Frost Moon

Skindancer, Book 1

By: Anthony Francis

Narrated by: Traci Odom

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

In an alternate Atlanta where magic is practiced openly, where witches sip coffee at local cafes, shapeshifters party at urban clubs, vampires rule the southern night like gangsters, and mysterious creatures command dark caverns beneath the city, Dakota Frost's talents are coveted by all. She's the best magical tattooist in the southeast, a Skindancer, able to bring her amazing tats to life.

When a serial killer begins stalking Atlanta's tattooed elite, the police and the Feds seek Dakota's help. Can she find the killer on the dark fringe of the city's Edgeworld? Among its powerful outcasts and tortured loners, what kind of enemies and allies will she attract? Will they see her as an invader, as a seducer, as an unexpected champion...or as delicious prey?

Frost Moon is Book One of the Skindancer fantasy series by debut author Anthony Francis. Filled with unforgettable characters, spine-tingling action, kinky rebellion and edgy love, Frost Moon is classic storytelling at its best, and Dakota Frost is an irresistible new star of fantasy fiction.

Anthony Francis is a computer scientist who works at the "Search Engine That Starts With A G". By day he studies human and other minds to design intelligent machines and emotional robots; by night he writes fiction and draws comic books. He received his Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from Georgia Tech. He lives in San Jose with his wife and cats but his heart will always belong in Atlanta.

©2010 Anthony Francis (P)2012 BelleBooks, Inc.

Awesome

I loved this book so much After I read it... I got it on audable and listened to it again. 100% pure fun!!!!

Fun urban fantasy read!

I have had this book forever to read and just finally got around to listening to it on audiobook. This is the first of three books (so far) in the Skindancer series. It was a well done urban fantasy that I enjoyed.

As mentioned above I listened to this on audiobook and it was very well done. The narrator does an excellent job with character voices and conveys emotion well. It’s definitely one I would recommend listening to if you like audiobooks.

Dakota Frost is a magical tattoo artist and a Skindancer. She gets called into a case as a consultant to consult on a series of serial murders involving magical tattoos. Right around the same time a werewolf commissions her to make him a special binding tattoo to help contain his were side. The two separate events start to converge and Dakota begins to find she may have bitten off more than she can handle.

This was a well done urban fantasy. I really loved the magical tattoo system here, it is very unique. I also loved the idea behind Skindancers. Dakota is still just starting to understand her power as a Skindancer. Still I loved what we have seen so far. Dakota can do some pretty unique things as a Skindancer, but she is not invincible and has to work with her limitations too.

As with many urban fantasies there are werewolves, shapeshifters, and vampires. Dakota also gets involved with taking care of a young Beastkin, this reminded me a bit of the Beastkin in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.

The description throughout this book was very well done. The imagery behind the Skindancing scenes made them easy to picture and were very magical to read about. Some of these scenes really come alive for the reader.

Outside of the awesome tattoo magic, there wasn't a ton here to set this book apart from other urban fantasies out there, but I did enjoy it and thought it was a fun read. The story stops at a good place and doesn’t leave you with any major cliffhangers.

Overall I thought this was a solid urban fantasy and a fun read. I will definitely be checking out the second book in the series. I would recommend to those who love urban fantasy, especially to those who are interested in unique magic systems.

If only Cinnamon's voice wasn't so distracting...

This was an amazing story, full of great characters and wonderful images. I thoroughly enjoyed it with one exception. The narrator's voice for Cinnamon was so high-pitched and whiny. It was extremely annoying, distracting and not at all what I expected for a character that is a weretiger. I loved the author's description of the tattoos coming to life. Overall, it was fantastic but I would have given Cinnamon a very different voice.

Good entry for new paranormal series

Loved the premise -- skin dancer (her tattoos aren't just for looks, they help her kick butt) and tattoo artist fights evil in an Atlanta riddled with vampires, were kin and wizards. I anticipated shades of Marjorie Liu's Maxine Kiss (who has tattoos who are demons) and the Atlanta of Ilona Andrews's Kate Daniels series.

However, Dakota Frost wasn't the strong protagonist that I anticipated. Sure, she has a mohawk, cool magical tattoos and is wonderfully snarky. She continually reminds us how buxom and awesome she is. But some of her reactions seemed a bit too "girly girl" for a mohawked bisexual heroine.

Still, good world building, a decent plot and an unique spin. Worth the credit.

Traci Odom delivers. She gives the characters distinct voices without getting campy.

Good First Book in a Series!

This author was new to me and I loved the characters. They were sympathetic and I wanted to be invested in them. That always makes for a good story for me. Can't wait to read the next in the series.

Why did I wait so long?

I either got this book as a Kindle freebie back in 2011, but never got around to reading it. Then, it stayed in my Kindle library, mostly forgotten, until a challenge from my Urban Fantasy Aficionadas book club had me looking into past group reads. Add in low cost Whispersync narration, and I was off and running in dual formats. What I experienced was a well-written start to what could easily become a solid urban fantasy series.

I could not help but draw comparisons between this book and some of my other UF favorites. The book is an alternate modern day reality where magic and magical creatures are known to exist, similar to the worlds of Kate Daniels and Harry Dresden. The Atlanta setting and plucky female protagonist were more than a little reminscent of the Kate Daniels series, but I don't mean this to say that this series is "me, too" in any way.

The story followed the exploits of Dakota Frost, a magical tattoo artist, who unwittingly gets pulled into a magic-related hunt for a serial killer. What was nice to see was that Dakota, while full of bluster, was not a stereotypical urban fantasy bad ass. She was just a gal living in a dangerous world, using her intelligence to survive.

My one criticism of the story was that it featured that tired old it's-raining-men trope. Almost every key male character was gorgeous, and seemingly interested in Dakota. Fortunately, the story did not go further down this path with a over-blown romantic plot. Yes, there was a slight romance that brewed throughout the story, but it did not get in the way of the overall plot.

I was so pleased to discover such an enjoyable new urban fantasy series that I immediatly bought the Kindle/Audible versions of the next book and jumped into another great Whispersync experience. Usually, I am not that impulsive in my book purchases, but I really wanted to see if the next one is as enjoyable. Stay tuned....

Frost Moon

Just finished Frost Moon and can't wait to start the next in the series! The characters were believable and the pace of the book was great!

Frost

I loved Dakota Frost and her magic tattooing! The characters were alive and I love the combination of today's world and the supernatural world. I laughed and cried with the characters! The narrator, Tracy Odom, was wonderful with her voices and inflections! I definitely will get the next book in the series!

Moving tattoos

Dakota Frost is a bisexual tattoo artist. She gets involved in a police case where someone is targeting people with magical tattoos. She seems to be constantly attacked. You have a vampire that's a day walker and also still involved in the Christian faith and Dakota's ex-lover - due to the fact she asked to be turned - who Dakota is forced to go to for protection. She does magical tattoos that gives her power and can also leave her body. There's a cast of characters from all walks of the paranormal world. It had a mystery with the usual twists and turns and the bad guy was kind of a surprise. She also goes on about her Vespa and how she's built, tall with big breasts. I guess shades of a male writer having a female lead. All in all it was interesting and I'll probably listen to at least the next installment.

This would make an awesome movie!!

Loved this book so much a few years ago that I bought it and all the books in this series.so I just reread it to read the next and the next...I very much enjoy Dakota Frost, Cinnamon, Jinx, and lady Saffron and all of the characters in it. This book pulled me back into reading regularly. I would absolutely love to see this in the theatres.