Urban Fantasy - The Irresponsible Reader

Ink & Sigil

by Kevin Hearne
Series: Ink & Sigil, #1

eARC, 336 pg.
Del Rey, 2020

Read: August 12-14, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

The biggest challenge to writing about this book is choosing what not to talk about, I really feel like I could go on and on and on about it. Then the pendulum swings to the point I don’t say much at all…

What’s Ink & Sigil About?

Aloysius MacBharrais is a Sigil Agent—one of five on the Earth. They’re tasked with preserving the various treaties that supernatural creatures had set up throughout the world to keep the peace and govern the activities of the various pantheons on the mortal plane. They’ve been equipped with the barest magical tools necessary to get the job done—largely by Brighid of the Tuatha Dé Dannan to make up for the work that her Druid wasn’t doing when he was hiding for centuries on end.* There’s more to it, but that’ll work for starters.

* See everything that Atticus O’Sullivan was doing before the first of the Iron Druid Chronicles.

Al has horrible luck when it comes to apprentices, they keep falling prey to accidental death. The most recent is Gordie, who died after choking on a raisin scone. Before I get into things, can I say how wonderful it is to have a magic-user—even an apprentice—die by such mundane means (and you have never, I mean ever, come across this many jokes about raisins or scones in your life)? As Al goes to Gordie’s house to clean up all traces of his magic tools, he discovers that Gordie’s been up to some pretty dark and criminal stuff right under his nose.

This book takes Al and his associates around Scotland and even to the U.S. finding out just what Gordie was into and trying to set it right.

A New Kind of UF

There are outliers, but largely, Urban Fantasy series deal in variations on a theme—I’m not complaining, I’m into most of them. But basically, you’ve got a wizard (or something like that), a vampire, and/or a werewolf doing a P.I./Private Security/Hunter thing. There are different kinds of magic users, or vampire types, or were-species, but really, that’s about it. Lately, some variations have come from using different kinds of protagonists, like whatever Nell Ingram is or…(I had another example when I started this paragraph), but you get the point.

Here our variation comes in the type of mage—he uses sigils, particular designs in particular (and strange) inks which give a temporary effect to the bearer or beholder. Also, Al’s an elderly Scot who wears a derby and has an immaculately-styled mustache. He’s about as far from the grizzled hero in a leather jacket/trenchcoat as you can get. Outside of supporting characters or Marley Jacobs from A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark, you don’t see that (outside of characters who are supernaturally old, but appear young) .

Al’s associates aren’t standard either, but I’m going to resist using 3-4 paragraphs talking about them. I’m just going to say I enjoyed them all and can’t wait to spend more time with them.

Iron Druid Tie-in

As indicated above, this takes place in the same universe as The Iron Druid Chronicles, sometime after Scourged and contains references to some of the series’ events and characters. Al himself shows up in a short story in Besieged as a minor character.

There’s a brief appearance by Atticus and Oberon, and a longer one with Brighid. Both were a lot of fun, and the Atticus one was pretty sweet. I enjoyed seeing Brighid from someone else’s point of view. The door is open for more IDC characters to show up, but it’s not necessary, which I appreciate.

You do not have to have read the IDC to get into this, and not catching all the allusions/references/cross-overs will not diminish anything for you. It’s a spin-off, but isn’t dependent on the original.

Did Hearne Regret this Choice?

Al’s a Glaswegian and most of the book takes place in and around Glasgow. Hearne made the choice to write all the dialogue (and even Al’s first-person narration) in the dialect. Most authors wouldn’t have gone this far, and I have to wonder how often Hearne questioned this choice as he wrote—talk about making things hard on yourself. I enjoyed it—and it really helped me “hear” Al and everyone.

So, what did I think about Ink & Sigil?

While the IDC contained more than it’s share of laughs (and even The Seven Kennings had amusing moments), this seemed like a better merging of jokes and story. It feels like a natural outgrowth of The Tales of Pell (but not as humor-focused as those). For sheer enjoyment value, this was fantastic.

The story was pretty strong, too. But a lot of space was devoted to introducing us to this particular corner of the world and the cast of characters. I’d like to see what Hearne does with a novel where he doesn’t have to do that.

