tartbarbie's review against another edition
5.0
First sentence-
Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk the streets unseen by humans....except those with second sight.
Review
I received this book in return for a honest review from the author from a giveaway on Librarything. I was drawn to this book by the synopsis it sounds so interesting I love anything paranormal. The book is about Ivy Granger a Psychic Detective who co-owns Private Eye with her roommate and best friend Jinx. Ivy is special she has the second sight, that means she can see the supernatural for who they are not what they want they want to be seen. In addition to being able to see who the supernatural's are Ivy can also get visions from touching an object, that being said not visions are warm and fuzzy so they affect her deeply leaving her haunted by nightmares, and in screaming fits. So Ivy wears gloves and is very careful what she touches to avoid unwanted visions.
They are hired by a Demon attorney who happens to be working for Kelpies a water horse fae who's king has gone missing, when his bridle was stolen. They learn that the bridle has been taken by the ever uisage, and since a Kelpie is controlled by who has the bridle it is assumed they control the king. A deal is struck between the Demon and Ivy, that she will find the bridle, after all the girls have to be able to pay rent. Ivy seeks assistance from a local very powerful witch Kaye to help her find the bridle. With the missing Kelpie king the ever uisage are free to plan a attack on the city of Harborsmouth slaying all the humans.
Ivy sets out on a mission to recruit help from the supernatural community to fight the threat of the ever uisage before they can destroy the city. She makes many new friends, make deals with other supernaturals in the community that could bite her later, and risk her life for the city. This is a face paced, supernatural mystery, that keeps you on your toes and guessing what will come next. I really enjoyed reading this book, it was hard to put it down when I had real life stuff popping up and when I wasn't reading it's all I thought about. I wanted to know more. I like that the book plays off the supernaturals that aren't always the spotlight of the book a unique twist.
The characters are well written Ivy is a gem, you just love her right away, she's comes off as a real person she's special but it's not always a gift either. She really grows as a character, as you learn more about her as the book progresses. She lives with her best friend, one of the only ones to understand her Jinx who happens to be obsessed with shoes, and uses them to guilt Ivy. This book has it all, unicorns, vampires, trolls, hobs, witches, fae, demons, pixies and much much more. I really enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to the next one, the teaser at the end of this one did just that.
Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk the streets unseen by humans....except those with second sight.
Review
I received this book in return for a honest review from the author from a giveaway on Librarything. I was drawn to this book by the synopsis it sounds so interesting I love anything paranormal. The book is about Ivy Granger a Psychic Detective who co-owns Private Eye with her roommate and best friend Jinx. Ivy is special she has the second sight, that means she can see the supernatural for who they are not what they want they want to be seen. In addition to being able to see who the supernatural's are Ivy can also get visions from touching an object, that being said not visions are warm and fuzzy so they affect her deeply leaving her haunted by nightmares, and in screaming fits. So Ivy wears gloves and is very careful what she touches to avoid unwanted visions.
They are hired by a Demon attorney who happens to be working for Kelpies a water horse fae who's king has gone missing, when his bridle was stolen. They learn that the bridle has been taken by the ever uisage, and since a Kelpie is controlled by who has the bridle it is assumed they control the king. A deal is struck between the Demon and Ivy, that she will find the bridle, after all the girls have to be able to pay rent. Ivy seeks assistance from a local very powerful witch Kaye to help her find the bridle. With the missing Kelpie king the ever uisage are free to plan a attack on the city of Harborsmouth slaying all the humans.
Ivy sets out on a mission to recruit help from the supernatural community to fight the threat of the ever uisage before they can destroy the city. She makes many new friends, make deals with other supernaturals in the community that could bite her later, and risk her life for the city. This is a face paced, supernatural mystery, that keeps you on your toes and guessing what will come next. I really enjoyed reading this book, it was hard to put it down when I had real life stuff popping up and when I wasn't reading it's all I thought about. I wanted to know more. I like that the book plays off the supernaturals that aren't always the spotlight of the book a unique twist.
The characters are well written Ivy is a gem, you just love her right away, she's comes off as a real person she's special but it's not always a gift either. She really grows as a character, as you learn more about her as the book progresses. She lives with her best friend, one of the only ones to understand her Jinx who happens to be obsessed with shoes, and uses them to guilt Ivy. This book has it all, unicorns, vampires, trolls, hobs, witches, fae, demons, pixies and much much more. I really enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to the next one, the teaser at the end of this one did just that.
raeanne's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks E.J. Stevens for the free copy to review.
This is a series I’ve featured on my blog before because it sounds fantastic and I love supporting indie authors. But I hadn’t read any…until now.
