Claire Sanchez comes from a long line of medicine women. At the age of five she was witness to her mother's brutal murder. But since there was no evidence, they claimed Claire imagined the black cloaked man that claimed her mother's life, and instead they believed that Lucia Sanchez had fallen victim to wolves. Now twenty years has passed, Claire has to decide if she will accept her destiny and have her medicine woman ritual done, with a fear that her mother died because she was a medicine woman or fight her destiny. The spirits are sending her warnings, will she listen before she loses everyone she holds dear?

This was an excellent good verses evil novel. It held new captivated throughout! This book has everything, there's action, suspense, and even romance! Claire is an easy to love character, she was such a selfless person, you could easily see why Anthony loved her. Francesca, was an awesome second mother. Although she knew what Claire needed to do, she never pushed. The relationship between Anthony and Claire was so wonderful, he was such a patient guy. Archbishop Anarch was a guy you just love to hate, he was so self-centered it was unreal. This was a great book for a Friday the 13th review. If you like thrillers mixed with suspense, then this should be at the top of your TBR pile! ( )

I always find myself with a serious case of the heebie-jeebies after finishing one of this author's books. This one did not fail to deliver. Claire finds herself struggling to keep the boundary between naturopathic practitioner and medicine woman. She has tried to overcome a challenging childhood with some rough memories. Well, if you are a fan of this author, you'll know that these supernatural horrors take place in Aztlan. That's one creepy place that has some issues. In this story, it's the battle of good and evil. The story is well done. I couldn't put it down once I started. It grabbed me from page 1 and her childhood memories all the way to the end. The action is phenomenal. The characters are totally relatable. You can almost see a little of yourself in them. I find it interesting to see stories that put the tale of good and evil into such a thrilling horror story. This is really good, must have reading. I recommend you get it. I would absolutely give it more than 5 stars if I could. ( )

If I could give this book less than 1 star I would to be honest.
This book had the potential to be good but it missed the mark. It was heavy handed with description and little else. I was confused about the plot, the characters didn't feel very fleshed out, it was very bogged down with telling rather than showing what was happening.
I felt like I couldn't understand the world, it just wasn't very clear to me. The same can be said for the magic in this story. There wasn't enough detail to how it worked or what it's role was in the world.
While reading this, it felt like it was only half finished and I really didn't enjoy reading this story at all. ( )

14% in and it's still a giant info dump. I think a good editor could have done a lot for this book.

Claire Sanchez is the director of Mental Health Workers and Natural Therapeutic Services at the Ecclesia Dei Hospital. She is also a curandera - a medicine woman - trained by her people in the ways of natural magic, dream interpretation, visions and shapeshifting. From a very early age, Claire has at times embraced and rejected her heritage; having witnessed her mother's murder at the hands of a mysterious cloaked figure. Now, at age twenty-five - the same age as her mother was at her death - Claire suffers from inexplicable night terrors, awakening drenched and shaking with only vague recollections of her nightmares.

When one of her patients - a good friend of her mother's - suddenly attacks her while in the midst of a psychotic episode, and is later found dead on the grounds of the hospital; Claire becomes intent on uncovering the secrets of her past. She is absolutely convinced that the disturbed woman's last words to her: "Face what is yours to face," are a warning and not a threat. Her ensuing journey will lead her into a life-and-death struggle against a malevolence which she cannot comprehend - an evil Archbishop who will stop at nothing to ensure her death.

Claire is subsequently drawn into a web of mystery and deep despair, which will ultimately lead her on to a path through the twilight realm of discovery and decision. I found this to be a very intriguing story, full of sympathetic and multi-layered characters. I was completely caught up in the story from the first page, and found myself sympathizing for Claire and hoping that she would overcome the various difficulties in her life and find some kind of peace and tranquility. I give this book a definite A! and am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future. ( )