katleap's review
4.0
4 stars
(there my be spoilers)
I picked this book up off a recommendation of an author I adore. Her recs are great for me and they almost never miss. This book was both a hit and miss for me.
Victory Vaughn (aka Vicky) is a professional demon-slayer (think Buffy but with a paycheck). She is also a shapeshifter who can change her shape three times between cycles of the moon. Her sometime boyfriend, Kane is a werewolf whose goal is get all Paranormal creature recognition and rights from the government. She has a 15 year old zombie apprentice, Tina and a vampire roommate, Juliet (yes that Juliet). Vicky lives in Deadtown, a radius where all paranormal beings live in downtown Boston. There is something bad happening with the local election and a reappearance of a demon from her past throws Vicky into the middle of trouble.
I had such a love hate relationship with this book. I loved the world building. The difference in paranormal characters was awesome. Vicky being a shapeshifter with a history that goes back to wales and roots in a real legend. Totally believable. The demon slaying is cool and inventive. I like discovering the different types of demons and hope that there will be more kinds in the future and that they are all just as quirky or scary, cause both is fine.
I have to give the zombies their own paragraph. I don't do zombies. I don't like to read about them, usually the book gets put down rather quickly and the only way I even tolerate them is if they are scary flesh eating monsters that need to be hacked to death on occasion. HOWEVER, that being said I actually enjoyed the zombies in this book. Clyde the doorman was funny, Sykes was cool and Tina (when I wasn't cringing from 15 year old OMG) was interesting. The plague idea totally works and I didn't stop on account of the zombies.
The flip side is that Vicky's choices drove me nuts. There were a few times that I just wanted to grab Vicky by her shoulders and shake her. If she would take a second to think before rushing then maybe she could put out a few fires instead of lighting more.
The relationships with the men in this book drove me mad. There is Kane the "boyfriend" who isn't. She is always rushing off to work fine, but to watch the news instead of paying attention to his girlfriend when they are practically in the the middle of things is ridiculous. Plus because Kane wasn't in the picture, the book lacked the witty banter that usually goes on between the main characters in UF. Instead there is a this 'thing' with a human cop that does nothing for me as a reader. He's just a safety hatch in-case the Kane doesn't work out.
In short 28 year old Vicky is immature. The death of her father has made her wallow in guilt and never grow up. I hope as the series goes on, (because yes I will continue with it even though i almost chucked the book across the room several times in frustration), Vicky grows up and finds some more maturity.
(there my be spoilers)
I picked this book up off a recommendation of an author I adore. Her recs are great for me and they almost never miss. This book was both a hit and miss for me.
Victory Vaughn (aka Vicky) is a professional demon-slayer (think Buffy but with a paycheck). She is also a shapeshifter who can change her shape three times between cycles of the moon. Her sometime boyfriend, Kane is a werewolf whose goal is get all Paranormal creature recognition and rights from the government. She has a 15 year old zombie apprentice, Tina and a vampire roommate, Juliet (yes that Juliet). Vicky lives in Deadtown, a radius where all paranormal beings live in downtown Boston. There is something bad happening with the local election and a reappearance of a demon from her past throws Vicky into the middle of trouble.
I had such a love hate relationship with this book. I loved the world building. The difference in paranormal characters was awesome. Vicky being a shapeshifter with a history that goes back to wales and roots in a real legend. Totally believable. The demon slaying is cool and inventive. I like discovering the different types of demons and hope that there will be more kinds in the future and that they are all just as quirky or scary, cause both is fine.
I have to give the zombies their own paragraph. I don't do zombies. I don't like to read about them, usually the book gets put down rather quickly and the only way I even tolerate them is if they are scary flesh eating monsters that need to be hacked to death on occasion. HOWEVER, that being said I actually enjoyed the zombies in this book. Clyde the doorman was funny, Sykes was cool and Tina (when I wasn't cringing from 15 year old OMG) was interesting. The plague idea totally works and I didn't stop on account of the zombies.
