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Wicked Satyr Nights by Rebekah Lewis
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Some creatures want to be found.
When Dr. Katerina Silverton travels into the Pine Barrens to make a documentary on the Jersey Devil, she doesn’t believe she will uncover any supernatural evidence. In fact, she only takes the job because it promises funding for future projects. So it is quite a shock to Kat when she finds herself face-to-face with the legendary beast she was sent into the forest to capture on film.
In ancient Greece, the god Pan made a terrible mistake which resulted in the creation of the Satyroi: a race of immortal satyrs. Centuries later, he lives secluded in the Pine Barrens, frightening mortals by taking the guise of an abhorrent local monster. When a beautiful woman shows up in his forest looking for proof of his existence, Pan can’t resist revealing himself to her.
Outside forces may be manipulating them both, pushing them together for nefarious reasons. Kat must decide if she could learn to love a satyr or if his appearance is more than she can handle. Can she resist Pan’s wicked nature, or will she give into the temptations beyond her wildest fantasies?
MY REVIEW
First off, I did a lot of growing up in New Jersey and camping in the Pine Barrens. I am well familiar with the Jersey Devil story and Ms. Lewis does justice to the folklore.
And combining it with Pan and Satyrs is pure awesome-sauce. Wow, the dovetail of the mythology with the folklore is great. Awesome, awesome worldbuilding.
Story only gets 4.5 stars because of some character inconsistencies early in the book. The longer the story goes, the stronger the characters and the conspiracy gets. In the first couple of chapters, some of the character descriptions are noticeably repeated and should have been removed or reduced by a line editor. (May have been fixed in later editions. The author self-published the book after getting her rights back.)
But as the story goes on, as mentioned, the characters get better. Everyone is far from one-dimensional and has multiple motivations. Kat, the main female protagonist, is awesome, both girly enough to want to shave her legs and butch enough to walk off a cougar taking a chunk out of one. She wants money to do research but realizes earning the money may mean no one will take her research seriously. Pan alternates between making good quick decisions and poor ones; thinking on one’s feet (or hooves) does not make every decision work. Every character has deep flaws worthy of a Greek tragedy waiting to happen, or one that already has.
No one is truly an angel in the story, nor is the villain a complete devil. Dion faces a situation where his parents and family moved without giving him the forwarding address; his reaction is poor, but a person can understand how screwed up you would be if all your brothers, sisters, and parents just cut you off without explanation.
Don’t know if Ms. Lewis can keep this level of characters and worldbuilding going for the rest of the series, but book one worth the read if you like paranormal romance.