Spiked (The Sundance Series Book 1)

I’ve never read anything by this author before, it was a random click on a recommendation from Amazon, which often do not work out, but on this occasion did. This was an excellent book.Neely is a strange kind of telepath, one that is also a spiker, or someone who can kill with a mental spike to the brain. She’s been on the run most of her life, along side her uncle, because shifter alphas want to use her skills.. Together they run a bakery in an tiny town in Southern California that is full of shifters, lead by a tiger shifter, Lucas.Afraid of what an alpha might do with her, after her bad experiences, Neely avoids Lucas as all costs, but after a poacher comes to town to kidnap her an a local shifter pup, she comes to his attention.The author conveys a great sense of place. The town is filled with dust and heat and you can almost feel the burning of the sun on your skin as you read the book. The world created is interesting, where supernaturals are hidden from the world, but because it’s a mainly supernatural town they don’t keep themselves as hidden as they might elsewhere. The set up in this town is different from elsewhere and the author does a really good job of explaining how those differences matter.This is a plot heavy book but the characters are not ignored because of it. The plot uncovers the characters and reveals them as each chapter progresses. The characters are all multi-dimensional with flaws and strengths in equal measures.I’m so pleased that this is a series, because I really want to read the next book straight away.

This is the first book I’ve read by C.P. Rider and I can def say it’s not going to be the last! It’s been on my tbr list for a while and I’m more than happy that I’ve got round to reading it.Great world building and I could see in my head the places described and feel the heat of the desert - oh and the heat building between Neely and Lucas, love a slow burn 🔥😁 Fab writing with good character development; the more I read the more I became involved with the story and invested in the characters - I shed a few tears a couple of times, laughed aloud a couple of times, got annoyed with some of the characters actions and non-actions at times and felt a warm glow at things they did at others, so def the sign of a good book for me 😄A gem in the pnf/pnr genre and I’m looking forward to reading the next (and the rest) in the series to continue the journey with Neely and Lucas, plus find out more about the support characters and see what new challenges will come their way.Cheryl, just from reading this first book, boom, you’ve become one of my fave authors! ♥️

I loved this, what a treatments fantasy. Full of action, humour and emotion. I loved the fact the author made me really care about the characters, it's so sad at one point and your heart breaks (no spoilers) I loved Neely so much and she is a treasonous character, sure with her distrust you find yourself arguing with her, but you understand where she incoming from. Lucas is an interesting character, I love d their chemistry and can't wait to see where that will go.

Book slump happened. Had a break. Kindle search and BOOM followed by mic drop. Thank you C.P.Rider. Loved everything there is to love about this story. Connected with the humour, the attraction, the fear, the love and the loss.Currently standing on a train heading to London feeling sorry for all those bored in the rabbit holes of social media cos I got the 2nd Sundance book downloaded and ready.

Once I started reading I couldn't put this book down. Twists and turns on every page. Well written, entertaining. Murder whodunnit and romance. Great starr to a series.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this urban fantasy!I am quite picky when it comes to UF/PNR books ie I love Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews and Karen Chance but feel very iffy about many other books in the genre. However I thoughly enjoyed this! Some of the tropes were introduced a little heavy handed-ly but it developed into a fun urban fantasy adventure with a side of romance.The writing was enjoyable and compelling, with a matter a fact humour that kept the story line entertaining and the author didn't waste time introducing a host of interesting characters. You can clearly see common UF tropes in the novel but that doesn't stop it being fun, readable and engageing.After wading through a lot of trashy UF/PNR/Romance I'm glad I've found a new series that is actually worth engaging with.

I love finding new authors but it means going through a lot of books to find one that really stands out and Spiked is of the latter kind. Lately I find that I can’t finish most books I start because I lose interest in the plot and I can’t become invested in the characters. This book, however, I struggled to stop reading to get on with everyday life and craved going back to it to keep on reading.Spiked tells Neely’s story – a telepath and a “spiker” who together with her uncle have taken refuge in a small town called Sundance. Neely and her uncle, who is a shifter, have made a life for themselves in Sundance running a bakery cafe. They are very close and protective of each other. They are trying to keep their distance from the local alpha and his group but this is about to change.I like Neely - she is a complex but flawed character. She doesn’t trust anyone other than her uncle but you can’t blame her given her previous experience. She is not the fearless heroine we read about so often but that doesn’t mean she is any less likeable or any less kick-ass. She is determined to keep her secret safe and is so scared that her abilities may come to light and what this may lead to that she sometimes seems more driven by self-preservation than anything else but she still does the right thing when it really matters like interfering with the poacher to save a child-shifter. This event sets into motion the whole story and from there on it is simply a compelling read.Overall, this is a brilliant debut novel by CP Rider and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

I’ve read a lot of great books lately, with a lot of great characters. If the characters are really well written, it’s easy to really care about them. And sometimes when sad things happen, my eyes might tear up. But this book actually made me bawl! I mean, I had to stop reading because I couldn’t read the words through my tears. And I had to fix my makeup afterwards.Such a great story, wonderful characters!Really looking forward to the next one!

This is sooo very well written. It grabbed me right from the first sentence, and hasn’t let me go even after I finished the last word.Tight storyline, interesting, well-realized characters, and just overall well written. It was so good that even when my editor brain started yelling about a section of dialogue that wasn’t really in keeping with the current action of the story, my reader brain said “yeah yeah” and kept on reading. To be fair, that only happened once — the book is really clean and well edited.Plus, there were so many hilarious or poignant lines, I had to save them out. Like when Nelia, the main character, calls Lucas an “alphahole” — that totally cracked me up.I’m excited to start the next book in the series. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes feisty female characters, slow-burn romance, and shape-shifting gila monsters who may or may not eat you.

This book touched me.The struggle of Lucas and Neely to belong somewhere.The powerhungry others. The fear of creatures of her abilities.The love of their blood-and found family.The plot was creative, the writingstyle captivating. I enjoyed reding this book.

One of the best fantasy stories I have read in a long timeGreat characters and a even better story line

This book reminded me a little of the Kate Daniels series. Good world building, an awesome urban fantasy story. I’m definitely going to keep reading.