Dakota Frost is a magical tattoo artist based in Atlanta. Dakota is an imposing figure: She is very tall with a multicolored Mohawk that she calls a deathhawk. Dakota is a walking advertisement for her tattooing skills. She is covered from head to toe with her own magical tattoos. Dakota must be very attractive. Almost everyone she meets is enthralled by her. I wasn’t really sure what “team” Dakota played for. There was talk of an ex-girlfriend, but Dakota was also attracted to the men around her. The story is set in an area of Atlanta called Little Five Points. This area has a carnival-like atmosphere and the Edgeworlders gather there. Little Five Points is home to the magical inhabitants of Atlanta. There are all sorts of urban fantasy creatures: vampires, weres, witches, and the like. I did like some of the secondary characters, notably Phil, Dakota’s Man-In-Black. There were lots of Secret Agent Man jokes made and it added comic relief. I did wonder what kind of federal agent would drive a Prius, I usually envisioned them in those large Suburbans. There were a lot of things that I did like about this book. The world building was interesting. The magical aspects were intriguing. The author went into a lot of detail describing the magical tattoo process and how they were inked and transferred. There were some very cool tattoos, notably a working wristwatch tattoo and a fluttering butterfly tattoo. I also liked how Dakota used her tattoos and magic to fight. I enjoyed the scenes at the werehouse, a wild and gritty place where the weres could gather without putting humans in danger. I loved the hierarchy of the weres and the odd assortment of were creatures – the werebears, werestag, and a very bouncy weretiger. A few things did hinder my enjoyment of this book. I felt that there was a lot of violence, which I guess, was pretty realistic for this kind of world. It was just a little much for me. I also found that while I don’t mind reading about BSDM or fetishes, one mention would have been enough for me. Some of the characters’ kinks were a little disturbing. There were also a lot of characters to keep track of. I think I’ll keep an eye out for the next book in the series. I’d like to see what happens in Dakota’s world. *ARC provided free of charge from Netgalley
