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Zoë Martinique #1
Wraith by Phaedra Weldon
More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA
Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
34 people are currently reading
2385 people want to read
About the author
Phaedra Weldon
154 books361 followersSometimes credited as Phaedra M. Weldon.
Born in Pensacola, Florida, Phaedra is the eldest of four children. She began writing in notebooks with her best friend in middle school.
After leaving college for a job in the Graphic Arts industry, Phaedra continued her love of writing in her spare time and was lucky enough at a writer's conference to meet Dean Wesley Smith, who later became her writing mentor, along with his wife, the bestselling mystery/fantasy/romance/science fiction writer, Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Phaedra lives in Atlanta, Georgia. When not writing, she and her daughter spend their time playing games, letterboxing, or watching anime.
Series:
* Zoe Martinique
Born in Pensacola, Florida, Phaedra is the eldest of four children. She began writing in notebooks with her best friend in middle school.
After leaving college for a job in the Graphic Arts industry, Phaedra continued her love of writing in her spare time and was lucky enough at a writer's conference to meet Dean Wesley Smith, who later became her writing mentor, along with his wife, the bestselling mystery/fantasy/romance/science fiction writer, Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Phaedra lives in Atlanta, Georgia. When not writing, she and her daughter spend their time playing games, letterboxing, or watching anime.
Series:
* Zoe Martinique
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
November 18, 2010
By popular demand, I'm leaving the WTF stamp here, but now I have a review to go with it. :)
This review is brought to you by the letters “T,” “S,” “T,” and “L.” Wraith is a textbook example of an Idiot Plot. The story is set in motion when the heroine does something stupid, and this sets the tone for the entire novel. Almost every plot development in Wraith is triggered by Zoë doing something stupid.
Zoë Martinique has the ability to leave her body and travel astrally. She has built a career on this talent, offering a sort of black-market PI service on eBay. She does some astral snooping, and then reports back to her clients with the information she finds out. As the novel begins, Zoë has taken a commission from some poor schmuck worried about losing his job. Her mission: to spy on his bosses as they attend a musical and learn whether they’re plotting to fire him. But Zoë gets bored and wanders off into another building, where she stumbles upon the real plot (more on that later), then later reports back to her client that his bosses weren’t discussing anything business-related. I kept waiting for this to come back and bite her in the butt. I’d have been tickled if this guy had called her later in the book, irate that he’d been fired despite Zoë’s assurances. This never happens, alas.
So, Zoë skips out on her job and witnesses a murder. The victim is a prominent executive; the killer is someone who’s not quite a physical being but not quite a spirit either. She gives herself away by swearing and gets into a heap of trouble.
This happens multiple times. In Phaedra Weldon’s universe, astral travelers can’t be seen by most people, but they can be heard if they speak aloud. It doesn’t quite make sense, since the traveler doesn’t have physical vocal cords, but them’s the rules. Zoë has been doing this for years. She knows this. Yet time after time, she opens her big mouth while spying and gets caught. This goes on until some other plot developments result in the loss of her voice. She keeps doing other dumb things, though. How about deciding to astral travel while she’s so injured and exhausted she can barely stand? Without telling anyone where she’s going? And locking her own unconscious body in her car trunk? Nope, can’t imagine any way that could go wrong!
Also problematic is the way Weldon handles the issue of rape. Zoë was raped some years ago, and that night was the first time she traveled astrally. The incident also adds some pathos to her character. But her mother tells her it made her stronger, and Zoë blames herself for what happened because she had disobeyed her mother, and it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. She also doesn’t react in ways I’d find realistic for a rape survivor; when a villainous character forces a kiss upon her, she doesn’t freak out or get angry but instead (SPOILER) gets turned on and has what seems to be consensual sex with him.
The style of narration doesn’t quite work, either. There are a few funny moments, but mostly Zoë comes off as flippant and immature. Add in confusing metaphysics (especially at the climax) and a final scene that has no point whatsoever. I did not enjoy Wraith and do not recommend it.
From FantasyLiterature.com
This review is brought to you by the letters “T,” “S,” “T,” and “L.” Wraith is a textbook example of an Idiot Plot. The story is set in motion when the heroine does something stupid, and this sets the tone for the entire novel. Almost every plot development in Wraith is triggered by Zoë doing something stupid.
Zoë Martinique has the ability to leave her body and travel astrally. She has built a career on this talent, offering a sort of black-market PI service on eBay. She does some astral snooping, and then reports back to her clients with the information she finds out. As the novel begins, Zoë has taken a commission from some poor schmuck worried about losing his job. Her mission: to spy on his bosses as they attend a musical and learn whether they’re plotting to fire him. But Zoë gets bored and wanders off into another building, where she stumbles upon the real plot (more on that later), then later reports back to her client that his bosses weren’t discussing anything business-related. I kept waiting for this to come back and bite her in the butt. I’d have been tickled if this guy had called her later in the book, irate that he’d been fired despite Zoë’s assurances. This never happens, alas.
So, Zoë skips out on her job and witnesses a murder. The victim is a prominent executive; the killer is someone who’s not quite a physical being but not quite a spirit either. She gives herself away by swearing and gets into a heap of trouble.
This happens multiple times. In Phaedra Weldon’s universe, astral travelers can’t be seen by most people, but they can be heard if they speak aloud. It doesn’t quite make sense, since the traveler doesn’t have physical vocal cords, but them’s the rules. Zoë has been doing this for years. She knows this. Yet time after time, she opens her big mouth while spying and gets caught. This goes on until some other plot developments result in the loss of her voice. She keeps doing other dumb things, though. How about deciding to astral travel while she’s so injured and exhausted she can barely stand? Without telling anyone where she’s going? And locking her own unconscious body in her car trunk? Nope, can’t imagine any way that could go wrong!
Also problematic is the way Weldon handles the issue of rape. Zoë was raped some years ago, and that night was the first time she traveled astrally. The incident also adds some pathos to her character. But her mother tells her it made her stronger, and Zoë blames herself for what happened because she had disobeyed her mother, and it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. She also doesn’t react in ways I’d find realistic for a rape survivor; when a villainous character forces a kiss upon her, she doesn’t freak out or get angry but instead (SPOILER) gets turned on and has what seems to be consensual sex with him.
The style of narration doesn’t quite work, either. There are a few funny moments, but mostly Zoë comes off as flippant and immature. Add in confusing metaphysics (especially at the climax) and a final scene that has no point whatsoever. I did not enjoy Wraith and do not recommend it.
From FantasyLiterature.com
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2007
The protagonist in this story is supposed to be 28 years old but she acts more like she's 13. I could deal with deliberately ignoring common sense, many protagonists in urban fantasy do that. But she's constantly wanting her mommy and while I understand the sentiment... she is 28. I also got very tired of the references to "tingling girl parts" and the far too often used "mental note:" I was annoyed enough that although I found the concepts and the plot interesting, I won't be continuing the series.
October 30, 2009
The concept seemed interesting to start, but I had to give the book up halfway through because the protagonist was SO. EFFING. STUPID. She has the ability to astrally project herself and makes a living spying for people -- the morality of which, by the way, is never questioned, although it would certainly be illegal if she were doing the same thing with technology. She has been using her power in this way for 6 years, yet she is unable to learn to not speak while spying on people, even though she knows they will hear her. Every single time we see her spying she talks out loud to herself! I stopped reading at the point at which she had just done this AGAIN five minutes after smacking herself for giving her presence away to the baddies, who already almost snagged her once with a magical soul-catching device. But no worries! She'll think about that when it happens. Also dumb: if you have a crush on a cop (who you just saw once while spying on a private meeting), inexplicably involving yourself in his investigation is NOT the way to get him interested in you. It is the way to get tossed in jail.
