Breaking Ties (Broken Mirrors, #4) by Vaughn R. Demont

 A sidekick’s work is never done.

Broken Mirrors, Book 4

Kicked out of his family, fetching coffee for idiots, out of cash, and usually starving, Spencer Crain is a shadow of his former self. And more certain than ever that living a normal, serious life is the last thing a Coyote should shoot for.

When he gets the chance to investigate a troll/sidhe gunfight at Under The Bridge, he can’t drop “office intern” from his résumé fast enough. Even if it means bringing the last person he ever thought he’d see again back into his life—his father.

James Black, the Sorcerer King, was taking an inordinately long time to choose a draconic protector, but his kidnapping by dragons seems a little extreme. It’s up to Spence to navigate Fae politics, work the Feud, bring down a murderous order of sidhe knights, and heroically save James, the man he loves. Assisted by the guy James has been dating.

Ain’t love grand?

Warning: This novel contains a Coyote doing the ultimate thankless job—the sidekick—dragon-shifter sorcerers, Dwarves, pop-culture references, and a shotgun that shoots lightning bolts. Freakin’ lightning bolts, people!

First off, let me state that I am pretty empirically sure that this is a series you need to read in order. I started with this one and for the first third of the book, I had no idea what was going on. Not in the sense of the story, but because this particular paranormal tale brought in creatures I had no clue of and so my mind battled to categorize all of them, plus all the information thrown at me that I would probably already know if I had read the first three books.

That said? This book was awesome! Totally bizarre and crazy. And I absolutely loved it.  Told in three points of view (though the third POV was only sparingly used twice), the first thing that impressed me was how wonderfully different the personalities were. I understood the craziness that is Spencer Crain just from his rants about TV, movies, and how things would be if he were in that realm and not in the one he was in. And James? He stood out as a man with a lot of weight on his shoulders, trying to come to terms with who he is – whether or not he wants to be the Lightning Bolt and lone Sorcerer or not. And then Ozzie – sweet, lovable Ozzie. How can you even have any kind of romance between Spence and James when James has Ozzie?

Have I mentioned I would love to cuddle Ozzie? He probably would hate it and toss me out the window, but I’d still like to.

There are so many creatures in this book, some which I figured out easily enough, some which I still have no idea what they are. Also, the jokes pertaining to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Perfect! The name Spence gave to James’s dragon? Still makes me giggle. I can just imagine the man’s face if he ever does read the book and find out who Spence named him after.

I have my own opinions on who the other Ra’Keth near the diner might have been. Especially since James, well… can’t tell you that. I wonder if in the next book James and Spence will figure that out. I have to say, if I’m right, that it’s a good thing that everything happened as it should, because just imagining him as the new Ra’Keth…well, that’s a scary thought. In the meantime, I want to know what these creatures are and how their society functions a little better – plus, I want to see more of Spencer and James. So…I’m off to read book 1, Broken Mirrors. Who’s with me?

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