Review: Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander

Title:  Nightshifted

Author:  Cassie Alexander
Publisher: St. Martin's Press 

Publishing Date: January 13th 2012

Pages: 331
Genre:  Adult Urban Fantasy 

Series:  Edie Spence #1
Source: Audio

 

From debut author Cassie Alexander comes a spectacular new urban fantasy series where working the nightshift can be a real nightmare.

Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine—from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond...

Edie’s just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed. But when a vampire servant turns to dust under her watch, all hell breaks loose. Now she’s haunted by the man’s dying words—Save Anna—and before she knows it, she’s on a mission to rescue some poor girl from the undead. Which involves crashing a vampire den, falling for a zombie, and fighting for her soul. Grey’s Anatomy was never like this ...

Okay well this book has been on my TBR forever. I am not even sure when it was first added but I believe it was shortly after it was released. I found it on a blog and thought it sounded interesting but then forgot about it. That happens with adult books for me. I really am trying to read more adult books though and so I decided to finally read this one. I enjoyed it. It was a great start for a series. The characters were fun and it was different. Always looking for something different. 

Edie Spence works as a nurse in a local hospital. She isn't your normal nurse though. This hospital isn't the normal hospital. Her patients are not the normal patience. She is works on a floor... well the basement.. that services the paranormal and unusual. Vampires, Were beings, and witches oh my. So yes she lives in a world where all things exist and they need medical care too. Well this one vampire- almost vampire- patient of hers gives a message on his deathbed. This message leads Edie onto a wild goose chase to save a girl who may not want to be saved... and also leads her into a world she didn't know existed and of course danger. 

Edie Spence is a likable character. I just adored her. She makes some pretty stupid decisions but really her choices are always based on what she thinks is best for another person or being.  I mean you have to have a heart to be a nurse. Her heart gets her in trouble all the time. But she really just wants to help everyone.That is what I love about her. I do like her snarkiness too. That always helps. 

There are some other interesting characters in this story too. Both of them are men and both are not human men. One is a zombie, yes I said zombie. The other is a shifter. Both are on the fence with me right now. I mean the zombie, he is sweet and seems pretty honorable but I kind of feel like he hasn't shown his real self. The shifter... he started off on the wrong foot and I just don't know if he is trustworthy. He is kind of hot though.... So yea I am not sure yet. I need to see more. 

The story was interesting and I really got into it but the story wasn't what made the book for me. The mystery was good however I was a bit confused in a little bit of entire vampire clan thing and so I just kept reading to hopefully understand what was happening. I really never did. In the end I know someone was saved and that was a good thing... Also Edie made new friends. I really enjoyed the characters more than the story. For the characters alone I will keep on reading. 

I think this is going to be a great series and I will for sure keep on keeping on. 

I really enjoyed the first of this series. 

Cassie Alexander is a registered nurse and author of the five book Edie Spence urban fantasy series, out now through St. Martin's Press.

Her newest project, Dark Ink Tattoo, is a sultry urban fantasy about vampires in Vegas.
Join her mailing list for news about her latest releases by cutting and pasting this into your browser: cassiealexander.com/mailinglist