The world is familiar, yet Hearne’s doing something new in it. The characters are just not what you’re used to seeing in the genre. The plot was great—and speaks clearly to our current situation. And I laughed a lot. There’s little to complain about here and a lot to commend. I had a blast and I think most readers will, too. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 1/2 Stars

Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire: The Most Exciting Mathematician This Side of Charlie Eppes and Dr. Larry Fleinhardt

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2020

In Fiction, InCryptid, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Imaginary Numbers

by Seanan McGuire
Series: InCryptid, #9

Mass Market Paperback, 365 pg.
DAW Books, 2020

Read: June 16-19, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Imaginary Numbers About?

The Price’s cousin, Sarah, the Johrlac (aka “cuckoo”) adopted by the family years ago and last really seen in Midnight Blue-Light Special—but mentioned in almost/every book since—has finally recovered from the events of that book (5 years ago, in the series chronology), or at least recovered enough to travel on her own. She’s still not at 100% (and is further from it than anyone but Sarah realizes).

She flies out to Portland to reconnect with the family out there, and while she does reconnect with the Prices, she also finds herself connecting to a bunch of other cuckoos. Which is something that the species just doesn’t do—these telepathic apex predators have developed in such a way that they can’t share territory for long at all. So the fact that you have a group of them working together spells trouble for Sarah and any cryptozoologists trying to keep the peace between the species (and, in this case, to preserve a spot for every species that isn’t a Johrlac to live).

That’s a little brief, but I don’t know how else to be.

Imaginary Numbers’ Place in the Series

It’s been five years in series’ time, seven years and seven novels in our timeline, since we spent any real time with Sarah. I remember really liking her as a character for the first two books and couldn’t believe McGuire would do what she did to her so soon out of the gate for the series. But over the years, as she’s been largely “off screen” recovering, I’ve pretty much forgotten everything about her and what made her click for me as a character. I remembered enough to understand what a big deal it was for Sarah and Artie to see each other and to be say all they needed to say. But beyond that…it’d just been too long for me. Maybe if I’d re-read Midnight Blue-Light Special recently (or ever), this wouldn’t have been a problem.

This is our fourth narrator (fourth plus? There’s a lot of this book not narrated by Sarah) in this series, and like most fans, I’ve embraced that as a feature and as a strength. But this one feels more like a sequel to the Annie books (the previous three novels) than we usually get with a narrator switch. There’s a direct connection between the events of Verity’s Chaos Choreography and Annie’s Magic for Nothing, and all the other books show an awareness of the others. But the cast from <‘b>That Ain’t Witchcraft is present and accounted for here, and Imaginary Numbers is happening in its shadow. This isn’t good bad or indifferent, it just gives this book a different vibe than I’m used to in this series.

And the way this ends is pretty different, too—McGuire hasn’t given us a cliffhanger (this is a pretty complete story, thankfully) before. It’s a good one, but, again, not something I’m used to in these books.

One of the advantages of the way this series is set up is that it can do things like this—each book, or each “set” of books*, can take on a different flavor, a different way of approaching the story, a different way to fit in the series, a different way to end a book. While all being part of a larger, overarching story. But there are some dangers with this approach, too. And right now I’m not sure what to think of the Sarah set’s approach.

* The initial “Verity” set, the “Alex” set, then the three “Annie”s and now, two (at least) “Sarah”s, I’m not sure how to group the Verity novel between the Alex and Annie sets.

Hail, Aeslin Mice!

There was much rejoicing here (and I’m betting among all fans) that the Aeslin Mice were back in these pages. If we took nothing else from their absence in the last two books, it’s just how important they are for the telling of these stories—they’re far more than comic relief (although they are that), and for me, the best emotional moments of this particular novel came from them.

So, what did I think about Imaginary Numbers?

I liked it, but not as much as I expected to, not as much as I wanted to. There was just so much space devoted to getting everyone caught up with Sarah (and reminding us who she was/what happened to her). Then another big chunk explaining Jorlacs—and then there was another exposition dump when the Johrlacs explained what was going on to Sarah (and then another chunk when it was explained to the Prices). Just so much talking that it felt like the story got pushed out of the way.

