This felt uneven. Some parts were greatly enjoyable, like the characters and their relationships. The plot line was not bad, the conclusion was foreseeable, however surprising in places. I felt that there was too much teaching. I got the whole chaos/order/harmony business the first time. I assume that the sciencey names of paranormal tricks would probably come from the secret government agency Nola worked for, and not from her own self. Ok, I really liked this book, but I all-caps hated how it assumed I'd never read any fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy anything before. And I forgot what I'd read earlier. I may have baby brain and forget what day it is frequently, but I'm not THAT forgetful. However, overall, I can't wait to read the next book and am EXTREMELY irked that the library ordered numbers 1, 3, and 4 in this series without ordering number 2. AHHHHH!!!! And more irksome? THEY HAD ALL THREE BOOKS AT MY BRANCH. Oh Library, I love you so much and am so crushed at your uncharacteristic bellyflop. I usually like paranormal fiction, and this one sounded like something a little different. Unfortunately, it had nothing to keep me interested at all, and was ultimately a miss for me.These stories usually have a male and female character who start out either not liking each other, or have some sort of conflict that ramps up the sexual tension between them, and sets the stage for them to eventually get together. This book has the two characters who don't like each other, but for me there was absolutely zero chemistry between them - zip, nada. These two characters - Ari and Nola - just came across as two people who don't like each other and are forced to work together anyway. There was not the slightest indication for me that there was something happening between them in spite of themselves.As far as the plot goes, it was really dry. I got a full third of the way through the book, and it felt like all that happened was Nola and Ari either driving, or walking around San Francisco. The story suggests that they are investigating the case at hand, but it didn't feel like anything actually HAPPENED in the first 110 pages of the book. I kept waiting for them to find something or come across someone who knew something, but there was just more wandering around of two people I didn't particularly like, and who didn't particularly like one another.When I realized I was forcing myself to keep reading and that I really didn't care about these people or their seemingly randome wandering around the city, I gave up. Just not a book I enjoyed, unfortunately.
Do You like book License To Ensorcell (2011)?
Filled with more tedium than guilty pleasure. I really prefer Kerr's Deverry series.
—Stephhnie_lopez
DNF...It's hard to fathom just how bad this book was.
—jay
Liked it, easy storyline but nicely mixed characters!
—Kisha
This is flat, lifeless, and rather tedious.
—sissygrly114
