The Taste of Night (Signs of the Zodiac, #2)

by Vicki Pettersson

[Angie]

Picking up three months later, The Taste of Night begins with Joanna settled into her new identity, but still not having gained the trust of the other members of her troop. She's still set on exacting revenge against Joaquin, but once a deadly virus is released in the city, Joanna has a new mission. She meets a Shadow initiate named Regan who seems to be feeding her useful information about them, but of course, Joanna can't tell her team or else be seen as a traitor. She essentially has to act like a rogue agent to do what she has to do, but that just may get her killed.

I liked The Taste of Night, but much like the first book, it wasn't great. It does answer my question of how Joanna is suppose to spend time at the Light sanctuary so often without screwing up her new life, which was nice. It was also interesting to me how well she's inserted herself into her new persona without losing herself. Although at times she does slip up and I have a feeling the truth about who she is is going to come out soon. And I really want it to when it comes to Ben! He's such a sweet guy, and I want them back together! But they can't as long as she's not her!

The Taste of Night's plot focuses on this plague that the Shadows have released in Las Vegas in order to wreck havoc (of course) and potentially take out their enemies. However, I couldn't get into this plot line because my mind was too preoccupied on how the virus works. It was released, and the bodies start turning up with what look like burns on their mouths, hands, and privates. Apparently, this virus was designed to be sexually transmitted, but it's also sexually activated. As in, it doesn't kill anyone until they kiss, touch, or have sex with someone else. Immunity to it was also passed along by kissing supposedly. I couldn't wrap my brain around that because it just didn't make sense. At least this led to a very disturbing scene at a swinger's ball, which I had to set the book down for a moment and shudder. Ow.

A lot of The Taste of Night continued to very character driven, but I felt like it was mostly the same as the first book. Joanna trying to hold on to herself while being someone else, and wanting her revenge. But there's also the added theme of not everything being black or white. Joanna is the epitome of this, since she is literally half Light and half Shadow. Her team is terrified that her Shadow half is going to take over, so they're hesitant to train her or give her any information. Joanna on the other hand, seeks it all herself and tries to find ways to use her Shadow abilities to help the Light (which does get her into some trouble). She's her own worse enemy until she learns how to let go of her personal shadows.

The Taste of Night was good. This series is really interesting, and I am enjoying learning more about these two groups of superhumans. There's also some really great, if disturbing, twists along the way that I haven't seen in any series before. I just wish something would happen that grabs at me and makes me love it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.