Shaman, Friend, Enemy by M. Terry Green

Patients with fractured souls, clients threatened by deadly ancestor spirits, and now the paparazzi–it’s all in a day’s work for techno-shaman Olivia Lawson. Livvy has rocketed to the top of the shaman world, bringing old friends with her but also attracting new enemies. Even as her career soars, her personal life spirals downward. Broken bonds of love finally force her to confront the terrible secret of her beginning in shamanism. Despite being attacked by dark shamans and navigating a spiritual plane that seems out of control, Livvy’s single-minded quest steers her into dangerous territory and puts her on a collision course with those dearest to her. No longer interested in walking a fine line, Livvy discovers that–when the one thing you need is the one thing you can’t have–you’ll risk everything.

M. Terry Green has convinced me that the talent in the self-publishing pool is limitless. I was very impressed with this novel, both in plot and in editing. Reading this book was really like walking into a brick and mortar store and picking up one of the big 6 books off of the shelf.

This is the second book in the Olivia Lawson, Techno-Shaman series and it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I do enjoy shaman books and, in fact, one of my favorite series is a shaman series by C.E. Murphy. However, this series is a little different and reminds me a little bit of steampunk because the shamans use goggles to enter into the spiritual planes instead of drums, rattles and trances.

I also have to say Olivia’s romantic interest…kinda cool and a little surprising.  I’m finally glad to see a non-alpha chest beater in an urban fantasy novel. It will be interesting to see how their relationship turns out, especially with all the dire warnings against seeing each other.

I thought the villain was well drawn in this novel as well and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of her.  She was the kind you love to hate. She can do terrible things, but then the author hits you with her kryptonite and it’s like seeing a cute puppy who has just torn up your favorite shoes and all you can say is, “Awww.”

Overall, I thought this was a wonderful book and not one that I would have ever believed was self-published. While I think there is a great pool of self-pubbed authors out there, I do believe that M. Terry Green is probably the best I’ve read so far. 

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