Review Strange Trouble by Laken Cane

A baby necromancer calls her mother from the grave, starting a zombie infestation Rune and the crew are not prepared to handle.

But as always, they jump headlong into battle--a battle that will lead into some of the darkest moments of Rune's life. Moments that will shatter her tenuous grip on sanity and make her long for the man whose abuse allowed her to function.

And when she falls, the berserker is there to catch her. To bring her back. To give her what she needs.

The zombies are just the beginning. Worse even than the zombies is what comes after--a nightmare witch named Damascus, a horrific decision, and death.

Always, death.

As she is given another jagged piece to the puzzle of her past, Rune knows that despite its best attempts, life doesn't have the ability to destroy her--though she offers it all the help it might need.
With Strad Matheson and the crew behind her, Rune will stride through hell, horror, and the endless, black despair of her own mind to show the monsters why Shiv Crew is the scariest group of warriors they will ever face.

By Laken Cane

I live in Ohio and I write urban fantasy. Laken Cane is a new pseudonym for me--I also write erotic paranormal romance for publishers like Loose Id, Ellora's Cave, and Liquid Silver Books under a different pen name.

Shiv Crew is my first book as Laken, and I've never been as satisfied writing as I am with this series. I have a sort of end game planned for the crew, but I have no idea how many books it will take to get there. I'm having too much fun with them to think about ending them!

I do have plans to bring in a new character for one book, just so she can eventually get her own series when (or maybe before) the Rune Alexander series ends. That's the plan.

Besides writing--when I have time to do something other than write or read--I play the heck out of my Playstation 4, my Nintendo 3DS XL, and occasionally I find time to play my Xbox 360 or Wii U. Yes. I have a sickness.

I also drink coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. But I have been trying to dilute all that coffee with some green tea. Decaf green tea. That makes up for all the caffeinated black coffee, right? Yeah. That's what I thought.

What quirks do I have? Hmmm. The word "quirks" makes it sound so cute. I don't swallow pills. I chew them. Yes, I chew them. Tylenol, vitamins, doesn't matter. Even if I crush it and put it in ice cream first, I still chew. I chew ice cream. For some reason, people seem to think that's weird. I don't get it.

Whoa. What can I say about Strange Trouble that I haven’t said about other two books in this series? First off, let me say the perfect soundtrack for this book is Evanescence’s Fallen album. It’s absolutely perfect for this book, maybe even the whole series. Be ready for heartbreak and devastation. I don’t think I've ever wanted to cry so badly while reading a book and that happened only a few pages in! I almost couldn't keep reading, I was so broken over this one. But, at the same time, I couldn't put it down! It took me less than a day to finish. Rune and the Shiv Crew have bitten off more than they can chew in this adventure. While in the other books, a lot of the main struggles are from the vampires and the Church of Slayers (COS). In this one, the main struggle comes from zombies and witches and a little girl. The COS lends their hand at a fair share of trouble too, but that’s mostly in the second part of the book. There’s more romance in this book, maybe even hints at a love triangle, but it’s mostly just action, action, action. The book moves fast, there’s almost no breathing time in between troubles. But it’s written in a way that feels natural. I really spent most of my time reading asking “what ELSE could possibly go wrong” (the answer to that question is a bunch more can and will go wrong). I felt for Rune, her struggles, her heartbreak, her fears. Her insecurities almost kick her ass a couple of times, but she’s Rune and she won’t let that happen. Her abusive ex still haunts her and it doesn't help that someone close to her ex makes an appearance and brings her monsters back to surface. Rune definitely proves that she is still a bad ass but she’s still a girl with feelings that need to be dealt with. I really can’t wait to read the fourth book in this series.

Ashley gave Strange Trouble