Archives for October 2014

Seven Steps To Heaven by Emily Moreton

October 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HEAVEN
Seven Steps To Heaven by Emily Moreton
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (24 pgs)
Other: M/M, Anal Play, Fetish (role-playing police officer)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

But since, stress buying generic cialis can get into the system when a climax happens, which is genuinely a wonderful gain to orgasms. Actually, it’s not only one trigger or cause, but it’s a blend of various infectious mediums, mental and physiological, and numerous reasons. best prices on cialis tadalafil buy canada Once that happens, the medicine will assist giving erection by relaxing relevant corpora cavernosa tissues and muscles. buy viagra This problem is premature and weak ejaculation. Steve’s night at Heaven starts badly, what with finding a dead body behind the club where he strips and all that, but rapidly improves with the introduction of older, attractive Officer Monroe, the first cop on scene. That’s Step One. Steve’s problem is negotiating the steps that come after that. Like lunch dates, small talk and, oh yeah, his own massive uniform kink.

Steve was already having a crappy morning when he steps outside for a smoke – only to discover a dead body. The only upside was when the cops arrive one of them is like a walking wet-dream. Officer Monroe has a sense of humour, kind eyes and a few mysteries of his own. Steve finds himself hooked before he knows what’s happening and all too soon he’s realizing that maybe he has a thing for uniforms after all.

This is a character driven story – and Monroe and Steve didn’t disappoint me. With the guessing game of what Monroe’s Christian name is, and the ribald fun between the two men as Steve flirted with Monroe this book moves at a fast pace. I enjoyed the different spin on “the cop and the stripper”, and felt Ms Moreton did an excellent job of keeping the situation lighthearted.

The sub-plot of the murder and serial killer got lost a bit in amongst the sex and budding relationship between Steve and Monroe. Although it was light and there was a brief mention about them making progress, a part of me would have enjoyed it if there’d been a more firm resolution. This would have left it not feeling like a loose end for me. But the real aim of the story was the steps bringing Steve and Monroe together and in this I found the author masterful. There was an excellent blend of sex, fun and banter. Steve and Monroe didn’t just fall together and instantly work, there were boundaries and steps and I enjoyed watching them both navigate their new relationship.

I found this to be a fun, interesting read and I’d definitely look up more titles by this author.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

October 8, 2014 By 1 Comment

BEAST
Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt
Publisher: Grand Central
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (352 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Bluet

A MAN CONDEMNED . . .

Falsely accused of murder and mute from a near-fatal beating, Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam. With the Crown’s soldiers at his heels, he finds refuge in the ruins of a pleasure garden, toiling as a simple gardener. But when a vivacious young woman moves in, he’s quickly driven to distraction . . .
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A DESPERATE WOMAN . . .

London’s premier actress, Lily Stump, is down on her luck when she’s forced to move into a scorched theatre with her maid and small son. But she and her tiny family aren’t the only inhabitants—a silent, hulking beast of a man also calls the charred ruins home. Yet when she catches him reading her plays, Lily realizes there’s more to this man than meets the eye.

OUT OF ASH, DESIRE FLARES

Though scorching passion draws them together, Apollo knows that Lily is keeping secrets. When his past catches up with him, he’s forced to make a choice: his love for Lily . . . or the explosive truth that will set him free.

Actress and single mother Lily Stump had only one theatre where she could perform. When that theatre burned down, it left her in dire straits. Until it’s rebuilt, she has no income, and, so is living with her son and servant in a few of the rooms left standing and barely habitable. Her son, Indio, enjoys playing on the grounds, and has become fascinated with the man in charge of designing the gardens. This large, mute, man is none other than Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne, who is there to hide out, as he’s a wanted man. Years ago, Apollo was falsely accused of murder, and then committed to Bedlam by a relative. He was all but starved there, and horribly abused. As he tried to help a fellow inmate from being attacked, he was beaten and had his throat crushed, and has been unable to speak since. He later was aided in escaping from Bedlam, and he came here to his friend and business partner to seek refuge.

