Arcane Solutions

Discord Jones #1

by Gayla Drummond

Rescuing under-aged vamp bait and retrieving stolen possessions is all in a day’s work for Discord Jones.

When a gorgeous, lying bastard of an elf hires her to find an ancient book, danger takes on a whole new meaning. The book holds an unbelievably powerful spell, and ‘favored prey of demons’ becomes an unwelcome addition to her resume.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Magic, Fantasy, Demons, Shapeshifters

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2012

About the author

Puppy rescuer and equine slave who loves visiting other worlds through reading and writing.

You can find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gayladrummon... or drop by her website at http://gldrummond.com.

Reviews

[Kari Chapman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential. I wish it had gone another round or three with beta readers before being published though. The plot was decent at the beginning, but by the time we hit the end of the book there was just sort of a rush to be done with it. The final fight scene instead of being dramatic and full on tension made me go "are you for real?" instead. And the "romance" in the book was really bad. I mean basically she's with him because she was horny the first night and after that it really seems like she just doesn't feel like telling him that she's not as into him as he's into her. It was horrible and I wish she'd told him to go away and leave her alone. And instead she allows him to make all these claims on her she doesn't like, but in the end just goes along with for no reason that I could see.

This makes the appearance of another potential boyfriend annoying. I don't mind love triangles if they're done well and the personalities of all the characters support it, but in this case there is literally no reason for our main character to be with the first love interest. And the second love interest is a much better fit, and someone that actually pays attention to her and her feelings.

Then there were her powers. While most humans with magical powers have one or two, she apparently has all of them - sometimes not even mentioned until they are conveniently needed. Obviously the main character of a fantasy novel is usually going to be more powerful or talented than other people, but this was handled in a ham handed fashion. Instead of making me interested in finding out why she's been gifted with so many powers, every time another one comes up I would just roll my eyes and think "well, of course she has that one too". Basically, she felt more Mary Sue instead of Child of Destiny.

I did love the familiars. They were a lot of fun.

In the end, between the silly ending and the horrible "boyfriend", I have no interest in reading the next book.

[Jeanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
The world is interesting. The protagonist seems promising. I'm not a fan of the wolf but am madly in lust with the tiger
I'm going to give book 2 a shot

[chucklesthescot · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I was rating this book purely on the plot-or lack of it-I would have given this one star and went to do something else. Despite the plot issue, the author deserved more than one star because her writing abilities and the way she put the story on paper was better than that so I gave it the two star maximum that I can stretch to if I abandon a book.

Cordi is hired by a family to find a missing teenage girl who may have been snatched by evil vampires so it is pretty important that she is found quickly. She is given a werewolf partner by her boss and they rush off to explore the bad area where the girl might be held-and Cordi is psychic scanning for signs of anyone in trouble inside a gated house, when werewolf idiot boy starts seducing Cordi, alerting those inside to someone lurking outside, putting the girl in serious danger as they nearly get caught. So what does Cordi do to save the situation? She takes the werewolf home to have sex. And this is hours after meeting the guy and only page 26...hmmm bodes well for having a serious plot, huh. She really is a true professional when she is happy not to find a trace of the girl so she can have more sex with the werewolf a different night. Well I'm glad the girl not being found is such a plus for your social life Cordi.

I despised our two heroes. They are totally unprofessional in putting their fling ahead of their job. Werewolf Boy is pathetic and needy, unable to control himself with Cordi and putting the mission in danger. Nick is the steriotype werewolf character-jealous, sulky, possessive and got on my nerves very quickly. To have a werewolf detective who cannot control his wolf around pretty women is dangerous and not a great plot device for me. The 'relationship' was a bit of a joke, jumping into bed with a stranger, her partner, during a case. I felt as if the sex was put there more for the sake of it than any plot reason...I mean p26??? We hardly know a thing about the characters, they are strangers to each other not greatly keen on working together but hey, lets have sex anyway! Jeez.

Cordi and her world had some real potential but as usual the plot is overshadowed by this obsession authors have developed in urban fantasy to shove in some poorly written sex for entertainment. Ugh. No thanks!

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many of my favorite series have either ended or are winding down; so, I am constantly on the lookout for new and interesting ones. While the Discordia Jones series certainly isn't new, it is definitely interesting. "Arcane Solutions" features a psychic named Discordia Angel Jones who received her powers after awakening from a 3 year coma. Now the twenty-two year old works as a P.I.

