Deadly Curiosities

Deadly Curiosities #1

by Gail Z. Martin

Some family heirlooms are to die for.

Welcome to Trifles & Folly, a store with a secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide’s psychic gift lets her know the history and magic of an object by touching it. Cassidy and her friends—including Weaver witch Teag and her vampire business partner Sorren—save the world from vengeful ghosts, dark magic, hidden monsters, and things that go bump in the night.

When a trip to a haunted hotel unearths a statue steeped in malevolent power, and a string of murders leads to the abandoned old Navy yard, Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren discover a diabolical plot to unleash a supernatural onslaught on their city.

It’s time for Cassidy and her team to handle the “deadly curiosities” before it’s too late.

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

456 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 22, 2014

About the author

Gail Z. Martin discovered her passion for science fiction, fantasy and ghost stories in elementary school. The first story she wroteat age fivewas about a vampire. Her favorite TV show as a preschooler was Dark Shadows. At age 14, she decided to become a writer.

She enjoys attending science fiction/fantasy conventions, Renaissance fairs and living history sites. She is married and has three children, a Maltese and a golden retriever.

Gail Z. Martin is also Morgan Brice, which is her pen name for urban fantasy MM paranormal romance.

In addition to the online sites listed below, you can find me on
Facebook.com/Groups/MartinShadowAlliance
Facebook.com/Groups/WorldsOfMorganBrice
Twitter: @GailZMartin and @MorganBriceAuthor
YouTube: YouTube.com/c/GailZMartinAuthor
IG: @MorganBriceAuthorGail & Larry newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj
Morgan Brice newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dy_8oL
BookBub for Morgan: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/morga...
Bookbub for Gail: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/gail-...
Amazon profile: https://www.amazon.com/Morgan-Brice/e...?
Amazon profile: https://www.amazon.com/Gail-Z-Martin/...
Pinterest (for Morgan and Gail) www.Pinterest.com/Gzmartin

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 2 out of 5]

● Let's See how Crappy this One is Buddy Read (LShCtOsBR™) with My MacHalos of the Despicable Book Taste (MMotDBT™) ●



☠ DNF at 35%. And it's a miracle I made it that far.

Because Cozy Urban Fantasy is almost as crappy as Freaking Paranormal Romance. But hey, at least the author got the title of the book right. Because, let me tell you, it doesn't get deadlier than this. Hell no, it doesn't. This book is deadly boring. And deadly uninspired. And deadly uninteresting. AND deadly flat. So much deadly stuff, it's a wonder I'm still alive.

» And the moral of this Crappy Non-Review (CNR™) is: I rest my case. Bye now.

Come on, Edward, let's bail.

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Curiosities by Gail Z Martin
1st book in the same name series. Paranormal, urban fantasy, bordering close to horror.
Owners of an antique shop in Charleston, SC that collects and cleans the paranormal from the antiquities before reselling. Cassidy can touch an item and see it’s history. Sorren is a 500 year old vampire. When they and Teag investigate “shadows” at a local hotel, they are drawn into danger and murder.

Demons, ghosts, magic and peril. The characters move from threats and danger again and again. Cassidy’s historic sight gives her insight but puts her in danger at the same time.
Lots of investigation. Drags in the middle. Resolution in the end with a clear path to more adventures.
Dark, tense, and a bit scary.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very mixed bag for me. As I've said before I'm always looking for a good urban fantasy. As I've also "heard" before some people who read my reviews HATE the 3 star rating as it doesn't give any real idea about some things. I mean I get it...it's middle of the road.

So, here we go. This book was recommended to me by a friend who said it "put them in mind" of the old Friday the 13th TV series. (If you don't recall it it was about two young people and an older person trying to "recover" cursed items before they did any (more) damage. That is the "set up" for the novel. I wish Ms. Martin had done more with that.

What happens here (straining not to give any spoilers) is that the books ends up with a few articles leading to a "world threatening....well, threat. What I wish she had done is take "this book" (the first in the series) to introduce us to the characters and told a story concerning the ancient shop's primary function.

But that's just me. Some readers jump right in and enjoy the story greatly.

The rest of the book is also a mixed bag. The characters are pretty good. There's no great depth yet but on the other hand they are picking up a "real feel" and I think we'll likely get to know them better over the series (actually what we have here seems to be a "series of series"). We have our narrator (Cassidy) who reveals a little about herself as we go along, then we have her co-manager of the said shop and his boy friend. The assistant/co-manager Teag is sort of a computer wizard (literally). He is constantly resorting to his computer and breaking into the "Dark Net". There's is also Cassidy's dog Baxter...and her ghost dog BO. There are also a few other characters I assume will be recurring including another girl who works in the store that we meet for only a few lines.

