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Celestial Blues #2
The Lost
Griffin Shaw and his wife were both murdered fifty years ago. Now a minor angel, Grif's been granted permission to solve the mystery of his own death... if he helps the Pure angels guide those souls who might otherwise be Lost.
Souls like Jeap Yang, a drug addict in his final moments of life. Grif knows that death is coming, but he cannot intervene. However, Grif's mortal lover, reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig, isn't constrained by angelic protocol. If she can stop a death, she will.
But as Kit is about to find out, there are things more traumatic and evil than murder. A strange new drug is literally eating tweakers' flesh from their bones, and Kit's crusade to get it off the streets is set to propel her and Grif into a battle with a vicious drug cartel. They'll have to scramble to stay alive, stay together, and choose their own fate... before it's chosen for them.
Souls like Jeap Yang, a drug addict in his final moments of life. Grif knows that death is coming, but he cannot intervene. However, Grif's mortal lover, reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig, isn't constrained by angelic protocol. If she can stop a death, she will.
But as Kit is about to find out, there are things more traumatic and evil than murder. A strange new drug is literally eating tweakers' flesh from their bones, and Kit's crusade to get it off the streets is set to propel her and Grif into a battle with a vicious drug cartel. They'll have to scramble to stay alive, stay together, and choose their own fate... before it's chosen for them.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 19, 2013
35 people are currently reading
1585 people want to read
About the author
Vicki Pettersson
30 books1,302 followersVicki Pettersson is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, most set in her hometown of Las Vegas. Though she'll ever consider that glittering dustbowl home, she now divides her time between Vegas and Dallas,Texas, where she's learning to like good Tex-Mex (easy) and the Dallas Cowboys (easier than you'd think).
Her most recent release is SWERVE, aptly titled as it's both a chase book and a hard departure from her fantasy work. A pure adrenaline, white-knucked thriller, Swerve releases on July 7, 2015 -- perfect for the novel's Fourth of July setting. If you're looking for a romance with little to no violence ... this is not your novel. If, as with her other work, you're looking for a strong female protagonist who comes out swinging when pushed into a corner, then perhaps you can connect. Welcome!
Her most recent release is SWERVE, aptly titled as it's both a chase book and a hard departure from her fantasy work. A pure adrenaline, white-knucked thriller, Swerve releases on July 7, 2015 -- perfect for the novel's Fourth of July setting. If you're looking for a romance with little to no violence ... this is not your novel. If, as with her other work, you're looking for a strong female protagonist who comes out swinging when pushed into a corner, then perhaps you can connect. Welcome!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
April 4, 2014
While Kit and Grif still had plenty of appeal and charm and various other pleasantries, I found myself a bit lost with this particular read. Sure, the hard-boiledness still captured and held my attention, and sure, the story moved along at a rather reasonable clip, but I found my mind drifting toward the nether regions, and my heart didn’t miss a single beat. A nurse may have visited me while I was counting ceiling tiles, and I may, or may not, have had an IV injected in my arm, somehow improving my overall well-being.
The past may have attacked my faded blue jeans, and my hat may have been tilted just a bit to the side, as I tipped it in the direction of the skirts and blue-eyed wonders that happened to cross my path. THE LOST left me a bit red in the face, and more than once I was forced to consult the map on my passenger seat. I probably missed a turn or two, but I was certainly happy when I reached my final destination.
The mystery certainly intrigued me, but it wasn’t a perfect logical leap from the first tale, and it wavered a bit during various increments along the way. I found my attention vacillating and my car swaying as I took more than a few turns too sharply. Blinking a bit too rapidly, I propelled myself into a ditch, since I didn’t have Griffin Shaw to show me the way.
Kit came alive in this novel after a bit of a slumber in the first go round, but it wasn’t enough for me to rate this novel higher. Maybe it was my place in the universe, or my sense of self, or I might have gotten just a bit spoiled after I first dipped my toes in the swimming pool, but I’m a bit sad to admit I didn’t like this one better. A part of me feels as though I’ve somehow failed this book, but with the curveball headed my way, I’ll probably take one more last swing for the fences and hope I don’t spin myself around and tumble to the ground.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
The past may have attacked my faded blue jeans, and my hat may have been tilted just a bit to the side, as I tipped it in the direction of the skirts and blue-eyed wonders that happened to cross my path. THE LOST left me a bit red in the face, and more than once I was forced to consult the map on my passenger seat. I probably missed a turn or two, but I was certainly happy when I reached my final destination.
The mystery certainly intrigued me, but it wasn’t a perfect logical leap from the first tale, and it wavered a bit during various increments along the way. I found my attention vacillating and my car swaying as I took more than a few turns too sharply. Blinking a bit too rapidly, I propelled myself into a ditch, since I didn’t have Griffin Shaw to show me the way.
Kit came alive in this novel after a bit of a slumber in the first go round, but it wasn’t enough for me to rate this novel higher. Maybe it was my place in the universe, or my sense of self, or I might have gotten just a bit spoiled after I first dipped my toes in the swimming pool, but I’m a bit sad to admit I didn’t like this one better. A part of me feels as though I’ve somehow failed this book, but with the curveball headed my way, I’ll probably take one more last swing for the fences and hope I don’t spin myself around and tumble to the ground.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
March 27, 2020
I enjoyed enough of this sequel to give it three stars, but I felt that the four story lines kept crowding and jostling one another in a way that detracted from all of them. Although it's urban fantasy, the main story line, as in the first book, is purely mundane--our friends Kit and Grif, now definitely a couple, are tangling with two rival criminal organizations in Las Vegas.
The supernatural world that Pettersson created in The Taken is relegated to the background for most of this book, and she seems to take it for granted that you've just read that one, because references to the Everlast, Centurions, the Eternal Forest, and Grif's "taking" of souls into incubation would be mystifying if you hadn't--for quick clarity see my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
The main supernatural element this time is an evil entity from the Forest who possesses vulnerable people, speaks through them, and for some unknown reason is trying to take Kit to the Forest where the Lost souls of the title go. That's the second, rather chaotic story line, and it intersects with Kit's quest (third line) to find who murdered her father.
Much of the trouble with this book comes from the fourth story line--Grif is both angel (of the low Centurion grade) and man because he's on a mission to find who murdered him and his beloved Evie back in 1960, when he was a Vegas P.I. It's increasingly clear to Kit that Grif isn't over Evie yet. What we get are Kit's thoughts and feelings about this, at great length and with no discernible development through most of the story, which drags accordingly between the exciting action scenes.
Among the criminals there was a femme fatale for Grif to engage with, but her part didn't come to a resolution; mostly these were run-of-the-mill bad guys in a bad part of town, not fearsome power brokers like the evildoers in the first book. The drug that was killing addicts is all too real (Krokodil or desomorphine, look it up) though in the book it sounded like the author made it up.
I like Kit, the intrepid reporter who charges into situations regardless of danger; Dennis the cop is an awfully good guy and deserves so much more than he's gotten so far. Grif, sincere and stubborn, is congenial to me but I must say he's a bit slow as a detective--maybe that worked in the 1950's, where his mind seems to be stuck. So I liked all three of them, but what I liked the most in this book was the ending and the way it puts our friends on a completely new playing field for the final book in the series. And the author did it without making me feel I was hanging off a cliff!
The supernatural world that Pettersson created in The Taken is relegated to the background for most of this book, and she seems to take it for granted that you've just read that one, because references to the Everlast, Centurions, the Eternal Forest, and Grif's "taking" of souls into incubation would be mystifying if you hadn't--for quick clarity see my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
The main supernatural element this time is an evil entity from the Forest who possesses vulnerable people, speaks through them, and for some unknown reason is trying to take Kit to the Forest where the Lost souls of the title go. That's the second, rather chaotic story line, and it intersects with Kit's quest (third line) to find who murdered her father.
Much of the trouble with this book comes from the fourth story line--Grif is both angel (of the low Centurion grade) and man because he's on a mission to find who murdered him and his beloved Evie back in 1960, when he was a Vegas P.I. It's increasingly clear to Kit that Grif isn't over Evie yet. What we get are Kit's thoughts and feelings about this, at great length and with no discernible development through most of the story, which drags accordingly between the exciting action scenes.
