Lanore Vesta is a Supernatural, referred to colloquially as Supes. They boast such species as demon, shifter, and fairy. They possess powers that humans have come to fear. In their fear, humans created a solution.  Humans have corralled these people, branded them according to species, and banished them to, what is essentially, a barred cage called Habitats. Normally, they’re not allowed outside their Habitats, and Lanore states that she’s never seen Miami where her habitat is located. However, it seems that there might be some instances when they can travel as Lanore also mentions a Purebreed who traveled to her Habitat from a Habitat located in Japan. Because of this isolation, they have very little knowledge of human history since it doesn’t apply to their lives. They just know they are hated. 

I’m curious as to how humans were able to identify these beings and force them into these Habitats. That was never really explained. From what I gathered in this book, there are really no distinguishing features to make people think they’re not human (or at least, most of them don’t). Beings like fairies and demons keep up a glamour to make themselves appear human while shifters have a human form that they share with their beasts. Elemental witches look human by default. There was mention of one of the characters having strange markings on his skin, but it sounded like something that might pass as a tattoo. And there are a group of shifters who walk around partially shifted, but this is by choice. So, how in the world were humans able to impose their will on these people? Anyhow, moving forward.

These Habitats are a world of their own. Everything they need to make them a city is located in their walls from schools to strip clubs. The only human interaction they have is with the police force that’s staffed entirely by humans. The Habitat is populated by Purebreeds whose parents are the same species and Mixbreeds whose parents are different species.  Despite both groups being shafted by humans, there is an intense hatred of Mixbreeds among the Purebreeds, and “mixies,” as they’re called, suffer through many injustices. Purebreeds don’t believe that Mixbreeds are as powerful as they are, and therefore, even though the Mixbreeds are starting to question this inequality, the Purebreeds don’t feel threatened by them. 

Lanore is having a very bad night at the start of this book. For starters, the books she stole for her college classes had an alarm spell placed on them. As she’s fleeing the security troll (because even a Mixbreed is faster than a troll) with screaming books in hand, she’s accosted by two men who force her to unleash her powers. Finally, she witnesses a murder that she’s useless to stop, but she manages to alert the killer to her presence by screaming at them. She fears that the attacker will seek her out next. She finds that her suspicions are confirmed when she finds a cryptic note taped to her apartment door. Lanore isn’t going to stand by idly and wait for death. She plans to find the killer before the killer strikes. 

Wright has created this wonderful, mythical world where magic reigns supreme. Reading about their magic-powered technology and how some of human history entwines with the history of Supes (such as the Black Panthers being actual black panthers) really made this story for me. The cruelty that Lanore endures in the Habitat felt dark, heavy, oppressive. She’s just a college student trying to do the best she can in a world that has decided she isn’t worthy of life. Instead of being the angry, aggressive female protagonist, Lanore is surprisingly peaceful, preferring to settle matters with as little fuss as possible. She wears a lot of herself–her fears, her joys, her wants–for everyone to see. She doesn’t even flaunt her powers until she has no choice. Lanore is a strong female character, but her strength is tempered with calmness. 

This wouldn’t be a paranormal romance without the romance part. Lanore has two men vying for her attention. MeShack her childhood friend and former lover and Zulu a outspoken proponent for equality for mixies. Lanore isn’t sure what she wants. MeShack is familiar, and her feelings for him are planted deep in her heart. They grew up together, the kids of two drug addicts who felt they could look after themselves. They have a rich history together. Zulu represents something new. The passion that he pours into fighting for equality inspires her even when she doesn’t agree with his methods. Both men are fiercely protective of Lanore. Both men want to make her their mate. She straggles the fence on who she wants romantically, leaning back and forth as they try to convince her that they’re the right choice. 

I thought this book was a nice mix of magic and steamy romance with a heroine who doesn’t take the typical tough girl stance but still manages to be tough in her own way. And if you’re a reader searching for fantasy/supernatural books whose lead is a woman of color, this book is definitely worth checking out.