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nele_stern's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jeannz's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
colleen_corleone's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I felt nothing reading this. It's told dispassionately, even the few of sex scenes were perfunctory.
Things just kept happening without any emotional gravity. I found it tiresome by the end, but I was committed to getting through the last 13%.
I don't know why Julian and Kate like each other. I don't know why so many women want to fuck Kate considering she has no plans, is a drunk, and gets by purely on luck.
I don't get the mom stuff, particularly at the end. The merry band of fuckwits in the sewer seemed purposeless since Kate had to kill everyone with her deus ex machina sword.
Elise was a hoot, but got little page-time.
I probably won't try another from this author.
Things just kept happening without any emotional gravity. I found it tiresome by the end, but I was committed to getting through the last 13%.
I don't know why Julian and Kate like each other. I don't know why so many women want to fuck Kate considering she has no plans, is a drunk, and gets by purely on luck.
I don't get the mom stuff, particularly at the end. The merry band of fuckwits in the sewer seemed purposeless since Kate had to kill everyone with her deus ex machina sword.
Elise was a hoot, but got little page-time.
I probably won't try another from this author.
sandranir's review against another edition
4.0
I sure didn't see that one coming! I found the art covèr as well as the blurb intriguing so I started reading this book and fell right into fantasy land peopled with vampires, werewolves, witches, mages, faeries and a very snarky Sam Spade-type lesbian private detective. And it's all happening in modern-day London.
If you're into urban fantasy, original characters and a quick fun read with a dash of romance, this just might hit the spot.
If you're into urban fantasy, original characters and a quick fun read with a dash of romance, this just might hit the spot.
maybeiwill's review
5.0
Snarky and entertaining. I loved it.
December 2020 Update: Having read the book twice I've just finished listening to it and I still love it.
December 2020 Update: Having read the book twice I've just finished listening to it and I still love it.
ceena's review against another edition
3.0
A paranormal series with a lesbian main character? Totally not expecting this.
I ended up really enjoying this book all thanks to the banter. Kate is snarky, sarcastic, and full of quips, ready to talkback to anyone. The dialogue is really the highlight of the book. When she has a good partner to talk with, like Julian or... the incubus (omg how could I forget his name), it really shines through. I spent most of this book laughing.
Kate is a refreshing heroine. She isn't perfect - far from it really, so she feels like a real person. Julian, the 800 year old female vampire Prince also was a breath of fresh air. I absolutely loved her! Julian is probably my favorite character from the book.
The thing is, as much as I want to continue piling my love onto this book, I had some problems with it. For starters, it could be boring. The dialogue kept me in the book, but things felt like they were dragging on. I didn't always understand why Kate was doing things and part of the problem is because the devastating lack of world-building. Are we in the current time? Have paranormal beings always been out? Just tell me more!!! There is so much going on and so many different types of creatures that sometimes I felt lost.
So, I ended up enjoying the book and will probably recommend it to others, but I won't be continuing the series.
I ended up really enjoying this book all thanks to the banter. Kate is snarky, sarcastic, and full of quips, ready to talkback to anyone. The dialogue is really the highlight of the book. When she has a good partner to talk with, like Julian or... the incubus (omg how could I forget his name), it really shines through. I spent most of this book laughing.
Kate is a refreshing heroine. She isn't perfect - far from it really, so she feels like a real person. Julian, the 800 year old female vampire Prince also was a breath of fresh air. I absolutely loved her! Julian is probably my favorite character from the book.
The thing is, as much as I want to continue piling my love onto this book, I had some problems with it. For starters, it could be boring. The dialogue kept me in the book, but things felt like they were dragging on. I didn't always understand why Kate was doing things and part of the problem is because the devastating lack of world-building. Are we in the current time? Have paranormal beings always been out? Just tell me more!!! There is so much going on and so many different types of creatures that sometimes I felt lost.