Among the criminals there was a femme fatale for Grif to engage with, but her part didn't come to a resolution; mostly these were run-of-the-mill bad guys in a bad part of town, not fearsome power brokers like the evildoers in the first book. The drug that was killing addicts is all too real (Krokodil or desomorphine, look it up) though in the book it sounded like the author made it up.
I like Kit, the intrepid reporter who charges into situations regardless of danger; Dennis the cop is an awfully good guy and deserves so much more than he's gotten so far. Grif, sincere and stubborn, is congenial to me but I must say he's a bit slow as a detective--maybe that worked in the 1950's, where his mind seems to be stuck. So I liked all three of them, but what I liked the most in this book was the ending and the way it puts our friends on a completely new playing field for the final book in the series. And the author did it without making me feel I was hanging off a cliff!
June 24, 2013
I am having an extremely hard time getting through this one.
I really liked The Taken and couldn't wait to get stuck into this one. I'm 2 hours and 36 minutes in (listening to the audiobook) and am having a hard time continuing. The story is still very good, but the heroine, Kit, is becoming beyond annoying.
In the first book I could understand her desire to solve the case and not leave until it was solved even with her own life at stake. She had lost two people she cared about to this story so she had too much invested. But this time...
I don't want to give away too many spoilers but basically she manipulates Grif, does something really stupid and as a result she's put herself in danger. What really gets me though is the way she is so self-righteous about it. She cant admit she was wrong or even sorry because she considers herself to be on the moral high ground, while at the same time calling Grif the stubborn one.
This is only the first instance however. There is another place not to far from this where she essentially starts a fight out of thin air. It is crazy annoying because all I can see is Griff getting yelled at every 5 minutes and I'm starting to question why he doesn't leave, even if only for day. I'm not like this high horse thing Kit has going on at the moment. It makes her very annoying and highly unlikable. I'm going to try to continue reading. I will change my rating and update my review if it gets better.
I really liked The Taken and couldn't wait to get stuck into this one. I'm 2 hours and 36 minutes in (listening to the audiobook) and am having a hard time continuing. The story is still very good, but the heroine, Kit, is becoming beyond annoying.
In the first book I could understand her desire to solve the case and not leave until it was solved even with her own life at stake. She had lost two people she cared about to this story so she had too much invested. But this time...
I don't want to give away too many spoilers but basically she manipulates Grif, does something really stupid and as a result she's put herself in danger. What really gets me though is the way she is so self-righteous about it. She cant admit she was wrong or even sorry because she considers herself to be on the moral high ground, while at the same time calling Grif the stubborn one.
This is only the first instance however. There is another place not to far from this where she essentially starts a fight out of thin air. It is crazy annoying because all I can see is Griff getting yelled at every 5 minutes and I'm starting to question why he doesn't leave, even if only for day. I'm not like this high horse thing Kit has going on at the moment. It makes her very annoying and highly unlikable. I'm going to try to continue reading. I will change my rating and update my review if it gets better.
May 21, 2013
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 3-3.5
*First Thoughts*
The Lost is the continuation of the Celestial Blues series featuring former PI now Centurion Griffin Shaw who was given a second chance to find out who murdered him and intrepid rockabilly girl reporter Kit Craig who Griffin saved in The Taken and has a few skeleton's in her closet as well.
The Lost actually takes place four months after the ending of The Taken. Once again Petterson sends readers on an emotionally dark path that includes Kit's past that she's trying hard to forget including the fact that her father's death has never been solved, and Griffin's inability to put his supposedly deceased wife Evie out of his mind while focusing on his new relationship with Kit.
The Lost's front story is the fact that apparently a Russian mob has moved into Las Vegas with a new drug called Krokodil that is so powerful, that it leaves the abuser on death's bed. As a side story, there's a very dangerous Fallen Angel named Scratch is after Kit because she burns brightly and is pure in spirit. If that weren't enough suspense for you, Kit's Aunt Marin seemingly has some secrets that she's kept away from Kit since she was 16. It's also apparent that Pettersson wants to stir up a hornet's nest by introducing Detective Dennis Carlisle into the storyline.
For readers who finished The Lost, the main subject and mystery has been and always will be Griffin's determination to find out who killed him and his wife, and for what reason. Tying up loose ends that span 50 years in length is not an easy thing to accomplish. Call it frustrating if you will, but, I found Kit's mock determination to continually badger and judge Griffin over the fact that he still dreams about his not so perfect wife, a little much.
The ending of The Lost has left me feeling emotionally drained, and I really should have seen it coming since Pettersson likes to torture her readers. The ending is going to haunt me until the next book is released. I find myself having serious doubts about liking Kit at the moment even though I understood her reasons for her actions in the end. In my humble opinion, they were totally, and absolutely WRONG! But, it is something that Kit's personality would tell her to do. She also spends the entire book in a mood, and not a good one. She's absolutely feeling jealously towards Evie, a woman she's never met. She rushes into situations without thinking about what the consequences are first. For the most part, Griffin is there as her protector but he can't be everywhere at once.
I feel really, really bad for Griffin after everything he did in order to save Kit's life. It wasn't a shock to see Sarge's interference in Griffin and Kit's lives by revealing a shocking secret or the fact that another character puts serious doubts into Griffin's mind. Sarge obviously planned this strategy out in order to get Kit back in line. I can only hope that Petterrson doesn't drag out the question about who really killed Griffin Shaw. The Lost laid the foundation for the big reveal by introducing and revealing several key players in Shaw's demise and the reasoning behind it.
Recvd via Edelweiss 01/25/2013* Expected publication: March 19th 2013 by Harper Voyager
*Rating* 3-3.5
*First Thoughts*
The Lost is the continuation of the Celestial Blues series featuring former PI now Centurion Griffin Shaw who was given a second chance to find out who murdered him and intrepid rockabilly girl reporter Kit Craig who Griffin saved in The Taken and has a few skeleton's in her closet as well.
The Lost actually takes place four months after the ending of The Taken. Once again Petterson sends readers on an emotionally dark path that includes Kit's past that she's trying hard to forget including the fact that her father's death has never been solved, and Griffin's inability to put his supposedly deceased wife Evie out of his mind while focusing on his new relationship with Kit.
The Lost's front story is the fact that apparently a Russian mob has moved into Las Vegas with a new drug called Krokodil that is so powerful, that it leaves the abuser on death's bed. As a side story, there's a very dangerous Fallen Angel named Scratch is after Kit because she burns brightly and is pure in spirit. If that weren't enough suspense for you, Kit's Aunt Marin seemingly has some secrets that she's kept away from Kit since she was 16. It's also apparent that Pettersson wants to stir up a hornet's nest by introducing Detective Dennis Carlisle into the storyline.
For readers who finished The Lost, the main subject and mystery has been and always will be Griffin's determination to find out who killed him and his wife, and for what reason. Tying up loose ends that span 50 years in length is not an easy thing to accomplish. Call it frustrating if you will, but, I found Kit's mock determination to continually badger and judge Griffin over the fact that he still dreams about his not so perfect wife, a little much.
The ending of The Lost has left me feeling emotionally drained, and I really should have seen it coming since Pettersson likes to torture her readers. The ending is going to haunt me until the next book is released. I find myself having serious doubts about liking Kit at the moment even though I understood her reasons for her actions in the end. In my humble opinion, they were totally, and absolutely WRONG! But, it is something that Kit's personality would tell her to do. She also spends the entire book in a mood, and not a good one. She's absolutely feeling jealously towards Evie, a woman she's never met. She rushes into situations without thinking about what the consequences are first. For the most part, Griffin is there as her protector but he can't be everywhere at once.
I feel really, really bad for Griffin after everything he did in order to save Kit's life. It wasn't a shock to see Sarge's interference in Griffin and Kit's lives by revealing a shocking secret or the fact that another character puts serious doubts into Griffin's mind. Sarge obviously planned this strategy out in order to get Kit back in line. I can only hope that Petterrson doesn't drag out the question about who really killed Griffin Shaw. The Lost laid the foundation for the big reveal by introducing and revealing several key players in Shaw's demise and the reasoning behind it.
Recvd via Edelweiss 01/25/2013* Expected publication: March 19th 2013 by Harper Voyager
February 15, 2013
See this review and others like it at BadassBookReviews.com!