The heroine is supposed to be 28 but acts like a pre-teen. This may not entirely be her fault as her friends and family treat her like a kid. Her mom seemed really controlling and also kinda crazy. At one point she holds her daughter at gun point to force her to have an (unnecessary) exorcism. When she wants Zoe to see a doctor, instead of convincing her, she makes the appointment behind her back and then has her friend lie that she is taking Zoe to lunch and drive her to the doctor's. My mother treated me with more respect when I was 8, much less 28.
Another thing that really bothered me was the way Zoe's mother and friends kept bringing up the rape that she suffered several years earlier. Like, kind of casually. "Ooh, I met a cute boy!" "But you were raped! You must have ISSUES! Are you sure you want to go on a date?" And the cop also brings it up totally uninvited because he met her once and pulled her record and saw that she had been a victim (and isn't it illegal for the police to do that, just BTW?). I don't know about you, but if I know a friend has been a victim of sexual assault I let her or him decide when they want to talk about it. I certainly wouldn't mention it in a public setting. This treatment is exactly why so many people don't tell even their loved ones about assault, because they don't want to be labeled and treated differently.
The heroine is supposed to be 28 but acts like a pre-teen. This may not entirely be her fault as her friends and family treat her like a kid. Her mom seemed really controlling and also kinda crazy. At one point she holds her daughter at gun point to force her to have an (unnecessary) exorcism. When she wants Zoe to see a doctor, instead of convincing her, she makes the appointment behind her back and then has her friend lie that she is taking Zoe to lunch and drive her to the doctor's. My mother treated me with more respect when I was 8, much less 28.
Another thing that really bothered me was the way Zoe's mother and friends kept bringing up the rape that she suffered several years earlier. Like, kind of casually. "Ooh, I met a cute boy!" "But you were raped! You must have ISSUES! Are you sure you want to go on a date?" And the cop also brings it up totally uninvited because he met her once and pulled her record and saw that she had been a victim (and isn't it illegal for the police to do that, just BTW?). I don't know about you, but if I know a friend has been a victim of sexual assault I let her or him decide when they want to talk about it. I certainly wouldn't mention it in a public setting. This treatment is exactly why so many people don't tell even their loved ones about assault, because they don't want to be labeled and treated differently.
May 24, 2010
Phaedra Weldon's book has the dubious honor to be my first dropped book of this year. The premise sounds really interesting - Zoë has the ability to leave her body which she uses for espionage - and in the hands of a better writer, this would've been a great book. But!
The book is painfully juvenile. The heroine is almost 30 but she behaves like a 12-year-old. She uses phrases like "How rude!" or words like "oogy". For her out-of-body experience, she dresses in a black cat suit and bunny slippers - the writer's attempt to make her both sexy and cute. Uh. She keeps saying stuff like "In retrospect, I shouldn't have done that" or "If I were smarter, I wouldn't" or "I'm not the brightest bulb." She has the tendency to ramble on and on and on and ON about stuff that's completely unrelated to what's happening. And she has these gimmicky abilities - like a perfect memory that she rarely uses because she's a spazz - and her friend makes her these gimmicky gadgets that work in her astral state even though nothing else does and... Argh. The result is more than cartoony.
I leafed through book 2 and 3 and it's obvious that there's some interesting stuff happening, that there is some character development, but I just can't handle the idiocy of the main character. Daniel, the main male hero, seems like a cool guy, but Zoë Martinique negates anything positive he might add to the story. What a shame.
Dropping both the book and the series.
The book is painfully juvenile. The heroine is almost 30 but she behaves like a 12-year-old. She uses phrases like "How rude!" or words like "oogy". For her out-of-body experience, she dresses in a black cat suit and bunny slippers - the writer's attempt to make her both sexy and cute. Uh. She keeps saying stuff like "In retrospect, I shouldn't have done that" or "If I were smarter, I wouldn't" or "I'm not the brightest bulb." She has the tendency to ramble on and on and on and ON about stuff that's completely unrelated to what's happening. And she has these gimmicky abilities - like a perfect memory that she rarely uses because she's a spazz - and her friend makes her these gimmicky gadgets that work in her astral state even though nothing else does and... Argh. The result is more than cartoony.
I leafed through book 2 and 3 and it's obvious that there's some interesting stuff happening, that there is some character development, but I just can't handle the idiocy of the main character. Daniel, the main male hero, seems like a cool guy, but Zoë Martinique negates anything positive he might add to the story. What a shame.
Dropping both the book and the series.
June 10, 2010
I seriously debated between 2 and 3 stars. It was a weird mix. She uses words like oogy (repeatedly, nauseatingly) then switches to hair that's "truncated" in the middle of her back. Zoë's voice is an odd mix of chick lit and educated woman. And the chick lit is just terribly done, the banter is lame and incredibly irritating. I almost threw the book across the room when during one of the most tense moments in the book, after being grabbed by a bad guy, Zoë, "He had me in a nuggy position. Yippee." Seriously, she said nuggy. But the urban fantasy aspect of the book was pretty good. I liked the original ideas, the main story was fast-paced and had suspense. I was curious to see what would happen next. There was even a little bit of spookiness (when it wasn't destroyed by her inane word choices). And yet this woman was horribly raped several years before the story began and doesn't freak out after being forced into spiritual sex and still thinks the guy is kind of sexy, or after finding out that her soul has been invaded. Ok, I've officially talked myself into downgrading to a 2. If I didn't already have the next book from the library sitting next to me I would not get it out. I hope it's better!
January 30, 2010
I vacillated between 2 1/2 and 3 stars for a while. I think I wanted to like this more than I actually did. It wasn't bad at all; I guess I would just call it mildly entertaining. I did like the way the author developed the characters, and the way it finished I have to say my interest is piqued enough to pick up the sequel. Eventually. I guess my main issue with it was that I felt the subject matter lent itself to being darker, but the author kept trying to write it, for lack of a better word, cute. And the more it went along, the more the explanation as to what was happening when things got really involved (I'm not trying to spoil anything) started to lose me a little. I'll give the series another chance, but there are several other ones I'm way more interested and invested in that I'll get to first.
January 19, 2013
I can't take YA characters that are spinelss and stupid.
January 16, 2018
Fun, but confusing, so three stars. Now I don't mind a main character who has limitations, and Zoe-with-two-dots-on-the-E Martinique's chief limitation is a reckless and impulsive nature, which of course gets her into heaps of trouble (you know, the oops, shouldn't have done that kind). Her first-person narrative, which sounds a little ADHD, actually pauses at one point to wonder if she's like those women in horror films who go back into the house (TSTL, too stupid to live)! But I enjoyed the wild ride with her because her impulses are largely positive (make things right, save my would-be lover, etc.), and there's real love among her little group: Zoe, her mother Nona, Nona's sidekick Rhonda, and two friendly house-ghosts; also Daniel, the cop who cares a lot for Zoe.
Confusing, which makes the scary stuff scarier. Despite some info-dumping this universe is never fully explained, and Zoe is a newbie in it; Nona is the infuriating kind of mother who protects her by keeping knowledge from her (until too late), but both Nona and Rhonda themselves are always trying to figure things out, endlessly consulting occult books, etc. So where to begin?
Apparently there are five planes of existence: physical, mental, astral, Ethereal, and Abysmal (notice the capital letters). Beings from the Abysmal are scary enough--there are phantasms and symbionts and wraiths, none of them clear in my mind--but the evil in this story stems from powerful people who try to manipulate the planes and their denizens for their own selfish ends, with varying degrees of success.