The flip side is that Vicky's choices drove me nuts. There were a few times that I just wanted to grab Vicky by her shoulders and shake her. If she would take a second to think before rushing then maybe she could put out a few fires instead of lighting more.
The relationships with the men in this book drove me mad. There is Kane the "boyfriend" who isn't. She is always rushing off to work fine, but to watch the news instead of paying attention to his girlfriend when they are practically in the the middle of things is ridiculous. Plus because Kane wasn't in the picture, the book lacked the witty banter that usually goes on between the main characters in UF. Instead there is a this 'thing' with a human cop that does nothing for me as a reader. He's just a safety hatch in-case the Kane doesn't work out.
In short 28 year old Vicky is immature. The death of her father has made her wallow in guilt and never grow up. I hope as the series goes on, (because yes I will continue with it even though i almost chucked the book across the room several times in frustration), Vicky grows up and finds some more maturity.
felinity's review
3.0
Although intriguing, for some reason I just didn't click with this book or world. For those leery of zombies, I will say this is not your "normal" book with zombies, not at all typical.
bibliofiendlm's review
3.0
Not bad urban fantasy for the first in a series. Kept my attention and I'm compelled enough yo read on to book two.
lalabristow's review
4.0
Ever since i first heard about this new book, I knew I had to get it! The blurb really caught my attention, specially knowing that the heroine is a shifter. I so have a thing for shifters hehe
Vicky is a very interesting character. She is part of a very small minority even inside the minority of supernaturals that exist and she is very good at she does. However, even though I liked her from the start, she got on my nerves so many times. For a while she is so selfish and only concerned on what's in it for her and how can she make money out of the situation that I just wanted to join Kane (her werewolf sort of boyfriend) in yelling at her sometimes. She does come around for me and sees that things are bigger and more important than what she wants and by then I really got like her more and more.
I really enjoyed the set-up for Deadtown and the plot was really interesting and kept me on the edge throughout the whole book.
Vicky lives in Deadtown, a cordoned off area near Boston where all supernatural creatures have to live. A few years before a virus killed the people of the area and three days later they all raised as zombies. The virus mutated and became insignificant, but the damage was done. With the rise of the zombies, all supernaturals like Vamps, Werewolves, etc... Had to come out of hiding and deal with living out in the open.
One of the most interesting parts in this novel was the civil rights discussion throughout the whole book. Supernaturals have almost no right whatsoever and its even worse outside the state where Deadtown is located. A kid with supernatural blood is treated as an animal and its disgusting to see human nature at its worse.
The book has a lot of action and it's a great read. Nancy Holzner has an amazing debut in her hands and I am glad to know there will be more. I just can't wait.
Vicky is a very interesting character. She is part of a very small minority even inside the minority of supernaturals that exist and she is very good at she does. However, even though I liked her from the start, she got on my nerves so many times. For a while she is so selfish and only concerned on what's in it for her and how can she make money out of the situation that I just wanted to join Kane (her werewolf sort of boyfriend) in yelling at her sometimes. She does come around for me and sees that things are bigger and more important than what she wants and by then I really got like her more and more.
I really enjoyed the set-up for Deadtown and the plot was really interesting and kept me on the edge throughout the whole book.
Vicky lives in Deadtown, a cordoned off area near Boston where all supernatural creatures have to live. A few years before a virus killed the people of the area and three days later they all raised as zombies. The virus mutated and became insignificant, but the damage was done. With the rise of the zombies, all supernaturals like Vamps, Werewolves, etc... Had to come out of hiding and deal with living out in the open.
One of the most interesting parts in this novel was the civil rights discussion throughout the whole book. Supernaturals have almost no right whatsoever and its even worse outside the state where Deadtown is located. A kid with supernatural blood is treated as an animal and its disgusting to see human nature at its worse.