The Celestial Blues series has one of the best premises that I have seen in a while. It’s original, filled with great characters, and oh so stylish. The Lost wasn’t quite as action-packed as the series debut, The Taken , but it was still a great read. I love the spin that Vicki Pettersson has put on angel lore and I really enjoy her use of the rockabilly subculture. The pacing of this book was a little slow at times, but it included lots of emotionally charged scenes between Grif and Kit and some pretty jaw-dropping reveals.
Grif is an intriguingly flawed character. He is the only being to ever be part human and part angelic and he struggles with balancing his human compassion with his angelic duties. Grif is still dedicated to finding out who killed him and his wife, Evie, but he is also trying to make a new life with his mortal girlfriend, Kit Craig. I’ve always been drawn to Grif’s character the most in this series, but sometimes I wanted to hit him over the head here. He’s not good at reading Kit’s more negative emotions and doesn’t know how to deal when his girl starts doubting his feelings. As readers we get to see what is going on in his head, but Grif has always been of the strong, silent type so he doesn’t share a lot of those thought with Kit. If he would just open up to her more, I think Kit would feel more secure in their relationship and with her place in his world.
Kit has always known that Grif still loves Evie, but her feelings become very conflicted in this book. She wonders if Grif really does love her more than the memory of Evie or if he is just settling for her because his true love is already dead. She knows that Grif loves her, but she can’t help the doubts and jealousy that slip in from time to time. These emotions cause some major issues in Grif and Kit’s relationship, especially when it seems like everyone is working against them — Ethereal beings and Earth-bound friends and family members included.
I was very happy to see Kit’s character was fleshed out much better in this book than the debut. We learn about her tragic past and how the loss of her parents, especially her father, affected her. We also learn why she was drawn to the rockabilly world. She proves herself to be very strong here, but I also feel like she has a tendency to make assumptions and jump to conclusions sometimes. As a reporter, she is always in search of the truth, but outside sources can’t always be counted on for reliability. I really loved a scene at the end where Grif told Kit how much he loved her and just how “in” the relationship he was. Heartbreaking!
Aside from dealing with emotional and relationship issues, Grif anf Kit are trying to track down the sellers of a new, deady drug called “krokodil” that is killing anyone who uses it. users become addicted after just one hit and the drug quickly eats away at their bodies until they die. It was pretty gruesome and involved members of two rivals gangs, the Russian brutva and the Cuban marielitos. On top of this, Kit has drawn the eye of a very sick, evil fallen angel and Grif is determined to protect her. He learns some new facts about the fallen and how they operate, but he has no idea how to kill one, and this one, Scratch, is determined to have Kit’s soul no matter the cost. On top of everything else, Grif and Kit also slip in some time to investigate Grif’s murder and get a few new interesting leads that we should see play out in the next book. All of these plots connect and interweave throughout the story to make one very interesting read.
Kit’s aunt, Marin, and her cop friend Dennis also make appearances during the investigations. Marin seems to be hiding some very important information about Grif’s father and I have a feeling that Dennis will be much more important in the next book. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t spend mush time with Kit’s rockabilly friends in this book, but one did get one fun scene at a dance club with Fleur and Lil. They are very fun characters.
I really enjoy the Celestial Blues series and have been pleased with both books overall, but I have to say the ending of this book has me a little worried for the next (and final?) entry. Ms. Pettersson has ended this book with one heck of a game changer and I think the next book will see a completely different chemistry between Kit and Grif than what readers have come to expect. It’s a risky move, but one I am very excited to see play out.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC copy of this book!
The Celestial Blues series has one of the best premises that I have seen in a while. It’s original, filled with great characters, and oh so stylish. The Lost wasn’t quite as action-packed as the series debut, The Taken , but it was still a great read. I love the spin that Vicki Pettersson has put on angel lore and I really enjoy her use of the rockabilly subculture. The pacing of this book was a little slow at times, but it included lots of emotionally charged scenes between Grif and Kit and some pretty jaw-dropping reveals.
Grif is an intriguingly flawed character. He is the only being to ever be part human and part angelic and he struggles with balancing his human compassion with his angelic duties. Grif is still dedicated to finding out who killed him and his wife, Evie, but he is also trying to make a new life with his mortal girlfriend, Kit Craig. I’ve always been drawn to Grif’s character the most in this series, but sometimes I wanted to hit him over the head here. He’s not good at reading Kit’s more negative emotions and doesn’t know how to deal when his girl starts doubting his feelings. As readers we get to see what is going on in his head, but Grif has always been of the strong, silent type so he doesn’t share a lot of those thought with Kit. If he would just open up to her more, I think Kit would feel more secure in their relationship and with her place in his world.
Kit has always known that Grif still loves Evie, but her feelings become very conflicted in this book. She wonders if Grif really does love her more than the memory of Evie or if he is just settling for her because his true love is already dead. She knows that Grif loves her, but she can’t help the doubts and jealousy that slip in from time to time. These emotions cause some major issues in Grif and Kit’s relationship, especially when it seems like everyone is working against them — Ethereal beings and Earth-bound friends and family members included.
I was very happy to see Kit’s character was fleshed out much better in this book than the debut. We learn about her tragic past and how the loss of her parents, especially her father, affected her. We also learn why she was drawn to the rockabilly world. She proves herself to be very strong here, but I also feel like she has a tendency to make assumptions and jump to conclusions sometimes. As a reporter, she is always in search of the truth, but outside sources can’t always be counted on for reliability. I really loved a scene at the end where Grif told Kit how much he loved her and just how “in” the relationship he was. Heartbreaking!
Aside from dealing with emotional and relationship issues, Grif anf Kit are trying to track down the sellers of a new, deady drug called “krokodil” that is killing anyone who uses it. users become addicted after just one hit and the drug quickly eats away at their bodies until they die. It was pretty gruesome and involved members of two rivals gangs, the Russian brutva and the Cuban marielitos. On top of this, Kit has drawn the eye of a very sick, evil fallen angel and Grif is determined to protect her. He learns some new facts about the fallen and how they operate, but he has no idea how to kill one, and this one, Scratch, is determined to have Kit’s soul no matter the cost. On top of everything else, Grif and Kit also slip in some time to investigate Grif’s murder and get a few new interesting leads that we should see play out in the next book. All of these plots connect and interweave throughout the story to make one very interesting read.
Kit’s aunt, Marin, and her cop friend Dennis also make appearances during the investigations. Marin seems to be hiding some very important information about Grif’s father and I have a feeling that Dennis will be much more important in the next book. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t spend mush time with Kit’s rockabilly friends in this book, but one did get one fun scene at a dance club with Fleur and Lil. They are very fun characters.
I really enjoy the Celestial Blues series and have been pleased with both books overall, but I have to say the ending of this book has me a little worried for the next (and final?) entry. Ms. Pettersson has ended this book with one heck of a game changer and I think the next book will see a completely different chemistry between Kit and Grif than what readers have come to expect. It’s a risky move, but one I am very excited to see play out.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC copy of this book!
April 1, 2013
Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy/Noir
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of urban fantasy, Noir, Rockabilly lifestyle, paranormal romantic suspense
Trigger Warnings: drug use, abuse, and overdose; gangster/mobsters; murder
My Thoughts: I have to say that I think I would probably kill for a car like Kit's. I looked it up and the Duetto is just a gorgeous piece of machinery.
I was really impressed by a bit of detail I noticed in the story, and that is Sergei and Yulyia Kolyadenko. Sergei is described as being from Kiev, and Kolyadenko is a proper Ukranian name. Not every author would take the time to make sure they had the correct regional name!
The drug mentioned in this story, krokodil (street name for desomorphine) is just as nasty as described. If you do a Google image search, you will find image after image of people with the flesh literally rotted off and exposing their bones. It's a truly nasty drug. You would think, “why would someone do that to themselves?” but this drug is the type that is almost instantly addictive. It takes about a half hour to cook it up, and the high lasts only 90 minutes, so once a person has taken that first hit, they're pretty much doomed unless they have the stamina to last through the month it takes to clear out of their system. The fact that people created this thing just blows my mind, and that fact that other people are willing to make their living by basically destroying other people with this sort of drug... it's a terrible thing. I found a very interesting video (and short article), which I've linked here (for sites that allow links and formatting) if you're interested in learning more.