Discordia has been asked to find the missing daughter of a woman. Before she can even get started her boss saddles her with a sexy Shifter body guard named Nick. Needless to say, she is none to pleased about being babysat; but, she has been injured or attacked one too many times for her boss's liking. While out on her first lead, Discordia's investigation is interrupted when she is hauled into the realm where she is asked to locate a missing book by an elf named, Thorandryll. She force him to call her office to make an appointment.

As Discordia and Nick investigate the disappearance of the missing daughter, they become close in a personal way. Before she realizes it, she now has a boyfriend. Then she meets another shifter named, Logan, who saves her bacon on several occasions. Soon,it becomes clear that her missing persons case and the missing book are related a d if Discordia doesn't hurry up and get her act together there just might be a demon apocalypse.

I liked the characters in this book especially, Discordia. She is strong willed, loyal and kind hearted. I also liked the demon dog, Leglin. I will say, I'm not a big fan of love triangles especially in adult lit but the one I foresee coming is somewhat understandable. For me, the real test of this series will lie within the second or third book. Let's just hope it continues to live up to my expectations.

[Runningrabbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one and am pleased to see I can surge on through a few more before I will have to wait on a new book. This is generally my preference for reading, I hate it when you have to wait for ages and then the author either 1) doesn't do a Prologue 2) launches straight in with no background whatsoever and you have no idea who any of the characters are, what breed of character they may be, or where it's set 3) puts so much background in the following book that you have to skim to get anywhere useful and then half the book is gone.

I like the character in this one, she is young which does excuse for some idiocy, but she is also drawn as a realistic character. The romance at this stage is kind of interesting. A relationship has been instigated, but there's definitely some room there to move things around and do a bit of imaginative decorating.

One thing I do like, is the author puts in some really sensible comments/descriptions in that make areas much more believable.

Lots of different types of breeds and characters which will also leave plenty of room to introduce future cast members.

[Lyndi W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about this one. I liked the characters and the plot well enough. Lots of action. But Discordia seemed to stumble entirely too much. She's got sooo many powers and she's supposedly THE BEST but I felt like she mostly had no clue what she was doing or what she was going up against. People had to save her bacon every damn time. Also, not real fond of the love quadrangle that wasn't really a quadrangle.

I'm on the fence about reading the next book in the series.

[Dirty Dayna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book suffers from great ideas that don't turn out how they were intended to. the book is borderline cheesy and you don't really even care about the characters. there's an unrealistic love triangle and it just didn't do anything for me .

[Sláinte Wanderlust · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this a lot and look forward to the others. I would not be as enthusiastic had friends not told me that the seemingly developing love triangle resolves quickly, I think they said in early book 2.

Yeah, there are places where the protagonist doesn't make good choices and that's frustrating but I'm hoping that these will be the areas in which she grows. I'm a little puzzled by the number of powers that keep cropping up and wondering if I'm looking at a potential Mary Sue, but I like the world and the characters and I'm curious about several of them (who is the boss and what is he?!) so I'll continue to series to see how it goes.

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arcane Solutions is a quick and fun paranormal detective story.

The story follows Discordia Angel Jones, a psychic private investigator with a penchant for life threatening situations. Her boss, determined to protect his best PI, hires handsome wolf shifter Nick Maxwell to be her bodyguard. It’s lust at first sight between the two… but first they’ve got to find a missing girl, fend off vampire attacks, and stop a demonic cult from ending the world. Just another day on the job for Discord Jones….

This is an escapist read which I raced through in a few hours. As befitting of the genre, the prose is stripped back and casual, and the plot fairly easy to follow. It has the requisite hunks, a kickass heroine, and offers a fresh take on the paranormal world – if this sounds like your cup of tea, don’t hesitate to read it.

Discordia falls into the tough, independent and headstrong heroine category — although thankfully intelligent enough not to make stupid, obvious mistakes. Born a human, she gained psychic abilities when the paranormal and human worlds melded, but unlike any other psychic, she has multiple powers as opposed to the standard one or two.

Love interest Nick is the strong, jealous type. His jealousy doesn’t win points with me, although kudos to Discordia for challenging his attitude rather than putting up with it.