Shadow Sight follows Ivy Granger, a touch-phobic (aka haphephobic) psychometric psychic. She’s the typical touch cookie with a nougat center, family issues, a perfect best friend, and money problems. With the standard introduction, it didn’t immediately grab me. I was waiting for something to stand out and shake it up.
And I found it.
The Good:
+Loved the different creatures and beings rare in paranormals
+Solid worldbuilding set up
+Liked the King & supporting cast
+Ivy’s a solid protagonist, clear flaws and strengths
The Bad & The Other:
-Some obvious outcomes
-Annoyed at the repetition in the beginning of how dangerous and bad and screwed everything is
-A few questionable decisions
-Feels like insta-love
-Characters are simple archetypes
While there are the routine inclusions like vamps, witches, and demons, the vast majority are different faeries that I loved learning about. It’s mostly dry research but what book nerd doesn’t love dusty old tomes? The descriptions of the creepy illustrations created a perfect mental image.
The farther it goes into the faerie mythology, the better Shadow Sight became. Not only was I hooked into learning about them, Ivy lost some of her trying-too-hard edgy badass veneer.
It was obvious where the story was going but I didn’t know exactly how they were going to make it work. I like how Ivy’s smart and tough. Her powers might be special with her heritage but she’s not some perfect unstoppable badass.
She’d be nothing without the great team behind her and she knows it. Her best friend is an assistant extraordinaire who is perfect besides her taste in men. The closest thing to a mentor is an old, odd, powerful witch who comes with a brownie and troll to round out the squad.
Everything was pretty standard for the genre but it’s a solid, quick paranormal romance jaunt.
There’s action, romance, and mystery. The carnage was pretty good, especially since my first thought was how the fuck do water horse fairies fight. If you’re looking for steamy or sexy though, Shadow Sight isn’t the right series. Ivy is a virgin since she’s touch-phobic and simply touching without two pairs of gloves on (her hands, you naughty minds) is a huge step.
If you know your faerie lore, you’ll figure out the baddies behind the scenes quick, but I didn’t, which worked out.
There’s one plot point that doesn’t sit right with me though and it has far-flung repercussions. See, Ivy has a memory problem and someone decides to renew it instead of reveal it. Ivy’s ignorance leads to stupid decisions that will come back to bite her and paves the way for the romance to start, Part of me wishes it was handled differently because why the hell did you do that, FFS and the other part can’t figure out how the romance would work out if it was different. So I’m at an impasse and just rolling with it as is.
If you only read this genre occasionally, there are better series to spend your time on.
If you’re a connoisseur of the genre and always hunting for more, Shadow Sight can scratch your itch. As long as you can get lost in the adventure, you can’t go wrong trying it. Check out the preview on Goodreads or Amazon.
This is a series I’ve featured on my blog before because it sounds fantastic and I love supporting indie authors. But I hadn’t read any…until now.
Shadow Sight follows Ivy Granger, a touch-phobic (aka haphephobic) psychometric psychic. She’s the typical touch cookie with a nougat center, family issues, a perfect best friend, and money problems. With the standard introduction, it didn’t immediately grab me. I was waiting for something to stand out and shake it up.
And I found it.
The Good:
+Loved the different creatures and beings rare in paranormals
+Solid worldbuilding set up
+Liked the King & supporting cast
+Ivy’s a solid protagonist, clear flaws and strengths
The Bad & The Other:
-Some obvious outcomes
-Annoyed at the repetition in the beginning of how dangerous and bad and screwed everything is
-A few questionable decisions
-Feels like insta-love
-Characters are simple archetypes
While there are the routine inclusions like vamps, witches, and demons, the vast majority are different faeries that I loved learning about. It’s mostly dry research but what book nerd doesn’t love dusty old tomes? The descriptions of the creepy illustrations created a perfect mental image.
The farther it goes into the faerie mythology, the better Shadow Sight became. Not only was I hooked into learning about them, Ivy lost some of her trying-too-hard edgy badass veneer.
It was obvious where the story was going but I didn’t know exactly how they were going to make it work. I like how Ivy’s smart and tough. Her powers might be special with her heritage but she’s not some perfect unstoppable badass.
She’d be nothing without the great team behind her and she knows it. Her best friend is an assistant extraordinaire who is perfect besides her taste in men. The closest thing to a mentor is an old, odd, powerful witch who comes with a brownie and troll to round out the squad.
Everything was pretty standard for the genre but it’s a solid, quick paranormal romance jaunt.