As to the story itself... like the first book, this sort of crossed the urban fantasy/noir/romantic suspense genre lines. However, this book is much more action-based than the first, since most of the characters have already been established in that first book, and the romance aspect is even more subdued, since Grif and Kit are actually together in this book. It's an enjoyable story, and I'm definitely liking the overall story arc of the series, in addition to the specific stories in the books. This is a series I will absolutely be continuing! Recommended!
Series Information: The Lost is the second book in the Celestial Blues series.
Book 1: The Taken , read and reviewed in September, 2012. Review linked here where formatting allowed.
Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Griffin Shaw and his wife were both murdered fifty years ago. Now a minor angel, Grif's been granted permission to solve the mystery of his own death... if he helps the Pure angels guide those souls who might otherwise be Lost.
Souls like Jeap Yang, a drug addict in his final moments of life. Grif knows that death is coming, but he cannot intervene. However, Grif's mortal lover, reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig, isn't constrained by angelic protocol. If she can stop a death, she will.
But as Kit is about to find out, there are things more traumatic and evil than murder. A strange new drug is literally eating tweakers' flesh from their bones, and Kit's crusade to get it off the streets is set to propel her and Grif into a battle with a vicious drug cartel. They'll have to scramble to stay alive, stay together, and choose their own fate... before it's chosen for them.
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of urban fantasy, Noir, Rockabilly lifestyle, paranormal romantic suspense
Trigger Warnings: drug use, abuse, and overdose; gangster/mobsters; murder
My Thoughts: I have to say that I think I would probably kill for a car like Kit's. I looked it up and the Duetto is just a gorgeous piece of machinery.
I was really impressed by a bit of detail I noticed in the story, and that is Sergei and Yulyia Kolyadenko. Sergei is described as being from Kiev, and Kolyadenko is a proper Ukranian name. Not every author would take the time to make sure they had the correct regional name!
The drug mentioned in this story, krokodil (street name for desomorphine) is just as nasty as described. If you do a Google image search, you will find image after image of people with the flesh literally rotted off and exposing their bones. It's a truly nasty drug. You would think, “why would someone do that to themselves?” but this drug is the type that is almost instantly addictive. It takes about a half hour to cook it up, and the high lasts only 90 minutes, so once a person has taken that first hit, they're pretty much doomed unless they have the stamina to last through the month it takes to clear out of their system. The fact that people created this thing just blows my mind, and that fact that other people are willing to make their living by basically destroying other people with this sort of drug... it's a terrible thing. I found a very interesting video (and short article), which I've linked here (for sites that allow links and formatting) if you're interested in learning more.
As to the story itself... like the first book, this sort of crossed the urban fantasy/noir/romantic suspense genre lines. However, this book is much more action-based than the first, since most of the characters have already been established in that first book, and the romance aspect is even more subdued, since Grif and Kit are actually together in this book. It's an enjoyable story, and I'm definitely liking the overall story arc of the series, in addition to the specific stories in the books. This is a series I will absolutely be continuing! Recommended!
Series Information: The Lost is the second book in the Celestial Blues series.
Book 1: The Taken , read and reviewed in September, 2012. Review linked here where formatting allowed.
Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Griffin Shaw and his wife were both murdered fifty years ago. Now a minor angel, Grif's been granted permission to solve the mystery of his own death... if he helps the Pure angels guide those souls who might otherwise be Lost.
Souls like Jeap Yang, a drug addict in his final moments of life. Grif knows that death is coming, but he cannot intervene. However, Grif's mortal lover, reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig, isn't constrained by angelic protocol. If she can stop a death, she will.
But as Kit is about to find out, there are things more traumatic and evil than murder. A strange new drug is literally eating tweakers' flesh from their bones, and Kit's crusade to get it off the streets is set to propel her and Grif into a battle with a vicious drug cartel. They'll have to scramble to stay alive, stay together, and choose their own fate... before it's chosen for them.
April 20, 2013
I struggled with this instalment and ending up skimming the second half because I found myself really disliking Kit. She was judgemental, self rightteous, manipulative and whiny. She made very poor, impulsive decisions with no thought for the consequences or how her decison would effect other people simply because she was convinced of her own superiority and righteousness. And her behaviour to Griff and jealousy of his first wife was selfish and childish. Griff has horrible nightmares about his and his wife's murder but is Kit sympathetic - no she is jealous becasue he is not dreaming of her. Then when Griff remembers Vegas from his time she asks him about it if Evie is in the story ( and given they were married and went palces together is perfectly reasonable that she would be) Kit gets all cold and jealous. To me Griff comes across as someone who has a mission to solve the murders and he has all this guilt as well about not saving Evie but this doesn't seem to be at the exculsion of all else. Nor does he always go on about Evie and how perfect she is. He seems to be genuinely invested in the relationship with Kit and to really love her but that is not good enough for Kit. While she can have cases and investigations which take her mind off Griff he must be a totally devoted slave with every thought and deed revolving around her. She basically creates this scenario in her head that Griff loves Evie more than her then punishes him for it. I am also extremely concerned that Kit will end being Evie reborn
December 9, 2014
So these books are not fast reads, even though it's not a high page count. Now that being said the build up to the "big thing" at the end is interesting. But once you get to the last 20% or so it goes from an ok read to a holy crow read. And that is my reason for my love/hate relationship with Vicki Pettersson's writing style. Now some major bombs were dropped at the end of this one and I do want to read book 3 soon rather than later but I know it will be a chore to get through to "the meat of the story". I think if I cared more for the characters it would help. Don't get me wrong I do like them, I just don't love them. As usual though Ms. Pettersson's world building is unique, very unique I just wish I was more sold than I am.
April 2, 2013
I hate to say it, but despite some flaws and occasionally wonky writing, Pettersson's second outing in the series is marginally better than the first.
I'll admit it, even I was rather taken aback by my urge to read this book when I wasn't all that enthused about the first one. Perhaps it's my insatiable curiosity: I had to know if Pettersson did a better job of things the second go 'round than she did in the first. Well, to that I have to say 'Eh.' Some things were improved, but some of the same issues I encountered in the first book popped up again in this book. Not to mention the mystery wasn't all that mysterious and anyone with half a brain could figure out the identity of the enigmatic woman who shows up in the narrative and is revealed early on to be the mastermind of the troubles in which Kit and Grif get embroiled. Yet, for all that, I still have a weird compulsion to read the next book when it comes out. I can't chalk it up to a “So bad it's good” compulsion, because the book is just good enough to ease out of that category, yet I can't call it a “Must read” compulsion either. My guess is because the second book is slightly better than the first book, by the time Pettersson gets to the sixth book in the series, it'll be so good my socks will be knocked off. Whatever the case, the series and the characters have sunk hooks into my psyche.
In The Lost, Kit is still the same incessantly positive, spunky, stubborn, foolhardy-disguised-as-brave, so-upbeat-you-want-to-beat-her-over-the-head-with-a-baseball-bat rockabilly chick we met in The Taken. However, this time around, her rockabilly schtick seems less of a veneer as it was in the first book (which led to the awesome and apt term Rockabilly Barbie. Sadly, I can't take credit for inventing that; instead my friend came up with it in her fabulous review). We're given a better explanation as to why Kit has gravitated towards this lifestyle and why she dresses the way she does and why her house is decorated the way it is, giving Kit more substance than what she had in The Taken. What hasn't changed is Kit's insistence on running straight into a dangerous situation, especially right after someone (usually Grif) tells her not to. I get that Pettersson is trying to show Kit as fearless, but there's fearless and then there's just plain stupid and lacking the basic sense of self-preservation. During the climax of the novel, Kit does this over and over, running into situations most people would look at and think, “Um, you know what? I like my skin just where it is. I think I'll call the authorities and let them handle it.” Frankly, it's a toss-up between this behavior and her insane chirpiness over which makes you want to punch her in the face more.
Grif is little better. Once again the now half human-half angel P.I. is obsessively hung up on his ex-wife Evie and with solving her (and, by extension, his) half-century-old murder. The only difference between this novel and the previous one is that in The Lost, Kit finally starts to get a bit more ticked off with Grif on the subject, especially when he keeps calling out Evie's name in his sleep (which finally makes her seem a bit human--after all, what woman would like having her lover call out another woman's name in his sleep?--instead of some doll programmed to be chipper and optimistic 24 hours a day). The thing is, though we're told over and over that he's a P.I., both in his former and present life, he seems to really suck at it. Whenever he runs into a roadblock in his Evie investigation, he basically gives up until the next lucky hint/tip/clue falls into his lap. He does nothing active to move the investigation forward. For example, Grif has been looking for a woman who might have information pertaining to Evie's murder; when he goes to his source, he discovers that the woman has remarried (several times) and has moved away. So he basically gives up that lead as dead. The stupid thing is, he knows the woman's name and he knows where she's moved. So, in this day and age of Google and other public information sources, not to mention the fact that Grif is sleeping with a reporter who has access to even more information and contacts, to just give up on a witness because she's moved away is just.... brainless. Worst. P.I. Ever.
