REVIEW by Lorna : Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop (@Mollykatie112)

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

Written in Red
by Anne Bishop

Series:
The Others #1

Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Paranormal Romance

Publisher:
Ace/Roc (Imprint of Penguin)

Publication Date:
March 5, 2013

Seems like I was really late to the party reading this book. I had read so many reviews about this book, and the two follow-ups, and had just never taken the time to read it. When I actually did read it, I was kicking myself almost from the beginning because it was ridiculously good, and why I put it off is beyond me. I am not sure I can even do this book justice, as it is just that well written.

Meg is what’s known as a cassandra sangues, or blood prophet. She was bred for the job, lived her whole life in a prison of sorts with others like her. In order to see a prophecy, she has to be cut, enough to scar. She is rare and she is worth way too much money to her Controller to let her ever be free. This is the story about what happens when she escapes and is taken in by The Courtyard, a place for terra indigene, otherwise knows as Others. Others are made up of shifters of all kinds, vampires,elementals, magical horses, and even a being that is so terrifying that no one is sure what she is. In this world, the Others are the ones that control just about everything. Humans are pretty much just meat to the shifters. The leader of The Courtyard is Simon, a wolf shifter that has decided to work with more humans. So certain business’s have opened to humans, and Meg begins working as the liason between the Others and humans.

Meg has never known anything really real. Her life has been a series of images shown to her in order for her to know what they are, so that she can understand her visions. So when she becomes part of The Courtyard, a whole new world is opened to her. She is almost child like in her thoughts and actions. But she is also sweet and giving, and kindness could be her middle name. It’s not long before the residents of The Courtyard all consider her theirs, and call her, Our Meg.

Of course there has to be a villain. Or two. The Controller is not going to lose Meg that easily, so he pulls out all the stops to find her. Another villain is in the form of a woman who is there undercover to try and infiltrate The Courtyard. It’s not long before she realizes she can benefit way more if she helps with reacquiring Meg for The Controller.

I cared about these characters so much. In addition to Meg and Simon, the Others were, for the most part, really fleshed out into characters to root for, be scared of, or just wonder HUH? about. There’s a little shifter wolf who’s story will break your heart, at the same time as you are falling in love with him. He quickly became one of my favorite parts of this read.

There’s so much to love about this read. Humor, suspense, this book has that as well. And who knew crows could be so funny? Urban Fantasy fans will be totally hooked, as well as any fantasy fan. As I said before, the writing is nothing short of fantastic, the premise so very unique, and of course the characters were what made this read for me a 10 out of a possible 5. I can’t wait to start reading the second one, Murder of Crows. Highly recommended!

ABOUT AUTHOR ANNE BISHOP
Anne Bishop lives in upstate New York where she enjoys gardening, music, and writing dark, romantic stories. She is the author of fourteen novels, including the award-winning Black Jewels Trilogy. Her most recent novel,Twilight’s Dawn, made the New York Times bestsellers list. She is currently working on a new series, which is an urban dark fantasy with a bit of a twist.

AUTHOR LINKS