There’s action, romance, and mystery. The carnage was pretty good, especially since my first thought was how the fuck do water horse fairies fight. If you’re looking for steamy or sexy though, Shadow Sight isn’t the right series. Ivy is a virgin since she’s touch-phobic and simply touching without two pairs of gloves on (her hands, you naughty minds) is a huge step.
If you know your faerie lore, you’ll figure out the baddies behind the scenes quick, but I didn’t, which worked out.
There’s one plot point that doesn’t sit right with me though and it has far-flung repercussions. See, Ivy has a memory problem and someone decides to renew it instead of reveal it. Ivy’s ignorance leads to stupid decisions that will come back to bite her and paves the way for the romance to start, Part of me wishes it was handled differently because why the hell did you do that, FFS and the other part can’t figure out how the romance would work out if it was different. So I’m at an impasse and just rolling with it as is.
If you only read this genre occasionally, there are better series to spend your time on.
If you’re a connoisseur of the genre and always hunting for more, Shadow Sight can scratch your itch. As long as you can get lost in the adventure, you can’t go wrong trying it. Check out the preview on Goodreads or Amazon.
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
4.0
Read/Listened for Fun (Kindle/Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 4.25
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
First Thoughts when Finished: Other than a few over description moments in the first 1/3 of Shadow Sight, this ended up being a super fun UF Mystery read. I will be getting the rest of the series.
Quick Thoughts: I love when I find a series (or more accurately my friends did) that combines my love of mysteries and urban fantasy. Shadow Sight does so really well. There is also a kick-ass group of characters (led by Ivy) that made the ride super fun. This is UF too so there was some world building to be done, a big part of the first part of the story is focused on that. Trust me when I say stick with it, after the world is built there is action, snark, fun, and the case is darn solid! I highly recommend this and can't wait to continue on.
Audio Thoughts:
This is my first audiobook narrated by Traci but it won't be my last. She did a darn good job. I have another one (by Deanna Chase) on my TBR so I just bumped that one up. I was impressed with her delivery of the story.
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 4.25
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
First Thoughts when Finished: Other than a few over description moments in the first 1/3 of Shadow Sight, this ended up being a super fun UF Mystery read. I will be getting the rest of the series.
Quick Thoughts: I love when I find a series (or more accurately my friends did) that combines my love of mysteries and urban fantasy. Shadow Sight does so really well. There is also a kick-ass group of characters (led by Ivy) that made the ride super fun. This is UF too so there was some world building to be done, a big part of the first part of the story is focused on that. Trust me when I say stick with it, after the world is built there is action, snark, fun, and the case is darn solid! I highly recommend this and can't wait to continue on.
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated by: Traci Odom /Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
This is my first audiobook narrated by Traci but it won't be my last. She did a darn good job. I have another one (by Deanna Chase) on my TBR so I just bumped that one up. I was impressed with her delivery of the story.
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews
mad_about_books's review against another edition
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.
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.
chllybrd's review against another edition
3.0
Ivy Grainger makes her living as a psychic detective. She has no clue how she got her gift and she definitely doesn't always enjoy it but it pays the bills. I liked Ivy right away, she was quirky and interesting to follow. Her roommate and business partner Jinx keeps her on track and grounded. There is a great amount of action and danger throughout the book as Harborsmouth is a dangerous place to live. There are a wide array of paranormal creatures introduced and there is even a unicorn who really doesn't have much of a role in anything but is introduced nevertheless. Harborsmouth is well written about and described. For most of the book we have no clue what Ivy really is and it isn't revealed until the end. I would actually like to read more about her and her biological father and why he left her.
Despite all that for a good portion of the book I just found myself bored. I'm not saying lots of good things didn't happen and I WAS entertained at points, I just didn't find myself getting that into it unless it was one of the action type scenes. Now despite saying that I'm still interested in seeing what happens next.
Despite all that for a good portion of the book I just found myself bored. I'm not saying lots of good things didn't happen and I WAS entertained at points, I just didn't find myself getting that into it unless it was one of the action type scenes. Now despite saying that I'm still interested in seeing what happens next.
lavendermarch's review
3.0
Reread 9/4/2021
This was a decent reread, but the ending felt a bit rushed/unnatural, at least romantically. While I enjoyed the book's main plot, which was fast-paced and exciting, I thought that there were a few instances of telling rather than showing (i.e. when explaining Kaye's backstory) that bogged the book down. However, besides these things, I did find the book entertaining. I may or may not continue my reread. 3.5 stars.
