relationship the three of them are forging. Lon is silent and strong, Jupe is a loveable motormouth and Cady adores them both. On the flip side, they're both fiercely protective of her and they love her to pieces. Even though Lon has a bit of a hard time saying that particular L word.

Together, Cady and Lon and practically unstoppable. Or at least they would be if the threat of Cady's parents' legacy wasn't manifesting itself every time she drew on her Moonchild powers. Honestly, the whole *thing* that's happening to Cady is terrifying. She doesn't know what she is and so she has no frame of reference on what's going to happen to her physically next. Through all the fear and panic that she's experiencing, Lon is her rock. He's the one telling her that they'll figure it out. And I love that.

I'm hard pressed to find another urban fantasy series that hits me harder. There's so very much I adore about Cady's world that I'm sucked in as soon as I pick up any of the books. Whether they're out unraveling super-charged powers or spending quality time alone, these guys do it for me.

And, yeah, I want the next book, like, now. Because THAT ENDING!