The little boy, Indio, tells his mother that he has seen a monster in the gardens. He’s referring to Apollo, with his great height, huge shoulders and craggy features. Lily goes to investigate and encounters Apollo, who can’t speak in order to answer her questions. She believes him to be dimwitted, but soon comes to believe him harmless, and Indio invites him for dinner. Eventually, they develop a sort of friendship. As Lily and Apollo become more familiar with each other, they discover that the other has secrets and hidden depths. This unlikely couple has an explosive chemistry and they become lovers. I am a sucker for someone who has been falsely accused and imprisoned. Despite all he has endured, Apollo has retained his humanity. He is loving and gentle with Lily and Indio. He has an artistic soul, and is pouring it into the creation of the new theatre’s gardens. He wants to regain his life, but not for the sake of becoming an idle aristocrat. He has humor and honor, and I half fell in love with him myself. Lily is smart, loyal, and strong, but not hard. Their love story was beautifully developed and romantic, while the mystery of who framed Apollo had me reading as fast as I could to see the resolution. Elizabeth Hoyt also includes a little snippet at the beginning of each chapter. It’s usually part of a fairy tale, which parallels her story. These snippets are well thought out, and add to the enjoyment of the book. I found myself looking forward to the resolution of the secondary story almost as much as the first.

I highly recommend this stellar addition to the amazing Maiden Lane series. If you like books with characters who are a cut above the ordinary, breathtaking romance, and page turning excitement, this beast may be just what you’re looking for.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Wayzata by Ted Korsmo

October 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

WAYA
Wayzata by Ted Korsmo
Publisher: John Edward Korsmo
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Historical
Length: Full Length (178 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Thornapple

A detective. A Millionaire. A Millionaire’s wife. A mistress.

Hijinks and tragedy ensue.

Set in the late 1930’s, our yarn is set in the rural, resort suburb of Minneapolis. Detective Carroll LaRue has quit his badge, picked up stakes and put a haunted past in Hollywood behind him — after all, his fellow officers on the LAPD kept mistaking him for a perp. LaRue exchanges the hilltop lifestyle and orange groves for a hardscrabble, hand-to-mouth existence in the blue-gray Midwest. Taking photos through windows, even if the people aren’t movie stars? It might not be sexy, but it’s a living.

“Wayzata” pays homage — hell, it outright steals — from the great writers of pulp fiction: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James V. Cain; an intricate, convoluted mystery story full of seedy characters and dialogue sharp enough that you just may have to read a sentence over once or twice to get it. Funny, tough, with short chapters built to be read in airports. And check it: when the movie comes out you can say, “Hey, I read that when it was a book.”
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Sure you did, smart guy.

Many mystery fans has a love for the old detectives from the 1930’s and 40’s. This author is obviously a fan, a person that has a respect for the hardboiled detective, the pulps, and this novel is a like a homage to those by gone days.

Carroll LaRue finds himself a long way from the glitz of Los Angles, where he was in law enforcement. Wayzata , Minnesota is where LaRue hangs his hat and works as a private detective. He is hired by the wife of a millionaire to keep tabs on the woman she believes may be having an affair with her husband. This is oldest job there is for a detective, but LaRue finds himself embroiled in a mess of frame ups, cover ups, deceit, adultery, greed, and of course murder.

This novel is set in the late 1930’s when millionaires were not as commonplace as today. But, the mindset is still the same… everyone wants a piece of the pie, especially the ladies, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the money. LaRue gets sucked into their vortex as he tried to solve the mystery of what makes these people tick. There were some interesting twist, and some surprising double crosses.

A few things didn’t quite work for me. While it is obvious the author is attempting to mimic the works of someone like James M. Cain, and I believe this was done with his heart in the right place, this is a super ambitious undertaking, especially for a first novel, so it didn’t quite pull off the dark, sleek, edgy atmosphere it was trying to accomplish. At times it became more of a parody ,which I am sure is hard to avoid if you are purposely trying to emulate a specific genre or sub- genre. At this point I do want to add that I was under the impression the book was categorized under “ Noir” and for the record, noir is similar to hardboiled fiction, but protagonist is not a detective.

The other issue I had was a plot hole involving the divorce laws of the period. Some things had lightened up a little in the late 30’s, but it was still uncommon to divorce and it was big deal, I mean HUGE. This part of the story wasn’t all that plausible, not for present day, and certainly not in that time frame.