Years ago Zoe was raped and stabbed, winding up comatose in the ICU, but the trauma of the attack popped her out of her physical body onto the astral plane, where she saw the attack from above. Nona, who sees and converses with ghosts, saw astral Zoe and saved her life by coaxing her back into her physical body, forming a tightly knit protective bond with her daughter, who is now able to go Out of Body (OOB, they call it) and travel on the astral plane, where she earns a living as an invisible private spy (her commissions are set up, reported, and paid for via the internet).
There are two differences from the usual astral projection lore: (1) Zoe can speak OOB and be heard as an invisible voice, and she tends to blurt things out without thinking anyway, hence big trouble. (2) Although she can zip back into her physical body via her silver cord and she can pass through walls etc., she can't project astrally at a distance and has to be driven (by Nona) to the locations of her assignments, or ride along with someone else (like Daniel), or even take public transit. All in her invisible (but audible) state.
The story begins when Zoe, while on an OOB assignment, witnesses a murder and is marked by the murderer, who is from the Abysmal plane and becomes corporeal (physical) at will to commit the crime but of course sees astral Zoe perfectly well. Now Zoe can also become corporeal during her astral travels, with amusing and exciting results, but her link to the Abysmal murderer is disturbing, and I found the ending problematic.
Confusing, which makes the scary stuff scarier. Despite some info-dumping this universe is never fully explained, and Zoe is a newbie in it; Nona is the infuriating kind of mother who protects her by keeping knowledge from her (until too late), but both Nona and Rhonda themselves are always trying to figure things out, endlessly consulting occult books, etc. So where to begin?
Apparently there are five planes of existence: physical, mental, astral, Ethereal, and Abysmal (notice the capital letters). Beings from the Abysmal are scary enough--there are phantasms and symbionts and wraiths, none of them clear in my mind--but the evil in this story stems from powerful people who try to manipulate the planes and their denizens for their own selfish ends, with varying degrees of success.
Years ago Zoe was raped and stabbed, winding up comatose in the ICU, but the trauma of the attack popped her out of her physical body onto the astral plane, where she saw the attack from above. Nona, who sees and converses with ghosts, saw astral Zoe and saved her life by coaxing her back into her physical body, forming a tightly knit protective bond with her daughter, who is now able to go Out of Body (OOB, they call it) and travel on the astral plane, where she earns a living as an invisible private spy (her commissions are set up, reported, and paid for via the internet).
There are two differences from the usual astral projection lore: (1) Zoe can speak OOB and be heard as an invisible voice, and she tends to blurt things out without thinking anyway, hence big trouble. (2) Although she can zip back into her physical body via her silver cord and she can pass through walls etc., she can't project astrally at a distance and has to be driven (by Nona) to the locations of her assignments, or ride along with someone else (like Daniel), or even take public transit. All in her invisible (but audible) state.
The story begins when Zoe, while on an OOB assignment, witnesses a murder and is marked by the murderer, who is from the Abysmal plane and becomes corporeal (physical) at will to commit the crime but of course sees astral Zoe perfectly well. Now Zoe can also become corporeal during her astral travels, with amusing and exciting results, but her link to the Abysmal murderer is disturbing, and I found the ending problematic.
May 23, 2010
Actual rating: 2.5 stars (The last 30 pages or so earned it the extra half star.)
This book...the premise was intriguing, but I felt the execution was somewhat lacking.
I think one of my main problems was that the overall tone of the book didn't match the subject matter. It's like the book couldn't figure out what it wanted to be. The author seemed to be trying to go for a light, witty and funny writing style that was often at odds with the seriousness or the darkness of what was happening in the book at any given time. For example, there was one point where the main character (Zoe) and her friend (Rhonda) were trying to figure out exactly what was happening with the changes Zoe was experiencing, and Zoe used the phrase 'ed-u-ma-cate me', which to me is the kind of cutsey phrase one would use whilst joking around with ones friends and not in a potentially life and death situation.
Speaking of cutsey phrases, let's move on to the main character's internal dialogue. I found it to be quite annoying a frustrating at times, what with the cutesy words and phrases (using the word 'oogy' to describe unknown paranormal phenomena), and over use of exclamations like 'ewwwwww!'
Mental note: Don't get me started on the main character's way too frequent 'mental notes'. By the end of the book I was ready to scream every time one popped up.
The main character herself is supposed to be in her late 20's, but acted and talked as if she was in her middle teens. Maybe it's because her friends and her mother treated her as if she were a kid. But then again, maybe they treated her as if she were a kid because she continually made choices that made one question her intelligence. Kind of a chicken and egg situation, I guess.
While reading urban fantasy novels one must, quite obviously, utilize a rather sizable suspension of disbelief, so I was willing to overlook the main character's rather ethically dubious profession of using her astral walking abilities to spy on unsuspecting people for money. But the thing that I had the hardest time getting past was the fact that Zoe's love interest, Daniel--the cop--seemed to have no problem discussing a case he was working on (unofficially or not) with a woman he'd just met seconds ago.
There also seemed to be a lot of extraneous words and sentences. For example, Zoe and Daniel are about to eat a meal left for them by Zoe's mom and Zoe is in the process of preparing their beverages:
"Daniel was clueless. Twice he bumped into me, but I didn't complain. I finally had two large glasses of ice and poured the tea. The ice clicked as it cracked when the hot liquid melted it a bit."
Now, I know it sounds like I hated this book, but that's really not true. I can't exactly say that I liked it either, but the last 30 or so pages, as well as the way the author left things at the end of this book intrigued me enough to warrant checking out the second book in the series. I'm hoping the second book will flow a little more smoothly than this book, as so often is the case in second books in a series.
This book...the premise was intriguing, but I felt the execution was somewhat lacking.
I think one of my main problems was that the overall tone of the book didn't match the subject matter. It's like the book couldn't figure out what it wanted to be. The author seemed to be trying to go for a light, witty and funny writing style that was often at odds with the seriousness or the darkness of what was happening in the book at any given time. For example, there was one point where the main character (Zoe) and her friend (Rhonda) were trying to figure out exactly what was happening with the changes Zoe was experiencing, and Zoe used the phrase 'ed-u-ma-cate me', which to me is the kind of cutsey phrase one would use whilst joking around with ones friends and not in a potentially life and death situation.
Speaking of cutsey phrases, let's move on to the main character's internal dialogue. I found it to be quite annoying a frustrating at times, what with the cutesy words and phrases (using the word 'oogy' to describe unknown paranormal phenomena), and over use of exclamations like 'ewwwwww!'
Mental note: Don't get me started on the main character's way too frequent 'mental notes'. By the end of the book I was ready to scream every time one popped up.
The main character herself is supposed to be in her late 20's, but acted and talked as if she was in her middle teens. Maybe it's because her friends and her mother treated her as if she were a kid. But then again, maybe they treated her as if she were a kid because she continually made choices that made one question her intelligence. Kind of a chicken and egg situation, I guess.
While reading urban fantasy novels one must, quite obviously, utilize a rather sizable suspension of disbelief, so I was willing to overlook the main character's rather ethically dubious profession of using her astral walking abilities to spy on unsuspecting people for money. But the thing that I had the hardest time getting past was the fact that Zoe's love interest, Daniel--the cop--seemed to have no problem discussing a case he was working on (unofficially or not) with a woman he'd just met seconds ago.
There also seemed to be a lot of extraneous words and sentences. For example, Zoe and Daniel are about to eat a meal left for them by Zoe's mom and Zoe is in the process of preparing their beverages:
"Daniel was clueless. Twice he bumped into me, but I didn't complain. I finally had two large glasses of ice and poured the tea. The ice clicked as it cracked when the hot liquid melted it a bit."
Now, I know it sounds like I hated this book, but that's really not true. I can't exactly say that I liked it either, but the last 30 or so pages, as well as the way the author left things at the end of this book intrigued me enough to warrant checking out the second book in the series. I'm hoping the second book will flow a little more smoothly than this book, as so often is the case in second books in a series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2012
Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy Reading Level: Adult
Disclosure: I received the last book and the short stories in this series from the author in exchange for an honest review. I am happy to also provide an honest review for this book, the first in the series, which I purchased for myself.
