Lady of Silver by Shona Husk

She is one of a dying race and must keep the secret. But with these murders, she needs to expose herself.

Saba Venn is a psychic, well she is actually an Albah, but for the sake of hiding her origins and a somewhat normal life, she practices as a psychic. As an Albah, elf like, she has air as her element, and she can use it to help her look into the possibilities for her clients. There is one step she is reluctant to do but finds that she needs to do this catch a killer. Saba has found her niche in life to fly under the radar but this will bring her to the attention of a killer, and to the detective charged with investigating the murder.

Dale Morgan is a policeman who is cynical about magic and particularly psychics. He has to meet the source of another officer and is reluctant as he thinks that officers shouldn’t have to use psychics to find clues in a case. This case is unusual as there have been no clues. And he needs a break in the case. When he goes to her store, Dale connects to Saba on a different level but he tries to keep it all business.

Saba goes with him to the morgue to look at a victim. She does a blood spell that connects her with the murderer, a vampire once an Albanex. The Albanex also connects with her and is able to track her movements and finds her store and home. He sends his minions to deal with her and he comes close. The death of the vampire comes from an unexpected source.

I’m not normally a paranormal reader, although I have select authors I do read in this genre. I read this story with a sense of ‘I so hope I enjoy this book’. And I really did. I read it in almost one sitting.

I liked the connection between Saba and Dale. I also liked his sense of initial distrust but when Saba was in trouble, he had to get through that barrier. It is what you would do for the one you loved no matter what they were like.

Reviewed by Heather

Saba runs a magic shop but also uses her gift as a psychic which brings her to the attention of the local P D. Saba has helped the P D before and now a young woman had been found murdered with her blood drained and the P D. turns to Saba for answers. A co-worker recommended Saba to Dale. Dale is a detective and reluctantly goes to Saba who he believes is a fake. Saba is an Albah which is a race long forgotten by humans but were still around. Saba’s power is fueled by blood and silver. Saba can use blood for readings and silver for small things like healing and warding. Saba proves to Dale she is the real thing by telling facts from just a small amount of the victims blood. Dale did break a small protective barrier Saba had by Dale’s belief and the killer knew who she was and would be after Saba. The vampire leader. can use blood to create bonds with his followers. It creates a bond when Saba does the reading for Dale Saba couldn’t tell Dale all she knew as she had secrets to protect and a lot he simply wouldn’t believe. Saba was attracted to Saba and she to him even though he resisted it. Dale believes she was murdered by the leader of a cult of wannabe vampires. But the killer left no clues for the police to find. As Saba and Dale’s relationship heated up Saba wonders if she can keep who and what she is from Dale. Albah uses silver for small things but once an Albah is turned to a vampire silver is deadly to them.
I had mixed feelings on this book. I felt it had a good plot. I liked the different scenario on vampires and witches. It did pretty much keep my interest. This was a short read. I didn’t like how Dale was an ass a lot. Then one conversation was suppose to change Dale’s whole outlook on psychics just don’t think so. I think the pace was too fast. I also had problems connecting with both Dale and Saba. After the way Dale was acting I think Saba was way to nice and accepting. I felt there was some unanswered questions after the book was done. I also felt the book ended to fast. So as I said I did have mixed feelings.

