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Jessie Shimmer #3
Switchblade Goddess
Hell hath no fury like a goddess scorned.
When Jessie Shimmer traveled to a nightmare underworld to save her lover, Cooper Marron, she gained magical powers . . . which soon seemed more like curses. Her beloved familiar, the ferret Pal, became a monster. Her enemies multiplied like demons. Worst of all, she hasn’t found a moment of peace to be with the man she adores.
Now a switchblade-wielding demigoddess commanding a private hell stocked with suffering innocents is after her. The blademistress’ vengeance sends Jessie and Pal on a dark journey through strange, perilous realms. Their quest for salvation will push her newfound abilities—and her relationship with Cooper—to the breaking point . . . and beyond.
When Jessie Shimmer traveled to a nightmare underworld to save her lover, Cooper Marron, she gained magical powers . . . which soon seemed more like curses. Her beloved familiar, the ferret Pal, became a monster. Her enemies multiplied like demons. Worst of all, she hasn’t found a moment of peace to be with the man she adores.
Now a switchblade-wielding demigoddess commanding a private hell stocked with suffering innocents is after her. The blademistress’ vengeance sends Jessie and Pal on a dark journey through strange, perilous realms. Their quest for salvation will push her newfound abilities—and her relationship with Cooper—to the breaking point . . . and beyond.
323 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
12 people are currently reading
740 people want to read
About the author
Lucy A. Snyder
143 books627 followersLucy A. Snyder is a five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning writer and the author of the forthcoming Tor Nightfire novel Sister, Maiden, Monster. She also wrote the novels Spellbent, Shotgun Sorceress, and Switchblade Goddess, the nonfiction book Shooting Yourself in the Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer's Survival Guide, the poetry collections Exposed Nerves and Chimeric Machines and the story collections Halloween Season, Garden of Eldritch Delights, While the Black Stars Burn, Soft Apocalypses, Orchid Carousals, Sparks and Shadows, and Installing Linux on a Dead Badger.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 29, 2015
I liked it, but seeing the changes in Cooper, and some of the developments at the very end leave me with serious reservations about the next book. I guess there is no next book. Poor ending to a series that started so strong. Disappointing, and frustrating.
July 12, 2016
It's hard to believe this is the final book of the Jessie Shimmer series, because it was written like another middle book of the series. The Virtii were still out to kill Jessie. Miko was still alive to kill innocent people. To add insult to injury, a new plot line arose at the last minute that would have our heroes make new enemies. The fuck? As if they didn't have enough already!
+ frustration #1
Let's talk about the Virtii. In book 2, I was miffed with how our heroes didn't make the Virtii a priority, but I let it slide because our heroes had more immediate concerns. This book is book 3, and there was no more excuse in book 3. Our heroes, or Jessie to be specific, had ample downtime to think about the Virtii.
It was ridiculous how Jessie spent a total of a few minutes in the entire book to think about the Virtii. It irritated me how she treated the matter like it was a case of the zits and let her father handle the matter of hiding her ass. For a bleeding heart heroine, it never occurred to her that there was a chance the Virtii, with their twisted sense of justice, might involve her loved ones, or the local governing circle our heroes recently made peace with in book 2, to get to her. Talk about irresponsible! And it was just tip of the iceberg.
+ frustration #2
Further down on the iceberg was Miko. I couldn't believe Jessie helped Miko exorcised the Goad demon that possessed her and paralyzed her from doing evil. One, Miko was a mass murderess. Two, she was a sexual predator. Three, she was a fucking mass murderess and sexual predator. Good grief! I appreciated how the book tried to humanize her. I really do. It was good display of character development. It was very tragic and fucked up what happened to Miko.
Nevertheless, it didn't change the fact that she was a villain. By helping her, Jessie allowed her to escape and kill more innocent people, oath or no oath. Miko was a villain, and villains tend to loophole around oaths. If Jessie wanted to help Miko, what Jessie should have done was put Miko down and end her suffering, or at the very least, imprison her till Jessie could find a way to unfuck Miko. No surprise to learn later on that Jessie got tricked by Miko and ended up getting fucked herself. Literally.
+ frustration #3
There was so much rape. Rape this. Rape that. Miko got raped. Miko raped her birth father. Shift to present: Miko raped Jessie in her dream. Miko raped Jessie's boyfriend Cooper in her dream. It took the word "mindfuck" to a whole new level! The plot spent a long third of the book on the rapefest!