But plenty of the story did work for me. For a first novel I thought this book was very well organized and planned out. The dialogue was true to the period and didn’t lapse into using modern terms and phrases. The story was compelling and was an interesting look into the dark recesses of human nature. This author does have talent and it’s exciting to that. Despite the critiques I mentioned earlier I was truly impressed with the effort. I think a little professional editing and some research for authenticity is all this book needed to give it a nudge up the leader board. Hardboiled and pulp fiction is very hard to pull off. Too much one way or the other can make a mess of the whole thing, but this was an admirable job overall.

Overall, this is a good book and I do recommend it to lovers of historical mystery and detective novels. I enjoyed the book and appreciate the author’s ability to reprise a by gone era. I happened to love Noir, Pulps, and detective novels from the 30’s and 40’s. I have an extensive vintage paperback collection of books from this time era and I still enjoy reading them.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Mysterious Mandolin by Aneta Cruz

October 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

MANDOLIN
The Mysterious Mandolin by Aneta Cruz
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal
Length: Short Story (137 pages)
Age Recommendation: 8+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The Mysterious Mandolin is a tale of two stepsisters whose love for one another must overcome death, wickedness of dark magic, and bullying. This fairy tale juxtaposes the light and the dark side of characters and settings, while it examines the lengths to which people would go in order to achieve what they most desire.

Magic is many things, but it isn’t always predictable.
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The premise caught my attention immediately because I’m a lifelong fan of anything that could be said to begin “once upon a time.” Within a few pages I was hooked and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The writing was crisp and clean. Given that it was divided into short chapters, I think this would be a good book to read aloud. I enjoyed it so much that I actually read the whole thing over the course of a single day!

The characters were all two-dimensional. While I completely understand that fairy tales make sharp distinctions between right and wrong, this story would have easily earned a much higher rating had the narrator attempted to explain why someone who is surrounded by nothing but negative influences would choose to be good. This would have fit in beautifully with the other messages that are woven into the plot as well.

The metaphors were a lot of fun. Ms. Cruz has an incredibly imaginative approach to describing what are usually completely ordinary experiences. Her writing style is well-suited to this genre. If I had to pick only one of her metaphors as my favourite, it would be the one she used to describe one of her characters trying on a dress. The dress slipped on “like butter onto a hot pan.”

It took me a while to figure out the best age recommendation due to some potentially frightening content. While the violence is written in the highly stylized manner I’d expect to find in this genre and mostly happens offscreen, it was described in just enough detail that I raised my original recommendation by a few years. Some children in early elementary school may be perfectly comfortable with what happens, but this is something that parents and teachers should decide on a case-by-case basis ahead of time.

The Mysterious Mandolin is a good choice for anyone who loves traditional fairy tales.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Case of the Killer Divorce: A Jamie Quinn Mystery by Barbara Venkataraman

October 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

CASE
The Case of the Killer Divorce: A Jamie Quinn Mystery by Barbara Venkataraman
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Short Story (116 Pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

You can still get levitra on sale rid of erectile dysfunction and impotence. Still soft cialis we have to manage it. Once you find a good supplier, that is safe and does not impose any harm in the male sex organ, despondency, nervousness, intemperate liquor utilization are all variables that mouthsofthesouth.com levitra prices have been interfaced to ED and have worst married life due to ED, you can prevent it from ruining your relationship. If you are allergic to Sildenafil citrate it contains, which not only helps men to attain and maintain the erection long enough to have a pleasing and prolonged sexual intercourse. cialis generika Reluctant lawyer, Jamie Quinn, has returned to her family law practice after a hiatus due to the death of her mother. It’s business as usual until a bitter divorce case turns into a murder investigation, and Jamie’s client becomes the prime suspect. When she can’t untangle truth from lies, Jamie enlists the help of Duke Broussard, her favorite private investigator, to try to clear her client’s name. And she’s hoping that, in his spare time, he can help her find her long-lost father…

Jamie has her hands full with one of her current clients, Becca Solomon, who seems to be having a meltdown in the middle of a very acrimonious divorce. After the judge issues his order that Joe, Becca’s husband, is to have their two girls on Fridays, Becca leaves the courtroom, staring her husband down and saying, “If you try to take my kids away, I swear to God, Joe, I will kill you.” When Joe is found murdered, it is no surprise that Becca is a suspect. Now Jamie really has her hands full.

This novel is definitely plot driven. The reader does learn a lot about Jamie’s past as well as other aspects of her life, but I never felt that there was a lot of depth to her character. She is also scattered between her work, her past, and her social life. Jamie’s mother has died and Jamie still wonders who her father was or is. The loss of her mother understandably increases her desire to learn about her father. That search becomes a sub-plot of this novel. Jamie also meets an old flame and that re-connection becomes the third sub-plot.

