Life’s tough as an Elf girl stranded in Earth’s realm.When a jaguar shifter drops in out of nowhere and asks me for help in tracking down an ancient blood-magic statuette, I say no thank you. I learned a long time ago the key to survival is keeping a low profile. But it’s hard to ignore an artifact of the gods powerful enough to blow holes in reality. Enter stalker werewolves in a black Mercedes … in a black Mercedes and magicians trying to capture me. They all think I know where the damned statue is. Then I’m attacked by demons.
It wouldn’t be so bad, but some of them are really rude. Being rude is a capital crime where I come from.
Time for a lesson in manners.
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This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Interesting set-up, an Elf who’s been stuck on Earth for 70 years (since WWII) has emigrated to America and started a landscaping business from scratch. Kellana has the unusual ability to sense magic and the type of magic that a user has. A jaguar shifter seeks her out to help find a blood magic created object that is extremely dangerous and much safer for earth to get it into another realm. The story is fast-paced, tense in places, clever and engrossing. I give it 4.5 stars only downgraded a bit because it does get a little bit gory at times. But the story is so good that I’m already devouring the next one in the series!
Kellana Rogirsdottir is an interesting character. She has the same rocky start as Aster (from Zenina Masters’ “Tangled Heart”) but these two females take very different routes to the landscaping business each sets up to legitimize their presence in this reality. Unlike Aster, Kellana apparently attracts trouble (who, in this case, is called “Isabella Cortez”) and despite her impressive attempts to drag her feet, ends up hip deep in demons. Oh yay – Kellana might need exercise but this is ridiculous! If you like reluctant warrior women with creative magic and a strong protective instinct, you are going to want to get to know Kellana Rogirsdottir better. I’m pretty sure that Diana Tregarde and Jennifer Talldeer would want to hang with her!
BR Kingsolver’s urban fantasy series, Chameleon Assassin, was challenging and entertaining, so I was eager to try his new book, the first in a new series, “Gods and Demons”, and I think it’s even better!
The heroine, Kellana, is fabulous. I love that she’s not young and insecure (I’ve read a lot of new adult stuff recently which has been remarkable for its spoilt, navel-gazing angst and waiting to be rescued attitude), but rather take charge and look after people, but not in a bossy or maternal way. Her confidence in her own skin is very attractive.
The magical details and thriller plot work, too. And I’ll just add that the landscape gardening setting is BRILLIANT. I’m hoping for a ton more books in the series!
Absolutely enjoyed the audio version, now time to read the book. I know a little backwards, but hey worth it all the same. The narrator’s pleasant voice brings the story to life.
I’ve only recently discovered BR Kingsolver and found a new favorite. I’ve addictively read through all of her urban fantasies sci-fi series, as well as the only sci-fi story story of hers I could find (Border Patrol, in the Bellator collection). Here’s my review of all of them in one clump – the bottom line being that they are all easily 5 star books.
Rosie O’Grady’s Paranormal Bar and Grill Series
This was the first series by this author that I read, trying it in a whim as it was free on KU and looked like fun. Oh Dear Lord was it ever. Perfect world-building with Fae, elves, vampires, mages, et. al. Perfect backstory with the world’s best assassin (our lead) funding out that she’s been lied to most of her life by the Order of the Illuminati who are actually evil and not the force for good she thought, followed by her lopping off the top tier of the Order and ending up in hiding at the eponymous Rosie O’Grady’s Bar and Grill. That’s the short version. The long one is much more complex and the series itself is filled with great plot lines and a perfect story arc (though each book stands alone sequentially, ie, the work fine and end well so long as you read them in order. Addictive fun and a perfect series ender.
The Telepathic Clans Saga
This was my second Kingsolver series. It evolves around telepathic clans (no shocker there) filled with people with different sets of telepathic “Gifts” (like mind shielding) made up of a series of “Talents” (different ways to do it). There are initially 25 known Gifts. At the top are the Succubi, all female, who have a series of Gifts including the Succubus Gift (drain energy from sex, etc). Known as Druids in the Irish clans, these ladies are bad-a**. The lead here is a Druid named Brenna, but she’s so much more. While the average telepath has only a few gifts, abs the extraordinary ones have 12-15 (Druids all have a base set of 8), Brenna has all of the gifts, unheard of. Anyway, she gets into a series of adventures with action, infra and inter-clan politics, and do much more. Incredible stuff really, all set in a world very different (but equally imaginative) as the prior series I’d read, and filled with a growing cast of perfectly crafted supporting characters. Once again you can read each book sequentially stand-alone, and they end with a perfect series ender.
Chameleon Assassin
I had initially avoided this series because I tend not to like a post-apocalypse setting. In this case the apocalypse in question (atomic wars leading to massive population loss and mutations) was so far in the past that society has more or less recovered and has now passed the pre-war tech levels. Our hero here, Libby, is the coolest kick-a** dame in fiction. An assassin and thief, among other things, who has two primary mutations: she’s a chameleon (she can look like anyone or pretty much blend into the background) plus a sort of electrokenisis, and a pretty fantastic set of physical skills (don’t mess with her in a fight) and computer hacking talents. Add in another perfect supporting cast and, well, just wow. I adored this series.
Dark Streets
This is the last of the series that I read, currently on book 2 (and ending with a perfectly good “Happily Enough For Now” though I’m drooling for the next book). It’s set in a world that’s very similar to that of The Telepathic Clans (though there are some differences – Washington DC is nuked in this one) but society is different as the Magi, who beat back (to a draw) the demons who invaded once rifts between worlds opened, now pretty much rule everything. Our lead here is another kick-a** dame, a police detective who is a magitek (a rare form of magic that enables one to do magic with machinery – including computers), potential heir to one of the Ten (the ten most powerful Magi clans who basically rule the world) but also the granddaughter of the man who accidentally opened the rifts and let all the monsters, demons and fantasy beings in. The perspective is very different, part gritty detective tale, part politics and warfare on the global scale, pure urban fantasy. Fantastic stuff, really.
Border Patrol (in the Bellator collection)
This was the only pure sci-fi story I’ve read by BR Kingsolver and was frustratingly perfect. Military sci-fi, the heroine here is the commander of an assault troop unit, it was an absolute total blast (and I’ve been reading this stuff since Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers was first published, so I should know). Perfect characters and storyline. The frustration is that while it ends in a very satisfying manner, I’m massively frustrated that this was only a short story. I’m truly hoping the author turns it into the first book in a new series.
Frankly, I’m hoping that BR Kingsolver expands every series she’s written, even though most have ended with great HEAs. That’s the sign, I know, of works that are fantastic and easy to highly recommend.
This book was very well written, it just didn’t capture my interest as much as I would have hoped. I don’t fault the author for that, though, as I knew I was trying a new genre. The main characters were original and believable (although I did have a hard time remembering who the more minor characters were). The storyline was unique and very creative. I think readers who enjoy UF books about elves and shifters will find this to be a fun read.