Based on the way this ended, I’m not sure I can actually say what I thought about the book. I might have to wait until the end of Calculated Risks. Still, I enjoyed it. I like this world, I like the characters. McGurie writes a good book, and is probably incapable of writing anything but.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Pub Day Repost: Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter: Nell and Her Team Face a New Type of Deadly Threat

By HCNewton

On July 28, 2020

In Faith Hunter, Fiction, Jane Yellowrock/Soulwood, Urban Fantasy

Spells for the Dead

by Faith Hunter
Series: Soulwood, #5

eARC, 384 pg.
Ace, 2020

Read: July 13, 2020

What’s Spells for the Dead About?

PsyLED is called to the home of a country music superstar to investigate some mysterious deaths—the and her band had recently returned from a pretty successful tour and now many of them are dead and several of those who aren’t are in desperate need of First Responders to act quickly.

Sadly, no First Responder is equipped to cope with whatever happened to them, much less recognize and understand it. That goes for people later to the scene, including PsyLED. However, under the direction of T. Laine, their witch, they’re able to makes some guesses about treatment. Nell, Occam and Lainie focus on documenting everything they can as well as beginning preliminary interviews.

One of the first things they determine is that a witch was not behind this attack. Sadly, they reach this conclusion too late to prevent a local sheriff, with the aid of a less than ethical senior FBI agent, to lock up the band member who is a witch. Their logic is impeccable—paranatural crime, arrest the nearest paranatural. This anti-paranatural tendency shows up frequently among the humans in this book—particularly when it comes to witches. I appreciated the way that Lainie dealt with it (both in her more honest and then in her more politic approaches). Our trio being joined by their upline boss, Ayatas FireWind, helps in this manner somewhat (both because of his rank, and FireWind’s general demeanor).

On a semi-related note, you would think that people who believe/proclaim very loudly that lycans, witches, vampires, and so one are horrible monsters that want to kill all humans would be a little more circumspect when they’re around. Maybe it’s just me, but if I thought someone wanted to rip my limbs off and snack on them, I would go out of my way to not antagonize them.

Anyway, the team’s focus here is a little split—on the one hand, they need to both identify the type of magic behind the attack and continue to find better ways to treat those fighting off the effects; and on the other, figure out who had the motive and/or means to carry it out. Neither goal was really that easy.

So That’s the Main Story, What Else is Going On?

As with all books in this series, as much as this is about the PsyLED team, it’s really about Nell Ingram, her integration into the world outside the cult she left, even as she continues to deal with it and her family. God’s Glory Church really doesn’t factor heavily in this book, but it’s always in the back of her mind, shaping (either directly or in reaction to it) how she reacts to things.

There is a pretty intense moment related to the Church, but it has more to do with Nell’s family, than the Church itself. Nell doesn’t yet have full custody of Mud, but everyone’s pretty much acting as if she does. Mud’s continuing to settle in and push Nell in ways she wasn’t prepared for. Which is just fun. Both Nell and Mud are having to deal with their very pregnant sister, Esther. Esther’s pregnancy is causing her powers (and flowers) to come forward, and unlike her sisters, she’s not that interested in them. It’s a nice contrast—and it provides Mud with some great opportunities for growth.

On the work side, the team’s recent successes—particularly as the only predominately non-human team in PsyLED—are causing the Agency to make some changes to the way the Agency works—and this is going to spill over onto the team. By and large, the changes look positive and will provide good opportunities for the various members of the team. However, Nell doesn’t like change—doubly so when it applies to those things in her life she holds most dear. And since we read all this from her perspective, it’s hard to look objectively at all this.

If we’re looking at the Venn Diagram of Nell’s families (natural and found), the overlap is Occam. I’ve always loved this relationship, and now that they’re openly seeing each other and professing love? Occam’s so good, saying all the right things, doing all the right things, he’s practically a Gary Stu/Marty Stu. That “practically” there is important—Hunter’s written him in such a way over these few books that he comes across as earnest in all this, he’s not perfect, he’s just really close to perfect for Nell. They’re just fun together.

As for Nell herself? She’s continuing to work on herself, her approach to life. She makes some wise decisions and actions with her relationship with FireWind. She makes some great leaps with the relationship (if you can call it that) with the Vampire Tree. And we get some of the most solid information on just what kind of paranatural creature Nell is (watching her stifle her curiosity on this front to focus on the case was a great moment). Basically, Spells for the Dead contains more of that sure and steady, organic character development that’s been the hallmark of this series.