Points to Drummond as well for the captivating world building. The melding of the paranormal and human worlds is still fresh in everyone’s minds, leading to prejudice and fear between some of the characters. It’s refreshing to read a story where everyone doesn’t just calmly accept the paranormal, and the tense relationship Discord has with her step-mother adds some depth to the story.

Overall, however, Arcane Solutions is at most a guilty pleasure. I didn’t find the resolution satisfying (the explanation of the vampire attacks was an anti climax) and the ending felt rushed after the pages and pages of conspiracies and whodunnits.

That said, I am intrigued to read more. Drummond has left much unexplained: how the melding of the paranormal and human worlds happened, why Discordia has more power than any other psychic, and what secrets the shifters are hiding. Plus I’d love to know more about Leglin — you’ll have to give it a read to find out why!

In sum, if you like urban fantasy settings with a dollop of romance, then this might be one for you.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arcane Solutions is a fun early novel for this author. Various dimensions were force apart thousands of years ago and now they have come back together, including Earths dimension. This caused a lot of havoc and mayhem on Earth with a whole bunch of supernatural beings now living here. Humans on Earth themselves had a portion of the population drop into comas to wake up as witches and psychics. Discord Jones is one of the humans that turned into a psychic and then became a PI.

Arcane Solutions is pretty fast paced and is an entertaining UF. The mystery part of the novel wasn’t too bad for a first effort. Most of the characters are likable, some are a bit mysterious. The writing is a bit amateurish at times but was expected since this is a pretty early novel for this author. Discord is a special snowflake; her psychic abilities seem to cover everything and keep expanding only to be humbled a bit by her inability to use most of her powers when panicking. She is still a likable character and has a lot of room for growth.

I’m not much into her insta-relationship with Nick and think it’s doomed to fail. I felt like the author needed her to have a relationship to write the story so we get Nick at the beginning who we just don’t know much about, mostly because he doesn’t share much, but he adds tension and drama. There is a set up for a love triangle and Logan seems like he’d be the better choice and I sense it’s going to go that way.

Many of the side characters are interesting and have lots of room to go places that I want to know about. The world building is coming along, it did take me a little bit to figure out that we are in Texas, but the author I feel is going to grow this area also and keep it interesting. All an all I think this is a good start for a series and I’m starting the next book.

There is violence that is somewhat graphic at times and sexual content that isn’t graphic; this is geared towards the NA to Adult crowd.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure here: I got to both beta read and edit Gayla Drummond's latest offering, Arcane Solutions. So I’ve seen it in rough form and been paid to work out the final kinks, so I’m obviously not unbiased about whether this story is worth reading; I’ve already invested a lot of time to make what I felt was a good story to begin with, stronger. That said, I’m really pleased with where Drummond took the final result.

Discord, known to her friends as Cordi, is cast in the mold of urban fantasy heroines like Mercy Thompson, Kitty Norville, or Kate Daniels, but with a few key differences to make her stand out. She is slightly younger than the norm, and as such is really still growing into herself, her self-confidence, and her unusual abilities. She also has very close relationships with both her parents, who were happily married until the defining pre-event of the book, “the Melding” pushed Cordi into a 3-year-long coma. As Cordi puts it, “It seemed that watching your comatose daughter slowly waste away to bones put a harsh strain on a marriage.”

Drummond’s real strength continues to shine in this offering. Her ability to write dialogue that is at once funny, engaging, and moves the plot along sets her apart.

Drummond builds real and relatable relationships between her characters, which ensures the reader remains engaged throughout the story. I can highly recommend her work for all these reasons to anyone who has a yen for a new twist on the urban fantasy tropes, anyone who enjoys a good mystery, or anyone who likes a good action-adventure story livened up with the unorthodox beginning of a romance. (And, yes, the bedroom scenes are hot, so pay attention to the NC-17 rating the author has put on the title.)

[Wyrdness · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a re-read I give this 3.5 stars.

I still really enjoyed this on a second read through and it shows strong promise of developing in to something quite interesting, but it did have some of "the usual" problems a first in a series might have.

Such as really convenient minor characters the main character knows popping up in just the right place when needed, as well as a rather abrupt (as in blink and you'll miss it) transition from the "clue gathering build-up" phase of the story to the "actual life and death showdown" ending. Still, it could have been a lot worse and I was quite entertained by Cordi's rather frenetic pursuit of leads.

