princessleopard's review
4.0
Preface: I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection of short stories. Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much - just some romps in an urban fantasy world - but the worldbuilding was genuinely fantastic. Seeing it slowly unfold through each of the short stories within...I'd read a hundred short stories in this world.
The main character was also endearing, though a little derivative of similar works. He's just a do-gooder who wants to help people, and is woefully under-equipped for the task compared to his adversaries. But he's clever, gritty, and his whole thing with Miss Kitten's girls is oddly sweet. I really liked him, which makes the fact that this is probably all we'll get of him that much harder to swallow!
I was also surprised that the stories end up being intertwined, especially at the end. That was clever, and again elevated it above other noir-esque collections.
The one thing I did take off points for was the "All the Kisses" story, which contains something pretty grotesque and perverse. It just struck me as really unnecessary, and unfortunately it's one of the chapters you can't skip, since everything comes back at the end. Really wish the author had taken another route with the means of the magic in this one. But that's entirely down to personal opinion.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy, detective short stories, or the noir genre!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection of short stories. Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much - just some romps in an urban fantasy world - but the worldbuilding was genuinely fantastic. Seeing it slowly unfold through each of the short stories within...I'd read a hundred short stories in this world.
The main character was also endearing, though a little derivative of similar works. He's just a do-gooder who wants to help people, and is woefully under-equipped for the task compared to his adversaries. But he's clever, gritty, and his whole thing with Miss Kitten's girls is oddly sweet. I really liked him, which makes the fact that this is probably all we'll get of him that much harder to swallow!
I was also surprised that the stories end up being intertwined, especially at the end. That was clever, and again elevated it above other noir-esque collections.
The one thing I did take off points for was the "All the Kisses" story, which contains something pretty grotesque and perverse. It just struck me as really unnecessary, and unfortunately it's one of the chapters you can't skip, since everything comes back at the end. Really wish the author had taken another route with the means of the magic in this one. But that's entirely down to personal opinion.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy, detective short stories, or the noir genre!
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