Lady of Silver (Blood & Silver) Kindle Edition
by Shona Husk
I received a copy of this wonderful book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A fresh, astounding, rich take on not only vampires and magic, but on Urban Fantasy and romance.
With a serial killer running up a kill count, those kills looking like a vampire cult gone mad, Dale Morgan has no choice but to do the one thing he hates to do, turn to a psychic for help. His fellow police office had used it in the past, so his superior sent him on his way to Saba Venn's New Age shop, for assistance. He is still recovering from his mother's death. A mother who relied on magic and the occult, and he believes it may have killed her.
Ms. Husk redefines urban fantasy with a story full of emotion, where the heroine is strong but doesn't need to fight physically. Her soul is as pure as the silver she uses. I've never read anything quite like this. Had I not had a doctor's appointment in the middle, this would definitely been a straight through read. I wanted to chew through the pages, get to the end, any end, because the characters were so deeply, richly and fully drawn.
In Saba, we have a woman, a full and completely realized women, even if she is not human. She is Albah. A separate race that once was led by vampire-like Albanex, but their purpose has been lost, their graves guarded, the secret magic buried, lost and forbidden. While she is not technically human, she is the most human character in the field that I have seen in ages. A fully developed Complete Female Character that the readers of UF/PNR look so hard for!
And Dale, though at first the prototypical burned out, exhausted homicide detective, has his layers peeled away as he realizes that while there is magic in the world, and vampires and psychics, there is also love and healing if he has the courage to grab them.
This is more of a thriller than a mystery, as the killer is revealed, and his web is spun around our hero and heroine. Clearly, a malignant narcissistic with psychopathic tendencies and megalomania to boot, he is purely evil. When the magic that is required to become a Albahnex is revealed, the depth of his depravity is shocking.
The characters are not static, jumping through hoops of magic and sex. They all evolve, from the main characters to the side characters who are clearly being prepared for their own stories.
Speaking of sex, there is one short, scintillating love scene. The way it is handled is both delicate and thrilling. It left me panting a bit.
I do have to admit, though, the universe Ms. Husk created is so universal, it took me until nearly the end to realize that this takes place in Australia, not the States or Canada.
The ending, in itself, is deeply satisfying and a HEA in the making. Because the future is not a single path but possibilities.
I positively cannot wait for the next book.
5 shiny stars out of 5.
This book is Book Nerd Approved!
https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Silver-Blood-Shona-Husk-ebook/dp/B01G0GBDTO/

more a novella than a full-size novel, I had high hopes for this book, as the author is already well-established in the genre. But, I simply could not connect well with the characters, and the whole book felt rushed. Because of that, I think this book was an inefficient way to introduce us to a new series. I hope the rest of the series will be better.

If you like to read about mythical beings or just wanting for the next shifter book. Thank Lady of Silver, can be that book. Saba Venin when you looked at her you though she was an average dwarf. However, Saba was an Albah a race thought extinct. But as Dale Morgan found out that was not so. While hunting down a serial killer Dale decided to go to the one person he thought he would never visit…a psychic.

But, Dale soon came to realize that not everything is black or white. And soon, Dale and Saba lives or on the line from the serial killer.

Me, I thought Lady of Silver was an okay read. Again, one of those I would pick up if I didn’t have anything else better to read. The plotline was decent the characters were likable, but I didn’t really feel the chemistry between Dale and Saba.

Detective Dale Morgan is really up against it. He’s got a murdered young woman found on the city’s outskirts with her blood drained. He honestly believes she was murdered by a fanatic in town that is the leader of cult of vampire wannabe’s. Only the killer is extremely efficient and leaves absolutely no clues at all. Now Dale has his reasons for not believing in psychics and the woo-woo types of folks who peddle and con the public but he also knows that he has to try to find some/ any leads he can by going to interrogate one of the psychics that has given the police assistance in the past.

To humans, Saba Venn is a psychic, but she’s Albah, a race long forgotten by humans but who live amongst them, her powers fueled by blood and silver.  She agrees to help Detective Morgan, if it means stopping the vampire cult she believes is behind the killing. But the attraction she feels with Dale is immediate, and as their relationship intensifies she begins to doubt she can keep the secret of who and what she is from him.

*** Very interesting take on another type of Vampire world of humans and other worldly beings. Saba is very unique - quite beautiful and naturally Detective Morgan in spite of his skepticism of thinking psychics are merely con artists, he can’t deny the feelings Saba has brought forth. He realizes his mistake soon after she proves to him she could glean facts from just a small sample of the victims blood. Unfortunately, in realizing Saba was the real deal, Dale had broken a small protective barrier she had and now the killer knew who she was and would be able to find her.