The main thrust of the story revolves around the deaths of, let's say undesirable members of the population, from a new drug, krokodil, which hooks a user after one trip, but is made of such awful stuff that it actually eats the person alive from the inside so you start dying the moment you take it; however, if a user tries to stop, the withdrawal is so bad, you can also die from it. So you're pretty much damned if you do and damned if you don't with the drug. Again, I have to give props to Pettersson for coming up with yet another despicable plot as she did with The Taken. However, as I mentioned earlier, the mystery behind who introduced the krokodil and why isn't as convoluted as one would hope and is fairly easy to figure out. A secondary plot involves a fallen angel called Scratch, who is having a grand time seeking out those who find themselves Lost (hence the title, see?) and taking their souls. Of course, once Kit gets introduced to Scratch, she has to get all righteous and shake her fist at it with a “I'll fight you, you evil thing!” attitude; naturally, Scratch becomes enamored of Kit's purity and vows to corrupt her, so throughout the book, the two engage in a tug-of-war, with Grif standing on the sidelines, wringing his hands and telling Kit (futilely) not to engage with Scratch and, most importantly, don't let Scratch get his hands on Kit's tears, which contain all her emotional history along with her goodness. As you can probably guess, Kit ignores every single thing Grif says. And, of course, the third plot line is the one about Grif and Evie, which is basically more of the same from the first book, though it does lead to a denouement at the end in which Kit has to make a difficult choice about whether to stay with Grif (having to do with her being mortal and will age and die, and Grif isn't, so he'll have to stand around and watch her age and die). The climax of the book somehow manages to use all three plot threads to make for one big showdown between all the different participants involving a lot of action and a lot of blood.
In the end, there was just enough improved in this book from the first to keep me interested in the third book (dammit!).
I'll admit it, even I was rather taken aback by my urge to read this book when I wasn't all that enthused about the first one. Perhaps it's my insatiable curiosity: I had to know if Pettersson did a better job of things the second go 'round than she did in the first. Well, to that I have to say 'Eh.' Some things were improved, but some of the same issues I encountered in the first book popped up again in this book. Not to mention the mystery wasn't all that mysterious and anyone with half a brain could figure out the identity of the enigmatic woman who shows up in the narrative and is revealed early on to be the mastermind of the troubles in which Kit and Grif get embroiled. Yet, for all that, I still have a weird compulsion to read the next book when it comes out. I can't chalk it up to a “So bad it's good” compulsion, because the book is just good enough to ease out of that category, yet I can't call it a “Must read” compulsion either. My guess is because the second book is slightly better than the first book, by the time Pettersson gets to the sixth book in the series, it'll be so good my socks will be knocked off. Whatever the case, the series and the characters have sunk hooks into my psyche.
In The Lost, Kit is still the same incessantly positive, spunky, stubborn, foolhardy-disguised-as-brave, so-upbeat-you-want-to-beat-her-over-the-head-with-a-baseball-bat rockabilly chick we met in The Taken. However, this time around, her rockabilly schtick seems less of a veneer as it was in the first book (which led to the awesome and apt term Rockabilly Barbie. Sadly, I can't take credit for inventing that; instead my friend came up with it in her fabulous review). We're given a better explanation as to why Kit has gravitated towards this lifestyle and why she dresses the way she does and why her house is decorated the way it is, giving Kit more substance than what she had in The Taken. What hasn't changed is Kit's insistence on running straight into a dangerous situation, especially right after someone (usually Grif) tells her not to. I get that Pettersson is trying to show Kit as fearless, but there's fearless and then there's just plain stupid and lacking the basic sense of self-preservation. During the climax of the novel, Kit does this over and over, running into situations most people would look at and think, “Um, you know what? I like my skin just where it is. I think I'll call the authorities and let them handle it.” Frankly, it's a toss-up between this behavior and her insane chirpiness over which makes you want to punch her in the face more.
Grif is little better. Once again the now half human-half angel P.I. is obsessively hung up on his ex-wife Evie and with solving her (and, by extension, his) half-century-old murder. The only difference between this novel and the previous one is that in The Lost, Kit finally starts to get a bit more ticked off with Grif on the subject, especially when he keeps calling out Evie's name in his sleep (which finally makes her seem a bit human--after all, what woman would like having her lover call out another woman's name in his sleep?--instead of some doll programmed to be chipper and optimistic 24 hours a day). The thing is, though we're told over and over that he's a P.I., both in his former and present life, he seems to really suck at it. Whenever he runs into a roadblock in his Evie investigation, he basically gives up until the next lucky hint/tip/clue falls into his lap. He does nothing active to move the investigation forward. For example, Grif has been looking for a woman who might have information pertaining to Evie's murder; when he goes to his source, he discovers that the woman has remarried (several times) and has moved away. So he basically gives up that lead as dead. The stupid thing is, he knows the woman's name and he knows where she's moved. So, in this day and age of Google and other public information sources, not to mention the fact that Grif is sleeping with a reporter who has access to even more information and contacts, to just give up on a witness because she's moved away is just.... brainless. Worst. P.I. Ever.
The main thrust of the story revolves around the deaths of, let's say undesirable members of the population, from a new drug, krokodil, which hooks a user after one trip, but is made of such awful stuff that it actually eats the person alive from the inside so you start dying the moment you take it; however, if a user tries to stop, the withdrawal is so bad, you can also die from it. So you're pretty much damned if you do and damned if you don't with the drug. Again, I have to give props to Pettersson for coming up with yet another despicable plot as she did with The Taken. However, as I mentioned earlier, the mystery behind who introduced the krokodil and why isn't as convoluted as one would hope and is fairly easy to figure out. A secondary plot involves a fallen angel called Scratch, who is having a grand time seeking out those who find themselves Lost (hence the title, see?) and taking their souls. Of course, once Kit gets introduced to Scratch, she has to get all righteous and shake her fist at it with a “I'll fight you, you evil thing!” attitude; naturally, Scratch becomes enamored of Kit's purity and vows to corrupt her, so throughout the book, the two engage in a tug-of-war, with Grif standing on the sidelines, wringing his hands and telling Kit (futilely) not to engage with Scratch and, most importantly, don't let Scratch get his hands on Kit's tears, which contain all her emotional history along with her goodness. As you can probably guess, Kit ignores every single thing Grif says. And, of course, the third plot line is the one about Grif and Evie, which is basically more of the same from the first book, though it does lead to a denouement at the end in which Kit has to make a difficult choice about whether to stay with Grif (having to do with her being mortal and will age and die, and Grif isn't, so he'll have to stand around and watch her age and die). The climax of the book somehow manages to use all three plot threads to make for one big showdown between all the different participants involving a lot of action and a lot of blood.
In the end, there was just enough improved in this book from the first to keep me interested in the third book (dammit!).
December 21, 2021
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because i liked the first book. I was a bit disappointed with this one. There were so many story threads going on that i didn't feel like they all got justice. The main thread, who murdered Griff, is still hanging out here. I also didn't like Kit in this one. She just seems like a manipulative tool and her "intrepid reporter shtick" got in the way of her being someone i would like. I did like seeing more of what was going on behind the scenes with the angelic world and I did enjoy the book, just not as much as the first one.
May 7, 2013
First Reads Review - The Lost by Vicki Pettersson
So I signed up for this book out of a relatively new and growing appreciation for romance novels, and for paranormal romance more specifically because that's just where my interests are, in a more speculative setting. So I saw this and saw it was fairly popular and lucked out when I won it from the First Reads giveaways. I have to say, though, I am glad that I got into romances with other books, because The Lost was rather disappointing in most ways, and it ended up being more of a chore to read through this than I would have liked.
