Royal Street
by Suzanne Johnson
publication: April 10th 2012 by Tor Books
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Book I in the Sentinels of New Orleans series
copy received from publisher
preorder your own:amazon (Kindle, Paperback)
synopsis from goodreads
As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ’s boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.
Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.
While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.
To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.
I was definitely intrigued first by the cover and the fact that between reading so many YA books, I really wanted to read a little Adult Urban Fantasy Story (Or is it Urban Paranormal, I have no idea about those labels..). Anyway the story was a little slow in the beginning but it was to be expected since it was the first of a series and about to set the rules of the world. I liked DJ although I still cannot describe her properly. She’s loyal, stubborn and independent although I guess stubborn is her strongest feature – not in a bad way of course!
We follow DJ who is a Wizard working of the Elders in New Orleans right about when Katrina destroys this beautiful city. Suzanne Johnson adds at the beginning of each chapter real News Headlines from this time, which gives an odd mix of fiction and reality. I didn’t mind though.
For me, the story picked up pace and I was beginning to get much more into the story when she meets her new partner Alex. Alex is exactly this kind of man we want to see in these stories! Strong bad ass, yet underneath he has a soft heart. He’s an assassin and is forced to work as her partner while investigating some strange ritual markings in the city and the disappearance of Gerry – than man who raised DJ.
I loved the mystery and suspense in the story and I was eager to figure out what the heck was going on and where the hell Gerry disappeared. At the same time we learn more about DJ heritage which can be very dangerous knowledge!
And although I did love DJ and Alex I was hoping for a stringer connection and a stronger romance. Some situations could have had a little more sexual tension or a least lead to a little more flirting which would have added to the beginning connection between those two.
Bottom Line
Great debut into a new series and I feel invested enough in the characters to get the next one! Specially considering that I hope for more spark between Alex and DH! I really enjoyed the story with all it’s little twist and surprising revelations and I’m looking froward reading the next!
Knight’s Curse
A skilled knife fighter since the age of nine, Chalice knows what it’s like to live life on the edge–precariously balanced between the dark and the light. But the time has come to choose. The evil sorcerer who kidnapped her over a decade ago requires her superhuman senses to steal a precious magical artifact…or she must suffer the consequences.Desperate to break the curse that enslaves her, Chalice agrees. But it is only with the help of Aydin–her noble warrior-protector–that she will risk venturing beyond the veil to discover the origins of her power. Only for him will she dare to fully embrace her awesome talents. For a deadly duel is at hand, and Chalice alone will have to decide between freedom…and the love of her life.
I read Knights Curse a while back, after I came back from the Frankfurt Book Fair where it was recommended to me. The setting is truly intriguing and interesting, as we follow Chalice who has been kidnapped by a dark sorcerer when she was very little. She didn’t get much love and was trained to go hunting for magical artifacts. In order to keep her at bay, he cursed Chalice which makes her impossible to leave.
Chalice has a very intriguing background and I found her magical talents and heritage refreshing and magical, also I loved the twist with the curse! I won’t dare say too much, but this was one of the best features of the story!
With the addition of Aydin the story moves on and as usual, I became even more invested! I need a good romance and love story in between those mysteries and Aydin is the perfect man! I loved him and when he agrees to help free Chalice.
I had a hard time believing in the romance between Chalice and Aydin – I didn’t feel the spark between them! The love felt too fast and unbelievable for me, which was very sad and drew me back a bit. Also, some dialogues felt a bit off and were kind of awkward…
Bottom Line:
This was definitely a great start in a new series and despite my complain about the romance I will definitely pick up the next. This one ends with such a horrible cliffhanger that I simply have to get the next one in a series too.
In addition, I learned that often first books might not be the strongest and I’m looking forward seeing where the sequel will lead
Notes: Darkest Knight the second book will come out March 2012 and has a gorgeous cover:
Much Love and Happy Saturday! Yours,
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Like the mini reviews! Though I don't get a lot of time to read adult books, I like the review on the second book Knight's Curse. And you are right, that cover on the second book is gorgeous! I might have to look into this one. Your excitement for this series assures me it must be good!
Heather
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I know with some many YA books to read there is often not much time left to read some adult stuff. But, I need once in a wile more mature stuff and I really enjoyed both books.
My recent post Author Spotlight & Giveaway Meredith Zeitlin (Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters)
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While reading the short and simple book reviews that you have stated here, I was able to gain interest from it and I was able to understand every meaning that the book has to offer. Good thing you were able to discussed to us this books because we really learned a lot from it and hopefully there will be more great blogs in the future.
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Knew about and am looking forward to reading Royal Street but I hadn't heard about Knight's Curse, will definitely check it out.
If you like Rachel Vincent's YA series, you might want to check out her adult series Unbound (Blood Bound is the first book).
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