The book has a lot of action and it's a great read. Nancy Holzner has an amazing debut in her hands and I am glad to know there will be more. I just can't wait.
booklovinmamas's review
4.0
Full Review posted at Book Lovin' Mamas
I could go on and on how much I enjoyed this book though…but I must make some time to read the next book.
I look forward to reading the next in the series as soon as some of the projects at my work are taken care of. I need more of Deadtown and its inhabitants.
I give this book 4.5 stars and highly recommend it to Urban Fantasy readers out there. Believe me if you enjoy books with zombies, shifters, demons, and many other supernatural beings…you'll want to read this book/series. I needed a book full of other supernatural creatures with a kick-butt storyline and I got it from this book.
I could go on and on how much I enjoyed this book though…but I must make some time to read the next book.
I look forward to reading the next in the series as soon as some of the projects at my work are taken care of. I need more of Deadtown and its inhabitants.
I give this book 4.5 stars and highly recommend it to Urban Fantasy readers out there. Believe me if you enjoy books with zombies, shifters, demons, and many other supernatural beings…you'll want to read this book/series. I needed a book full of other supernatural creatures with a kick-butt storyline and I got it from this book.
wildflowerz76's review
4.0
This one found it's way onto my to-read list from the review of an online friend. It sounded interesting, so I stuck it on my Amazon list and didn't think a whole lot else about it. I'd never heard of the author or series before, so usually in that case, it goes on my list of books to look for at the used book store. It stayed on that list for a long time and I never found it that way. Eventually, in one of my Cmas orders, I couldn't wait any longer and got it. I'm glad I did.
As I've said before, I used to be heavily into the supernatural genre, but have gotten out of it for a while. In the past couple of years, most of the ones I've tried that didn't belong to series I was already reading sucked. So consequently, I haven't tried as many. I'm glad I did read this one. I liked the alternate reality and overall liked the heroine, though she did frustrate me in some instances. I didn't really see the attraction of Kane, but whatever. I'll definitely put more of this series on my Wish List and hopefully get to them quicker than it took for me to get to this one!
As I've said before, I used to be heavily into the supernatural genre, but have gotten out of it for a while. In the past couple of years, most of the ones I've tried that didn't belong to series I was already reading sucked. So consequently, I haven't tried as many. I'm glad I did read this one. I liked the alternate reality and overall liked the heroine, though she did frustrate me in some instances. I didn't really see the attraction of Kane, but whatever. I'll definitely put more of this series on my Wish List and hopefully get to them quicker than it took for me to get to this one!
clothdragon's review
1.0
Dreamscape is password protected against unauthorized exits, but not against unauthorized entries -- allowing her not-so-intelligent assistant to nearly destroy a man's mind. I want so much to like this book, but I can't seem to get past this first section.
diannamorganti's review
4.0
Victoria Vaughan is a demon-killing shape-shifter in a world where a virus accidentally killed, then re-animated much of downtown Boston. Don't worry, reader, the zombies are all perfectly nice paranormal americans. However, the norms are all terrified and have set up an encampment called Deadtown around the virus-affected area. All paranormal americans (PAs) have to live in Deadtown, and most don't have any civil rights in America, such as voting, to better the situation. I can definitely see this enriching the series.
I find her politician/lawyer/werewolf boyfriend kind of annoying, but I dig the character Vicky. She's very much a female Harry Dresden, and this first book in the series shows just as much promise. Check it out if you like the Dresden Files.
I find her politician/lawyer/werewolf boyfriend kind of annoying, but I dig the character Vicky. She's very much a female Harry Dresden, and this first book in the series shows just as much promise. Check it out if you like the Dresden Files.
minotaursmaze's review
3.0
Quite liked this one, not to much romance distracting from actually having a story.
becasaur27's review
3.0
This book was ok. I'd probably read more in the series if they came my way easily. It really reminds me of Jim Butcher's series, which I've only read the first two or three of. I like it but don't love it so much that I must buy all of them and read them right now.