Awesome! Loved this! Yay! I have found a new urban fantasy series to love! Excuse me a moment while I do my best fan girl squee! The Marnie Baranuik Files combines humor, magic, and some scary monsters for a laugh out loud exhilarating read. And because I loved it, I had to share the love and spread the world. This is truly a hidden gem. Don’t miss this book.OK. Fan girl moment over.The first book of The Marnie Baranuik Files, Touched, focuses on Marnie Baranuik, a retired forensic psychic for the FBI’s Preternatural Crime Unit. Marnie is quite talented, not only is she an empath (Feeler), she can also read objects just by touch (Groper). Marnie also holds degrees in Preternatural Biology and she is also a practitioner of witchcraft. I adored Marnie. She has an amazing sense of humor and she loves her junk food, so the sugar addict in me can easily relate to her, especially for her love of cookies. Marnie’s inner voice cracked me up and her knowledge of all things paranormal was impressive. Marnie tends to be a walking disaster, unintentionally wreaking havoc and requiring rescue. I didn’t see her as “too stupid to live,” however there were moments when I questioned her motives. The men in Marnie’s life were quite interesting. It’s hard to decide if I’m on Team Harry or Team Mark. Marnie is a Day Sitter for her Cold Comfort and housemate Harry, who she “inherited” from her grandmother. Harry is a vampire, although in this book all vampires are referred to as revenants. Marnie is to keep Harry safe in the daytime while he “sleeps” and to supply him with blood (hers). Marnie and Harry share a bond, though in this book, the bond is a little wonky. Harry is very fastidious and he likes the finer things in life. Harry is such an interesting character. He’s over 400 years old and loves to speak with archaic and obscure language. Harry cares a great deal for Marnie and even bakes her cookies and brownies. Personally, I think I’d be Team Mark. Mark is an ex-vampire hunter. He is an imposing character, all man and muscle and broodiness. Marnie has fond memories of a stakeout tryst with Mark and those memories form a constant part of her inner dialogue. The sexual tension between these two is electric, and even though Marnie “hates” Mark, her body remembers…The world building is fascinating. Touched takes place in Boulder, Colorado. This is a world where vampires or revenants are followed by debt vultures that wait for the vampire to die. The debt vultures attract other scary critters like flesh eating beetles and carrion spiders – eww! The author’s sense of humor cracked me up. There are some really funny lines in the book:“What are you, a James Bond villain?” I said. “The least-hot Bond-girl ever? Pussy No-More?”The ongoing jokes between the characters were funny. Marnie collects things with frogs – and suddenly all the frogs had little black marker fangs. If you are looking for a new urban fantasy series with a snarky heroine and some manly men, then look no further. Touched by A.J. Aalto is a great addition to the urban fantasy genre. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book.Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