So what did I think about Spells for the Dead?

One of my favorite parts of these books is Nell’s reactions to new-to-her foods. We don’t see her introduced to anything here, but we still get to see her relish a few things she wasn’t exposed to for most of her life—Krispy Kreme donuts and pizza. This is actually kind of a good way to think about most of this book—unlike the previous books (particularly the first two), we’re not seeing Nell experience much that’s new here—mostly she’s living in this new world, rather than figuring things out. Hunter has established her world, has set up the characters, creatures, overarching conflicts, and whatnot. Now she gets to play with that world.

This means (at least for me, and at least for this book), that without the earth-shattering reveals, the Big Moments in Nell’s (or other characters’) life, the book has less of an impact on me. Spells for the Dead is just as good as the rest of the series has been, it just doesn’t hit me the same way. Which leads to a slightly lower rating. Hunter’s plotting, writing, and characters are still top-notch, it just didn’t blow me away. I got to spend some time with some really good friends—and I’m so happy I did—but it was comfortable, not exploratory. I trust that won’t always be the case, and that Hunter will certainly do things in this series that will cause my jaw to drop, but sometimes it’s simply going to be a really good/great novel instead of a fantastic one. Still making it one of the best series I follow.

I really got into this case—it wasn’t as fraught as some of the previous ones were, but it was interesting and unexpected. The side stories did everything they needed to. Spells for the Dead just solidifies the Soulwood books as one of the best UF series going.

4 Stars

My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter: Nell and Her Team Face a New Type of Deadly Threat

By HCNewton

On July 16, 2020

In Faith Hunter, Fiction, Jane Yellowrock/Soulwood, Urban Fantasy

Spells for the Dead

by Faith Hunter
Series: Soulwood, #5

eARC, 384 pg.
Ace, 2020

Read: July 13, 2020

What’s Spells for the Dead About?

PsyLED is called to the home of a country music superstar to investigate some mysterious deaths—the and her band had recently returned from a pretty successful tour and now many of them are dead and several of those who aren’t are in desperate need of First Responders to act quickly.

Sadly, no First Responder is equipped to cope with whatever happened to them, much less recognize and understand it. That goes for people later to the scene, including PsyLED. However, under the direction of T. Laine, their witch, they’re able to makes some guesses about treatment. Nell, Occam and Lainie focus on documenting everything they can as well as beginning preliminary interviews.

One of the first things they determine is that a witch was not behind this attack. Sadly, they reach this conclusion too late to prevent a local sheriff, with the aid of a less than ethical senior FBI agent, to lock up the band member who is a witch. Their logic is impeccable—paranatural crime, arrest the nearest paranatural. This anti-paranatural tendency shows up frequently among the humans in this book—particularly when it comes to witches. I appreciated the way that Lainie dealt with it (both in her more honest and then in her more politic approaches). Our trio being joined by their upline boss, Ayatas FireWind, helps in this manner somewhat (both because of his rank, and FireWind’s general demeanor).

On a semi-related note, you would think that people who believe/proclaim very loudly that lycans, witches, vampires, and so one are horrible monsters that want to kill all humans would be a little more circumspect when they’re around. Maybe it’s just me, but if I thought someone wanted to rip my limbs off and snack on them, I would go out of my way to not antagonize them.

Anyway, the team’s focus here is a little split—on the one hand, they need to both identify the type of magic behind the attack and continue to find better ways to treat those fighting off the effects; and on the other, figure out who had the motive and/or means to carry it out. Neither goal was really that easy.

So That’s the Main Story, What Else is Going On?

As with all books in this series, as much as this is about the PsyLED team, it’s really about Nell Ingram, her integration into the world outside the cult she left, even as she continues to deal with it and her family. God’s Glory Church really doesn’t factor heavily in this book, but it’s always in the back of her mind, shaping (either directly or in reaction to it) how she reacts to things.

There is a pretty intense moment related to the Church, but it has more to do with Nell’s family, than the Church itself. Nell doesn’t yet have full custody of Mud, but everyone’s pretty much acting as if she does. Mud’s continuing to settle in and push Nell in ways she wasn’t prepared for. Which is just fun. Both Nell and Mud are having to deal with their very pregnant sister, Esther. Esther’s pregnancy is causing her powers (and flowers) to come forward, and unlike her sisters, she’s not that interested in them. It’s a nice contrast—and it provides Mud with some great opportunities for growth.

