If I didn't already own this book, I probably wouldn't have decided to read it. I bought it years ago when I read the original Caster Chronicles because I loved that series, though I don't think I wanted to read this spin-off series much when I bought it or I would have done so by now. At least I finally read it this year.
Dangerous Creatures follows our favorite bad girl, Ridley, and her boyfriend, Link. They move to New York City to follow Link's dream of being in a band, or so Link thinks that's the plan. It turns out Ridley's keeping from Link the real reason she came to New York with him: she has a debt to pay. Honestly, this book felt a lot like a typical YA novel, full of unnecessary drama. If I didn't already know the characters, I probably wouldn't have cared much about them.
But speaking of characters, Ridley had a different disposition in this book than in the original series. In Beautiful Creatures, she was dark and rebellious, not caring what anyone else thought of her. She forged her own path regardless of the situation. She is a siren, after all. But in Dangerous Creatures, she has turned soft. She suddenly cares about these "friends" she's known for only a few weeks. She whines about doing mortal work. She even sheds a tear. Ridley just wasn't the same siren I've grown to love in the other books. Link, on the other hand, was every bit the same.
One nice thing about this story is a cameo appearance from Ethan, Lena, Liv, and John in the beginning. They make a pact and Lena forges these rings for them to keep them all bound together. She tells the group they will warn the others of danger, and they will all jump to the rescue if anyone needs it. This sounds great and all, but this concept was left open. Throughout the story, the rings Link and Ridley wear change color and burn them, but we never learn what that really means. Shouldn't the crew back home be warned that the two in New York need their help? Wasn't that the whole purpose of the rings? We never hear from Ethan and Lena, etc. again in the story though, so we can't know what they were experiencing and thinking while Link and Ridley were fighting for their lives up north. I was a little disappointed the authors didn't put a deeper purpose behind the rings.
I listened to this book on audio, and the audiobook was done really well. The narrator did voices for the characters, so it was easy to keep the dialogue straight. There were even sound effects and music in the background. My favorite thing, though, was that whenever Link and his band performed, there was a snippet of a band playing with Link singing his lyrics about chicken wings, etc. It was a nice touch.
Overall, this book was just alright. While I want to reread the original series someday, I won't be rereading this book. However, I'm probably going to read the next book just to finish out the series and because Dangerous Creatures ended on a cliffhanger -- and not a very good one at that; it was more of an afterthought thrown in there for suspense.
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