This was an overall short and fast read that can be read in one sitting. I find that when the writing is succinct with a lots of action the pages fly by, especially when each chapter kind of leaves you at the edge of a cliff and you just MUST see what happens next. The world building was interesting, and the story held enough interest to keep you reading it straight through!!!

Marilyn Rondeau

Not only does Dale Morgan believe psychics are charlatans and cheaters he's got the scars to prove it.  Urged by his police captain, he reluctantly shows up at psychic Saba Venn's door to ask for her help in solving his latest murder case.  His encounter with her turns his belief system on it's ear.  A great start to a new series, read on to see how it all unfolds. Saba is far beyond an ordinary psychic as it's possible to be. She's a half human descendant of the elves called an Albah.  She is psychic but more importantly due to her magical heritage, her true talent is blood magic.  In Dale's case the victim is dead several days so she needs to merge her own blood with the victims to get answers.  Unfortunately her magical reading forges a connection with the murderer through the victim's blood.
While she's able to give Dale his reading, she and he have also forged a unique connection.  Saba can see into Dale's future and the choices before him.  A wrong choice could lead to his death but if he opens his mind and heart he could take a very different direction.  As they explore their sexual connection, the killer uses his blood connection to suck Saba into his world of death and mayhem.  The death count mounts with Saba unable to stop the murders from occurring.
I like this interesting new take on vampires who are "albahs" gone bad through a blood ritual.  The goth club and how this particular vampire creates his acolytes is a nice touch. This is the start of a new series for the author so readers are introduced to an interesting cast of characters who will no doubt play a more leading role in the stories to come.
I've enjoyed Ms. Husk's stories of fairies, goblins and elves in the past but this story with it's chilling suspense and race against time to stop a serial killer is the most exciting that I have read in her repertoire.

Three and a half from me
I've enjoyed this authors work in the past and have very good memories of both her Shadowlands and also the Court of Annwyn series so seeing this latest foray into the paranormal world meant I was extremely keen to download it. It turned out to be a lot shorter than I expected but perhaps the author is keen to write stories that her readers can devour in just one or two sittings?
Essentially this book introduces two sisters who are both much more than they seem. The eldest sister Saba is our heroine and runs a magic shop but also utilises her 'gifts' as a psychic which brings her under the radar of the local police department. Saba has been incredibly useful before and now when a young woman is found murdered it's to Saba that they turn for answers .
Dale is the detective who very reluctantly approaches Saba. In his book she's a charlatan , a total fake preying on those who are lost and yet he can't help but admit that something very odd is going on with Saba. Nevertheless the case is getting weirder by the minute and the couple are drawn into something that takes everything Dale believes in and rewrites his world!
I've deliberately said very little about what actually happens here as it would be far too easy to reveal the plot. I can say if you've read this authors work before you will know she enjoys exploring the world of the Fae and other creatures so this unusual storyline involving a vampire cult gives a whole new twist to vampire lore.
The lead characters surprised me at times. Dale isn't exactly jaded but he is a very closed off character that isn't always easy to like unfortunately . Saba switches from gutsy to meek so quickly I'm gobsmacked that she doesn't get whiplash! Now the secondary characters are really interesting with someone with unusual ears ( no spoilers remember !) and his family clearly being set up to feature in the next book which I've a sneaking suspicion could have Sabas sister Leira as lead protagonist .
So bottom line is I didn't quite expect the way this played out but that's perhaps good as a quick unpredictable read sometimes just fits the bill. This book sets up a world in which vampires are completely original and I liked that . Unfortunately the romance didn't work for me and as I'm primarily a romance reader not a suspense one I am a little disappointed in how the relationship played out. Yet I would happily read the next book so surely that says something for the quality of this authors work?
This voluntary review of an advance reader copy from Netgalley is my honest opinion

this paranormal romance introduces us to the race of supernatural beings known as the albah. they've always walked among us, silver-haired and pointy-eared, passing for human as much as possible. because there are those out there who hunt them. because the albah have some impressive supernatural powers, though it varies by individual, but all of them have the power to become albanex, or, as us regular old humans like to say, vampires.

