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A review by booksuperpower
The Curse Merchant by J.P. Sloan
4.0
The Curse Merchant by J P Sloan is a 2014 Curiosity Quills publication. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Once upon a time I read a lot of Paranormal/ Urban Fantasy novels. I had begun to collect the Dresden files novels here and there with the intention of reading them in order. However, I began to burn out on Urban Fantasy and as a result I never started that series. In fact, I rarely read Urban Fantasy anymore. Apparently there are enough similarities between the Dresden series and this book, that many people mentioned it in their reviews. So, I felt like I was a little out of the loop and perhaps out of my element here. I hope I “got” what the author was trying to express.
You can read the synopsis yourself, but here is a brief setup-
There is a good side, if you will, in the magical realm and a dark side too. Dorian works on the good side, keeping his nose clean and off the radar of the Presidium. He deals in the hex's and charm's department, but do not suggest his hexes are curses. After a two year hiatus of sorts, Dorian gets a wake up call by way of a near death experience. He pulls his head out and realizes he has no idea what is going on in his world, can't remember events, or people and struggles to shake off the fog. But, an ex- girlfriend, Carmen, shakes him wide awake when she confesses she has sold her soul and only has two weeks to rectify the situation. Since Dorian practically threw her under a bus at one point in time, and he still wants to get back on her good side, he agrees to help her.
My thoughts-
Dorian's character is an enigma to me in a lot of ways. Do I like him? Root for him? Feel empathy of him? Not especially. He is a wise cracking, snarky guy who has lived on easy street his whole life so that perhaps takes away a certain edge he needed when he had to make deals with the baddies, all of whom had their own agendas. His attitude was a little off putting to me at times, but he grew on me as the story progressed. Still, he was often too understated and unemotional. So, if you are looking for the kick butt, alpha male sort this isn't it. That is not to say there is no action or that the story is dull. The plot was an interesting one, the characters were well developed, and there could have been a slight underlying meaning when politics enters the picture. The story has lots of imagination, is atmospheric, and if it stays on track could make a long and successful series. I was not at all certain how to feel about how things were wrapped up with this one. I was unsettled I guess, so if we see this story continue in future installments I would certainly want an update on Dorian. This book reminded me of all the things I enjoyed about Urban Fantasy. Overall this one gets 4 stars.
Once upon a time I read a lot of Paranormal/ Urban Fantasy novels. I had begun to collect the Dresden files novels here and there with the intention of reading them in order. However, I began to burn out on Urban Fantasy and as a result I never started that series. In fact, I rarely read Urban Fantasy anymore. Apparently there are enough similarities between the Dresden series and this book, that many people mentioned it in their reviews. So, I felt like I was a little out of the loop and perhaps out of my element here. I hope I “got” what the author was trying to express.
You can read the synopsis yourself, but here is a brief setup-
There is a good side, if you will, in the magical realm and a dark side too. Dorian works on the good side, keeping his nose clean and off the radar of the Presidium. He deals in the hex's and charm's department, but do not suggest his hexes are curses. After a two year hiatus of sorts, Dorian gets a wake up call by way of a near death experience. He pulls his head out and realizes he has no idea what is going on in his world, can't remember events, or people and struggles to shake off the fog. But, an ex- girlfriend, Carmen, shakes him wide awake when she confesses she has sold her soul and only has two weeks to rectify the situation. Since Dorian practically threw her under a bus at one point in time, and he still wants to get back on her good side, he agrees to help her.
My thoughts-
Dorian's character is an enigma to me in a lot of ways. Do I like him? Root for him? Feel empathy of him? Not especially. He is a wise cracking, snarky guy who has lived on easy street his whole life so that perhaps takes away a certain edge he needed when he had to make deals with the baddies, all of whom had their own agendas. His attitude was a little off putting to me at times, but he grew on me as the story progressed. Still, he was often too understated and unemotional. So, if you are looking for the kick butt, alpha male sort this isn't it. That is not to say there is no action or that the story is dull. The plot was an interesting one, the characters were well developed, and there could have been a slight underlying meaning when politics enters the picture. The story has lots of imagination, is atmospheric, and if it stays on track could make a long and successful series. I was not at all certain how to feel about how things were wrapped up with this one. I was unsettled I guess, so if we see this story continue in future installments I would certainly want an update on Dorian. This book reminded me of all the things I enjoyed about Urban Fantasy. Overall this one gets 4 stars.