Review by Vicky London
Key to Conflict is the first book in a series about Gilian Key, a paramortal psychologist. Gillian lives in a world where vampires, werewolves, and ghosts are out of the closet. She specializes her therapy in treating the unique problems of paranormal creatures. Her latest client is a Romanian vampire with “fangxiety”. Her therapy sessions with Count Aleksei Rachlav provide a convenient cover for her to travel to the Carpathian mountains in her dual role as a special forces operative. It seems that the infamous Count Dracula and his followers who only see humans as food are preparing for a war with those who want to live peacefully with the world.
Gillian finds herself caught in the middle of the supernatural turf war and her safety is in the hands of the gorgeous Count Rachlav. Her professional ethics compel her to keep her distance but she is only human after all. Gillian also meets some interesting characters who become patients including a werewolf with post-traumatic stress syndrome and a ghost traumatized by his own brutal murder. Being a woman is not so easy when you’re surrounded by alpha males but Gillian proves that she can kick ass with the best of them.
There were several things about this book that distracted from the story. Starting off, the title Key to Conflict, seems to be random and not connected to the story (or if it is, the explanation was lost to me). Next, Gillian is a scrappy little cupcake who is constantly yelling at people and threatening to shoot them. She insists repeatedly that she is a former military commander and can take care of herself. An assertion that proves not to be true as she is constantly having her ass pulled out of the fire by other people. Luckily, Gillian manages to redeem herself at the end of the book. The narration is also a bit unusual. Large parts of the story are glossed over leaving the reader emotional detached from the story.
The release date for Key to Conflict is May 29, 2007. You can order this book by clicking on the Amazon.com link above.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Reader Ratings - Click On A Star to Rate This Book:
(31 votes, average: 3.58 out of 5)
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June 22nd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
i think that Key to Conflict was a incredible book!! It was really fascinating and I’m excited to see what Gillian Key will be up to next!! Talia Gryphon, keep it up!!! This book is GOLD and I’m sure the rest will be also.
July 7th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
It wasn’t my favorite. I just kept reading hoping that it would get better and it never did. The heroine just annoyed me the whole time. She was a Mary Sue who had far to many TSTL moments to count. I just kept being annoyed the whole time. It’s not a keeper for me and I wouldn’t waste your money buying it. Get it from the library if you want to read it.
July 25th, 2007 at 8:14 am
While I enjoyed the substance of the story. What I skipped over where the sexual events. I don’t read these for that reason. I wanted a para-normal action story. I did find the author was great at delivering that.
Unlike the Merry Gentry series (which I have found comparisons to) that revolves around Merry needing an heir, this character did not have to be in bed as often as she was.
September 21st, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Well, what do you people expect from a fan fiction author? I think you got what she could deliver.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
If you like Laurell Hamilton, Charlaine Harris and Kelly Armstrong, you’ll enjoy Talia’s book!!! Another great supernatural author. I only with the book didn’t end so quickly. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series…I’m hooked!!!!
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I think it would have been a very interesting book if it weren’t for the poor writing. Constantly the POV was being switched. It would have been OK if it were done in a different way, however it wasn’t. It kept switching back and forth in every chapter, and was extremely choppy. It became annoying–fast. The first time I could over look it, thinking it wouldn’t happen again. All the other times… ehhh… Also, another thing was the main character, Gillian. As someone else said, she was a MarySue–a big MarySue. Also, she was bratty and annoying and got on my nerves fast. The other characters weren’t as bad, though the chuvantistic crap got old quick… Those were my main problems with the book. Normally I finish a less than great book… this one… I haven’t picked it up to finish it since I bought it back in the early summer. I might if I get really bored or have absolutely nothing to read. But listen to the reviews–they aren’t lying. It’s not a horrible book, but it’s far from great. I would borrow it or get it from a library before you buy it, just to make sure you want to invest your money in it.
December 9th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Please, please do not compare this nonsense to Charlaine Harris or Kelley Armstrong. They’re actual writers. Talia Gryphon… I’ve seen better fanfiction.