Synopsis: Zoë Martinique has turned her unusual ability into a career. When she's traveling, she can't be seen which makes her an ideal professional snoop. I ndustrial espionage, surveillance, whatever. But one night things get out of hand while she's out of body. She witnesses a murder and a soul stealing, and discovers she has unwelcome company: Trench- Coat, a ghostly killer who can see and hurt her.
Teaming up with a blue-eyed police detective, she tries to solve the case and improve her love life. She also enlists the support of her psychic mother and the ghostly couple who haunt her house. And with murderers, kidnappers, and a desperate ex-porn star involved, Zoë needs all the help she can get.
My Thoughts: You can tell that this was actually written before the prequel, Web Ginn House, since there are things explained in this book as new that are mentioned as a matter of course in the prequel. Likely those who read these stories in chronological, published order rather than series order will be less likely to notice these sorts of discrepancies, though. I just decided to read it in series order for fun, even though it meant riffling through Tales from the Abysmal Plane and reading it piecemeal.
I enjoyed the humor a lot – Zoë had a wonderfully funny way of describing things that made me laugh out loud several times. Weldon has that sort of wry, self-deprecating humor in her writing that appears to be the hallmark of the southern-based, Urban Fantasy writer, a style which I really enjoy. She also captures the overweening vanity that seems to be a staple of the Southern woman – or so it seems to me – constantly concerned about appearance. Maybe it was because I grew up on ranch, I don’t know, but things like grey hair and a few wrinkles just weren’t that big of a deal to the role models with whom I grew up; however, a few white hairs is enough to send Zoë into a panic, and causes her mother and her friend Rhonda to both make comment sabout her needing to visit her hair dresser.
One thing really bothered me. Zoë has been doing this astral-travel-to-snoop-on-people thing for six years at this point – and she still can’t remember to not speak or make noises while spying on someone? After six years? I don’t quite buy it. Sure, it’s a useful plot device, but I just don’t buy it. Maybe if she had only just started with this business I would be more willing to go with it, but... again... six years??? Nope.
But, really, that’s a small part of the whole book and not enough of a problem to even phase me; just thought I’d mention it, so the whole review wasn’t fangirl gushing. Fans of Urban Fantasy should love this series, so definitely check it out.
Disclosure: I received the last book and the short stories in this series from the author in exchange for an honest review. I am happy to also provide an honest review for this book, the first in the series, which I purchased for myself.
Synopsis: Zoë Martinique has turned her unusual ability into a career. When she's traveling, she can't be seen which makes her an ideal professional snoop. I ndustrial espionage, surveillance, whatever. But one night things get out of hand while she's out of body. She witnesses a murder and a soul stealing, and discovers she has unwelcome company: Trench- Coat, a ghostly killer who can see and hurt her.
Teaming up with a blue-eyed police detective, she tries to solve the case and improve her love life. She also enlists the support of her psychic mother and the ghostly couple who haunt her house. And with murderers, kidnappers, and a desperate ex-porn star involved, Zoë needs all the help she can get.
My Thoughts: You can tell that this was actually written before the prequel, Web Ginn House, since there are things explained in this book as new that are mentioned as a matter of course in the prequel. Likely those who read these stories in chronological, published order rather than series order will be less likely to notice these sorts of discrepancies, though. I just decided to read it in series order for fun, even though it meant riffling through Tales from the Abysmal Plane and reading it piecemeal.
I enjoyed the humor a lot – Zoë had a wonderfully funny way of describing things that made me laugh out loud several times. Weldon has that sort of wry, self-deprecating humor in her writing that appears to be the hallmark of the southern-based, Urban Fantasy writer, a style which I really enjoy. She also captures the overweening vanity that seems to be a staple of the Southern woman – or so it seems to me – constantly concerned about appearance. Maybe it was because I grew up on ranch, I don’t know, but things like grey hair and a few wrinkles just weren’t that big of a deal to the role models with whom I grew up; however, a few white hairs is enough to send Zoë into a panic, and causes her mother and her friend Rhonda to both make comment sabout her needing to visit her hair dresser.
One thing really bothered me. Zoë has been doing this astral-travel-to-snoop-on-people thing for six years at this point – and she still can’t remember to not speak or make noises while spying on someone? After six years? I don’t quite buy it. Sure, it’s a useful plot device, but I just don’t buy it. Maybe if she had only just started with this business I would be more willing to go with it, but... again... six years??? Nope.
But, really, that’s a small part of the whole book and not enough of a problem to even phase me; just thought I’d mention it, so the whole review wasn’t fangirl gushing. Fans of Urban Fantasy should love this series, so definitely check it out.
life-is-too-short
October 15, 2010This wasn't going very well - Zoe irritated me by being stupid far too often, and nastier to her mother than worked for the situations as described. Then there was the Irish coffee being described as coffee and rum. Riiiiight. *Then* her mother brought her a hot toddy when she'd had a very traumatic experience (traumatic for her mother too, though) and she apparently didn't know what it was and was acting all bratty about her mother bringing her this weird drink. But I was putting up with it as the story had its merits, until I got to the very lengthy description of her rape 6 years before. Added nothing to the story and I'd had enough.
April 11, 2020
I knew from the first chapter that Zoe and I were not going to get along, and I wasn't proven wrong. She was incredibly insufferable; and I might have been willing to overlook that for great world-building, but even that contradicted itself.
December 11, 2011
In her debut novel, Phaedra Weldon takes the reader in the world of in between, where ghost and other things go bump in the night and not everything in there is friendly
Zoe Martinique is a Private Detective, but not of the cheating husband kind, more like a professional snoop infiltrating meetings that no one else is able to without someone else knowing she is there. Zoe has the ability of astral projection. Her spirit can leave her body and have all the abilities of a spirit free from a body plus some other Perks. Zoe should have known to stay away from the "oogy" feeling she was getting from the office building. After witnessing a murder by a fellow traveler Zoe has been scarred, literally and strange things are happening each time she leaves her body. But Zoe is determined to find the murder not only to help bring him to justice, but to find out what he has done to her.
I really wanted to like this book. I thought that the premise sounded interesting and that it might be something a little different in the paranormal genre. It took just over 250 pages (The books is about 375 pages long) to finally have this book pique some interest for me to read it, but it was like pulling teeth to get to this point. I found that other than the astral projection concept within the book (which is an interesting idea) that the book was severely lacking. This book lack imagination (other than the astral aspect), the writing style/language were hard to read at times, as well as I think that Weldon missed the mark in the character development.
The Highlight of this novel is Zoe's power. Not going to lie going Astral Projection is pretty cool and I like the integration of it into her occupation as a Private Detective or Professional Snooper. While I did find the Astral projection interesting and Zeo's ability to use it as her snooping tool, this was not enough for me to truelove enjoy this book.
I found that Zoe was very immature for her age (she is 28 in this book) and I was unable to relate to her thought process. She is a winy main character (I don't know how many times she wanted her mommy), who complains when she does not get her way. She also has the inability to learn from previous errors that she has made and it a little bit too man obsessed for my liking (this is not to say that there is a lot of romance in this book, very little actually, but she does think about men quite a bit). It also nagged me with the constant abbreviations for everything astral that Zoe's mom and Rachel had, we may live in a computer and texting world but that does not mean that I want to have them in the literature that I read. Also the over use of the word or "concept" of the word oogy really began to annoy me at the end and it was the use of this word that also attributed to Zoe`s immaturity
I think that Weldon had an interesting concept and premise, that if executed right would this would have been a great book. I think that the writing style and character development were not for me and were just lacking overall. Additionally, by the time I reached the end of the book, I was done, I do not want to read any more about Zoe, or her life. There is really nothing left in this book that would draw me in to read the next book, not even the interesting concept of Astral Projection.
