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Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite
The Family Cross is the first book in the Circle Seven Series by Gabrielle Ash. Matilda Ashby stops at Elle's Coffee Club for her usual order. While leaving a tip, she then routinely buys a coffee and a scone for the patron behind her to 'pay it forward.' Matilda heads to the Rockefeller Center for a gala date but encounters a murder outside her building. Distracted by what she'd seen earlier, Matilda leaves the gala early, only to be attacked in her home by one of the police officers from the murder scene. Seemingly from nowhere, the man she'd bought a coffee saves her life, revealing that a hit has been placed on her. She then learns her savior is a hitman and telepath named Samson who, while exceptional at his job, is determined to keep her safe at all costs. After learning that those after her are of the supernatural variety, Matilda entrusts Samson with her life. Matilda learns that nothing she'd believed thus far is real and that she will have to fight to the death and beyond if she wants to make it out alive.
Although I love the paranormal genre, no book has ever kept me awake for more than 12 hours straight (or more) until now. Initially, Gabrielle Ash's novel came across as a quiet sit-in book (ideal for freezing weather) but as soon as the action started, my interest was fully piqued. The Family Cross threw me directly into a reading journey filled with some of the most wicked demons imaginable, alongside the biggest laughs I have had in a very long time. (Samson getting his inseam measured quite possibly broke a few of my ribs, I laughed so hard!) When a wealthy girl and a demonic hitman team up to find a killer, I should have known right then that there was no possible way the interactions between those two from opposite worlds could be anything but intoxicating. I look forward to reading the next book in the Circle Seven Series and applaud Gabrielle Ash for an imagination that completely absorbed every ounce of my attention. Readers who love paranormal tales without too much gore will be thrilled by this book and what comes next in the series.
