C.H. Armstrong Books

Once upon a time, I was an avid reader of fiction with a supernatural element.  I absolutely devoured Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Series, and then fell in love with Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series.  From there, I picked up just about anything I could get my hands on that included vampires, werewolves, fairies, telepaths…if it had a supernatural element, I actively sought it out and read it.   Eventually, however, I stopped reading this genre because everything had been done a dozen times over.  It got boring.  There was nothing new.  The stories had been told and told again and they became predictable.

This week I picked up a copy of Rebecca Croteau’s Clearer in the Night and I’m thrilled to say that someone has finally found a new angle to this genre, and it’s good!

Caitlyn is a telepath and the voices are getting harder and harder to tune out.  When she suffers a traumatic injury that should’ve killed her, she finds herself fighting not only the voices around her, but an inner animal dying to get out.  Caitlyn has been Afflicted and is destined to turn with the full moon.  If all of that isn’t enough, she’s dealing with helping her mother pick up the pieces of her alcoholic life, and her long-lost-and-thought-dead-sister has returned.  There’s just a whole lot going on at one time and it doesn’t slow down!

Surrounded on both sides by two men, both impossible to resist, she’s not sure who to trust.  Does she opt for the equally wild and unpredictable Wes; or the “relationship” with Ian that she feels unworthy of having?

What makes this novel different than those that come before is the main character, Caitlyn.  She’s independent and smart; and broken, but not damaged beyond repair.

With this genre, it’s impossible not to make comparisons between similar characters.  Cosplay Connect University was spot-on when they said, “Cait is the Sookie Stackhouse everyone wanted.”  While Caitlyn owns the telepathy and some of the sensitivity of Sookie Stackhouse, she lacks the whininess and indecision of Harris’ main character.  Instead, Caitlyn’s as tough and badass as Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter.  She’s a whole lot of dark, but there’s a brightness that shines through which makes her likable and not the least bit annoying.

Clearer in the Night is a thoroughly enjoyable read.  If you’ve given up on books with a supernatural element, I strongly recommend you give this one a try.