I was frustrated how it took a several chapters before Jessie asked another character for help and exorcised Miko from her dreams and hellement. Because despite the daily rapefest nightmares, Jessie was well-adjusted enough to ask for help, and because the book treated sex and violence towards our heroes without crippling lasting impact, which was one of the few good things about the book. No trip to emo-land for this series. A medicine woman, who was treating Pal, Jessie's familiar, was housing Jessie for that entire third of the book of a rapefest. Jessie never thought to ask the medicine woman for help. *facedesk*
+ frustration #4
Then, there was the issue with Warlock and how he got mindfucked by Miko in book 2 in raping Jessie. I was happy things mended between him, Jessie, and Cooper, Jessie's boyfriend and Warlock's older brother. Yay no for love triangle. But was it really necessary to have Warlock go shacking up with Jeremy, Jessie's older brother?
It didn't surprise me that Jeremy swung gay because there were hints since book 2, but it did surprise me as much as it surprised Jessie that Warlock swung gay too. If Warlock was characterized as so in the beginning, I wouldn't have cared and in fact, would have been happy for the pair. But he wasn't, and like magic he suddenly was towards the end. It was plain to me that the new character "development" of Warlock was a deus ex machina to guillotine the love triangle. The affair left me cold.
Conclusion
I rate Switchblade Goddess 2-stars for it was okay only because I’ve read worse series end it's sad to say. The Jessie Shimmer series is over, but it's incomplete. I strongly do not recommend the series if readers want proper resolution.
Review of book 2: Shotgun Sorceress
+ frustration #1
Let's talk about the Virtii. In book 2, I was miffed with how our heroes didn't make the Virtii a priority, but I let it slide because our heroes had more immediate concerns. This book is book 3, and there was no more excuse in book 3. Our heroes, or Jessie to be specific, had ample downtime to think about the Virtii.
It was ridiculous how Jessie spent a total of a few minutes in the entire book to think about the Virtii. It irritated me how she treated the matter like it was a case of the zits and let her father handle the matter of hiding her ass. For a bleeding heart heroine, it never occurred to her that there was a chance the Virtii, with their twisted sense of justice, might involve her loved ones, or the local governing circle our heroes recently made peace with in book 2, to get to her. Talk about irresponsible! And it was just tip of the iceberg.
+ frustration #2
Further down on the iceberg was Miko. I couldn't believe Jessie helped Miko exorcised the Goad demon that possessed her and paralyzed her from doing evil. One, Miko was a mass murderess. Two, she was a sexual predator. Three, she was a fucking mass murderess and sexual predator. Good grief! I appreciated how the book tried to humanize her. I really do. It was good display of character development. It was very tragic and fucked up what happened to Miko.
Nevertheless, it didn't change the fact that she was a villain. By helping her, Jessie allowed her to escape and kill more innocent people, oath or no oath. Miko was a villain, and villains tend to loophole around oaths. If Jessie wanted to help Miko, what Jessie should have done was put Miko down and end her suffering, or at the very least, imprison her till Jessie could find a way to unfuck Miko. No surprise to learn later on that Jessie got tricked by Miko and ended up getting fucked herself. Literally.
+ frustration #3
There was so much rape. Rape this. Rape that. Miko got raped. Miko raped her birth father. Shift to present: Miko raped Jessie in her dream. Miko raped Jessie's boyfriend Cooper in her dream. It took the word "mindfuck" to a whole new level! The plot spent a long third of the book on the rapefest!
I was frustrated how it took a several chapters before Jessie asked another character for help and exorcised Miko from her dreams and hellement. Because despite the daily rapefest nightmares, Jessie was well-adjusted enough to ask for help, and because the book treated sex and violence towards our heroes without crippling lasting impact, which was one of the few good things about the book. No trip to emo-land for this series. A medicine woman, who was treating Pal, Jessie's familiar, was housing Jessie for that entire third of the book of a rapefest. Jessie never thought to ask the medicine woman for help. *facedesk*
+ frustration #4
Then, there was the issue with Warlock and how he got mindfucked by Miko in book 2 in raping Jessie. I was happy things mended between him, Jessie, and Cooper, Jessie's boyfriend and Warlock's older brother. Yay no for love triangle. But was it really necessary to have Warlock go shacking up with Jeremy, Jessie's older brother?