lady of silver is the first of a series, so by necessity must spend some time world-building, which wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that i think the relationship between detective dale morgan and psychic saba venn gets a little short-changed in the process. dale is investigating a series of murders that smack of vampirism. the cops pretty much know exactly who did it, they just don't have any evidence that would prove it. so dale comes to saba hoping that she can see the victims' last moments, hoping that something in saba's visions will provide the missing links between their suspect and the victims.

dale starts off as a nonbeliever, but the more time he spends with saba opens his eyes to the fact that there is clearly magic at work. eventually saba must explain the truth behind her heritage, and the fact that their suspect is clearly a former albah, one who is unfortunately connected to saba given the fact that when she used blood magic, there was still some of the victim's blood in the albanex's system.

this paranormal thriller with strong romantic elements is totally enjoyable. even if the way the albanex situation is ultimately resolved seems a bit sudden. at the very least there is some good groundwork setting up the characters to the sequel story, about saba's little sister and the albah she's been waiting to meet on a train. given the glimpse we get at the end of this one, i'll definitely want to check it out.

This book was a bit of a puzzle as far as reviewing it since it was dark, fast moving and a decent plot but the hero spent an inordinate amount of time being a jerk.

This is not a long book at under 200 pages it really falls into the novella category but all things considered I did enjoy it and read it in one sitting without a break.

Dale and Saba eventually made a good couple but the vast majority of the "romance" was him being a jerk and her waiting to see if he would come around or become a memory.

Bottom Line: This was a novella length story that has a good vampire murder/thriller plot, it is also the first of a series of books (books in the series is unknown at this writing) but sometimes you really want a good fast moving story that you can start and finish within a short time and this is perfect for those times, it is addicting and doesn't spend pages on the color of grass or multiple highly descriptive page burning sex. If Dale had not been such a jerk for so much I might have given this 5 Stars. Recommended for those times you don't feel like starting a doorstop length novel, this is a great fast story you will like in the end.

There were several good things about this book, but also several things that bothered me. First, I liked the setting and the history portrayed in the book. The main female character, Saba, is a member of the race of Albah. The Albah have magic powers of various sorts (it varies from person to person). There is also an ancient race called the Albanex, who are essentially vampires. (I'm not going into more detail to avoid spoilers).

Dale Morgan is a detective with the police and trying to solve a string of murders. He runs into a dead end with the case, and ends up consulting with Saba to get more information. Through a series of events, both Saba and Dale are drawn into a much bigger and more dangerous series of events. The finale is climactic and satisfying.

My first complaint with the story is that much of the tension in the book is caused directly by the main characters withholding information. I get it - the Albah are a secret race and nobody is supposed to know about them. But Saba shares plenty (one might say too much) information that isn't really critical and then holds out on a few nuggets of information that set off a chain of stupid and avoidable events. Saba also withholds information from her sister about murderers stalking her, and then worries about the murderers finding her sister through her very-public workplace (that Saba owns). Emotions run high in the book, but I think a little practicality is warranted when death is on the line, especially since her sister is Albah and has powers of her own. Artificial tension is annoying.

I also felt that Dale unnecessarily withheld information, and acted somewhat irrationally. In one scene he is blown away by Saba's presence and is gaga over her, and in the next scene he is a hard-assed detective reading her the riot act and not telling her key information about the Albanex and murders. Some elements of romantic tension can cause mood swings, but things seemed extreme to me.

In the end, despite some shortcomings, I did enjoy the story and the character interaction. The romantic element was well-done (except for extreme mood swings), and the minor characters were interesting. I am interested in reading the next book to see where things go from here.