Then (of course) there is Sorren. Sorren is a 600 year old vampire who "takes care" of Cassidy and the other people who work at Trifles & Folly (the name of the shop).

Look many of you know I'm not fond of friendly, romantic, or "nice" vampires. Okay, so Sorren isn't actually nice. He's the muscle of the group and we're led to believe he does live on human blood (I don't know if he manages to always find "bad guys" (sort of like Dexter) or if he can live on blood other than human and we just haven't been told about it. We're told he "dines" before joining our protagonists and once one of our protagonists gives him some of his blood.

So...this is another UF where the world is threatened by an evil from the past which turns out to have connections to our protagonists. You will meet ghosts, demonic things, a demon, wizards, sorcerers, Psychometry, witches, a demon hunter and all kinds of other supernatural stuff and ephemera.

Will I follow the series? I don't know (probably not unless I find myself really desperate for a UF and can't find anything better). I may read the follow up to this one but we also have a couple of other series that seem to take place in the past about Sorren and the shop's history.

I really don't know yet. I'd say try this one for yourself, it's worth that. I'm decidedly lukewarm about it, some I'm sure will love others hate it and some...maybe most for all I know be like me.

Good luck.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deadly Curiosities
(Deadly Curiosities #1)
by Gail Z. Martin
This book goes in my favorite folder for sure! It has wonderful main characters, super creepy atmosphere when needed, evil abounds, ghosts, supernatural elements, and so much more! The further I went into the book the more I loved it. The main character, Cassidy, can see the past when she touches an item. Her partner to the shop is a vampire. They work to get evil items out of circulation. They also have another guy helping and at the end of this story they may have recruited another. I will have to wait and see if I am right about that.
I got this when it was on sale on chirp and the narration was great!

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

This is the second novel I’ve read by Gail Z. Martin and I have to say, her books have a way of wrapping around the reader like a well-loved, comfortable sweater. Prior to Deadly Curiosities, I’ve read the first book of her Ascendant Kingdoms series Ice Forged, and as traditional fantasies go, it wasn’t groundbreaking but still offered enough new with the old to give me that nice, warm fuzzy feeling. Similarly, I felt good about being in familiar urban fantasy territory with her new book Deadly Curiosities, at the same time delighting in some of the things that made it unique.

The book stars Cassidy Kincaide, owner of an upscale antique/curio store called Trifles & Folly in the heart of Charleston, South Carolina. Being able to touch an object and know its history is a special psychic gift that runs in her family – an ability that comes in handy in her line of work. It’s the perfect front for Cassidy and the Alliance’s real work: to seek out supernatural and possibly dangerous items and weed them out of the general public before they can harm anyone. However, when reports that a number of mundane antiques are suddenly turning into “Spookies”, it’s up to Cassidy and her coworkers to find out what dark force is changing all these previously harmless things into haunted objects.

Without a doubt, the highlight of this book for me was the setting. No joke, I wanted to drop everything right there and then and move to Charleston. I have read urban fantasies set in a number of different places, from big cities to sleepy towns, and very few have made me feel a pull this intense. Martin captured the atmosphere perfectly, combining the fictional paranormal elements with the rich history and culture of the city, as well as the hospitality and charm of its people. I wanted to shop the antique shops, visit the museums, stay at the bed and breakfasts, even do the nighttime ghost tours and the whole shebang. Well, minus the evil demons, of course.

In the past I’ve also noticed that authors who go from writing epic fantasy to urban fantasy often stumble with pacing. There is definitely less of an issue with Deadly Curiosities. However, I did feel that sections in the middle lagged a bit, and several characters central to the strike team at the end were introduced much later than I would have preferred. Still, this was probably my one and only complaint. On the whole, this was a great story and I especially enjoyed the first part of the novel, which hooked right away with the introduction to the central premise. I also love the smooth, natural and modern voices of Cassidy and the crew. Gail Z. Martin is a natural at writing urban fantasy; you would think she’s been doing this right from the start.

One interesting thing to note though, is that unlike every other urban fantasy series out there, there is a conspicuous lack of a romantic side plot for our protagonist. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is up to the individual reader. Those who like a bit of romance with their UF might be disappointed, while others who are neutral or don’t mind something different might find it refreshing. Personally, I don’t think you can force a love story; it either works or it doesn’t. I would rather read an urban fantasy sans romance than one with a romance awkwardly shoehorned in just for the sake of having one, so I say good for Martin! (But for a second, I did get worried – I thought perhaps Cassidy would end up falling for Sorren, her silent business partner at Trifles & Folly. He’s also a 500-year-old vampire. So in this case, I guess you can say I was doubly glad it did not happen. The world has enough vampire romances.)