It didn't surprise me that Jeremy swung gay because there were hints since book 2, but it did surprise me as much as it surprised Jessie that Warlock swung gay too. If Warlock was characterized as so in the beginning, I wouldn't have cared and in fact, would have been happy for the pair. But he wasn't, and like magic he suddenly was towards the end. It was plain to me that the new character "development" of Warlock was a deus ex machina to guillotine the love triangle. The affair left me cold.
Conclusion
I rate Switchblade Goddess 2-stars for it was okay only because I’ve read worse series end it's sad to say. The Jessie Shimmer series is over, but it's incomplete. I strongly do not recommend the series if readers want proper resolution.
Review of book 2: Shotgun Sorceress
January 11, 2012
This is the third book in the Jessie Shimmer series. It was a wonderful book. It ties up a lot of things that started in the first two books and was just a lot of fun to read. I really loved the first two books in this series as well and I think if you enjoyed those books you will enjoy this book.
The book is broken into two parts. The first part has Jessie fighting the demon that has possessed the demigoddess Miko; Miko is the demigoddess who devastated a small town in the second book. Jessie and Pal end up fighting in Miko's own Hell in an effort to both save the innocent souls Miko has taken and free Miko from possession. The second part of the book deals with Jessie fighting her own possession and trying to find a way to heal Pal; she is also trying to make it back to her father. Cooper is in the story some, but is away dealing with other issues for large portions of the story. This story is really about Miko, Pal, and Jessie.
As I have said in previous reviews this series is not for everyone. It is incredibly dark and gritty and at times just plain nasty. If you are a fan of the Sandman Slim series I would recommend this as a good read for you. That being said this is a very creative and off-the-wall series and that is why I enjoy it. So just to be clear there is swearing, goriness, many offensive things said, strange sex scenes, and general yuckiness. There is also a very creative magic system, an absolutely crazy world, lots of action and butt-kicking, and incredibly complex characters.
Jessie is awesome. She is in bad shape for most of this book, but she keeps on going to protect those she loves. Despite all the violence and craziness she endures throughout she is incredibly loyal to her loved ones. She has gained some magical abilities in her last trip to the underworld, they have stunted her ability to do some white magic which complicates things for her. She also has a wonderfully dark sense of humor which makes the story a lot of fun to read.
The other awesome character is Pal, Jessie's familiar. He is in rough shape throughout the book as well, and like Jessie goes above and beyond to try and assist her and aid her.
I really like most of the side characters too. Cooper wasn't in the story much, but the time he was in the story was pretty intense. We learn more about Cooper's back story and why he is how he is. My only character complaint was that I didn't feel that Miko was filled out very well; we do gain some sympathy for her and learn some of her background but I still felt like I didn't understand her character all that well.
The book is well written and I enjoyed reading it. It was engaging and easy to read, I had trouble putting the book down.
Overall I really, really enjoyed this book in the series. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series. I think if you are a fan of dark and gritty urban fantasy you will find a lot here to love. As I mentioned above this is not a series for everyone; there are a lot of disturbing things in here, lots of swearing, it is gory and just plain yucky at points. That is part of what I like about this series though...you never know what to expect; it is incredibly creative, incredibly strange, and very different from every other urban fantasy I have read out there. If you are a fan of dark and gritty urban fantasy you should check this series out. If you liked the first couple books in the series you will love this one. I would recommend this to fans of the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey.
The book is broken into two parts. The first part has Jessie fighting the demon that has possessed the demigoddess Miko; Miko is the demigoddess who devastated a small town in the second book. Jessie and Pal end up fighting in Miko's own Hell in an effort to both save the innocent souls Miko has taken and free Miko from possession. The second part of the book deals with Jessie fighting her own possession and trying to find a way to heal Pal; she is also trying to make it back to her father. Cooper is in the story some, but is away dealing with other issues for large portions of the story. This story is really about Miko, Pal, and Jessie.
As I have said in previous reviews this series is not for everyone. It is incredibly dark and gritty and at times just plain nasty. If you are a fan of the Sandman Slim series I would recommend this as a good read for you. That being said this is a very creative and off-the-wall series and that is why I enjoy it. So just to be clear there is swearing, goriness, many offensive things said, strange sex scenes, and general yuckiness. There is also a very creative magic system, an absolutely crazy world, lots of action and butt-kicking, and incredibly complex characters.
