Winner of the PRG Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Paranormal Fantasy Novel and finalist for Best Urban Fantasy Series.Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk the streets unseen by humans…except those with second sight, like Ivy Granger.Some things are best left unseen.Ivy Granger’s second sight is finally giving her life purpose. Ivy and her best friend Jinx may not be raking in the … Jinx may not be raking in the dough, but their psychic detective agency pays the bills–most of the time. Their only worry is the boredom of a slow day and the occasional crazy client–until a demon walks through their door.
Demons are never a good sign.
A demon attorney representing the water fae? Stranger things have happened. And things are about to get very, very strange as a bloodthirsty nightmare hunts the city of Harborsmouth.
There’s blood in the water.
Kelpies have a reputation for eating humans. Unfortunately, kelpies are the clients. When an Unseelie faerie this evil stalks the waterways of your city, you have to make hard choices.
The lesser of two evils.
Shadow Sight is the first novel in the bestselling, award-winning Ivy Granger urban fantasy series by E.J. Stevens. The world of Ivy Granger, including the Ivy Granger Psychic Detective series and the Hunters’ Guild series, is filled with action, paranormal mystery, magic, dark humor, quirky characters, bloodsucking vampires, flirtatious demons, sarcastic gargoyles, temperamental witches, psychotic faeries, and snarky, kick-butt heroines.
“I absolutely love this series!”
-My Urban Fantasies
“Highly recommended to adult urban fantasy fans.”
-Rabid Reads
“Ivy is one of my all-time favorite Urban Fantasy characters.”
-The Reading Diaries
“Lose yourself in the world of Harborsmouth.”
-Reading Lark
“The Ivy Granger series is fantastic!”
-Book Bite Reviews
This series has won numerous awards, including the BTS Red Carpet Award for Best Novel, the Imadjinn Award for Best Short Story, the Raven Award for Best Urban Fantasy Novel, the PRG Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Paranormal Fantasy Novel, Best Urban Fantasy Novel, and finalist for Best Urban Fantasy Series.
The Ivy Granger Psychic Detective series is known for heart-pounding action, quirky characters, and supernatural horrors. Take a trip to Harborsmouth where you’ll encounter bloodsucking vampires, psychotic faeries, sarcastic gargoyles, temperamental witches, and our favorite snarky, kick-butt heroine.
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It’s been a while since I’ve read a book like this one. Here we have a strong female protagonist, Ivy Granger, using her paranormal powers for good… A bit like, and yet very unlike, Buffy, the vampire slayer. This is a book you can dive right into, suspend your disbelief, and get caught up in the story. I have to say that the fictitious Harborsmouth does, in some ways, remind me of New Orleans.
E. J. Stevens has a way with words. Her descriptions, while not flowery, are all spot on. As you read, I challenge you to not visualize exactly the creature she is portraying. Yes, there are creatures, and some of them are far from nice. You can feel the fear and torment. You can smell the brimstone. Yet, you will not feel overwhelmed by prose.
It is difficult to talk about Ivy Granger without giving a lot of the story away. I don’t do spoilers! I can tell you that SHADOW SIGHT will start you on a journey, so that you, like I, will definitely want to read the rest of this series. I’m off to read “Blood and Mistletoe,” a novella, that is the next story in the Ivy Granger saga.
I LOVED this book. I was hooked from the Hitchcock-esque Introduction. There are fae creatures galore in this book. Ivy is a badass private detective who does grow and develop a bit in this book. The world building is simply fantastic, and the transition in speech from character to character is marvelous. Hob the Brownie is NOTHING like Marvin the Mountain Troll. (By the way, E. J. Stevens will give you feels for the poor mountain troll kid.) All in all, I think this was an excellent way to start a series, and I will be reading more of Ivy Granger.
I received a free ARC, and am voluntarily reviewing this book.
A funny, yet at times, a completely disturbing book. I think most people wouldn’t describe it like that, but I found it funny at times. The sayings that the Author comes up with, and the way she describes things, I found quite funny. The Ivy Granger books are in a class all there own. I’ve only read two so far, but they’ve both been excellent, definitely worth reading. Paranormal, mystery, comedy, combined with disgusting and terrifying creatures.
Ivy and her few friends Jinx (her business partner/roommate/best friend, a human) Madame Kaye (friend/helps Ivy with magic, she’s a witch) Hob (became friends over the years, with the grouchy little brownie, a type of fae). These are her main friends from the beginning. Then she also becomes friends with Marvin (a young, albeit very stinky, sweet, Troll). Who is homeless and lost his father, but Kaye is helping him.
Ivy and her friends are close, help each other with anything and reliable to each other. Ivy having always been the odd ball growing up, because of her power (psychometry, the supernatural ability to see events, usually traumatic, in an objects history, or skin too skin contact. She can also see through glamour, something the supernatural beings use to make themselves, or things look different). Ivy always wears gloves to prevent getting, horrific visions. She has seen way to many horrible things in her life. Now she only uses that gift if she absolutely has to, for solving a case. Ivy suffers terrible nightmares, because of all the things she’s witnessed.
This book was very good. The characters are endearing, relatable, real people (except the monsters). I was completely engrossed in this book once I started it. I mean no sleep, don’t talk to me, dam it I have to pee again, engrossed. There is always something happening, or something they are preparing for, something that is going to happen. There’s no chance, for your mind to wonder, there’s to much going on.
Ivy is much braver than she thinks, and does a lot of scary things, in the name of saving the little seaside community, where she lives. Ivy and her friends, along with some unsuspected others, go along way to try to save the community and humans in it.
