After reading this book only half way, I started rooting for the main heroine to get her butt kicked or to actually bite the dust from the two people who are trying so hard to kill her. I keep thinking that the author was attributing some masculine characteristics for the main character and utterly failed to make her in any way shape or form a believable character. If anything her behavior would better portray an adolescent male with anger issues. I truly enjoyed Adrian Phoenix's other series which made this one a humongous let down. The main character is portrayed with deep anger issues where she is constantly hitting people in the face. The author is giving the character an excuse for these anger problems due to the fact her mother tried to kill her when she was 14. If anything, I was hoping she would get her but arrested for assault or have her put in a fight where she gets her butt totally knocked out. I could not find her little feelings of guilt over her behavior at all endearing and it actions made her look stupid on too many fronts. I have to say the author really missed the mark on making this enjoyable when you get to a point where you are actually rooting for the bad people to take out the main character. Also think the author focused too much on a lot of sexual tension or connotations. When your plot starts revolving around sex too much it shows a lack or creativity on the authors part when it could have focused on characterization and perhaps more back story to make this a better story. I feel like I wasted my money. There are better novels out there than wasting time and money on something that irritates you.

I picked up Black Dust Mambo after seeing reviews for it on several book review sites. It sounded promising and exciting. Having never read books about Voodoo and such, I was eager to dig in. However, I had a hard time getting into this book and staying engaged. I found myself putting the book down several times due to annoyances, frustrations, and overall not caring what happens. Let me explain.

What I liked:
1. Voodoo & Hoodoo--The magic was there! Definite laws were in place about what magic could and couldn't do. It was fun to watch the kinds of magic used.
2. Storyline--This one was a like and a sorta dislike for me. I really enjoyed the storyline, but disliked that it was told from so many POV that there was no mystery in it. You know the "who dun it and why" the entire time. But watching it unfold was fun. That, and seeing the cummupence was great. I love it when people get what they deserve. "An eye for an eye is never enough. Never, never, never."

What I didn't like:
1. Kallie Rivère is supposedly the main character, but I hardly know her. The book constantly jumps from character to character to the point it's confusing on who's POV I'm reading from now and why they matter to the story. It felt like I got to keep seeing the same things from multiple POVs. Not only that, but it took forever for the story to progress because it's constantly shifting POV. I see it from Kallie's POV, then her best friend Belladonna, then the nomad Layne, then back to Kallie. Also, while Kallie does her thing we have "Meanwhile across town this happens....." type scenario. So we know EVERYTHING that is going on at this exact time in the world. Everything. Nothing left to the imagination. Everything. The entire book spans 1 day. That's right. Only 24 hours. And I know what everyone was doing that day, every hour of the day.
2. Characters--Who are these people anyway? With all the POV jumping, I never really got to know any of them or understood why all the sudden the world revolves around Kallie and everyone wants to protect her. Oh, but we do get to see everyone's sexual fantasy even the character who we only meet for 6 pages.
3. Romance? I was disappointed by what Ms. Phoenix terms as romance. While we do get to see everyone's sexual fantasies, lots of descriptions of scantily clad woman, of the men in the wet boxers contest, and such there was no true romance here. Kallie has a one night stand who ends up dead. While the body is still warm in her bed, she meets her "love interest" Layne. Layne is a Vessel able to "house" dead souls so they can accomplish unfinished business before crossing over. However, most of Kallie's interactions with Layne are while another person's spirit/soul are controlling Layne's body.
4. Language--Another review pointed out the language used in the book is hard to understand. I have to agree with that. I speak French and found myself wondering if others would even understand the use of the French language and idioms. There was also a lot of bastardized French and horrible "Cajun" speak where everything is "dat" for that and "t'ink" for think and worse. It made the characters come off as stupid and uneducated, which they're not...at least I think. It was distracting. Also, if Kallie's friend Belladonna said "shug" (as in sugar) one more time I think I was going to hit her.
5. Black Dust Mambo--Know what that means? Me neither. In the end, Kallie pulls one over the "bad guy." The bad guy whispers "Black Dust Mambo" in shock of the magic she wields. Kallie thinks to herself, "what does that mean" and no explanation is sought or given. I find it a bit irritating that the book is titled Black Dust Mambo and the one reference to it is never explained.

With all the dislikes aside, I did find myself enjoying the story. I just had to overlook a lot to do so. I do find myself curious to what will happen next because even if this bad guy is gone, there still is the matter of where her cousin is and they mystery that is Kallie Rivère. I think I will probably pick up book 2 when/if it comes around, but I will most likely wait to get it from the Library.

THE HOODOO SERIES
BLACK DUST MAMBO (Book 1)
BLACK HEART LOA (Book 2) Coming July 2011

Black Dust Mambo is the first in the new Hoodoo series by Adrian Phoenix. I got this book because I really enjoy The Maker's Song series by her. I was most definitely not disappointed. Within the first few pages I was wrapped up in Kallie's world and story and can't wait for the next in the series!
Kallie is attending a festival held by the Hecatean Alliance with her best friend Belladonna when things start to go wrong. After waking up and finding a lover of hers more than just dead, Kallie begins an exciting non stop adventure to discover exactly what happened. Along the way she meets new people some of which are nice and want to help her while others would rather she just go away.
I enjoyed getting to know Kallie and the other characters in Black Dust Mambo. The majority of the book is very fast paced and filled with several interesting characters that I look forward to reading more about, especially Belladonna, Layne and McKenna. The ending leaves off with what is sure to be the beginning of the next great book in this amazing new series.