Jessie is awesome. She is in bad shape for most of this book, but she keeps on going to protect those she loves. Despite all the violence and craziness she endures throughout she is incredibly loyal to her loved ones. She has gained some magical abilities in her last trip to the underworld, they have stunted her ability to do some white magic which complicates things for her. She also has a wonderfully dark sense of humor which makes the story a lot of fun to read.
The other awesome character is Pal, Jessie's familiar. He is in rough shape throughout the book as well, and like Jessie goes above and beyond to try and assist her and aid her.
I really like most of the side characters too. Cooper wasn't in the story much, but the time he was in the story was pretty intense. We learn more about Cooper's back story and why he is how he is. My only character complaint was that I didn't feel that Miko was filled out very well; we do gain some sympathy for her and learn some of her background but I still felt like I didn't understand her character all that well.
The book is well written and I enjoyed reading it. It was engaging and easy to read, I had trouble putting the book down.
Overall I really, really enjoyed this book in the series. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series. I think if you are a fan of dark and gritty urban fantasy you will find a lot here to love. As I mentioned above this is not a series for everyone; there are a lot of disturbing things in here, lots of swearing, it is gory and just plain yucky at points. That is part of what I like about this series though...you never know what to expect; it is incredibly creative, incredibly strange, and very different from every other urban fantasy I have read out there. If you are a fan of dark and gritty urban fantasy you should check this series out. If you liked the first couple books in the series you will love this one. I would recommend this to fans of the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey.
January 22, 2012
Considering how much I was looking forward to this and how fast I tore through it, I wonder if I may have under-rated the first two books in the series. I just hope that urban fantasy fans are checking out this really fun series. The covers of the first two books are more suggestive of the content than this one was, although all three together do paint quite a complete picture. I do wish that Miko, the evil Switchblade Goddess pictured on this cover, was gripping that knife like she was going to really use it to do some serious violence instead of just prettily showing it off, that would have been much more consistent with the previous covers and just made more sense. Why do publishers always show women holding weapons in such ridiculous poses? (Check out author Jim C. Hines' excellent and hilarious blog about this topic http://www.jimchines.com/2012/01/stri... ) Anyway, all three covers together show you images of adventure, humor, violence, sex, partnership (very odd partnership!), loss (Jessie's hand and eye), magic, mystery, mythology, edginess, and originality. The publishers were smart to invest in the terrific covers, it's what attracted me to the series in the first place and kept reminding me to go ahead pick up the first book already and give it a try, something I'm really glad I did.
Whatever my hesitations were with the storytelling in the first two books, they're gone now, Snyder has really hit her stride in this world now. I do remember wondering about Cooper and if he was respectful enough for Jessie, but there was a great scene in this book where they talked things over and addressed all of the things that were bothering me. I still really just love Pal, and the originality of the way Snyder has approached the familiar "familiar" relationship is terrific. In fact, she has an original take on a all of her somewhat familiar concepts, there isn't any time where I'm shaking my head and feeling like I've read this before. Yes, they have magical councils set up in structures protecting cities. They have familiars. There are devil's and demons and hells. But they all have a considerably different twist. The goddess has mythological underpinnings, but it's from Japanese mythology, nothing that I've seen referenced in American urban fantasy before, certainly not commonly. And Jessie herself isn't the typical UF heroine. She isn't a sarcastic bitch. She isn't tough. She isn't sweet. She's one of the women who gets caught up in something and has to fight for the people that she loves. It's just a different and welcome take on things. Was it the best book ever? No. Was it very entertaining? Yup. Should you give the series a try? Why not?
(Disclosure: some small amount of violence and sex included, not for the very faint of heart. But really, nothing extreme. Much less than most romance novels.)