I'm also terribly sorry to any Nick fans out there, but he still irritates the hell out of me in regards to his behaviour around Cordi and it's just really suspicious how he's so very close-lipped about everything pack, shifter, and himself.

I'm off to re-read the second one now because I'm meant to be reading and reviewing something else entirely that's already putting me to sleep at 15%

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a chance on this book when I read the excerpt that was provided on Amazon. I am sure glad that I did, because I did not want to put it down and I wanted to read the next one (they are all on order at present).

This story starts with our heroine "Discord Angel Jones", who cannot stop getting into trouble as her "psychic" abilities keep manifesting and just leads her right into the thick of all things we call action in the form of "Aw, hell here we go again!".

This book has a great cast of characters developed that are her friends and co-workers that just draws you right into the book with the action, wit and sarcasm. This is one that you have to try and you will not be disappointed. My only disappointment is that I did not come across this book until 2 weeks ago.

[Melinda VanLone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish. The world building was fun, and I especially liked the whole psychic abilities thing. What I wouldn't give to be able to teleport! I liked that although this had some gruesome things happening, it read like a cozy mystery. The voice was fun, and refreshing. Lots of moments made me giggle out loud. Fantastic dialogue. I'm still dying to know exactly what kind of creature Discord's boss is. This was a delightful romp, and a fast read. If you're looking for urban fantasy/paranormal mystery, with every fantasy creature you can think of inhabiting our world, and a bit of romance on the side, this one's for you.

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent read -- I like most of the core characters -- but major Mary Sue vibes. The lead female is a psychic with untold gifts including teleportation, telekenesis, telepathy, psychometry, .... Yet, she needs a werewolf bodyguard to keep her out of trouble. In the two stories where I base my experience on teleportation -- the 1970's The Tomorrow People and the original book Jumper -- teleportation when in jeopardy is kinda second nature. I don't know. Clashing expectations. A souped up tomorrow person with extra abilities and no natural pacifist nature dropped into an urban fantasy setting. Also some Anita Blake vibes. Wolf and kitty shifters to play with.

[Petrie Serrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love-love-love this book and can't wait for the rest of the series. It's light and entertaining with non-stop snappy comebacks, plot twists, and imaginative takes on mythical creatures that so easily could have fallen into cliche. Parts of it are laugh-out-loud hilarious. It's the first book I've read cover-to-cover in one day in years. (It would have been one sitting if I had a babysitter.)

I read it a year ago and I'm still recommending it to people.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book and the three that come after it. If you like paranormal without tons of x rated scenes, this is a great choice. Love the unique world building and different characters.

[Victoria (nocturnalintimacy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun start to a new series.

[Kimberly Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Discordia Jones!

Discordia (Cordi to her friends) is fun, honest and powerful. She is snarky at times, young in years but is smart and talented. These books are different then most because she has numerous powers that she hasn't even explored all of yet. She relies on her friends and the people around her. Her mother and father both play a large role in her life and stand behind most of her decisions. This book has lots of action and some sexual parts.
She is a private investigator that has dangerous clients and cases. Some involve vampires and some involve demons and elf's. All of this keeps you guessing as to what the next problem she will face and how she will get through it. These books are fast paced and easy to read.
Some of her powers I would love to have but some would be hard. I would think everyone would want to have powers of teleportation amoung other gifts. As well as 2 hunky ( her words) shifters who love her as well as a gorgeous elf. However she doesn't realize most of this and is always getting into some supernatural problem through arcane solutions. She's brave and loves her friends and family. These books are a quick read and are fun characters that you feel you know at the end of the stories.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great elements, but just not well put together.

Overall, I really like this series! There's a great underlying plot, characters, romance, and fun aspects. I really like Discord and want to know all the mysteries about her. There is so much potential!

