Titles: Muckrakers and Minotaurs (Terra Haven Chronicles Book Three)
Publisher: Mind Your Muse Books
Author: Rebecca Chastain
Pages: 404pp
Price: $15.99 / $4.99
Kylie Grayson is not having a good time. Her wish to the everlasting tree — to find the story of a lifetime — seems to be coming true in the worst possible way. She’s been suspended from her job at the Terra Haven Chronicle, her parents have been framed for the theft of banned spells, the family business has burned to the ground … and now her not-so-secret crush/maybe-boyfriend seems to have decided that she is useless and not worth the time away from his very important job as Captain of the city’s FPD Squad …. And then she gets kidnapped ….
I love Chastain’s Terra Haven books. She started with the Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles, then moved on to the Terra Haven Chronicles. While those two series are complete, I can only hope that there will be more. This is a terrific fictional world, and it is filled with characters who have their own stories to tell. (While it is not necessary to read the series in order, it is necessary to read the books in order. You’ll have no idea what is going on in Muckrakers and Minotaurs if you don’t start with Deadlines and Dryads.)
Kylie is a terrific heroine: she’s intelligent, deeply ethical, and compassionate. She is also driven; she doesn’t just want to succeed — she must succeed. Watching her grow over the course of the series, and realize that success may not be what she thought (or even what she truly wants) has been amazing.
And I love how her relationships grow and change over the course of the series, as well. Quinn the gargoyle has been her loyal companion since the beginning; but he is finally coming into his own, recognizing his own skills and achievements. And Kylie, as his friend, encourages this growth even though it hurts her.
And then there is her relationship with Grant Monaghan. The Captain of the city’s Federal Pentagon Defense squad started out as an attractive news story. He has since become much more; at least to Kylie. Grant’s feelings for her? They may have survived numerous disasters and near-death experiences together, but Kylie is beginning to wonder if he sees her as a nuisance, as a magnet for trouble that just makes his job that much harder. (No spoilers, but I was very happy by the end of the book.)
And did I mention the harpy who keeps trying to kill Kylie? Or the gang of crazed pyromaniacs? Or the bloodthirsty, semi-feral griffins? Or the freakin’ basilisks? Because all of these are part of Kylie’s story of a lifetime. And, if she’s going to write it, she going to have to survive.
Muckrakers and Minotaurs is exciting and swoon-worthy. A perfect ending to the series. Highly recommended to fans of the Terra Haven books, as well as fans of the Sonoma Witches series by Gretchen Galway, The Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) books by RJ Blain, Emissary by Melissa McShane, The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews, and Agent of Enchantment by CN Crawford and Alex Rivers.
[Reviewed by Rebecca Buchanan.]