On the work side, the team’s recent successes—particularly as the only predominately non-human team in PsyLED—are causing the Agency to make some changes to the way the Agency works—and this is going to spill over onto the team. By and large, the changes look positive and will provide good opportunities for the various members of the team. However, Nell doesn’t like change—doubly so when it applies to those things in her life she holds most dear. And since we read all this from her perspective, it’s hard to look objectively at all this.

If we’re looking at the Venn Diagram of Nell’s families (natural and found), the overlap is Occam. I’ve always loved this relationship, and now that they’re openly seeing each other and professing love? Occam’s so good, saying all the right things, doing all the right things, he’s practically a Gary Stu/Marty Stu. That “practically” there is important—Hunter’s written him in such a way over these few books that he comes across as earnest in all this, he’s not perfect, he’s just really close to perfect for Nell. They’re just fun together.

As for Nell herself? She’s continuing to work on herself, her approach to life. She makes some wise decisions and actions with her relationship with FireWind. She makes some great leaps with the relationship (if you can call it that) with the Vampire Tree. And we get some of the most solid information on just what kind of paranatural creature Nell is (watching her stifle her curiosity on this front to focus on the case was a great moment). Basically, Spells for the Dead contains more of that sure and steady, organic character development that’s been the hallmark of this series.

So what did I think about Spells for the Dead?

One of my favorite parts of these books is Nell’s reactions to new-to-her foods. We don’t see her introduced to anything here, but we still get to see her relish a few things she wasn’t exposed to for most of her life—Krispy Kreme donuts and pizza. This is actually kind of a good way to think about most of this book—unlike the previous books (particularly the first two), we’re not seeing Nell experience much that’s new here—mostly she’s living in this new world, rather than figuring things out. Hunter has established her world, has set up the characters, creatures, overarching conflicts, and whatnot. Now she gets to play with that world.

This means (at least for me, and at least for this book), that without the earth-shattering reveals, the Big Moments in Nell’s (or other characters’) life, the book has less of an impact on me. Spells for the Dead is just as good as the rest of the series has been, it just doesn’t hit me the same way. Which leads to a slightly lower rating. Hunter’s plotting, writing, and characters are still top-notch, it just didn’t blow me away. I got to spend some time with some really good friends—and I’m so happy I did—but it was comfortable, not exploratory. I trust that won’t always be the case, and that Hunter will certainly do things in this series that will cause my jaw to drop, but sometimes it’s simply going to be a really good/great novel instead of a fantastic one. Still making it one of the best series I follow.

I really got into this case—it wasn’t as fraught as some of the previous ones were, but it was interesting and unexpected. The side stories did everything they needed to. Spells for the Dead just solidifies the Soulwood books as one of the best UF series going.

4 Stars

My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

EXCERPT from Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter: The Crime Scene

By HCNewton

On July 16, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Quotations

from Chapter One of Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter

The potted vampire tree was a new addition to my evidence arsenal. I had no idea what English it understood, but I’d taken to talking to it anyway. Plants that were talked to in a kind tone of voice were happy plants. And since the vampire tree species had recently (probably, most certainly) eaten one of my enemies, I tried to be polite. I didn’t want it to get mad. I placed the small crate on the passenger seat and locked up.

Scanning the grounds, I walked to the side door, where the body had come from, taking in the scenery behind the house and down the low slope of the hill. There were covered training rings, trails, outbuildings, several pastures, a mechanical horse walker, horse gear, and a barn that was bigger than my house. The horses that were hanging over the fences were muscular and sassy, with slightly dished faces, as if they had some Arabian in the genetic mix. The yearlings and mares with this year’s foals appeared to be in one pasture, with geldings pastured separately.

Close to the barn, a bright red bay horse, bigger than the others, stood posed in a paddock, the breeze flinging his black mane and tail. He had black stockings and hooves, and a peculiar lightning-shaped white blaze on his face. He pawed the dirt and circled, prancing, posturing, tail held high. He reared and kicked, showing off. This was a stallion, the only intact male horse I had seen on the property so far. He snorted and burst into a tight, circling run, his mane and tail flying, neck arched, as if he was showing off. He blew a breath of delight and alpha-male satisfaction and tossed his head, the odd facial blaze seeming to flicker like flames. I didn’t have to know anything about fancy horses to know this one was expensive.