The premise isn't all that bad. Grif, a half-human, half-angel dead-but-alive-again man has come back to the material plane to seek answers surrounding his death. In the first book he apparently helped save a woman, Kit, and now the two are lovers. They set out to solve the mystery involving drugs and murder and nothing is quite what it seems and their relationship hits some rocky patches as well and on and on. So yeah, not a bad set up or plot, and I didn't feel lost (kind of pun!) coming to this series in the second book. At the same time, there was very little effort put in to really hook me early on.
Perhaps that is a little unfair, as there is a fallen angel that decides it wants to attack Kit and there is some new drug that is killing people, but aside from that the relationship between the two characters, a rather important thing in a romance, was rather flat and boring. If that is what they are like when they are getting along then it's not surprising that they are constantly inventing things to fight about. Because they do. Here the book had the chance to put some sex in early and let me see how passionate these people are about each other but instead I get chapter after sexless chapter of them just sort of bickering. For a second book in a series that is disappointing.
The fire that is so much fun to read in romance books is almost completely lacking between these two, and they spend most of the book fighting and worrying about things that adults their age should be over by now. It made me rather annoyed with them, really, and less invested in whether or not they could get through the various strains that the plot puts on their relationship. Most of the other characters are okay, though the stereotypes used for the villains are rather grating at times. But again, the plot is fine and the writing good enough to keep things moving along.
It was hard to tell, though, what exactly I was reading in regards to mythology. So the novel uses a tilted Christian mythos, with angels and fallen angels and such, and it remains fairly chaste in the relationship show, with Grif and Kit only really having sex once late in the book and it being, well...angelic, I guess. But then they're not married and they don't go to church so I really don't know what kind of system is being set up, like Christianity is only partly right? This is one thing I think may have been covered in the first book which I wish they would have gone more into, because the rules didn't quite seem defined enough for me to know how much of traditional Christianity was "true" in the setting.
And in the end I just couldn't get past the various problems I had with the relationship to care about the characters. They were constantly having problems but these seemed artificial, not the sort of things that would shake people. And I know the events are supernatural and might be more strenuous, but the characters take those aspects so much as given that I just didn't know why they were together. And while the plot was okay and the writing sound, the novel just kept pushing me out. And beacuse of that I can give it only two stars out of five.
So I signed up for this book out of a relatively new and growing appreciation for romance novels, and for paranormal romance more specifically because that's just where my interests are, in a more speculative setting. So I saw this and saw it was fairly popular and lucked out when I won it from the First Reads giveaways. I have to say, though, I am glad that I got into romances with other books, because The Lost was rather disappointing in most ways, and it ended up being more of a chore to read through this than I would have liked.
The premise isn't all that bad. Grif, a half-human, half-angel dead-but-alive-again man has come back to the material plane to seek answers surrounding his death. In the first book he apparently helped save a woman, Kit, and now the two are lovers. They set out to solve the mystery involving drugs and murder and nothing is quite what it seems and their relationship hits some rocky patches as well and on and on. So yeah, not a bad set up or plot, and I didn't feel lost (kind of pun!) coming to this series in the second book. At the same time, there was very little effort put in to really hook me early on.
Perhaps that is a little unfair, as there is a fallen angel that decides it wants to attack Kit and there is some new drug that is killing people, but aside from that the relationship between the two characters, a rather important thing in a romance, was rather flat and boring. If that is what they are like when they are getting along then it's not surprising that they are constantly inventing things to fight about. Because they do. Here the book had the chance to put some sex in early and let me see how passionate these people are about each other but instead I get chapter after sexless chapter of them just sort of bickering. For a second book in a series that is disappointing.
The fire that is so much fun to read in romance books is almost completely lacking between these two, and they spend most of the book fighting and worrying about things that adults their age should be over by now. It made me rather annoyed with them, really, and less invested in whether or not they could get through the various strains that the plot puts on their relationship. Most of the other characters are okay, though the stereotypes used for the villains are rather grating at times. But again, the plot is fine and the writing good enough to keep things moving along.
It was hard to tell, though, what exactly I was reading in regards to mythology. So the novel uses a tilted Christian mythos, with angels and fallen angels and such, and it remains fairly chaste in the relationship show, with Grif and Kit only really having sex once late in the book and it being, well...angelic, I guess. But then they're not married and they don't go to church so I really don't know what kind of system is being set up, like Christianity is only partly right? This is one thing I think may have been covered in the first book which I wish they would have gone more into, because the rules didn't quite seem defined enough for me to know how much of traditional Christianity was "true" in the setting.
And in the end I just couldn't get past the various problems I had with the relationship to care about the characters. They were constantly having problems but these seemed artificial, not the sort of things that would shake people. And I know the events are supernatural and might be more strenuous, but the characters take those aspects so much as given that I just didn't know why they were together. And while the plot was okay and the writing sound, the novel just kept pushing me out. And beacuse of that I can give it only two stars out of five.
March 20, 2013
Summary: Kit and Griff have had a steady relationship for months, but their romance is far from perfect. For one, Griff is part human and part Centurion, and all dead. Also, Griff's been tasked to find "The Lost" and it leads them to an unusual but potent drug. Kit is haunted by Griff's ex-wife and her own past. But the big question still looms over them: "Who killed Griffin Shaw?"
Review: I'm really growing fond of the Celestial Blues series. From the characters to the world building to the setting, Pettersson has created something fresh to the Urban Fantasy genre.
As a second book, the world already has a strong framework. There were new additions, such as meeting the fallen, and learned how evil they are. We see more of Griff's past and Evie's current location. We see more of Kit's rockabilly lifestyle, and how her lifestyle intersects with Kit's life and modern day life.
The strength of these novels is the characters. Griff is in love with Kit, but his past love for his wife keeps pulling him back. Kit is a happy person with a sparkly personality, but that's just a mask for her deeper pain. We see the multiple dimensions of the secondary characters as well, like Marin, Dennis, and Evie.
I love Griff and Kit's relationship in this book. In The Taken, it was passion heavy, and represented roses and kisses, and extremely hot and heavy sex. But in the second book, the relationship was 5 months later, and it was more representative of real life. Sure, they still had chemistry, but the relationship settled down to a natural pattern. No ridiculous intense passion that is not humanly possible, but a calming burn that a good relationship should have. Plus, they had some real relationship problems. They have insecurities that happen to all of us at some point, all with a backdrop of the supernatural and mystery.
The few issues I had with The Taken were less of a problem in this book. The "film noir" language coming out of 21st century people came more naturally, and the book was also "fantasy lite", but I barely noticed. The only reason why I rated the book 4 stars instead of 5 was because the ending was predictable. This story can take so many directions, and I was expecting something new and original from our author. Yet, it was cliche. And for a story that has much intrigue and uniqueness, the ending left me feeling "that's it?" I should be terribly excited to have the next and final book in the trilogy, but I have no strong feelings.
If you read Taken and liked it, you are bound to appreciate this installment in The Celestial Blues trilogy. If you want an (almost) fresh story in the fantasy genre, Then pick up these two books, and you'll be both hip and groovy!
Sex: Love making scenes, kissing, not explicit.
Violence: Fighting, drugs, possessions. A lot milder than the last book.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Quote:
Grif stared at her. “You want me to wear a hat that beeps?”
Kit folded her arms. “Is this a guy thing? Like asking for directions when you’re driving?”
“It’s a hat. That. Beeps.”
Review: I'm really growing fond of the Celestial Blues series. From the characters to the world building to the setting, Pettersson has created something fresh to the Urban Fantasy genre.
As a second book, the world already has a strong framework. There were new additions, such as meeting the fallen, and learned how evil they are. We see more of Griff's past and Evie's current location. We see more of Kit's rockabilly lifestyle, and how her lifestyle intersects with Kit's life and modern day life.
The strength of these novels is the characters. Griff is in love with Kit, but his past love for his wife keeps pulling him back. Kit is a happy person with a sparkly personality, but that's just a mask for her deeper pain. We see the multiple dimensions of the secondary characters as well, like Marin, Dennis, and Evie.
I love Griff and Kit's relationship in this book. In The Taken, it was passion heavy, and represented roses and kisses, and extremely hot and heavy sex. But in the second book, the relationship was 5 months later, and it was more representative of real life. Sure, they still had chemistry, but the relationship settled down to a natural pattern. No ridiculous intense passion that is not humanly possible, but a calming burn that a good relationship should have. Plus, they had some real relationship problems. They have insecurities that happen to all of us at some point, all with a backdrop of the supernatural and mystery.