Cheers!!!
Zoe Martinique is a Private Detective, but not of the cheating husband kind, more like a professional snoop infiltrating meetings that no one else is able to without someone else knowing she is there. Zoe has the ability of astral projection. Her spirit can leave her body and have all the abilities of a spirit free from a body plus some other Perks. Zoe should have known to stay away from the "oogy" feeling she was getting from the office building. After witnessing a murder by a fellow traveler Zoe has been scarred, literally and strange things are happening each time she leaves her body. But Zoe is determined to find the murder not only to help bring him to justice, but to find out what he has done to her.
I really wanted to like this book. I thought that the premise sounded interesting and that it might be something a little different in the paranormal genre. It took just over 250 pages (The books is about 375 pages long) to finally have this book pique some interest for me to read it, but it was like pulling teeth to get to this point. I found that other than the astral projection concept within the book (which is an interesting idea) that the book was severely lacking. This book lack imagination (other than the astral aspect), the writing style/language were hard to read at times, as well as I think that Weldon missed the mark in the character development.
The Highlight of this novel is Zoe's power. Not going to lie going Astral Projection is pretty cool and I like the integration of it into her occupation as a Private Detective or Professional Snooper. While I did find the Astral projection interesting and Zeo's ability to use it as her snooping tool, this was not enough for me to truelove enjoy this book.
I found that Zoe was very immature for her age (she is 28 in this book) and I was unable to relate to her thought process. She is a winy main character (I don't know how many times she wanted her mommy), who complains when she does not get her way. She also has the inability to learn from previous errors that she has made and it a little bit too man obsessed for my liking (this is not to say that there is a lot of romance in this book, very little actually, but she does think about men quite a bit). It also nagged me with the constant abbreviations for everything astral that Zoe's mom and Rachel had, we may live in a computer and texting world but that does not mean that I want to have them in the literature that I read. Also the over use of the word or "concept" of the word oogy really began to annoy me at the end and it was the use of this word that also attributed to Zoe`s immaturity
I think that Weldon had an interesting concept and premise, that if executed right would this would have been a great book. I think that the writing style and character development were not for me and were just lacking overall. Additionally, by the time I reached the end of the book, I was done, I do not want to read any more about Zoe, or her life. There is really nothing left in this book that would draw me in to read the next book, not even the interesting concept of Astral Projection.
Cheers!!!
July 16, 2009
Any book with a blurb on it that name checks Tanya Huff and the Vicky Nelson series is a book that's going to get my immediate attention. And after reading the summary on the back cover of Phaedra Weldon's Wraith, I was quite prepared to give this one a shot.
Turned out to be a solid read overall: Zoe Martinique is a young woman who's developed the ability to have her spirit go out of her body. That this is the result of the traumatic experience of being raped when she was younger is handled with a surprising amount of deftness; a darker book might have lingered on that, but one of the things I appreciated about this is that Zoe was presented in a position of strength dealing with the experience. I've read novels wherein the heroine was raped and wherein, quite justifiably, she was shattered by the experience--but in this case, while it was certainly traumatic for Zoe, it was more of a case of being a defining moment in her life where she first developed some magnificent ability to deal.
She's since learned to take advantage of her ability by hiring herself out to use her ability for private investigation, and the story starts off with a bang when she astral-projects herself right into witnessing a murder. When she tries to learn more about what happened, she starts learning very quickly about layers of the supernatural world she knows nothing about (not surprising in Book 1 of a series), and gets disturbing hints about where her ability may have come from (her mother is a witch and there are Mysterious Hints about her long-vanished father).
Other plusses in this story are that the obligatory Handsome Cop Love Interest this time around was described in such a way that I instantly thought "David Tennant with a Southern accent and blue eyes". This was a plus. It helped as well that the actual character, Daniel Frasier, is likable, and the chemistry he has going with Zoe seems lively without going over the top like so many urban fantasies and paranormal romances do these days.
About the only weird note for me was that as a narrator, Zoe was often very chattery and a little scatterbrained, which I found distracting at first. On the other hand, as the story progressed and the situation got darker, her narration actually was a bit of a welcome contrast. Towards the end, it helped ground the story with a bit of reality for me, in a way that going over the top with the darkity darkness would not have done.
Definitely looking forward to reading Book 2. Four stars.
Turned out to be a solid read overall: Zoe Martinique is a young woman who's developed the ability to have her spirit go out of her body. That this is the result of the traumatic experience of being raped when she was younger is handled with a surprising amount of deftness; a darker book might have lingered on that, but one of the things I appreciated about this is that Zoe was presented in a position of strength dealing with the experience. I've read novels wherein the heroine was raped and wherein, quite justifiably, she was shattered by the experience--but in this case, while it was certainly traumatic for Zoe, it was more of a case of being a defining moment in her life where she first developed some magnificent ability to deal.
She's since learned to take advantage of her ability by hiring herself out to use her ability for private investigation, and the story starts off with a bang when she astral-projects herself right into witnessing a murder. When she tries to learn more about what happened, she starts learning very quickly about layers of the supernatural world she knows nothing about (not surprising in Book 1 of a series), and gets disturbing hints about where her ability may have come from (her mother is a witch and there are Mysterious Hints about her long-vanished father).
Other plusses in this story are that the obligatory Handsome Cop Love Interest this time around was described in such a way that I instantly thought "David Tennant with a Southern accent and blue eyes". This was a plus. It helped as well that the actual character, Daniel Frasier, is likable, and the chemistry he has going with Zoe seems lively without going over the top like so many urban fantasies and paranormal romances do these days.
About the only weird note for me was that as a narrator, Zoe was often very chattery and a little scatterbrained, which I found distracting at first. On the other hand, as the story progressed and the situation got darker, her narration actually was a bit of a welcome contrast. Towards the end, it helped ground the story with a bit of reality for me, in a way that going over the top with the darkity darkness would not have done.
Definitely looking forward to reading Book 2. Four stars.
September 8, 2016
Zoe Martinique is a PI selling her services on Ebay. Zoe has the ability to astral project her spirit. She leaves her body and has all the abilities of a spirit except that she cannot travel from one location to another without actual transportation which makes for interesting moments. During one of her investigations, she witnesses the murder of an Asian man. Strangely, he is murdered by a fellow traveler who attacks Zoe and leaves her marked. This mark causes strange things to happen to her body and her astral abilities.
Zoe is determined to find the murderer and engages in stupid and dangerous antics.
This is where I had trouble with this book. Zoe is a 28 year old woman who seriously depends on her mommy. She is constantly whining that she wants her mommy which I found really annoying not to mention bizarre. I also couldn't stand her inner monologue. I think it was supposed to project a quirky attitude and be funny but it wasn't. Honestly I just thought it was stupid. In all Urban Fantasy books, the heroine is a little stupid and does things that normal people would recognize as dangerous. However Zoe goes above and beyond stupid again and again. At one point she can barely stand up and literally gets winded putting on clothes yet there she is astral projecting directly to the baddie. What in the world did she expect to happen when she took on a bigger, badder baddie in her weakened condition? See what I mean, just stupid.
I liked the concept though at times the book was very confusing. The world building is incredible but oh so strange and difficult to follow especially since Zoe only has a limited knowledge of what she can do and isn't really informed until almost 2/3 of the way through the book. This book took me forever to read (well 5 days actually but that's forever to me) and I was convinced I wouldn't be continuing this series but the ending was really good and actually grabbed my interest and I flew through the final 100 pages. I will be continuing the series just to see if Zoe has truly matured or if this was a fleeting aberration.