Whatever my hesitations were with the storytelling in the first two books, they're gone now, Snyder has really hit her stride in this world now. I do remember wondering about Cooper and if he was respectful enough for Jessie, but there was a great scene in this book where they talked things over and addressed all of the things that were bothering me. I still really just love Pal, and the originality of the way Snyder has approached the familiar "familiar" relationship is terrific. In fact, she has an original take on a all of her somewhat familiar concepts, there isn't any time where I'm shaking my head and feeling like I've read this before. Yes, they have magical councils set up in structures protecting cities. They have familiars. There are devil's and demons and hells. But they all have a considerably different twist. The goddess has mythological underpinnings, but it's from Japanese mythology, nothing that I've seen referenced in American urban fantasy before, certainly not commonly. And Jessie herself isn't the typical UF heroine. She isn't a sarcastic bitch. She isn't tough. She isn't sweet. She's one of the women who gets caught up in something and has to fight for the people that she loves. It's just a different and welcome take on things. Was it the best book ever? No. Was it very entertaining? Yup. Should you give the series a try? Why not?
(Disclosure: some small amount of violence and sex included, not for the very faint of heart. But really, nothing extreme. Much less than most romance novels.)
March 15, 2012
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 4.0
*Review*
Switchblade Goddess (Jessie Shimmer #3) picks up right where Shotgun Sorceress left off. Jessie, Pal (Palimpsest), Cooper Marron, & the Wizard are stuck in Saguaro, Texas since the Virtus Regnum put up a shield around the town to keep Miko from escaping.
Previously, Jessie found out that she had an older brother named Randall who works for the Dallas Paranormal Defense Team. She has also come to rely on her father, Magus Shimmer, for nearly all of her problems. Both Randall and Magus Shimmer are pleasant additions to the series.
Cooper doesn't really factor into this story as his brother Blue is causing all sorts of problems, and he and the Wizard end up having to spend most of the book in Ohio with Mother Karen's group.
Jessie has a personal vendetta against the Virtus Regnum. When she was 11 years old, they killed her mother after she cured Jessie of inoperable brain cancer. Her mother was a powerful necromancer at the time of her death and was warned not to attempt it. Now, the VR wants Jessie dead as well for killing one of their own. *See Spellbent for more information*
Like the previous novels, the action kicks right in with Jessie on a mission to get her familiar, Pal, healed after he was bitten by a pack of wererats and is nearing the point of shifting into one of the rats.
Jessie, herself, has been infected with a variety of communicable diseases that make her weak to the point of not wanting to do anything. Thankfully, her brother’s mysterious concoction helps her until she can find a cure. She has to also deal with her left hand being on fire and not able to control it at times.
Upon encountering Miko, who has been taken over by Jessie’s Goad Demon, Jessie agrees to kill the Goad for her in return for a truce. Miko soon finds a way to enter Jessie's hellement where she stores memories, and uses it as a torture chamber for Jessie. This was probably the darkest book of the series and the most gratuitous blood and gore and sex scenes as well. If you are screamish, you will probably not enjoy this part of the story.
Miko is the story behind this book. Her back story is actually interesting enough where you find yourself feeling a bit for her for what she was put through. Of course, it totally explains the reasoning for gathering as many souls as she can so that she can defeat her own mother who is pulling all sorts of strings to get Miko to do what she bids.
This book combines Urban Fantasy, with horror, and Dark Fantasy as well as some really erotic sex scenes. I loved the addition of Madame Devereaux who finds a way to cure Pal of his were-rat infection.
The way this story is left off by Snyder, there is hope for yet another book in this series. If not, then I’ll be truly disappointed.
*Rating* 4.0
*Review*
Switchblade Goddess (Jessie Shimmer #3) picks up right where Shotgun Sorceress left off. Jessie, Pal (Palimpsest), Cooper Marron, & the Wizard are stuck in Saguaro, Texas since the Virtus Regnum put up a shield around the town to keep Miko from escaping.
Previously, Jessie found out that she had an older brother named Randall who works for the Dallas Paranormal Defense Team. She has also come to rely on her father, Magus Shimmer, for nearly all of her problems. Both Randall and Magus Shimmer are pleasant additions to the series.
Cooper doesn't really factor into this story as his brother Blue is causing all sorts of problems, and he and the Wizard end up having to spend most of the book in Ohio with Mother Karen's group.
Jessie has a personal vendetta against the Virtus Regnum. When she was 11 years old, they killed her mother after she cured Jessie of inoperable brain cancer. Her mother was a powerful necromancer at the time of her death and was warned not to attempt it. Now, the VR wants Jessie dead as well for killing one of their own. *See Spellbent for more information*
Like the previous novels, the action kicks right in with Jessie on a mission to get her familiar, Pal, healed after he was bitten by a pack of wererats and is nearing the point of shifting into one of the rats.
