Review: Deja Vu and Gin by Heather R. Blair

Deja Vu and Gin

by Heather R. Blair

4 stars 

****

This was a great addition to the Toil and Trouble series! This is Anastasia and Tyr's story. Ana was the witchy sister that I knew the least about. She was raised in the revolutionary area, while separated from her mother and sisters. Though she is in the present day now, she still dresses like Marie Antoinette.  Tyr is a gypsy orphan turned assassin for hire. The two have run in the same circles in the fairytale world, but don't know each other well.  But when all of stuff started to go down in the previous books to Seph (Ana's sister), Ana hires Tyr to keep Seph safe. The only trouble is that someone else, someone more powerful, has hired Tyr to kill Seph. He is contracted to do conflicting missions and he doesn't know how to honor both vows.  But he does know that he is attracted to Ana, and vice versa. Ana has had a long dry spell in the romance department (like 100 years). She has never had the pull and attraction to someone that she feels with Tyr. They begin a no-strings, physcal relationship, but soon grow to care for each other and eventually fall in love. They have to deal with Tyr's dilemma, some scary characters, sibling and parent issues, but it all works out in the end.

I really liked both Ana and Tyr. They were both great, complicated characters who had been through a lot in their pasts. They both deserved to find love and happiness with each other. Ana comes off as an ice queen at first, but really she is feisty, caring and selfless, often putting her sisters' happiness first. Tyr never imagined he would have a life beyond being an assassin, but he couldn't get Ana out of his head. They had a great connection and understood each other in a way no one ever had. They also had some very sexy and sweet moments. I loved that they were both new to being in a relationship, but they never really pushed each other away. They accepted that they were falling for each other and let it happen. 

Overall, I did really enjoy this book, but there were a few things that didn't quite work for me.  This was a little tricky to follow at first. This book takes place at the same time as the Seph's books (books 1-3 in the series), but it had been awhile for me since I read those books. There is a lot going on, and I wish I had re-read those books before this one. I was a little confused. I don't think I would consider this book a standalone. There is also a 6 month time jump in the book, which I wasn't too fond of. I wish I had that time to see Ana and Tyr's relationship grow stronger and them become closer. Because of that, I felt the pacing was a little bit off. Also, there were some scary, suspenseful moments going on, but I didn't feel the sense of danger that was implied. Maybe that was because I knew the outcome of most of the conflicts since it was repeated from the previous books. 

But, despite those few things, I really liked the book. I would like to binge-reread the whole series again in order and I think I will like this book even more with the story all fresh in my mind. I have enjoyed this fun series so much. The awesome characters and ongoing story are so original and interesting. I am really looking forward to Carly and Styx's story, as I have loved the glimpses we have gotten of their relationship so far. This is one of my fave paranormal series and I definitely recommend it!