Zoe is determined to find the murderer and engages in stupid and dangerous antics.
This is where I had trouble with this book. Zoe is a 28 year old woman who seriously depends on her mommy. She is constantly whining that she wants her mommy which I found really annoying not to mention bizarre. I also couldn't stand her inner monologue. I think it was supposed to project a quirky attitude and be funny but it wasn't. Honestly I just thought it was stupid. In all Urban Fantasy books, the heroine is a little stupid and does things that normal people would recognize as dangerous. However Zoe goes above and beyond stupid again and again. At one point she can barely stand up and literally gets winded putting on clothes yet there she is astral projecting directly to the baddie. What in the world did she expect to happen when she took on a bigger, badder baddie in her weakened condition? See what I mean, just stupid.
I liked the concept though at times the book was very confusing. The world building is incredible but oh so strange and difficult to follow especially since Zoe only has a limited knowledge of what she can do and isn't really informed until almost 2/3 of the way through the book. This book took me forever to read (well 5 days actually but that's forever to me) and I was convinced I wouldn't be continuing this series but the ending was really good and actually grabbed my interest and I flew through the final 100 pages. I will be continuing the series just to see if Zoe has truly matured or if this was a fleeting aberration.
May 15, 2012
1.5 stars.
Huh? What the hell happened here? Yep, that was my reaction as I finished this book. Let me do a little recap of this book...Zoe can astral travel (her soul leaves her body and she "snoops" on people for her job). She gets this job, but blows it off cause she feels some "oogey" around this building. She goes to check it out against her better judgement and sees someone get their soul sucked away by what she later finds out is a Symbiont. Zoe gets another job, this time to snoop on a meeting between the dead guy's boss and a cop. Zoe almost gets eaten by a smokey dragon. Zoe gets kidnapped, more than once. Zoe gets choked almost to death, more than once. The cop falls for her, she falls for the cop. Zoe gets more oogey feelings. I just can't go on....this is how the book read to me. The final straw was the end where I was COMPLETELY LOST!!! Come to find out, the bad guy wasn't who she thought it was and she made a deal with the "one who the devil is afraid of" and bargained her soul in doing it. Then she sees some bartender (that she met once) in a bathroom stall boinking a nurse in the hospital. ???
I found Zoe to be immature(she's 28) and really dense. How many times must she be nearly killed for her to learn to stay away from the people and places she keeps going to? I did NOT like Zoe's mother...she trapped Zoe's soul inside a dragon and at one point was holding her daughter at gunpoint so one of her friend's could see if she was possessed by demons, and her mother explained later she knew Zoe wasn't.
At about 90% of the book, I was enjoying it...for about 1 chapter. That's where it got the half star and not just 1 star. Sadly, I spent the last 3 days reading this (hello? It should have clued me in that it took me 3 days to read this). Maybe I'm in a reading funk and just didn't get it. It's quite possible someone else may read this and really enjoy it. I didn't.
Huh? What the hell happened here? Yep, that was my reaction as I finished this book. Let me do a little recap of this book...Zoe can astral travel (her soul leaves her body and she "snoops" on people for her job). She gets this job, but blows it off cause she feels some "oogey" around this building. She goes to check it out against her better judgement and sees someone get their soul sucked away by what she later finds out is a Symbiont. Zoe gets another job, this time to snoop on a meeting between the dead guy's boss and a cop. Zoe almost gets eaten by a smokey dragon. Zoe gets kidnapped, more than once. Zoe gets choked almost to death, more than once. The cop falls for her, she falls for the cop. Zoe gets more oogey feelings. I just can't go on....this is how the book read to me. The final straw was the end where I was COMPLETELY LOST!!! Come to find out, the bad guy wasn't who she thought it was and she made a deal with the "one who the devil is afraid of" and bargained her soul in doing it. Then she sees some bartender (that she met once) in a bathroom stall boinking a nurse in the hospital. ???
I found Zoe to be immature(she's 28) and really dense. How many times must she be nearly killed for her to learn to stay away from the people and places she keeps going to? I did NOT like Zoe's mother...she trapped Zoe's soul inside a dragon and at one point was holding her daughter at gunpoint so one of her friend's could see if she was possessed by demons, and her mother explained later she knew Zoe wasn't.
At about 90% of the book, I was enjoying it...for about 1 chapter. That's where it got the half star and not just 1 star. Sadly, I spent the last 3 days reading this (hello? It should have clued me in that it took me 3 days to read this). Maybe I'm in a reading funk and just didn't get it. It's quite possible someone else may read this and really enjoy it. I didn't.
September 17, 2025
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring down a lot. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
I really liked the premise of the book & the MC but the execution ruined it.
I do not like the MC. ---- She's supposed to be 28 but reads like she's half that.
I did not like the love interest.
I did not like the MC re the 'love interest', both were just to 'full on' for me too quickly. I get thinking a person is 'hot' but that seemed to too often override her brain. --- Although that seems in keeping with her character, because she's an idiot (i.e. she talks aloud to herself while on spying missions in her astral form.)
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?:Not of this series, I might continue to read / try the authors other series, because I really liked the first one I read by her. -- September 2025 = Decided to stop giving chances to authors whose work is 'more miss, than hit' to me. I'll just finish the series I like by them.
Would you recommend?: No
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
I really liked the premise of the book & the MC but the execution ruined it.
I do not like the MC. ---- She's supposed to be 28 but reads like she's half that.
I did not like the love interest.
I did not like the MC re the 'love interest', both were just to 'full on' for me too quickly. I get thinking a person is 'hot' but that seemed to too often override her brain. --- Although that seems in keeping with her character, because she's an idiot (i.e. she talks aloud to herself while on spying missions in her astral form.)
First time read the author's work?: No
Will you be reading more?:
Would you recommend?: No
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
March 1, 2025
I would recommend this novel for teenage girls or women in their early 20s. This novel does two things well: creates suspense (one wants to know what happened next), and it's dialog, narrator to reader as well as character to character is clever and hip. The story itself also has some original (to me at least) features in terms of the characters and their unusual abilities.
The problem I have with the novel is that the characters are often not sufficiently motivated in a way that makes their actions seem probable or even plausible. I thought I would read the next novel in this series, but I haven't bothered yet, and it's now four years later.
UPDATE:
I just reread this and am taking it down a star from five to four. I was sick a good part of February and needed an untaxing read. This fits the bill. I love the lead character and her superpower, the ability to move in the world out of body as an intangible, invisible spirit, which she uses for lucrative corporate espionage. What could go wrong? Well, let's start with the fact she's not the only one who can do things like this.
Upon this reread, I find the book even younger than I originally did. The protagonist has not quite succeeded launching yet, and still lives with her mother. She seldom thinks through the consequences of her actions and takes foolish, dangerous chances. This helps move the plot along, but causes a reader significant frustration with the protagonist.
I'm not sure why I earlier wrote I might not continue with the series. I did, of course, and will do so again soon. It's very unusual, imaginative urban fantasy. Recommended, warts and all.
The problem I have with the novel is that the characters are often not sufficiently motivated in a way that makes their actions seem probable or even plausible. I thought I would read the next novel in this series, but I haven't bothered yet, and it's now four years later.
UPDATE:
I just reread this and am taking it down a star from five to four. I was sick a good part of February and needed an untaxing read. This fits the bill. I love the lead character and her superpower, the ability to move in the world out of body as an intangible, invisible spirit, which she uses for lucrative corporate espionage. What could go wrong? Well, let's start with the fact she's not the only one who can do things like this.
Upon this reread, I find the book even younger than I originally did. The protagonist has not quite succeeded launching yet, and still lives with her mother. She seldom thinks through the consequences of her actions and takes foolish, dangerous chances. This helps move the plot along, but causes a reader significant frustration with the protagonist.