Jessie, herself, has been infected with a variety of communicable diseases that make her weak to the point of not wanting to do anything. Thankfully, her brother’s mysterious concoction helps her until she can find a cure. She has to also deal with her left hand being on fire and not able to control it at times.
Upon encountering Miko, who has been taken over by Jessie’s Goad Demon, Jessie agrees to kill the Goad for her in return for a truce. Miko soon finds a way to enter Jessie's hellement where she stores memories, and uses it as a torture chamber for Jessie. This was probably the darkest book of the series and the most gratuitous blood and gore and sex scenes as well. If you are screamish, you will probably not enjoy this part of the story.
Miko is the story behind this book. Her back story is actually interesting enough where you find yourself feeling a bit for her for what she was put through. Of course, it totally explains the reasoning for gathering as many souls as she can so that she can defeat her own mother who is pulling all sorts of strings to get Miko to do what she bids.
This book combines Urban Fantasy, with horror, and Dark Fantasy as well as some really erotic sex scenes. I loved the addition of Madame Devereaux who finds a way to cure Pal of his were-rat infection.
The way this story is left off by Snyder, there is hope for yet another book in this series. If not, then I’ll be truly disappointed.
November 30, 2015
Switchblade Goddess is the third book in Snyder's Jessie Shimmer series. I strongly advise you start with the first one, not just so you know what's going on, but also so you understand the graphicness of the author's style. Because boy does this book get nasty!
In the last book Jessie faced down a half demon daughter of the Japanese death goddess. If that wasn't bad enough we get a good look at Miko's past in this book, and learn that as bad as she is, she's only an instrument in an eons old battle for human souls, a battle Jessie's now a prize in. Struggling against a deadly infection, trying to mend things with her boyfriend Cooper, and his brother, The Warlock, and trying to save the life of her familiar who has been infected with lycanthropy, Jessie's pretty busy tying up loose ends in this book. Except, for each one she fixes more fray from her life. And she still has to defeat Miko for good, as well.
The Jessie Shimmer books outrageous and enjoyable, total stand outs from the rest of the urban fantasy scene. They're a hard core, punk view in a middle class genre (not that there's anything wrong with UF in the first place). Recommended for collections with strong horror readers or dark fantasy readers.
Contains: Sex, violence, language, rape
In the last book Jessie faced down a half demon daughter of the Japanese death goddess. If that wasn't bad enough we get a good look at Miko's past in this book, and learn that as bad as she is, she's only an instrument in an eons old battle for human souls, a battle Jessie's now a prize in. Struggling against a deadly infection, trying to mend things with her boyfriend Cooper, and his brother, The Warlock, and trying to save the life of her familiar who has been infected with lycanthropy, Jessie's pretty busy tying up loose ends in this book. Except, for each one she fixes more fray from her life. And she still has to defeat Miko for good, as well.
The Jessie Shimmer books outrageous and enjoyable, total stand outs from the rest of the urban fantasy scene. They're a hard core, punk view in a middle class genre (not that there's anything wrong with UF in the first place). Recommended for collections with strong horror readers or dark fantasy readers.
Contains: Sex, violence, language, rape
October 5, 2024
Can a woman be misogynist?
June 12, 2025
Just kinda really boring and a bit of a nothing book. Also, no end to the series. It's just left on a teaser. Nice.
May 30, 2013
Ok, so now she wants to resurrect her mother and aunt. Can't say I'm surprised, not really. What does surprise me is her constant willingness to jump into dangerous situations without a second thought when she was tortured for days just a while ago. Oh and the fact that she almost always gets herself and her friends killed really should put a damper on her bold plans but nope...she's going full out, again! Yeah. Try not to lose your leg this time ok?
But I gotta say that's not the most disturbing part...no. The worst part was the torture. Yes. It was in her hellement so it didn't really happen, it was all in her head but for me it was still traumatizing as hell! I really hated that part of the book. I hate stuff like that...I mean I can handle it. I've seen some pretty grotesque stuff on TV and I'm not squeamish or anything but I have a really hard time seeing violence between people. I mostly ignored that part of the book...Apart from that I kind of liked it. It was more dark and somber than the previous ones but it was still enjoyable. Do prepare yourself for blood, entrails and brain matter.
