mad_about_books's review
5.0
Ivy Granger, the heroine of the series, continues to develop in complexity. In BIRTHRIGHT she must deal with some pretty startling revelations while trying to maintain the persona she has developed over her lifetime.
If you have been reading the series, you probably feel that the very title foreshadows what is to come. To some degree, in that you will not be disappointed, yet there will still be surprises.
I remain impressed with the first person narration and its cinematic appeal. (In case you missed my review of BURNING BRIGHT, I did a shout out to Joss Whedon suggesting he might want to option the series.) You probably think of most fiction in terms of how it would translate to the big or small screen. You might even fantasize about who might play the lead roles. That's not where I'm going. I have to admit that I am not up on the latest young stars, so I have no idea who would play Ivy. What I do know is that Harborsmouth is a place that may not exist in the real world, but it has a look that is somewhere between seaside New England and New Orleans.
I've done all that I can not to talk about Ivy's friends and foes except to hint that her circle grows larger with every story. It's hard to keep the spoilers out when every character would give some little something away. Start the journey and meet Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective.
If you have been reading the series, you probably feel that the very title foreshadows what is to come. To some degree, in that you will not be disappointed, yet there will still be surprises.
I remain impressed with the first person narration and its cinematic appeal. (In case you missed my review of BURNING BRIGHT, I did a shout out to Joss Whedon suggesting he might want to option the series.) You probably think of most fiction in terms of how it would translate to the big or small screen. You might even fantasize about who might play the lead roles. That's not where I'm going. I have to admit that I am not up on the latest young stars, so I have no idea who would play Ivy. What I do know is that Harborsmouth is a place that may not exist in the real world, but it has a look that is somewhere between seaside New England and New Orleans.
I've done all that I can not to talk about Ivy's friends and foes except to hint that her circle grows larger with every story. It's hard to keep the spoilers out when every character would give some little something away. Start the journey and meet Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective.
audiobookmel's review
4.0
My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.
I was really excited to finally get to revisit the world of Ivy Granger. I was hoping that it would come out on audio, and I was glad that I waited and was able to get a chance to review it. I’ve been a huge fan of Ivy Granger since I met her in the first book, Shadow Sight. I just love her, all of her friends and the world built around her.
In this book, most of the story takes place outside of Harborsmouth and in the world of Faerie. Ceff, the king of the Kelpies and her lover, and Torn, lord of the Cat Sidhe, join her on this trip to Faerie to try to clear her name and try to control her powers. She has to travel to deal with the God of the Dead, but first they have to kill the Baphomet, the demon that is pictured on the cover. Oh, and let’s not forget The Morrigan, the Goddess of War, who appears in a lot of stories, but Stevens has made her own character in this story. While there, they pick up a new travel companion in a hearth brownie, Skillywedden or “Skilly” for short.
Then they are on to the Wisp court where Ivy meets her Uncle Kade. He does a lot to teach her about her powers. She spends a lot of time in the Wisp court, a lot longer than she intended. Things there don’t go as she intends. Her uncle also drops some pretty big bombs about Ivy’s past. I don’t want to tell any more, because spoilers. Let’s just say that there are things that happened that I didn’t see coming.
I really enjoyed this story, even as I missed many of the character that I normally love in this series. I’m a huge lover of secondary characters and I missed them in this story. I missed Jinx, the clutzy human best friend, Marvin the bridge troll, Hob the hearth brownie, Humphrey the gargoyle, Kay the witch, Sparky the soon to ever powerful demon lord, but now is the silly demon child. I even missed Forneus, the demon lawyer who is wooing Jinx. I did enjoy meeting Skilly and my time with him. I also enjoyed time with Ceff and Torn. This is a series that is full of some really fun characters. Even Donn, The God of the Dead, who first appears as a Santa Claus like person is really neat. Every character that Stevens has created is so much fun. Even the ones she creates that are even are great characters to read about. As a character driven reader, I can’t ask for any more. I’m ready for Hound’s Bite.
Narration
Melanie A. Mason continues to do a great job with the narration. She has become the voice of Ivy Granger to me. The more I listen to her narrate, the more I enjoy her narration. I’ve even starting to get used to male narrator doing the male voices (something I’ve only had with this series). There is a change to the male narrator. I’m not sure why the change, but he did a great job. I liked his voices for Ceff, Torn and even Sparky and Skilly. The male narrator has the harder voices here than the female voices. In this book, the female narrator mostly just had to do Ivy and a few other minor characters.
**Book was provided to me by the author. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway by the author.
I was really excited to finally get to revisit the world of Ivy Granger. I was hoping that it would come out on audio, and I was glad that I waited and was able to get a chance to review it. I’ve been a huge fan of Ivy Granger since I met her in the first book, Shadow Sight. I just love her, all of her friends and the world built around her.
In this book, most of the story takes place outside of Harborsmouth and in the world of Faerie. Ceff, the king of the Kelpies and her lover, and Torn, lord of the Cat Sidhe, join her on this trip to Faerie to try to clear her name and try to control her powers. She has to travel to deal with the God of the Dead, but first they have to kill the Baphomet, the demon that is pictured on the cover. Oh, and let’s not forget The Morrigan, the Goddess of War, who appears in a lot of stories, but Stevens has made her own character in this story. While there, they pick up a new travel companion in a hearth brownie, Skillywedden or “Skilly” for short.