I have noticed that the books are really short and as a result the actual underlying plot is slowly dissipating. Granted it was there for about the first 2-3 books and then it felt like the author didn't know where it was going and so there's more filler. It's good filler because it progresses her relationships and deepens the development of friendship between Discord and everybody, but then bad filler because you're left feeling cheated. Kinda like an ebook that's 54 pages or when Laurell K. Hamilton published the book Flirt :/

The story has been more focused on social and relationship development which I absolutely like. However, for it to be Amazing, the actual book when it's out there for everybody to read needs to have a full story with these character and romance aspects. The second to most recent book, #6, is only 183 pages! Really short in terms of pushing the story along and really bringing the reader in further to the underlying plot of Discord Jones. The most recent book #7, available on amazon, but not on goodreads for me to write this on is only 93 pages! Really good books, as I've noticed through my reading career ;), usually are about at least ~250-300 pages and up. A few books of this series felt like it could have been combined.

This series could be Amazing and I'm hoping that it picks up!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Start to Series

4.5 stars. Discordia Jones, PI, is a psychic still coming to grips with her abilities. Very likable character with lots of room to grow. Plenty of action. A developing triangle which I’m not thrilled about, but I guess we’ll see where that goes. Looking forward to delving into #2.

[Teresa Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun read

This was a book full of interesting characters, growing relationships, multiple mysteries, and lots of action. Discord Jones is a psychic with a lot of extra talents that make her able to take down bad guys in some really creative ways. The humor is a welcome relief throughout the book

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great first in a new series. The mystery was engrossing and the dialogue was witty! Looking forward to continuing the series

[Faye Gallagher]

Great read

Interesting take on gaining abilities. Like the characters and the storyline. The heroine comes off as a little bit know it all but still relatable.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

None of the men in her life really stand up in my opinion. There is something suspicious about Nick and Logan, I would almost rather she be with the elf.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent case with a likable cast of characters, including a smart demon dog and many funny familiars. The MCs magic wasn’t explained much and the relationship stuff was weird. TW: SA

[Bookmom · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the melding of two realms took place years ago, it really caused chaos. A number of people fell asleep for a few hours up to a few months and woke up with abilities, and many of those people are now witches and warlocks. This version of the world also contains shifters, vampires, demons, elves and other types of fae. Discordia (Cordi) Jones was in a coma for three years—she doesn’t know of anyone else being asleep that long from the event—waking up with a slew of different psychic abilities; some of which she doesn’t she has yet to discover. Deciding to use them for good, she works for Arcane Solutions as a private investigator that often deals with the supernatural.

It’s easy to see elements from a number of different series, but this doesn’t come across as a copy of any of them. Cordi is a very likeable character who while kick-butt in her own way, it’s from the use of her abilities much more than her ability to physically fight, and she does get hurt often. Not quite as hardnosed stubborn when it comes down to backing away from a fight as some other heroines I’ve come across, she doesn’t easily give up. And she’s got plenty of interesting friends who are willing to help out.

In this particular story Cordi is contracted to find a couple’s missing teenage daughter as well as a very old book stolen from an elf.

I enjoyed this Urban Fantasy story so much that I immediately downloaded the second book in the series and have since read the third as well. I found this to be an enjoyable story with really good world and character building and interesting situations. The author does need some help with editing, though.

[K. Lincoln · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of potential, not quite to my taste. Maybe I've overloaded in Urban Fantasy again recently? I"m not sure. The main character is pleasingly tough, independent, and not all the way stupid about finding herself caught up in various situations.

Sadly, she's the only character I really felt I got in this story, despite an intriguing-sounding scooby gang of friends surrounding her, including a mysterious, giant boss, a hell-hound, a wolf-shifter boyfriend, a love/conflict interest shifter tiger, various witches who didn't differentiate themselves in my mind, and a glowering, sneering elf. And vampires. And demons.

Most of the book is Discordia going out and getting attacked and then being saved by boyfriend, love/conflict interest, or hellhound. Invariably she ends up back with the witches getting healed. And then she goes out again. And gets attacked. Then she ends up back with witches and their familiars getting healed. Really, for me the best parts were the descriptions and the personalities of the familiars-- they stand out more than the human witches for me.

But it didn't keep my interest, sadly. I also didn't like how MANY powers she had, coupled with the witches' powers, and kept asking myself why she needed a shifter bodyguard if all her witch friends could just banish demons so easily? And the uneven reasons for why she did and did not teleport?

So cool character, somewhat undeveloped side characters, and falls into the trap of giving too many powers to people who don't use them against the bad guys in a consistent way.

[Jeannie Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great super fun exciting adventure.