Archeologist Taryn St. Giles has spent her life mining the ruins of the elves who vanished from the Four Kingdoms a thousand years ago. But when her patrons begin disappearing too—and then turning up dead—she finds herself unemployed, restless, and desperate. So she goes looking for other missing things: as a bounty hunter. Tracking her first fugitive—the distractingly handsome and strangely … strangely charming Alric—she unearths a dangerous underworld of warring crime lords, demonic squirrels, and a long-lost elven artifact capable of unleashing a hell on earth.
Chased, robbed, kidnapped, and distressingly low on rent money, Taryn just wants one quiet beer and to catch her fugitive. But there’s more to Alric than his wicked grin—is he a wanted man or the city’s only hope? With menacing mages in pursuit and her three alcoholic faery sidekicks always in her hair, Taryn’s curiosity might finally solve the mystery of the elves… or be the death of her and destroy her world.
If Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, invaded Stephanie Plumb’s Jersey and fell into a raucous, twisted Middle Earth, they might find Taryn St. Giles already waiting for them in this high action fantasy caper.– Jessa Slade, award-winning author of QUEEN OF STARLIGHT, Sheerspace Book 1
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A character that you would like to hang out with and a story that keeps you wondering what magical abject will appear next.
Just finished. I wasn’t impressed. This book never hooked me. I was never drawn in and really didn’t care if I finished it.
Marie Andreas is a new author for me. With all of the self publishing out there, there are many many books that are truly terrible. This series was a very nice surprise. I was drawn in by the humor, and kept in suspense by the danger and action. The characters were well described and consistent. I got one book after the other and read them all one after the other. Great series, and looking forward to more.
Awesome Characters, Awesome world. Loved every page.
This book was okay. Slow in parts, some good action here and there, but a lot is not said about the origins of the main character. And it leaves you questioning it throughout the book — It is a little annoying that she and her fairies spend most of their time drinking ale in the pub. I would like more story and less of the constantly trying to get drunk. Boring.
Love Gargoyles but in this story! The characters got me hooked, kept reading the rest of the series so I could find out more about Alric, now waiting for the next book!
Must read the rest of the series. Can’t wait.
This writer is a great storyteller, but there should have been one more run through with a proofreader/copy editor.
Easy read that left me wanting to see what trouble Taryn St. Giles would find next. It has action and is full of interesting characters. A bit more history about the main characters would have been nice.
It showed a great deal about the life in Henry the 5th’s England.
Interesting concept of faeries. Fairly engaging heroine, writing OK, typos not too bad. Racial diversity quite chaotic. Violence much too frequent. Sympathetic view of archaeology.
I read so much that it is wonderful to find an author who keeps me interested to the end of the book.
I like the characters and the plot, though predictable, is engaging. I have purchased the next in the series.
books in series tend to be too short with book 3 onl 280 pages not a goo buy
It was exactly what I was looking for, easy read, fun (at least to me), good characters (built well). I will read the whole series.
Interesting book!
This was just so much fun, and intriguing to boot. I came bouncing back to buy everything else in the series, not so much because I’d been left hanging as because I felt I was just getting to know the characters and wanted to further my acquaintance as quickly as possible. They’re not just unusual and interesting, they’re terrifically likable.
“Rollicking” is a very good word for this book, though it also has an underlying wistfulness to it. The protagonist is young and on her own in a world that’s not all that hospitable; she’s just scraping by, but since she is following her passion for ancient artifacts, she’s basically happy. The “people” she has collected around her turn out to be much more than she realized, and to care about her more than she recognized too.
It’s well-written, funny in the makes-you-smile way, and nicely produced — the mechanics are all sound. The first-person voice is informal and conversational, very pleasant. The plot moves along remarkably. One reviewer complained about the protagonist’s cluelessness — to me, she seemed smart enough. She reminded me of myself at that age — doing her pretty decent best with not enough knowledge or information. You know, growing up. I loved this book.
Too much going on. At the end, I had no idea what happened. Everything was very unclear for the whole book
I could not put this one down, nor the second book. Enjoyed it very much.