But I gotta say that's not the most disturbing part...no. The worst part was the torture. Yes. It was in her hellement so it didn't really happen, it was all in her head but for me it was still traumatizing as hell! I really hated that part of the book. I hate stuff like that...I mean I can handle it. I've seen some pretty grotesque stuff on TV and I'm not squeamish or anything but I have a really hard time seeing violence between people. I mostly ignored that part of the book...Apart from that I kind of liked it. It was more dark and somber than the previous ones but it was still enjoyable. Do prepare yourself for blood, entrails and brain matter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2012
The third volume in the Jessie Shimmer series, SWITCHBLADE GODDESS nicely ties up most of the points left hanging in the first two, but definitely leaves the door open for future events. The book stands well on its own, though (as with most series books of this kind) I think a couple of pages of synopsis of the events of the first two volumes would have been beneficial to refresh the memory. The plot develops crisply and moves at a swift pace; it's a two-part story that wraps up the events in Texas from the previous novel and then moves on to resolve the other Miko problems. It's a good blend of dark fantasy/urban fantasy/horror elements with some erotic and violent touches. I think the real strength of the work is in how well the characters are developed, even the minor ones. Charlie and Sara in Texas, Mother Karen in Ohio, and the Devereauxs in the bayou are all on stage for only a few pages but add a whole lot to the richness of the work. And even Miko has a few sympathetic moments. It's an excellent book; I recommend it heartily.
May 28, 2012
This is a high-octane, violent, yet loveable urban fantasy series. It is NOT for the squeamish. The author puts the heroine through hell - many times, sometimes in a very literal way. The supes are mostly human magic users in our modern world, but there are some were-creatures, familiars, zombies, magical parasites, a swamp creature, and a very mean goddess. There's a love story at the heart of the series, but the tests to that love are extreme.
This third book in the series starts immediately after the second book leaves off. Jessie has weakened Miko by sending the goad into the goddess, but she still needs to get the souls of the living out of Miko and preferably destroy her. Both she and Pal are very sick, and Cooper and the Warlock have to go home to calm their mega-powerful baby brother, who has freaked out and built a fortress around his foster home. Eventually, Miko demonically possesses Jessie, and there's a whole lot of trouble getting her out. Jessie visits her father's home for the first time near the end of the story.
This third book in the series starts immediately after the second book leaves off. Jessie has weakened Miko by sending the goad into the goddess, but she still needs to get the souls of the living out of Miko and preferably destroy her. Both she and Pal are very sick, and Cooper and the Warlock have to go home to calm their mega-powerful baby brother, who has freaked out and built a fortress around his foster home. Eventually, Miko demonically possesses Jessie, and there's a whole lot of trouble getting her out. Jessie visits her father's home for the first time near the end of the story.
August 2, 2012
This and the second book are not worth picking up. The author totally lost her edge after the first book. She goes off on this random adventure and doesn't even deal with the events/responsibilities brought by the first book. I can only assume this is to extend the series which is cheap. The third book really is just a short at end on to the third, they probably could have been made into one book since the monster doesn't change. Once more, Jessie and Cooper's relationship is flat. Snyder seems to realize she hasn't explained it at all and tries to make Cooper into the perfect boyfriend but all him spewing loving crap just made me suspicious. I'm finding that the characters are starting to fall apart. There are no new developments, just big explosion plot lines. I will not be wasting any more time on this series.
June 12, 2012
As usual Lucy A Snyder delivers what I expected and even more. The third book in the Jessie Shimmer series proves to be just as well written and exciting as Spellbent and Shotgun Sorcerer! Jessie once again finds herself facing demons of the past and present and making some tough choices along the way. As you follow Jessie through her latest encounters she delivers the chills and thrills that leave you wanting to keep reading. There are twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat and craving more. I hope that there will be more along the Jessie Shimmer series to come, I would read every one that it published!! Keep up the great work Lucy A Snyder!! I love your work and I especially love this series.