Then they are on to the Wisp court where Ivy meets her Uncle Kade. He does a lot to teach her about her powers. She spends a lot of time in the Wisp court, a lot longer than she intended. Things there don’t go as she intends. Her uncle also drops some pretty big bombs about Ivy’s past. I don’t want to tell any more, because spoilers. Let’s just say that there are things that happened that I didn’t see coming.
I really enjoyed this story, even as I missed many of the character that I normally love in this series. I’m a huge lover of secondary characters and I missed them in this story. I missed Jinx, the clutzy human best friend, Marvin the bridge troll, Hob the hearth brownie, Humphrey the gargoyle, Kay the witch, Sparky the soon to ever powerful demon lord, but now is the silly demon child. I even missed Forneus, the demon lawyer who is wooing Jinx. I did enjoy meeting Skilly and my time with him. I also enjoyed time with Ceff and Torn. This is a series that is full of some really fun characters. Even Donn, The God of the Dead, who first appears as a Santa Claus like person is really neat. Every character that Stevens has created is so much fun. Even the ones she creates that are even are great characters to read about. As a character driven reader, I can’t ask for any more. I’m ready for Hound’s Bite.
Narration
Melanie A. Mason continues to do a great job with the narration. She has become the voice of Ivy Granger to me. The more I listen to her narrate, the more I enjoy her narration. I’ve even starting to get used to male narrator doing the male voices (something I’ve only had with this series). There is a change to the male narrator. I’m not sure why the change, but he did a great job. I liked his voices for Ceff, Torn and even Sparky and Skilly. The male narrator has the harder voices here than the female voices. In this book, the female narrator mostly just had to do Ivy and a few other minor characters.
**Book was provided to me by the author. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway by the author.
traditionson's review
3.0
Sadly predictable!
It was a shame that the backstory and the greater history of Ivy was spoiled 1/3 of the way in and the twist was revealed leaving me feeling as if I was plodding through. Whilst I loved the strength and resolve Ivy had it unfortunately had no mystery. I found the development of her powers interesting but the rest I struggled with. There was no real change or full push for a lot of things making it hard to keep going. I will be interested to see where it goes but it really does show that the secondary characters really does carry the series as Ivy for all her PI status is just blind to the information right in front of her.
It was a shame that the backstory and the greater history of Ivy was spoiled 1/3 of the way in and the twist was revealed leaving me feeling as if I was plodding through. Whilst I loved the strength and resolve Ivy had it unfortunately had no mystery. I found the development of her powers interesting but the rest I struggled with. There was no real change or full push for a lot of things making it hard to keep going. I will be interested to see where it goes but it really does show that the secondary characters really does carry the series as Ivy for all her PI status is just blind to the information right in front of her.
ayanamifaerudo's review
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
Whom would you believe: family you've been searching for but know nothing about or friends who have been with you since the beginning?
Quite a twist in your heritage there, Ivy.
Whom would you believe: family you've been searching for but know nothing about or friends who have been with you since the beginning?
Quite a twist in your heritage there, Ivy.
laffingkat's review
4.0
This is the fourth full-length novel in the Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective series by E.J. Stevens. This story is a continuation of past entries in the series and would therefore be best read in order, but it is written so that it can be enjoyed on its own.
I thought the plot was interesting enough, but what entertained me most was the dialog. I laughed quite a bit while listening to this. Ivy occasionally annoyed me a bit with some of her choices, but I could generally understand why she behaved the way she did, so kudos to the author for good characterization.
I really appreciated the narration by Melanie A. Mason and Anthony Bowling. The pacing was fairly good and I enjoyed the character voices. It’s especially fun to hear a prophecy in rhyme read to you in a creepy voice, or to hear a cat sidhe’s snarky comments in a sinfully delicious voice.
If you enjoy snarky urban fantasy, I recommend this book and the entire series, and I think it’s a great choice for listening. There is some swearing, but it’s generally terms like “Mab’s bones” or “Oberon’s eyes,” which I found amusing.
I was given a free copy of this audiobook by the author and volunteered to provide an honest review.
I thought the plot was interesting enough, but what entertained me most was the dialog. I laughed quite a bit while listening to this. Ivy occasionally annoyed me a bit with some of her choices, but I could generally understand why she behaved the way she did, so kudos to the author for good characterization.
I really appreciated the narration by Melanie A. Mason and Anthony Bowling. The pacing was fairly good and I enjoyed the character voices. It’s especially fun to hear a prophecy in rhyme read to you in a creepy voice, or to hear a cat sidhe’s snarky comments in a sinfully delicious voice.
If you enjoy snarky urban fantasy, I recommend this book and the entire series, and I think it’s a great choice for listening. There is some swearing, but it’s generally terms like “Mab’s bones” or “Oberon’s eyes,” which I found amusing.
I was given a free copy of this audiobook by the author and volunteered to provide an honest review.
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