emmafromoz's review against another edition
5.0
A compelling read & one I thoroughly enjoyed. I was moved to read in the acknowledgements that this book was dedicated to JG's beloved late wife. So much of his plotting (here & in later books) is imbued with & motivated by grief & loss of family - to discover how deeply personal this theme is to JG was both saddening & enlightening.
m3l89's review
1.0
This is a difficult one for me to review. While I loved the links to Dracula, I found Black Magic Woman a chore to read. I didn't warm to any of the characters and wasn't bothered about the outcomes of the situations they found themselves in.
At numerous times throughout the book I felt the writing and dialogue were tongue in cheek and couldn't make my mind up whether this was a serious attempt at a paranormal novel, or a jokey attempt.
At numerous times throughout the book I felt the writing and dialogue were tongue in cheek and couldn't make my mind up whether this was a serious attempt at a paranormal novel, or a jokey attempt.
pollyno9's review against another edition
4.0
This review is for the series as a whole.
There are high point and low points for these books.
The high:
Good action writing. The action scenes in these books are paced just right. It doesn't move so fast that I feel like my reading can't keep up, but they don't drag on and on either. The characters do their things, and even though one is actively engaged in the fighting and one is not (speaking of the two main characters) you know that each is vital and what they're doing in presented in an interesting way.
The sexy parts hit the right tone. There are sexy parts in all these books, but they aren't graphic, and generally they do build the scenery well. If some of the sexy parts are gratuitous, and somewhat out of character they are, at least, brief
The pacing matches the timing. When things are heating up, the pacing gets a bit rushed, but the story feels like it moves along under its own steam, rather than being hurried along to get to the next interlude.
The low:
If you want a series that deals exclusively with demons and witches, this series is for you. Each book is a fight between good witches and bad witches, and the bad witches are super into murdering children and demonic sexytimes.
Can something be slightly sexist? Is that quantifiable? Because I'd say these books are slightly sexist. Women in these books are usually good at their tasks, confident and pretty powerful, yet it just feels off. Women are getting apologized to when someone swears, the heroines are all beautiful (the villainous women are a mixed bag), there is a sense of rescue happening in quite a few instances.
The word "podner" is used. Not even sure how this is correctly pronounced, my inner voice tripped over it every time. Not to mention, the two main characters are so witty that sometimes you could tell the author included some witticism just because he thought it was clever. Non sequiturs are pretty common in the dialogue, and none of the secondary characters bother to comment, which left me rolling me eyes in at least one occasion.
Over all, I give this series a low 3 stars. I'll keep reading them, and probably even binge reading them if I happen to have more than one on hand at any given time, but I won't go out of my way to share these with others.
There are high point and low points for these books.
The high:
Good action writing. The action scenes in these books are paced just right. It doesn't move so fast that I feel like my reading can't keep up, but they don't drag on and on either. The characters do their things, and even though one is actively engaged in the fighting and one is not (speaking of the two main characters) you know that each is vital and what they're doing in presented in an interesting way.
The sexy parts hit the right tone. There are sexy parts in all these books, but they aren't graphic, and generally they do build the scenery well. If some of the sexy parts are gratuitous, and somewhat out of character they are, at least, brief
The pacing matches the timing. When things are heating up, the pacing gets a bit rushed, but the story feels like it moves along under its own steam, rather than being hurried along to get to the next interlude.
The low:
If you want a series that deals exclusively with demons and witches, this series is for you. Each book is a fight between good witches and bad witches, and the bad witches are super into murdering children and demonic sexytimes.
Can something be slightly sexist? Is that quantifiable? Because I'd say these books are slightly sexist. Women in these books are usually good at their tasks, confident and pretty powerful, yet it just feels off. Women are getting apologized to when someone swears, the heroines are all beautiful (the villainous women are a mixed bag), there is a sense of rescue happening in quite a few instances.
The word "podner" is used. Not even sure how this is correctly pronounced, my inner voice tripped over it every time. Not to mention, the two main characters are so witty that sometimes you could tell the author included some witticism just because he thought it was clever. Non sequiturs are pretty common in the dialogue, and none of the secondary characters bother to comment, which left me rolling me eyes in at least one occasion.
Over all, I give this series a low 3 stars. I'll keep reading them, and probably even binge reading them if I happen to have more than one on hand at any given time, but I won't go out of my way to share these with others.
saemiligr's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this one a lot! It got rambly and wandered around at times but the characters and plot were on point. Can't wait to pick up the next one!
tyoungster's review against another edition
2.0
This novel by Justin Gustainis begins with supernatural investigator Quincey Morris showing up in a small, Texas town to rid the town of vampires. Morris is a likeable, if not predictable, character, with his take-charge attitude and quiet demeanor. When Walter LaRue comes into his office telling Morris about supernatural acts in his home threatening the lives of his family, Quincey takes on the case, saying he will take care of it.
Read the rest of the review at: http://compulsivebookreader.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-magic-woman-fails-to-bewitch-me.html
Read the rest of the review at: http://compulsivebookreader.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-magic-woman-fails-to-bewitch-me.html
quillandkindle's review
2.0
Nothing spectacular that can be seen in Gustainis's Black Magic Woman. The writing is mediocre, the plot is pretty simple and the biggest drawback is the dull, lacklustre ending, so anti-climatic that it takes most of the fun away.
corar's review against another edition
4.0
Quincey Morris is an investigator of the occult. When he his hired to help a family that is suffering from a deadly curse, he enlists the help of his friend, white witch Libby Chastain. The investigation takes them to all corners across the country where they often find themselves battling dark forces. I found this book very entertaining. Most of the characters were interesting, although I felt the author developed Quincey the least. The chase to stop the evil doers was suspenseful, but the conclusion was a little bit of a let down. Overall, it was a quick enjoyable read that fans of supernatural investigators will enjoy.
veronica87's review against another edition
3.0
I wouldn’t necessarily classify this book as an urban fantasy. It reads more like a supernatural thriller. I’m also not sure why it is billed as the Morris and Chastain investigations because we spend as much time with the other characters, including the villains, as we do with the supposedly central pair. The story is told in omniscient third person so we get the full picture of what is going on with all the players at any given time. Quincy Morris is something of a paranormal investigator who occasionally partners up with Libby Chastain, a white witch. What starts out as a seemingly simple case of ridding a home of a bad spirit quickly escalates into something far more sinister. The bad guys are truly bad and the crimes they commit are pretty horrendous. The victims are children so, fair warning. The various plot threads and multiple characters at first seem very disconnected but it all starts to come together around the half-way mark. Once I let go of my expectations that this was going to be a typical urban fantasy and that this was going to be just Morris’ and Chastain’s story, I was able to enjoy it a lot more…as the supernatural thriller it really is.