I'm not sure why I earlier wrote I might not continue with the series. I did, of course, and will do so again soon. It's very unusual, imaginative urban fantasy. Recommended, warts and all.
November 29, 2012
Okay, for the first... quarter, almost, I was fairly sure this is going to be one of my rare did-not-finish books. It was a real struggle to read, largely because of Zoe, the protagonist and one of the most stupid people ever to grace the pages of a book.
She really annoyed the hell out of me with her completely idiotic behaviour, and her first-person narration made things a thousand times worse, what with all the "witty asides" and notes to self and parentheticals and... basically, she sounded like a really stupid 12-year-old with ADHD and a sugar high.
I'm sort of glad I persevered though as the plot did eventually pick up and while Zoe remained stupid and everyone else was nearly as bad, her inner pre-teen cut down on the "witty" asides a bit as things got more serious and at least there was some excitement in seeing whether she'd be killed or not (well, I knew this was the first in a series, so I assumed not, but one can always hope).
Also, what was with the grammar in this book? With all the "she hadn't of realised" and the occasional "I hadn't have notified"? WTF? No, really? I tried to put it down to a dialogue thing at first, trying to be truthful to how the person was speaking, but the that person's speech seemed grammatically correct otherwise, and then Zoe did it too, so... huh? Editor? Anyone?
Also, if I never see the word "oogy" again, it'll be too soon.
Anyway. Rounded the final rating up to a generous three stars, but I don't think I'll be picking up more of this series.
She really annoyed the hell out of me with her completely idiotic behaviour, and her first-person narration made things a thousand times worse, what with all the "witty asides" and notes to self and parentheticals and... basically, she sounded like a really stupid 12-year-old with ADHD and a sugar high.
I'm sort of glad I persevered though as the plot did eventually pick up and while Zoe remained stupid and everyone else was nearly as bad, her inner pre-teen cut down on the "witty" asides a bit as things got more serious and at least there was some excitement in seeing whether she'd be killed or not (well, I knew this was the first in a series, so I assumed not, but one can always hope).
Also, what was with the grammar in this book? With all the "she hadn't of realised" and the occasional "I hadn't have notified"? WTF? No, really? I tried to put it down to a dialogue thing at first, trying to be truthful to how the person was speaking, but the that person's speech seemed grammatically correct otherwise, and then Zoe did it too, so... huh? Editor? Anyone?
Also, if I never see the word "oogy" again, it'll be too soon.
Anyway. Rounded the final rating up to a generous three stars, but I don't think I'll be picking up more of this series.
January 21, 2010
For me this book started out a little slow and then picked right up once Zoe stepped in it. She seems to be a magnet for trouble following her around and it was odd how much of the book she managed to spend in the trunk of a a car.
I loved the interaction between Zoe, her mom, Rhonda, and the 2 ghosts. It was amazing how they all just think all this crazy stuff is normal and not all that strange that people can leave their bodies. I also loved Zoe's penchant for oddball slippers, she must have 5-10 pair, and her abilitiy to guzzle large amounts of juice often right from the jug with dirty looks from Mom and Rhonda was funny.
For someone who learns the ability to travel outside of her body from a horrific event, she has turned her lemons into lemonade. Her setting up e-bay bidding wars for spying to make a living is genius!! Of course this same curiosity caused all of her troubles in this book. Just when we think we have a handle on what is going on it would change again. It was hard to guess who the bad guys were as it kept changing. In the end all was reveled and Zoe has some new worries.
I would have rated this one one more star if it wasn't for the confusion with all the terminology of figuring out exactly what Zoe was. It often got confusing.
I loved the interaction between Zoe, her mom, Rhonda, and the 2 ghosts. It was amazing how they all just think all this crazy stuff is normal and not all that strange that people can leave their bodies. I also loved Zoe's penchant for oddball slippers, she must have 5-10 pair, and her abilitiy to guzzle large amounts of juice often right from the jug with dirty looks from Mom and Rhonda was funny.
For someone who learns the ability to travel outside of her body from a horrific event, she has turned her lemons into lemonade. Her setting up e-bay bidding wars for spying to make a living is genius!! Of course this same curiosity caused all of her troubles in this book. Just when we think we have a handle on what is going on it would change again. It was hard to guess who the bad guys were as it kept changing. In the end all was reveled and Zoe has some new worries.
I would have rated this one one more star if it wasn't for the confusion with all the terminology of figuring out exactly what Zoe was. It often got confusing.
April 2, 2009
I picked this book up from the bargin bin at Borders. I'm very glad that I did. Phaedra Weldon's voice is fantastic. Wraith is written in the first person (which normally isn't a favorite of mine) but I really liked this book. I love the snarky attitude Zoe has and her internal dialogue and 'notes to self' are freaking hilarious! Zoe spends her time in the Astral plane getting the crap beat out of her...but seems to make it out in one piece sort of - sans her voice. She hangs out in her mother's tea shop in Atlanta with the ghosts of the previous owners and the Goth girl who knows way too much about Ghosts, wraiths and phantasms...but not enough to help Zoe out of one mess to the next. Throw in the sexy detective...who she tries to keep in the dark...and you have a fantastic story that is well written, scary, funny and a little disturbing. I can't wait to read the next two books in the series. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was the ending...it really left you hanging...I would have preferred a little neater tie up.
June 4, 2008
I'm not really a big fan of first-person stories, and this book is a perfect example of why - first-person only works if the narrator isn't completely annoying...
I suppose this would be called first-person stream of consciousness, since we get every random thought which flits through our "heroines" brain... and what we learn is that our heroine is sex-crazed with attempts at being cutesy... and that her thoughts are way, way too repetitive. (Either that, or her metaphors far too limited.)
One more "mental note"... one more "oogy"... and I think I was going to have to kill someone. And when she sees a hot guy and "drops an egg" or whatever - my inner feminist died a little...
So why two stars instead of one? Because the premise was interesting and while I found reading the narration to be torturous at times, I was rather intrigued by the story... enough to read the next in the installment (in the hopes that the inner monologue got toned down a bit (it didn't))...
I suppose this would be called first-person stream of consciousness, since we get every random thought which flits through our "heroines" brain... and what we learn is that our heroine is sex-crazed with attempts at being cutesy... and that her thoughts are way, way too repetitive. (Either that, or her metaphors far too limited.)
One more "mental note"... one more "oogy"... and I think I was going to have to kill someone. And when she sees a hot guy and "drops an egg" or whatever - my inner feminist died a little...
So why two stars instead of one? Because the premise was interesting and while I found reading the narration to be torturous at times, I was rather intrigued by the story... enough to read the next in the installment (in the hopes that the inner monologue got toned down a bit (it didn't))...
January 8, 2009
I like the premise of this series—Zoe can astral project and travel unseen outside her body—she uses this ability to spy for a living. I like the Tim and Steve storyline (ghosts who live in her mom’s house). I’d like to see further development of her mom and her best friend’s characters. I don’t like the numerous sex references Weldon scatters throughout the book—sometimes they fit the scene but too often they don’t and they only detract from the story.
After a fast-paced beginning, Weldon lost me at the end—I’m still trying to figure out how things turned out the way they did.
Since the premise is interesting, I’m considering giving book 2 a try—Wraith appears to be Weldon’s first novel so maybe she’ll have the kinks worked out in book 2—or maybe I’ll learn to appreciate her style . . . .
Undecided. Review journals have praised the book—customers on Amazon have blasted it—I’m somewhere between.
http://www.phaedraweldon.com/books.php
After a fast-paced beginning, Weldon lost me at the end—I’m still trying to figure out how things turned out the way they did.