So, I ended up enjoying the book and will probably recommend it to others, but I won't be continuing the series.
larkken's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
javalenciaph's review against another edition
4.0
"Iron & Velvet" is the first book in the "Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator" series by Alexis Hall and also happens to be the first F/F paranormal series that I've read. It tells the tale of a private investigator named Katherine "Kate" Kane who is hired by a vampire prince named Julian Saint-Germain after a werewolf shifter is found murdered outside a club she owns. From there, Kate's already cluttered life becomes all the more chaotic with a combination of vampires, werewolves, mages, and humans...oh my!
Kate Kane's still dealing with the murder of her partner at the hands of an ex-girlfriend when she's requested to take on the case of a werewolf shifter who's been murdered in a rather gruesome manner outside the club of a vampire prince. Oops. Sorry. A "motherfucking vampire prince". When Kate meets Julian Saint-Germain, she comes face to face with a beautiful and tempting woman. Kate has a rule against sleeping with vampires and with clients, but she's never been one to really follow rules.
As Kate investigates the case, she's forced to work with Patrick Knight, her ex-boyfriend who just happens to be a vampire she met and dated when she was 17, Nimue, her ex-girlfriend who just happens to be the Witch Queen, and Tara Vane-Tempest, a beautiful model who just happens to be an alpha werewolf. Then, you've got the other paranormal characters either helping Kate out or simply trying to kill her. Ah, the life of a paranormal investigator!
The case itself was interesting, leaving you guessing as to who is truly after Julian and what the motivation may be. Readers are also left wondering who the real bad guys are or if each group of paranormals happens to have its fair share of good guys and bad guys within each realm. The fact that Kate also happens to be a faerie princess with powers she derives from being her mother's daughter makes her an even more complex character because while she doesn't have much of a relationship with the mother who abandoned her on someone's doorstep, she does use her powers whenever its convenient.
I enjoyed the book as a whole and must say that "Iron & Velvet" is a good start to a series more stories can be cultivated from. Kate is a no-frills character (though Julian seems to have a thing for frilly tops) who does a pretty good job of investigating a case when she really puts her heart and head into it. I decided to read this book because the second one, "Shadows & Dreams", is on my list of books that need to be reviewed, and I'm glad that I did. ^.^ Four stars for Iron & Velvet!
Kate Kane's still dealing with the murder of her partner at the hands of an ex-girlfriend when she's requested to take on the case of a werewolf shifter who's been murdered in a rather gruesome manner outside the club of a vampire prince. Oops. Sorry. A "motherfucking vampire prince". When Kate meets Julian Saint-Germain, she comes face to face with a beautiful and tempting woman. Kate has a rule against sleeping with vampires and with clients, but she's never been one to really follow rules.
As Kate investigates the case, she's forced to work with Patrick Knight, her ex-boyfriend who just happens to be a vampire she met and dated when she was 17, Nimue, her ex-girlfriend who just happens to be the Witch Queen, and Tara Vane-Tempest, a beautiful model who just happens to be an alpha werewolf. Then, you've got the other paranormal characters either helping Kate out or simply trying to kill her. Ah, the life of a paranormal investigator!
The case itself was interesting, leaving you guessing as to who is truly after Julian and what the motivation may be. Readers are also left wondering who the real bad guys are or if each group of paranormals happens to have its fair share of good guys and bad guys within each realm. The fact that Kate also happens to be a faerie princess with powers she derives from being her mother's daughter makes her an even more complex character because while she doesn't have much of a relationship with the mother who abandoned her on someone's doorstep, she does use her powers whenever its convenient.
I enjoyed the book as a whole and must say that "Iron & Velvet" is a good start to a series more stories can be cultivated from. Kate is a no-frills character (though Julian seems to have a thing for frilly tops) who does a pretty good job of investigating a case when she really puts her heart and head into it. I decided to read this book because the second one, "Shadows & Dreams", is on my list of books that need to be reviewed, and I'm glad that I did. ^.^ Four stars for Iron & Velvet!