Review: Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis - 3.5 Wine Glasses!

Bitter Night
Horngate Witches #1
by Diana Pharaoh Francis
Paperback, 387 pages
Published October 27th 2009 by Pocket Books
ISBN: 9781416598145
copy courtesy of publisher

SOMETIMES YOU CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES. AND SOMETIMES, THEY CHOOSE YOU...
Once, Max dreamed of a career, a home, a loving family. Now all she wants is freedom...and revenge. A witch named Giselle transformed Max into a warrior with extraordinary strength, speed, and endurance. Bound by spellcraft, Max has no choice but to fight as Giselle's personal magic weapon — a Shadowblade — and she's lethally good at it. But her skills are about to be put to the test as they never have before....
The ancient Guardians of the earth are preparing to unleash widespread destruction on the mortal world, and they want the witches to help them. If the witches refuse, their covens will be destroyed, including Horngate, the place Max has grudgingly come to think of as home. Max thinks she can find a way to help Horngate stand against the Guardians, but doing so will mean forging dangerous alliances — including one with a rival witch's Shadowblade, who is as drawn to Max as she is to him — and standing with the witch she despises. Max will have to choose between the old life she still dreams of and the warrior she has become, and take her place on the side of right — if she survives long enough to figure out which side that is....

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Lexi's Thoughts
When you pick up an Urban Fantasy you expect a strong heroine, a few big scary baddies, and plenty of action. Bitter Night delivers all of that and more.

Bitter Night is an excellent start for this series. Max is one hell of a Shadowblade. Even though she seems like she shows little emotion and doesn’t feel for others, it’s a smoke screen. And one that is about to be blown over. 

The wide variety of characters introduced in this first book shows Francis’s wild imagination. She turns angels into death dealers, and powerful witches into pawns. As strong as Max’s character is Francis brings in Alexander who is more than a match for her. He might not strike you immediately as the one she should be paired up with but give him some time and he will grow on you.

This is not to say that this book was written perfectly. There were multiple instances where reading was confusing, no one has eyes in the back of their head...not even in the Horngate Witches series. But the non stop action makes up for the inconsistencies. 

A great book one, Diana Pharaoh Francis bring on book two!

Rating: 3.5 Wines! A great kickoff for a series!