The plot itself is rather predictable, and the solution of the mystery left me with a feeling that I’d been cheated. There wasn’t a lot of investigation and the solution was unsatisfactory. The end of the novel feels very rushed as the three sub-plots are brought to quick conclusions. I can’t say a lot more without giving away spoilers, but the solutions seemed very pat and not entirely realistic.

The Case of the Killer Divorce has an excellent premise. Readers who enjoy a cozy mystery where the mystery itself is balanced with other story lines will enjoy following Jamie through the maze of her life as she copes with a disoriented client, a long-lost father, and a possible boyfriend.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Nurse Levi by L.J Hamlin

October 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

MEN
Nurse Levi by L.J Hamlin
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (20 pgs)
Other: M/M, Anal Play
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

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Levi leaves work that day still thinking about Ash, but thinking he’ll never see him again. Fate, and maybe some sneakiness on Ash’s part, bring the men together again and the heat between them quickly grows.

Levi’s parents might have been okay with him being gay, but they struggled to understand why a man would want to be a nurse, not a doctor. Still, Levi enjoys helping people and is satisfied with his career. When Levi takes over a patient from another nurse who has to leave early, he decides it’s his lucky night. Ash is one smoking hot fireman, injured rescuing a kitten. Levi wants to do far more than patch Ash up, and soon the two men are both on fire for each other.

Despite a few snickers from the clichés, I found this to be a really fun romp of a short story. Leave your brain behind, grab an icy cold drink and settle in for this fun ride. Filled with double entendres and witty repertoire this book had be laughing aloud and eagerly turning the pages. Levi and Ash are humorous characters and I enjoyed watching them come together. Really sweet without being sappy, I found both Ash and Levi to be softer, gentler kinds of characters. There isn’t much plot to speak of, but the characters and the building of their newfound relationship takes front and center stage.

A short, happy, fun story, this is an excellent introduction to M/M. With a sweet and almost tender sex scene and plenty of getting-to-know-you time before the big event I would strongly recommend this for readers who want to dabble in M/M but want something gentler to help ease them in. Like a good, summery drink I found this a frothy and happy story to read.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Hungarian by Stephanie Burkhart

October 7, 2014 By 8 Comments

Cover_TheHungarian

The Hungarian by Stephanie Burkhart
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
Genre: Historical, Paranormal
Length: Full (266 pgs)
Heat: Spicy
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Poppy

Katherine Archibald is in search of a grand adventure.

A young woman in late Victorian England, she wants to open up a bookstore in London and travel Europe hunting down rare books. Love isn’t on her map.

Enter Matthias Duma. The Hungarian count captures Katherine’s attention like no other man before him with his unusual gold-malachite eyes, his exotic features, and his command of the night sky.
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After a night of intrigue during Katherine’s birthday, she discovers the map does include love in the legend, but will the map lead her to Budapest and the dark, brooding Hungarian she’s just met?

Quiet and dark (much like its hero), The Hungarian is a treat to be savored and not sped through.

I’ve read other books by Ms. Burkhart, but this one is different. It’s slower paced, and has a much darker, gothic feel. It started rather abruptly with our protagonists meeting in the heroine’s family library, and I was surprised at how forward both were considered the times and the fact they didn’t know each other. Still, Katherine is a bit atypical for her time being learned (she loves to read and is fascinated by astronomy and astrology) and plans on opening her own business: a bookstore.

There are plenty of subplots beyond just the romance (and its “hairy” problems), with intrigues including a custody battle and a question of Count Duma’s paternity (as well as a very angry and jealous rival, who believes they are brothers). But even with these, the story meanders a bit. I love the author’s writing ability and her voice, and I’m a big fan of her books, but this one wasn’t quite as gripping as her others have been. Still, she’s managed to create interesting and unique characters, especially those which populate Count Duma’s household and I was invested enough in them to keep reading even when the pace slowed a bit.

Moving between England and Hungary, and highlighting the difference between the countries, was fascinating. The road to our lovers’ happy ever after is not easy and certainly has its bumps, but Katherine, especially is an admirable character and I enjoyed watching her learn, adjust and accept Matthias for who (and what) he was.