Since the premise is interesting, I’m considering giving book 2 a try—Wraith appears to be Weldon’s first novel so maybe she’ll have the kinks worked out in book 2—or maybe I’ll learn to appreciate her style . . . .
Undecided. Review journals have praised the book—customers on Amazon have blasted it—I’m somewhere between.
http://www.phaedraweldon.com/books.php
May 16, 2015
For those of you starting this series, a Caveat:
I have read all of the books, the first two in print and the rest as ebooks. The ebooks are full of errors (the worst I have ever seen, and this is not even a self-published author) and inconsistencies. Also you Have to read the short stories, or you will be completely lost. To make it even worse, it's not easy to figure out which short story comes next on Amazon, and Goodreads only tells you what book is next in the series. It would be great if Goodreads could list the short stories as "next to read in series" when using an e-reader.
The first two books were 4 stars, but later on because of the mistakes and the convenient, for the author, changes of former plotlines drove me mad. Still I rated them 3 stars, but I was close to giving the last two only 2 stars, it was that bad. I reported the errors to Amazon, and noticed that books had been pulled. I don't know if that was to update them, but I dearly hope so.
I have read all of the books, the first two in print and the rest as ebooks. The ebooks are full of errors (the worst I have ever seen, and this is not even a self-published author) and inconsistencies. Also you Have to read the short stories, or you will be completely lost. To make it even worse, it's not easy to figure out which short story comes next on Amazon, and Goodreads only tells you what book is next in the series. It would be great if Goodreads could list the short stories as "next to read in series" when using an e-reader.
The first two books were 4 stars, but later on because of the mistakes and the convenient, for the author, changes of former plotlines drove me mad. Still I rated them 3 stars, but I was close to giving the last two only 2 stars, it was that bad. I reported the errors to Amazon, and noticed that books had been pulled. I don't know if that was to update them, but I dearly hope so.
September 28, 2008
I finished the book in the hope everything would be explained. It wasn't. I'm still confused about almost everything. And I don't care enough about any of the characters to continue reading the series in hope of some answers. (Not that I expect the author to provide any answers. She enjoys taunting her readers.)
Other than the lack of explanations I found the heavy-handed foreshadowing the most annoying aspect of the book. I really don't like Zoe very much.
Other than the lack of explanations I found the heavy-handed foreshadowing the most annoying aspect of the book. I really don't like Zoe very much.
September 8, 2009
I read a few dozen pages, put this book down, and couldn't bring myself to pick it up again for weeks. Now a month later, I'm flipping through it and every time my eyes land on dialogue, I cringe. This book rubs me the wrong way. I'm not certain why, but I dislike it.
May 18, 2011
It's not very often I find an Urban Fantasy book I hate, but I couldn't finish this book. I found the plot completely uninteresting, the main character annoying and stupid, and the romantic plot did nothing for me. I was about half-way through and I put it down. What a shame.
June 11, 2013
I picked this book up at a used book store. It took me some time to get around to reading it. Once I read the book, I wondered why it had taken so long. This was an amazing intro into a new world. I am SO happy that there are more books for me to enjoy! And I'm excited about the connected series :)
May 4, 2011
Good Potential but sometimes the self talk was a little to juvinile for me. Yet, will read the next to see if it develops into something.
Read
February 1, 2021This looked like an interesting new author to try out. It's the first book in the Zoe Martinique Investigation series. Weldon does something just a little different as far as contemporary urban fantasy goes. Zoe is a fledgling private investigator, who advertises on the Internet for her services, and who does her investigations by astral projection; she is able to leave her body for a few hours and spy on things going on in the world around her.
While snooping for a client on his dot-com employers to see if they intend to fire him, Zoe stumbles into something more serious going on nearby. Following her "nose" she witnesses a murder taking place. A Vin Diesel lookalike in a trench coat puts a bullet in the head of an oriental man, and then "eats" his soul. Zoe manages to escape by rapidly returning to her body, but not before the guy, whom she nicknames "TC", grabs her by the astral arm and leaves a black hand print, like a tattoo, around her forearm.
Zoe's mother is some sort of sensitive, and owns a shop in an old Victorian house in Atlanta which has a couple of resident gay ghosts, Tim and Steve. Rhonda, a friend of the family, is a bit of an expert in paranormal matters. Zoe tells them some of what happened to her, and even though they urge her to stay out of the matter, she can't help herself, and decides to go out of body again to find out what's happening after she sees more about Tanaka's murder in the news.
She finds her way to the murdered man's boss, Hirokumi's office, and eavesdrops on a meeting between him and the detective on the case, Lieutenant Frasier. Hirokumi is mixed up in the spooky aspects of the case, and attempts to warn Frasier away without coming right out and saying it was a supernatural being that killed his employee. Hirokumi's personal assistant, Mitsuri, is also more than she appears, and she detects Zoe's presence at the meeting, attempting to trap her astral projection within a charmed Chinese dragon. Zoe escapes again, narrowly.
Zoe finds herself attracted to young Lieutenant Frasier, and once again despite her family and friends' warnings, goes astral to snoop on the detective. She finds him in a bar talking with the bartender and listens in for a while, but suddenly discovers that her encounter with "TC" has given her a new ability, she becomes corporeal, even though her real body is back home. She has a short conversation with Frasier, but flees when he sees the "bruise" on her arm and thinks she's been battered and tries to suggest help.
This novel just goes on and on with twists and turns and unexpected guests, and Weldon really sets the scene for further adventures (looks like there's a couple out already) with Zoe. It's a bit dark, and Zoe's stubborness and tendency to bull on into things she should have avoided are a little trying at times, but I think the series will continue to be fun. They're definitely something different than the usual vampire, were, and fairy fare.
While snooping for a client on his dot-com employers to see if they intend to fire him, Zoe stumbles into something more serious going on nearby. Following her "nose" she witnesses a murder taking place. A Vin Diesel lookalike in a trench coat puts a bullet in the head of an oriental man, and then "eats" his soul. Zoe manages to escape by rapidly returning to her body, but not before the guy, whom she nicknames "TC", grabs her by the astral arm and leaves a black hand print, like a tattoo, around her forearm.
Zoe's mother is some sort of sensitive, and owns a shop in an old Victorian house in Atlanta which has a couple of resident gay ghosts, Tim and Steve. Rhonda, a friend of the family, is a bit of an expert in paranormal matters. Zoe tells them some of what happened to her, and even though they urge her to stay out of the matter, she can't help herself, and decides to go out of body again to find out what's happening after she sees more about Tanaka's murder in the news.
She finds her way to the murdered man's boss, Hirokumi's office, and eavesdrops on a meeting between him and the detective on the case, Lieutenant Frasier. Hirokumi is mixed up in the spooky aspects of the case, and attempts to warn Frasier away without coming right out and saying it was a supernatural being that killed his employee. Hirokumi's personal assistant, Mitsuri, is also more than she appears, and she detects Zoe's presence at the meeting, attempting to trap her astral projection within a charmed Chinese dragon. Zoe escapes again, narrowly.
Zoe finds herself attracted to young Lieutenant Frasier, and once again despite her family and friends' warnings, goes astral to snoop on the detective. She finds him in a bar talking with the bartender and listens in for a while, but suddenly discovers that her encounter with "TC" has given her a new ability, she becomes corporeal, even though her real body is back home. She has a short conversation with Frasier, but flees when he sees the "bruise" on her arm and thinks she's been battered and tries to suggest help.
This novel just goes on and on with twists and turns and unexpected guests, and Weldon really sets the scene for further adventures (looks like there's a couple out already) with Zoe. It's a bit dark, and Zoe's stubborness and tendency to bull on into things she should have avoided are a little trying at times, but I think the series will continue to be fun. They're definitely something different than the usual vampire, were, and fairy fare.
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