Diaries of an Urban Panther by Amanda Arista

Title: Diaries of an Urban Panther
Author: Amanda Arista
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Diaries of an Urban Panther #1

Mass Market Paperback, 413 pages

Published July 26th 2011 by Avon Impulse

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|AMAZON|BOOK DEPOSITORY| 

Source: Bought it for myself

|SUMMARY|
Violet Jordan Rule #1 of being a superhero: No tights.

Dear Diary,

By now you know I'm hardly a normal girl. Last night I woke up naked in an alley after fighting off some werewolves. All in a day's work, I guess. I thought I was dealing pretty well with the whole werepanther thing: the training, the apocalyptic prophecies. And the hot guy following me around, protecting me at every turn, is definitely a bonus. I'm even starting to become accustomed to the bloodshed and the violence--and that's what scares me. What will tomorrow bring? . . .

|REVIEW|  

Violet Jordan just recently moved to Dallas from L.A. after a breakup, and is working as a writer scripting low-budgeted horror films. Violet is your average everyday gal, someone who never gets a second glance especially when the people she hangs out with are of the model varieties. Violet life is pretty normal, nothing big ever happens to her…until she gets attacked by a wild animal in an alley. Violet’s life gets turned upside down when she finds out she’s now a were-panther and she part of an ancient prophecy.

I really enjoyed this book more than I thought. Violet transformed from the girl behind the scene to a strong and more confident person throughout the book. She not only got more confident after becoming bitten but physically changed too, making her more noticeable than before. Readers follow Violet as she comes to terms with her being a shifter, and as she learns to control her inner beast. while Violet learns Panther 101, she must stop a demon from breaking free from ‘the veil’ (a barrier that separates our world from a magical prison) and not get captured by the clan that made her.  

The book is filled with flash-back scenes of Violet and her mom. Her mom always recited fairy tales, and all of these fairy tales hold truth to what is going to happen next in the book. There are also wonderful secondary characters as well, such as Chaz “stalker boy’’ who helps Violet learn the ropes of all things supernatural. Jessa, Violet’s best friend and Iris, the wise old woman…or is it lioness? 

This is labeled as a paranormal romance but I think it’s a blend of PR and UF. This was a great start to a new series! This book is full of action, snarky one-linear, hot guardians, nasty shifters, faeries, and an all dooming prophecy.