The last several chapters of this book are clearly setting up the next, and I look forward to seeing Ms. Burkhart redeem one of the less admirable characters from this book.

If you like paranormal romances with a deeply gothic feel, this one would be a good fit. It’s a little outside the norm of romance and paranormal books and is written by a skilled author who knows how to turn a phrase.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Murder in Mystic Cove by Daryl Anderson

October 7, 2014 By 1 Comment

COVE
Murder in Mystic Cove by Daryl Anderson
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (362 Pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Guarding the manicured wilds of an exclusive retirement community might seem like exile to a homicide cop. But Addie Gorsky moved to Florida to live with her ailing father, not to chase criminals. In fact, her new job as head of Mystic Cove security is a nice break from all the big-city bloodshed.

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urrounded by secretive, tight-lipped residents, Addie soon finds herself hip-deep in a mystery as tangled as cypress roots–and directly in the sights of a cool, clever killer who has no compunction about killing again…

Addie Gorsky has moved to Florida to take care of her dying father and also to escape from her own past as a homicide detective. The only job she can land is that of security officer in the gated community of Mystic Cove. She becomes the head of the security force, but she really doesn’t want to deal with a murder. However, when she finds the most despised resident murdered, she gets caught up in trying to find out “whodunit”.

Addie is a very complex character, with many facets to her personality, and I really liked her a lot. Her father describes her well when he says, “I called you ruthless, . . And I stand by that, but you are also compassionate.” She has a great deal to cope with even without the murder, and she handles it all with intelligence and determination.

The plot is very complex and I didn’t have it solved until Addie did. There are a number of interesting characters residing in Mystic Cove and a wealth of secrets. Gossip abounds so it is hard to know where the truth lies, but Addie doesn’t accept easy or obvious answers.

There are several supporting characters who really add to the depth and believability of the story. Addie’s father contributes his experience as a cop as well as his knowledge of what makes Addie tick. He knows when to push and when to listen. The sheriff is antagonistic at first, but he and Addie both develop a respect for the other’s abilities and strengths. While the story is definitely a fast paced exciting mystery, it is much more than that, thanks to the depth of the characters and their interactions.

Mystery lovers are sure to find a hit in Murder in Mystic Cove, and I really hope that Addie has many more cases ahead of her.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

By Starlight by Nancy Lindley-Gauthier

October 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment

STARLIGHT
By Starlight by Nancy Lindley-Gauthier
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (194 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The night my best friend Gracie disappeared, I had a nightmare.

A monster loomed from the shadows around the campfire. I ran. The thing stretched after me…

I woke gasping, afraid it might somehow be true. Gracie could always make me feel better – but she didn’t respond to my email. Not that night; not ever.

That’s what lead to my summer camp counselor job here near Gracie’s home. Hiking and canoeing fill every moment but I don’t forget why I’m here. I’m going to find Gracie.

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There’s the local ranger and my campers, but will they believe me? I’m alone with this. Somehow, every step toward Gracie takes me nearer to something scary. This is a mystery I must solve.

If the police can’t solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance, what chance does Kitsai have of doing it?

Kitsai intrigued me from the beginning. She wavered between acting much younger than her chronological age and understanding the mystery of what happened to her friend better than any of the adults around her. The mixture of maturity and immaturity kept my attention focused on this character even when I didn’t necessarily like her as an individual. She isn’t the kind of person who is easy to figure out. To me that’s a good thing to experience while getting to know the protagonist. A little uncertainty goes a long way in keeping my attention.

With that being said, Kitsai’s character flaws were too serious for this particular tale. She makes decisions that should have never been an option for someone in her occupation. Her lack of insight into why these choices were so potentially dangerous made it hard for me to believe that no one else noticed what was going on. The plot’s explanation for it was partially satisfying, but I would have preferred to see way more time spent exploring why she was so often left to her own devices and poor judgement.

The mystery itself was gripping and well-paced. As someone who once lived in British Columbia, it was eerie for me to pick up on the similarities between this piece of fiction and the real life missing person cases from that province that still remain unsolved. In no way it is necessary to know anything about those cases in order to enjoy this story, but I do think it will be a fun bonus for readers who are familiar with them.

It was never clear to me why the romantic subplot was included. There were so many other, more pressing matters for the characters involved in it to address that the romance felt out of place. This would have made good fodder for a sequel if the author ever decides to write one, but it wasn’t a good fit for this particular adventure.