The few issues I had with The Taken were less of a problem in this book. The "film noir" language coming out of 21st century people came more naturally, and the book was also "fantasy lite", but I barely noticed. The only reason why I rated the book 4 stars instead of 5 was because the ending was predictable. This story can take so many directions, and I was expecting something new and original from our author. Yet, it was cliche. And for a story that has much intrigue and uniqueness, the ending left me feeling "that's it?" I should be terribly excited to have the next and final book in the trilogy, but I have no strong feelings.
If you read Taken and liked it, you are bound to appreciate this installment in The Celestial Blues trilogy. If you want an (almost) fresh story in the fantasy genre, Then pick up these two books, and you'll be both hip and groovy!
Sex: Love making scenes, kissing, not explicit.
Violence: Fighting, drugs, possessions. A lot milder than the last book.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Quote:
Grif stared at her. “You want me to wear a hat that beeps?”
Kit folded her arms. “Is this a guy thing? Like asking for directions when you’re driving?”
“It’s a hat. That. Beeps.”
April 8, 2013
More 3 than 4 stars, 3.5 stars
Another pretty and retro cover... just not as engaging as the first book's cover and this can be said for the story too I guess. Like the first it took a little bit for me to get into this one, but it does pick up. The Lost does it's job as a middle book in a trilogy: picks up the story threads where the first left off and sets in motion where things should lead for the final installment, plus throws some conflict in for plot.
There was this TV show a couple years back about a cop transplanted back in time. Set in 70's it was the procedural aspect of the show, with current ethics on evidence gathering, interrogation, etc... at odds with that era's procedures that was the strength of the show. The whole reason he was transported back in time and mysterious communications on the time travel were handled in a pretty hoaky way, so that I always would find myself thinking this would be good cop show if it didn't have the whole transported back in time thing mucking it up. Yet the modern day cop as the fish out of water with that era was a big part of why it was interesting. You just could not separate the goofy things that did not work from the core part of the premise that made it stand out.
In a way this suffers the same split of personality. On the one hand if Griffin was not an otherworldly being out of his time the the whole vintage Vegas murder case that is the overriding arc for the series would just be irrelevant and that is some of the more interesting bits- although there was not as much of that in this book. The relationship conflict also stems directly from the displaced what do you do when you can't let go of your past deal he's got going. On the other hand there is a big chunk of otherworldly stuff that just didn't seem to work that we'll in conjunction with the drug mystery. Still the creepy but distracting character could not have been cut because it is a result of the outcome of that storyline that makes the ending of this book have some emotional teeth.
Also the emergence of a potential love triangle seemed to just pop up out of thin air mid way through which I did not love (no pun intended... oh or wait maybe pun intended). If you're going to introduce a love triangle there needs to be some groundwork so I am at least a little torn with who to root for not just nothing, nothing, nothing, then "hey Kit we've had nothing but friend chemistry up until chapter xx but you're a fine woman and if you were not all obviously taken then clearly I have the potential to rival your dude, but hey whatever" thrown into the mix.
So the first one was better. I did still enjoyed the charters and plot enough to give it 3.5 stars and although the core drug plot-line was not quite as compelling as the last book's plot it still worked to a decent and believable conclusion. I'm on board to see how the next one ties it all up and get the answer to who killed Griffin Shaw.
Another pretty and retro cover... just not as engaging as the first book's cover and this can be said for the story too I guess. Like the first it took a little bit for me to get into this one, but it does pick up. The Lost does it's job as a middle book in a trilogy: picks up the story threads where the first left off and sets in motion where things should lead for the final installment, plus throws some conflict in for plot.
There was this TV show a couple years back about a cop transplanted back in time. Set in 70's it was the procedural aspect of the show, with current ethics on evidence gathering, interrogation, etc... at odds with that era's procedures that was the strength of the show. The whole reason he was transported back in time and mysterious communications on the time travel were handled in a pretty hoaky way, so that I always would find myself thinking this would be good cop show if it didn't have the whole transported back in time thing mucking it up. Yet the modern day cop as the fish out of water with that era was a big part of why it was interesting. You just could not separate the goofy things that did not work from the core part of the premise that made it stand out.
In a way this suffers the same split of personality. On the one hand if Griffin was not an otherworldly being out of his time the the whole vintage Vegas murder case that is the overriding arc for the series would just be irrelevant and that is some of the more interesting bits- although there was not as much of that in this book. The relationship conflict also stems directly from the displaced what do you do when you can't let go of your past deal he's got going. On the other hand there is a big chunk of otherworldly stuff that just didn't seem to work that we'll in conjunction with the drug mystery. Still the creepy but distracting character could not have been cut because it is a result of the outcome of that storyline that makes the ending of this book have some emotional teeth.
Also the emergence of a potential love triangle seemed to just pop up out of thin air mid way through which I did not love (no pun intended... oh or wait maybe pun intended). If you're going to introduce a love triangle there needs to be some groundwork so I am at least a little torn with who to root for not just nothing, nothing, nothing, then "hey Kit we've had nothing but friend chemistry up until chapter xx but you're a fine woman and if you were not all obviously taken then clearly I have the potential to rival your dude, but hey whatever" thrown into the mix.
So the first one was better. I did still enjoyed the charters and plot enough to give it 3.5 stars and although the core drug plot-line was not quite as compelling as the last book's plot it still worked to a decent and believable conclusion. I'm on board to see how the next one ties it all up and get the answer to who killed Griffin Shaw.
March 18, 2013
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
I feel like I’m the odd woman out here but I actually enjoyed this installment more than the first one. Pettersson toned down the rockabilly and angelic aspects this time around which are, oddly enough, what make this trilogy so unique but also what annoyed me in The Taken because they were overdone. I found The Lost to be a more balanced read with equal attention given to world building and to the storyline. I enjoyed Vicki Pettersson’s dark writing style, complex characters and, the way that the past and present collide.
Pettersson seems to have gotten into the groove of things with her second crack at Celestial Blues. The world building and character development have evened out and she focuses on the action rather than on Kit’s 1950’s fashion sense. As much as I enjoy the rockabilly aspect of these books I have a low tolerance when it comes to lengthy wardrobe and hairstyle descriptions. It’s a nice little sideline but these books are shelved as Urban Fantasy not as fictional versions of Vogue magazine. Vicki did a great job of incorporating these elements this time around and I actually found myself wishing that there’d been more.
The murder investigation is well constructed and succeeded in keeping my interest the whole way through. Krokodil is an especially nasty drug and I had a vested interest in seeing the dealers caught. The cartels involved cast a wide scope of potential perps and as a result, the story kept me on my toes with trying to figure out “who done it”. There’s a great deal more romance in this installment which helped lighten up some of the grittiness and kept things interesting because not only are there murders to solve but conflict within the couple as well.
I was happy that I wasn’t bombarded with angels in this installment and found the celestial aspects much clearer and easy to comprehend. Unlike in the previous book, I was able to distinguish the different subgroups and their individual traits with ease. I also found that the dialogue between the two main characters was vastly improved. It flowed well, felt natural and more importantly, there was more of it. Grif’s still not a chatty Cathy but at least he demonstrated that he’s capable of stringing more than just three words together at a time.
The Lost is proof that all series’ deserve a second chance; Vicki Pettersson successfully convinced this on-the-fence reader that her Celestial Blues trilogy is worth the read.
I feel like I’m the odd woman out here but I actually enjoyed this installment more than the first one. Pettersson toned down the rockabilly and angelic aspects this time around which are, oddly enough, what make this trilogy so unique but also what annoyed me in The Taken because they were overdone. I found The Lost to be a more balanced read with equal attention given to world building and to the storyline. I enjoyed Vicki Pettersson’s dark writing style, complex characters and, the way that the past and present collide.
Pettersson seems to have gotten into the groove of things with her second crack at Celestial Blues. The world building and character development have evened out and she focuses on the action rather than on Kit’s 1950’s fashion sense. As much as I enjoy the rockabilly aspect of these books I have a low tolerance when it comes to lengthy wardrobe and hairstyle descriptions. It’s a nice little sideline but these books are shelved as Urban Fantasy not as fictional versions of Vogue magazine. Vicki did a great job of incorporating these elements this time around and I actually found myself wishing that there’d been more.