This was a decent reread, but the ending felt a bit rushed/unnatural, at least romantically. While I enjoyed the book's main plot, which was fast-paced and exciting, I thought that there were a few instances of telling rather than showing (i.e. when explaining Kaye's backstory) that bogged the book down. However, besides these things, I did find the book entertaining. I may or may not continue my reread. 3.5 stars.
book_whispers's review
1.0
Positives first. I've been wanting another read with a lead for psychometry. Ivy is pretty cool and as a character I enjoyed her. She had an interesting voice and I chuckled at quite a few lines of her internal banter. The cast of characters are fun and the magical creatures are in abundance. The Unicorn lore and THE unicorn was awesome. My unicorn obsession hit full force, and was a factor for me pushing through. I'm a sucker for magical creatures. Especially the horned one. (That would sound really bad out of context. It actually sounds kind of bad in context.)
It helps that the writing isn't the worst I've read, and spelling isn't an issue. Though the writing is rough. Sometimes I felt like there were too many commas. I do it to.
The killing factor for me was the information dumps. It's all very convoluted. It took 5 pages to walk to a church, because of the needless information that was being dumped. Don't get me wrong I adore it when an author has a place so well developed and the characters have rich back stories. When it's taking away from the present story it's not a good thing. Pacing and information come hand in hand. It needs to be told, but not in away that it bogs down the story. The back stories didn't even follow a linear story. They jumped around tossing random bits out.
The excess of information was bad. Quite a bit of it could have been cut out, or at least not repeated so much. Making this a much longer read then it needed to be, and quite honestly I no longer cared about the story it was trying to tell. Ivy ended up suffering as a character due to everything else being delved into. Actually I felt like Steve enjoyed all her other characters more. It was very strange.
In the end the convoluted nature of this book killed it's own story. Not even using the time to flesh out Ivy, who is actually an interesting character. From the little about her in the book. Psychometry we miss each other again. Maybe another lead in a better book. I'm out. There are better series. More importantly better written books. It's a shame, it had so much promise.
Sexual Content: Pretty clean. Nothing shocking.
1/5- I couldn't finish it or wish I hadn't.
Originally posted at Book Whispers.
It helps that the writing isn't the worst I've read, and spelling isn't an issue. Though the writing is rough. Sometimes I felt like there were too many commas. I do it to.
The killing factor for me was the information dumps. It's all very convoluted. It took 5 pages to walk to a church, because of the needless information that was being dumped. Don't get me wrong I adore it when an author has a place so well developed and the characters have rich back stories. When it's taking away from the present story it's not a good thing. Pacing and information come hand in hand. It needs to be told, but not in away that it bogs down the story. The back stories didn't even follow a linear story. They jumped around tossing random bits out.
The excess of information was bad. Quite a bit of it could have been cut out, or at least not repeated so much. Making this a much longer read then it needed to be, and quite honestly I no longer cared about the story it was trying to tell. Ivy ended up suffering as a character due to everything else being delved into. Actually I felt like Steve enjoyed all her other characters more. It was very strange.
In the end the convoluted nature of this book killed it's own story. Not even using the time to flesh out Ivy, who is actually an interesting character. From the little about her in the book. Psychometry we miss each other again. Maybe another lead in a better book. I'm out. There are better series. More importantly better written books. It's a shame, it had so much promise.
Sexual Content: Pretty clean. Nothing shocking.
1/5- I couldn't finish it or wish I hadn't.
Originally posted at Book Whispers.
avid_reader_sf_and_f's review against another edition
2.0
This book left me disappointed. That said, I'm still going to read the sequel.
Because although, it came out very stiffly written and was generally frustrating, this book had potential. The concept was brilliant, it's just that the writing of the story fell flat.
As someone else below said, "I've learned with experience, and quite a few times too- first books of fantasy series tend to not be as awesome as the rest of the series. So, I'll be reading the next book, hoping that it just might turn out to be really great."
Because although, it came out very stiffly written and was generally frustrating, this book had potential. The concept was brilliant, it's just that the writing of the story fell flat.
As someone else below said, "I've learned with experience, and quite a few times too- first books of fantasy series tend to not be as awesome as the rest of the series. So, I'll be reading the next book, hoping that it just might turn out to be really great."
aly36's review against another edition
3.0
This book is book 1 in the series and for me Ivy Granger has potential to be a good series. I enjoyed the story and the characters. Ivy is a unique character but I enjoyed her story. An intense fear of physical contact due to uncontrollable psychometry is part of Ivy's abilities and she is a detective so it was fun to get more into this story. To me, the pacing was a little slow but I think I can see the other books in the series to pick up the pace. "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."