Farther away from the house were a huge white metal shed with three fifteen-foot-tall garage-type doors and a big circular drive. Parked in front of the one open garage door was a forty-foot-long, solid black recreational vehicle with multiple dual wheels, a matching black transport trailer hitched to it. Through the windows in the closed shed doors I could see two more trailers. Big ones. To the side of the RV storage building was a long, very fancy horse trailer. Just looking at the vehicles made me think seven figures several times over.

Dang. Being a country-singing megastar made good money.

Read the rest in Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter to see what happens from here..

My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT (and Giveaway): Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter

By HCNewton

On July 16, 2020

In Book Tour, Faith Hunter, Fiction, Jane Yellowrock/Soulwood, Urban Fantasy

Today I’m very pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the next Soulwood novel, Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter. Along with this spotlight post, I have a tantalizing excerpt to share. Then, I’ll be giving my take on the novel a little later. Those links’ll work when the posts go live in an hour or two.

Oh, and don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of this post to enter a Giveaway for a cool prize.
>

Book Details:

Book Title: Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter
Publisher: Ace Books
Release date: July 28, 2020
Format: Paperback/ebook
Length: 384 pages
ISBN: 9780399587962

Book Blurb:

Nell Ingram faces a dark craft known as death magic in the newest pulse-pounding paranormal procedural in the New York Times bestselling Soulwood series.

Nell Ingram is a rookie PsyLed agent, using the powers she can channel from deep within the earth to solve paranormal crimes. Together with her team, she’s taken on the darkest magic and the direst foes. But she’ll need to tap into every ounce of power she has for her newest case.

Nell is called to the Tennessee mansion of a country music star and finds a disturbing scene—dead bodies rapidly decaying before everyone’s eyes. The witch on her team, T. Laine, knows this can only be one thing: death magic, a rare type of craft used to steal life forces. PsyLed needs to find this lethal killer fast. But when a paranormal-hating FBI agent tries to derail the investigation, they find themselves under attack from all sides.

About Faith Hunter:

Faith Hunter is the award-winning New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of the Jane Yellowrock, Soulwood, Rogue Mage, and Junkyard Cats series. In addition, she has edited several anthologies and co-authored the Rogue Mage RPG. She is the coauthor and author of 16 thrillers under pen names Gary Hunter and Gwen Hunter. Altogether she has 40+ books and dozens of short stories in print and is juggling multiple projects.

She sold her first book in 1989 and hasn’t stopped writing since.

Faith collects orchids and animal skulls, loves thunderstorms, and writes. She likes to cook soup, bake bread, garden, and kayak Class II & III whitewater rivers. She edits the occasional anthology and drinks a lot of tea. Some days she’s a lady. Some days she ain’t.

Find Faith online at:

Website ~ Facebook (official) ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~

Yellowrock Securities website ~ Gwen Hunter website

Giveaway!

Enter to win some fabulous prizes! Giveaway is open to US residents only.

$25 Amazon or B&N e-giftcard
3” wide armband
1.5” narrow armband

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(in case the Rafflecopter widget doesn’t appear, just click here)

My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

Pub Day Repost: American Demon by Kim Harrison: Harrison Comes Back to The Hollows Without Missing a Step

By HCNewton

On June 16, 2020

In Fiction, Kim Harrison, The Hollows (Rachel Morgan), Urban Fantasy

I want to start off thanks to Beth Tabler for some research help—she saved me a whole lot of time and effort.
—

American Demon

by Kim Harrison
Series: The Hollows, #14

eARC, 496 pg.
Ace, 2020

Read: June 1-4, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

First off, I want to talk about two things that Harrison did that really have nothing to do with the plot. First, in the last chap of The Witch with No Name, we’re treated to a glimpse into Rachel’s future, twenty-five years after that novel. At the time, I said we could’ve lived without it, but it was a nice way to say goodbye to the series. Now, it seems all the more ingenious of her to do. Twenty-five years provides several opportunities for Harrison to spin new tales. I don’t know if it was purposeful or not at the time, but it sure worked out well.