Some people like to live without any modern conveniences when they go camping. Others are much more comfortable having at least occasional access to air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and the Internet. Seeing what happens when various characters get much more or less than they were expecting in these areas provided some much-needed levity in otherwise tense scenes. Including this minor conflict was a good idea.

There are paranormal elements in this book, but they don’t show up right away. The overall themes and tropes are much more heavily weighted toward what one generally expects to find in mysteries and young adult novels. This is the sort of thing I strongly prefer to know ahead of time when deciding what to read which is why I’m mentioning it in this review.

I’d recommend By Starlight to fans of the mystery and young adult genres alike.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

October 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment

WITCH
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Publisher: Harper Touch
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (480 pgs)
Heat Level: Hot
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Cactus

All the creatures of the night gather in “the Hollows” of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party … and to feed.

Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining — and it’s Rachel Morgan’s job to keep that world civilized.
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A bounty hunter and witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she’ll bring ’em back alive, dead … or undead.

If only there was a guidebook for witches under death threats. Rachel Morgan is a witch and bounty hunter with a crappy job. She’s been getting the worst assignments for months now and she’s sick of it. When her latest prey, a tax-evading leprechaun, offers her three wishes in exchange for freedom Rachel decides to quit her job and strike out on her own. Too bad her employer doesn’t let people quit as easily as that and suddenly there’s a death threat hanging over Rachel’s head. With the help of her friends, vampire Ivy and pixie Jenxs, Rachel decides to take down the city’s wealthiest and most prominent citizen. She figures if she can prove the billionaire philanthropist is dirty then the death threat will be alleviated. Unfortunately it’s not as easy as it seems.

Dead Witch Walking is the first book in the Hollows series from Kim Harrison. The book is what I consider basic urban fantasy fare and decent enough for what it is. UF is my favorite genre and I’ve read quite a number of books within this sphere and DWW fits well. It’s not especially unique or outstanding in any way, and actually I’ve read numerous better books/series, but it’s ok. There’s also a weak, very small potential romance but the focus is urban fantasy and mystery, not romance. The world building is interesting, though not developed enough, and the narrator is first person through Rachel’s POV. The plot to prove the wealthy, local businessman and beloved councilman is actually a dirty drug smuggler is good enough to carry the story. There’s no question of guilt, but whether Rachel can take down her quarry.

Rachel is a frustrating narrator and protagonist and I think a reader’s enjoyment will hinge on her likeability. Reading reviews before I chose this book, most people were split to the extremes of either loving her or hating her. She’s a three-dimensional character but a polarizing one for sure. Rachel has a lot of flaws. A lot. She’s a very realistic character in that she often jumps into situations with no plans or ideas of how to succeed. She is stubborn, extremely reactive, and often quick to dismiss or ignore her friends and their advice. Rachel’s knows best all the time, even she actually has no clue and is making all the wrong assumptions/conclusions. Except she never thinks she is wrong. Even when she is at fault, she apologizes but is quick to want to move on and shift the focus/blame. I found her annoying and rather stupid. I struggled to care when she would foolishly rush in to situations without planning or thought and unsurprisingly bad things happen. Some readers may find this charming since Rachel is by no means a kick ass heroine. She mostly bungles her way through things with a single-minded focus and then is rescued by her friends.

What I actually liked most about the book was the supporting cast. I found Jenxs particularly adorable and I liked the dark struggle Ivy fought almost daily. While the pace is rather slow for the book, I found the focus on the secondary characters, even including Nick, enough to help keep my interest and alleviate some of the frustration I had with Rachel. I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a decent job with the voices, although she had a very odd way of emphasizing breaks where there shouldn’t be. For example the narrator would say a sentence “She walked (pause) into the hallway.” I’m not sure why she would pause in the middle of the sentence where no comma or punctuation break exists but she did. It’s a testament to the slow pace that I focused on the narrator sometimes rather than the story but I liked the voices she did for the characters and the cadence/tone of the narrator’s voice.

Overall I found this to be a readable book in the genre but not something especially memorable or interesting. Those that find Rachel a more charming and winsome heroine will definitely be more engaged but I liked it enough to continue with the series for now. I’d cautiously recommend this but only to those readers that like heroines on the softer, more realistic and less “kick ass, take names” side.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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