In the end Ivy finds herself with more friends, and finds out a huge secret about herself. She also learns things about her parents, that she would have never guessed. Of course a lot more happens in the book, but I don’t want to give anything away.
Oh, definitely worth reading. Fast paced, something is always happening. It’s fun yet has scary creatures, along with the old favorite creatures. Has it’s share of blood/Gore, but the blood and Gore is not constant. Also, shows the great easy flowing friendships, between Ivy and her friends. Although, at one point, something happened with Ivy, by one of her friends. Ivy was out of it, and starting to use a lot of different sayings and this friend did something (I know that is vague, but again I don’t want to give anything away). I’m curious to see if anything comes of that. Heck, I’m curious about a lot of things, that’s why I’m going to start the next book.
I was given a copy of this book to read, I left a review on my own.
E.J. Stevens
Shadow Sight
Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective Series
By: E. J. Stevens
Narrated by: Traci Odom
I found this a cute psychic detective series and will certainly read more books by this author. Lots of fun creatures, adventure, characters and even a unicorn! It was a fun story with a good mystery.
The narrator was great and was the glue that held things together. Great voices, emotions, and sounds. Wonderful job!
Incredibly fun and entertaining …
What a thrilling joyride into the realm of urban fantasy! E. J. Stevens provides her readers with the most imaginative and amazing stories and characters. In this first full-length book of the Ivy Granger series (there is a fun prequel novella), we are introduced to Ivy, the lead character, who is an amusingly snarky young woman in possession of the rare gift of psychometry (the ability to receive visions/impressions from objects she touches). She and her best friend (and roommate), Jinx, run Private Eye, a psychic detective agency in the fictional town of Harborsmouth. When contacted by a demon lawyer (snicker) representing the Kelpie race of sea fae, Ivy and her friends are set on a path which pits them against a ruthless enemy in an epic battle which will determine the fate of their town. To have any hope of victory, alliances must be forged with a diverse array of supernatural beings and Ivy finds herself in the center of it all. This is fast-paced, action-packed urban fantasy at its finest.
For those preferring the audio format, I can unequivocally recommend this title. The narrator, Traci Odom, provides an outstanding performance. The characters are given distinct vocalizations and their emotions are superbly conveyed. The author and the narrator are a stellar combination of talent that yield a truly delightful experience for enthusiasts of urban fantasy.
While I did purchase and enjoy this book a few years ago, I was recently given a free audio copy of this story by the author and I am voluntarily offering this honest review.
If you find this review helpful, I thank you for so indicating.
Shadow Sight (Ivy Granger #1), my third read from author E.J. Stevens and my second Ivy Granger read. Well-written with intriguing characters. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it & since I own both the Audible & Kindle editions I was able to follow along while being read to. Traci Odom’s narration added to the well-written book’s enjoyment. E.J. Stevens is rapidly becoming a go-to author for me! (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
I enjoyed this audiobook about Ivy Granger, a psychic detective with the unusual gift (or curse, as she might consider it) of psychometry. I could not imagine the horror of experiencing the torment that people had gone through whenever my skin touched an object or person, I don’t think I would consider it a blessing. I enjoyed Ivy’s character as a whole and thought both the author and the narrator showed her reluctance, fear and determination well. The variety of creatures in the story were great too. I especially loved the unicorn and look forward to seeing what its affinity to Ivy really means in future books. Her best friend Jinx is amusing, well organized and counteracts Ivy’s somewhat more serious but messier personality well (though her internal dialog was often hilarious.) The story itself has a mix of old fairy tales, legends, fantasy and lore; with demons, kelpies, trolls, fae, vampires and many other creatures. There is lots of action and it seems a bit chaotic at times, but the narrator navigates the complexities and horror well, keeping you absorbed in the story and giving the characters individual voices. Dark and yet a bit whimsical at the same time, this audiobook was fast paced, entertaining and left me wanting to hear how things progress in Ivy and her friends’ lives.
I got put on the author’s mailing list by joining a contest. And this ebook was a free promotion to subscribers. I love UF but I hate horror, and Stevens’ writing is sort of a blend of both. It’s more UF than horror but she lingers too long on the danger and the gore for my taste.
The worldbuilding was excellent, even though I didn’t like it. Harboursmouth is a city plagued by unseelie beasts of all descriptions. She includes all manner of Fae and mythical beings, mostly from Celtic mythologies but not exclusively, and shows much more variety than common authors. That was all wonderful.
The plot was nothing special, but it wasn’t boring either. A psychic detective has to try to get several groups of generally unfriendly beings to cooperate and sign on for a battle to save the city from being overrun by evil water horses that will kill everybody. The bargaining she has to go through to get what she wants sometimes seems unbelievable but at least it keeps the reader in suspense.
The characters were good and generally believable and likeable. None stood out to me as particularly lovable, even though there were opportunities where I thought they could have. This is an area where I feel the author could focus a little better in the future, but there were no specific flaws to complain about either. I particularly liked the character of Jinx, though she plays almost no part in the story and is mostly only visible through second hand descriptions. I was disappointed that she wasn’t developed, and that there was really no character interplay at all in the whole book other than two very short scenes. Another missed opportunity by the author.
The romance tacked on in the last few pages was a bad joke and is almost insulting to readers. I don’t care much for romance to begin with, but this was worse than most. It just comes out of nowhere, for no purpose, and suddenly she’s dating the Kelpie King. Like, whatever. Shrug
Overall, I disliked the book but I loved the detail of mythology that she uses. After reading this, and the (far worse) short story prequel called “Frostbite”, I won’t be continuing with this author.
I can’t recommend it, but if you happen to be a UF reader who also loves horror then you may enjoy these in spite of me.