The murder investigation is well constructed and succeeded in keeping my interest the whole way through. Krokodil is an especially nasty drug and I had a vested interest in seeing the dealers caught. The cartels involved cast a wide scope of potential perps and as a result, the story kept me on my toes with trying to figure out “who done it”. There’s a great deal more romance in this installment which helped lighten up some of the grittiness and kept things interesting because not only are there murders to solve but conflict within the couple as well.
I was happy that I wasn’t bombarded with angels in this installment and found the celestial aspects much clearer and easy to comprehend. Unlike in the previous book, I was able to distinguish the different subgroups and their individual traits with ease. I also found that the dialogue between the two main characters was vastly improved. It flowed well, felt natural and more importantly, there was more of it. Grif’s still not a chatty Cathy but at least he demonstrated that he’s capable of stringing more than just three words together at a time.
The Lost is proof that all series’ deserve a second chance; Vicki Pettersson successfully convinced this on-the-fence reader that her Celestial Blues trilogy is worth the read.
September 12, 2015
There is something sort of magical about this series. I’m not sure if it’s the dark and gritty world, the fallen angels mixing with the humans, or just the Rockabilly feel of the story. It perfectly blends two eras by having a fallen angel that is kind of stuck in the clothes and mentality of the 50s (he’s the original), and the human girl he’s dating in the present, who has embraced the Rockabilly lifestyle (the wannabe).
I love both of their characters. Griffin Shaw, the Centurion, is just tortured by so many things. He’s on earth looking for his killer (well, his and his wife’s killer) while also trying to solve cases assigned to him. In between all that he sometimes has to transport souls of the recently deceased to the Everlast. He has a lot on his plate and in this book, I think he showed he was having a hard time prioritizing.
Kit on the other hand is awesome! She always shows an air of happiness and a tough exterior. However we come to realize it’s not all roses underneath. She’s in love with Griffin but deep down is hurting to have to compete with his dead wife’s memory. She tries to be happy, and she tries to do the right thing, and what’s good. And sometimes, in that search of justice and righteousness, she finds herself in the center of trouble. Her vulnerability made me cry at times.
In this book, Kit tries saving Grif’s takes. And by trying to save the ones marked for death they discover a new drug circulating that needs to be stopped, and they also find a fallen angel who is out stealing souls before the Centurions can take them to the Everlast. Of course, once the fallen angel sees Kit, he zeroes in on her and makes it his mission to possess her.
The storyline was very interesting and the author does an amazing job at drawing out the world and the scenes, it just felt as if I was watching things happen. This was also an emotional book for Kit and her search of what makes her happy and how to deal with what’s bringing her down.
I’m looking forward to the ending of this trilogy in the next book and finding out ….Who killed Griffin Shaw?
If you want to try an urban fantasy that is new and fresh, with a touch of old charm, angels and mystery, then this is the series for you!
*ARC provided by publisher
September 15, 2013
(See our full review over at Bookkaholic.) I feel like I’m the odd woman out here but I actually enjoyed this installment more than the first one. Pettersson toned down the rockabilly and angelic aspects this time around, but I found The Lost to be a more balanced read with equal attention given to world building and to the storyline. I enjoyed Vicki Pettersson’s dark writing style, complex characters and, the way that the past and present collide.
tbr-series-sequels-x
January 7, 20157 January 2015: $1.99 on Kindle
13 October 2014: $1.99 on Kindle
13 October 2014: $1.99 on Kindle
May 28, 2013
This one was sadder than the first book. The series seems to be getting darker as it goes. (and the first book was pretty dark.)
July 5, 2019
I love Ms Pettersson's writing. Her scenes are so descriptive, they play before my eyes as if I'm watching one of those old film noirs. I've even got Grif's voice down to a T ;-)
And even though this is categorized as "urban fantasy", the subjects she touches upon are (unfortunately) very real. Drugs, depression, addiction, murder, ...
That is probably also why this book reads more like a detective novel than like a fantasy story, even though there are - of course - fantastical elements in it.
I also love how the different plot-lines mix and mingle, and in the end, come nicely together. As a writer, I can only wonder how she outlined those. :-)
Needless to stay I started book #3 straight away after finishing this one. I'm very curious to see how the main mystery - Who killed Griffin Shaw? - will be resolved.
And even though this is categorized as "urban fantasy", the subjects she touches upon are (unfortunately) very real. Drugs, depression, addiction, murder, ...
That is probably also why this book reads more like a detective novel than like a fantasy story, even though there are - of course - fantastical elements in it.
I also love how the different plot-lines mix and mingle, and in the end, come nicely together. As a writer, I can only wonder how she outlined those. :-)
Needless to stay I started book #3 straight away after finishing this one. I'm very curious to see how the main mystery - Who killed Griffin Shaw? - will be resolved.
June 17, 2017
I love Vicki Pettersson! Every book I have read by her embodies elements of suspense, adventure, paranormal and romance - all without the trite and cliche 'happy ending' - at least not till full culmination of the tale, and even then the ending may not jive with the formulaic norm. This book is no exception; after the build up in Book 1, "The Taken" which led to an odd, yet strangely suited romantic relationship between Griff and Kat, this novel expands on that love affair - then gut checks you with surprise. It's delightful, unusual and leaves you eager to read Book 3.
December 15, 2023
I remember really enjoying this series when I first read them but I’m having a hard time enjoying them this time. This one has a couple of discrepancies also, such as when Kit is going to see Mary Margaret in the park she says it’s the first time meeting someone from Grif’s past, did we forget about the guy they stayed with in the first book? Also if she were being true to the lifestyle, old fashioneds do not have a cherry in them. But that’s my own pet peeve. I did reread the zodiac series and still really enjoyed them this time around.
January 16, 2019
This is neither here nor there, but I like the covers of these books a lot.
Demoted Angel Grif, and rockabilly Lois Lane, Kit, decide to tackle the mysterious death of a random drug addict. It's a pretty shoddy set up for an entire novel, but, here we go. The characters don't change much over the next few hundred pages and mostly continue to reiterate the same worries and concerns they had about each other in the first book. This story has the same merits and flaws as the first.
Demoted Angel Grif, and rockabilly Lois Lane, Kit, decide to tackle the mysterious death of a random drug addict. It's a pretty shoddy set up for an entire novel, but, here we go. The characters don't change much over the next few hundred pages and mostly continue to reiterate the same worries and concerns they had about each other in the first book. This story has the same merits and flaws as the first.
September 15, 2024
Fallen angel Griffin "Grif" Shaw and his mortal lover, reporter Katherine Craig, are trying to learn the truth about Grif's death a half a century earlier. This quest will lead them to discover that the Pures might have their own agenda--one that will have Grif and Kit scrambling to stay alive, to stay together, and to choose their fate...before it's chosen for them. Nothing is as Grif believed it to be. It's mystery noir at it's best.
May 5, 2018
I actually liked this book. The ending was very good and set up the third and final book very well. Kit isn't torn between two men but she also doesn't hold punches either. She's not my normal heroine and in a world where a lot of books seem to be about finding and keeping a man, this one isn't so much about keeping a man, but knowing when to let go too.
February 25, 2021
I borrowed this ebook from my local library on Hoopla app as soon as I finished The Taken which had been unread in my Nook library for too long. Yes, I apologize to this author for waiting too long to start this series.
And, as soon as I finished this book, I started the third, The Given.
And, as soon as I finished this book, I started the third, The Given.
October 17, 2019
So good!
This is a re-read and still the last two chapters got to me. I love the celestial aspects of the story. Vick's characters are always so well written, larger than life, and pop off the pages at you.
This is a re-read and still the last two chapters got to me. I love the celestial aspects of the story. Vick's characters are always so well written, larger than life, and pop off the pages at you.
April 7, 2023
I loved the first book (Taken) in this trilogy but wasn't as wrapped in this one. Maybe because of the painful ending of this book. I am glad I already had the third book at the ready so no long wait to get into it.
February 26, 2025
This second installment in the trilogy was a rollercoaster ride with hairpin turns. The ending was incredibly sad and I am now diving into the final book in hopes my heart can be patched. I love Kit and Grif.
February 12, 2019
I just could not get invested in this book. The plot was not great and most of the book involves wallowing in angst by the two main characters.
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