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March 18, 2012"I'm the banana master now!" Best line in the whole book! But wow, did the cover ever ruin the book for me. I kept thinking while I was reading, "This book has a girl on the cover who is naked for no truly logical reason and can't even hold a switchblade like she means it. It's a knife, not a viola bow." I get it, in the book she was naked, but in the middle of a swamp? One word: leeches. And why Miko? Why can't we get a picture of Jess? Miko could have been standing over her shoulder with an evil look on her face or something, but this was such a departure from the awesomeness of the last two covers. It just ruined the story for me. It looked like kinky erotica instead of urban fantasy.
December 29, 2015
I wish I'd read all three of the books in this series in a row, as the shotgun-wielding sorceress who's the hero doesn't get much of a breather between takes, getting tougher and more battered with each telling. I had trouble remembering what happened in the first two in any detail, which is too bad as they are rather important for this one.
This one had some pretty brutal moments, to the point I might have put it down if the book wasn't so short I knew they couldn't last that long. Which was good, as overall it was a solid read and I'll try to catch the planned sequel before I forget this one.
This one had some pretty brutal moments, to the point I might have put it down if the book wasn't so short I knew they couldn't last that long. Which was good, as overall it was a solid read and I'll try to catch the planned sequel before I forget this one.
July 1, 2016
Switchblade Goddess is the third Jessie Shimmer book, and I highly enjoyed reading it. The setting starts out the same as the previous book - in rural Texas. Jessie is much more conflicted in this book, and there are some dark and exciting scenes that push her in new directions. I felt that the character development in this book was much better than the previous two because it wasn't just about Jessie using her powers in tough situations to get through. There were difficult decisions to make, and very dark circumstances involved. I look forward to reading other books by Lucy A. Snyder.
January 26, 2016
i did not liked this one.
It has way less magic, way more SM and bondage and that stuff. I hope the author is setting the stage for something that necessarily has the characters going thru all this, because in the book it has no meaning.
The MC gets sucker punched all the time, jerked around, raped, molested and tortured, only to go running to her dad and boyfriend to get saved. A whole different woman in this book than in the previous two...
It's really disappointing.
It has way less magic, way more SM and bondage and that stuff. I hope the author is setting the stage for something that necessarily has the characters going thru all this, because in the book it has no meaning.
The MC gets sucker punched all the time, jerked around, raped, molested and tortured, only to go running to her dad and boyfriend to get saved. A whole different woman in this book than in the previous two...
It's really disappointing.
December 26, 2012
Okay, somewhat less squicky than the second book, so I'm not quite as scarred for life. It did feel like book 2.5 though. Nothing new was accomplished, all that happened was that the plot from the second book was more wrapped up. It seemed to be a filler book, but it was pretty readable so it wasn't bad overall.
March 13, 2012
Feel like I need brain bleach to get some of the torture out of my mind. It gets bad. Really bad. I'm talking drill to head, knife to flesh and sick sex bad. But I can't say that it was a horrible book. It was painful.
January 16, 2012
A supercharged urban/dark fantasy. Jessie Shimmer is a tough girl.
Has some very horrific scenes.
X-rated.
Love the magic.
What a cover! If this book were a beverage, I would have to read it covered with a brown paper bag.
Has some very horrific scenes.
X-rated.
Love the magic.
What a cover! If this book were a beverage, I would have to read it covered with a brown paper bag.
February 27, 2012
This was my least favorite book in the series. I don't mind dark scenes, but I think they should be used judiciously and should move the plot forward. Much of the violence/sex/violent sex in this book seemed gratuitous.
July 8, 2012
Loved it, though it's not for everyone! This is dark stuff, but if you like stories where the protagonist has to earn their victory the really really hard way, there's much to love here. There are several open threads at the end of the novel and I'm ready to read more!
August 23, 2015
Although this is a outside of my usual reading pile, can't help but heap praise on Ms. Snyder for her excellent writing. But a bit of advice for Readers, it's best to start this series from the beginning.
November 9, 2011
Review to come by Fresh Fiction
September 16, 2012
Good although not as good as the previous - the hellement scenario probably was what marked this down for me.
February 27, 2013
Hard to get into at first. It had been awhile since I read the other Jessi Shimmer books. Overall pretty good.
November 2, 2012
Not as good as the first one but still entertaining. I may or may not continue with the series, this one was just a little too dark and twisted for me.
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June 6, 2014Loved it! Can't wait for the next one.
August 31, 2015
more please
May 26, 2016
Another rip-roaring read.
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