I was a little intimidated about coming back to this series after such a long break—Harrison’s novels were typically stuffed (occasionally, overstuffed) with plot—multiple storylines tying the novels together. There was just no way I could remember them all—much less remember all the various characters. The preface to American Demon consists of a portion of Rachel Morgan’s Inderland Security file, sketching out her escapades as well as her associates. It’s a wonderful refresher course in all things Rachel Morgan and did enough jogging of my memory that I was ready to dive in.

Anyway, what about the novel itself? It’s been a few months since the events of The Witch with No Name and those events have caused ripples throughout society (both the supernatural and mundane) as well as the in the lives of the series’ characters. Trent’s struggling with his bank balance and his relationship to the rest of the elves (although Rachel seems to be having more difficulty with both than Trent is), Rachel and Jenks are struggling to put their church back together, Ivy’s dealing with her new reality (and the city is looking for a new Master vampire), Rachel’s trying (not too successfully) to cope with the changes to her abilities, and…that’s just a taste. As much as things seemed wrapped up, life (even fictional life) isn’t that clean. Unlike my usual M. O., I’m not going to get further into the plot—fans don’t need it, and new readers won’t appreciate it without Rachel explaining what it all means.

Harrison manages to bring back every major, and many minor characters—even working in mentions to the major dead characters from the past. It may just be fan-service to let all the cast make an appearance, but it was done so smoothly, so organically, that it really doesn’t matter.

At the same time, Harrison brings in some new faces (and most seem like they’ll around for a while)—there’s a new elf, a new vampire, a new demon, and a whole new supernatural species. Each of them moves the series in a new direction and add aspects to the ongoing storylines that are very satisfactory. I can see Harrison adding one of these characters per novel—but all of them at once. She’s more than shaking up the status quo, she’s making a bold move forward for the series.

If I’d fallen into a coma shortly after reading The Witch with No Name and had just woken up in time to read this, I wouldn’t have known that Harrison spent anytime away, much less that she’d start a new series that was entirely distinct from The Hollows. For example, in this age of TV continuations—fans of the originals can easily tell the difference between the series that went off years ago, and the new episodes that aired recently. I assumed the same would be true here—not that the book would be bad or anything, just a little different—and I couldn’t have been more wrong.

By the way, since I expect some will ask—sure, this is a decent jumping-on point. A lot won’t make sense, but you’ll be entertained enough to shrug that off and keep going both with this book and those that are waiting in the wings. You’ll be given enough reason to go back and read the previous volumes.

From wrapping up a series very nicely with one book to telling a complete story in the next while setting up 4+ (depending on how you count them) multi-book arcs in the next is a pretty nice trick. This could’ve just been a nice little reunion, but Harrison has done more than that—she’s breathed new life into this series as well providing some solid entertainment. Welcome back to the Hollows, folks.

4 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Blood Storm Magic (Audiobook) by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator): The series comes to a dramatic yet dissatisfying end

By HCNewton

On June 15, 2020

In Audiobook

Blood Storm Magic

by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator)
Series: Ella Grey, #4

Unabridged Audiobook, 7 hrs., 32 min.
Tantor Audio, 2018

Read: May 12-13, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Faith has a lot to wrap up in this conclusion to her Ella Gray series. There’s the re-rescue of Ella’s brother, the deal with her magic, the completion of her partner’s storyline, the situation with her coven (especially the leader of it), her roommate’s romantic situation, and a few strings—Faith even throws in a new romantic interest for Ella.

And, well, she does wrap it all up. Most of it felt rushed, like she was going to get it all wrapped up in X number of pages come Hades or high-water. Some of it was too convenient. Some of it was fitting. Some was tragic. All of it was hurried.

I really did enjoy the dragon character and all we learned about him.

I wish that Faith had turned this into an ongoing series with a focus on the Supernatural Crimes while finding a way to resolve the other storylines—I enjoyed those characters and thought that whole thing had a lot more life in it. She could’ve done that and even kept the coven in the background. But…that’s just me.

This series started strong and promising, and then it petered out. I’m glad I got to see how someone would use Boise in an Urban Fantasy, but was disappointed in the end. The coworker who turned me on to the series disagrees with my overall take on it, she’s probably in the majority.

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

American Demon by Kim Harrison: Harrison Comes Back to The Hollows Without Missing a Step

By HCNewton

On June 8, 2020