I am, however, a little tempted to hunt down Gail Z. Martin’s other Deadly Curiosity Adventure stories, from her series that spans over 500 years starring Sorren. That’s what a good book does – make you want more. I do hope she has plans to continue expanding Cassidy’s story as well, because this was a lot of fun. I would return to Charleston and Trifies & Folly in a heartbeat.

[Marta Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I thought I might enjoy this and it's a new author to me so always worth discovering . I liked the cover and the synopsis intruiged me. I was happily enjoying the author setting the scene as it makes the story feel more real. Our heroine Cassidy is a psychometrist, someone who can "read" information from objects which is always a pretty cool ability and her antiques store was a good cover for all that came after. Unfortunately Cassidy starts having quite a bit of trouble with her powers and needs her friends to help out. Yes it had an almost ensemble feel and if there's romance it's perhaps a little on the back burner. An atmospheric piece with evil to watch out for but I'm not sure it reached its full potential but it's the first in a new series so the only way is up!
Three and a half from me

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was quite excited to read this urban fantasy. It's about an owner of an antique shop who has psychic powers to "see" where an object has been - she gets visions from touching objects. And she and her Vampire boss and co-worker Teag hunt down cursed objects and get them stored safely or destroyed because that have too much "bad mojo."

The story reminded me of the TV show: Friday the 13th: The TV Series. I'm dating myself here, but it was aired back in 1987 to 1990 on Friday nights. I loved this show. It was about two cousins who inherited an antique shop from their deceased uncle, who had been selling cursed objects. The cousins needed to track them all down and get them back, because, of course, these objects were causing all kinds of supernatural trouble. And speaking of Supernatural - there were parts of the book that reminded me of that TV show (well, the early seasons ;). So that's why I was excited to read this.

Too bad the characters fell flat for me. This read like it was book 3 or 4 - the team has already been established and it felt like they were already in mid-season of a TV series. I would have loved to read about Cassidy meeting Sorren (the vampire) for the first time. And when they found Teag in graduate school (back when he didn't have a clue about his magic). Add in the cursed objects and there would be lots of potential for conflict and drama.

Overall the story was interesting - lots of details about the objects (and Supernatural type encounters with the paranormal). I now want to visit Charlestown, SC, where the book is set because the author did a great job of bringing the city to life.

[Yzabel Ginsberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

[I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

Hard to tell whether I liked it, or found it simply "OK", so let's consider this a 2.5 stars.

There are a lot of good ideas in this novel. About the magical community (the Alliance isn't so big, the Family is likely to become a pain in the neck at some point). About the various kinds of magic, that I haven't seen used that often in urban fantasy yet (weaving magic and psychometry, that is). About items and how they can become beacon of positive or negative energies. It goes to show that even the most inconspicuous little things can be harbingers of danger. And a store full of antiques, acting as cover for the magic folk to gather those special items and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands? Quaint and delightful—much like the town of Charleston, for which I could get quite a good feeling through the many little stories. (One of the secondary characters works in the historical archives. I tell you, you always need to know someone who works in a museum or something. Always.)

Another thing I liked was that, for once, there was no romance here. I don't dislike romance, but sometimes I find there's too much of it in UF in general, and it can more easily detract from the darkness and magic. Here, I didn't want to read about a love story: I wanted to read about the antique shop, the mysterious items, Cassidy's power, and so on. And this is what I got. So I was glad.

Unfortunately, this novel just didn't click with me. I'm not even sure why exactly. I liked the ideas, the characters seemed interesting, but I never connected with them. I don't think we get to see Sorren before the 30% mark, if I remember well, which I found too bad. As for the demon hunter, it was kind of annoying that he was introduced so late into the story, then made to die; his death would've been more striking if I had got to know him better. Yes, I'm a masochist. I know.

Regularly enough, I also found myself a little bored. It may have been because of the writing style: usually good when it came to descriptions of places, or to the stories passed around regarding the town and its inhabitants, but somewhat clunky in other parts. Examples would include repeated uses of the same first name in three consecutive short sentences, or some dialogue lines basically stating the same thing twice in a row. At first, I didn't really notice it, but after a while, it started weighing down the narrative. The pace was perhaps a little too slow as well, though I can't tell if this was because of the aforementioned style, or if it was just sluggish.

I'd place this novel among the ones that aren't uninteresting, and could blossom into a good series; however, so far, I'm not really convinced.

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁]

I put this book on hold over six months ago, and at the time I was thinking that I'd give it another go . . . eventually.

And I did. Several goes, in fact. None of them ended well.

I kept hearing (over and over again) that it was "such an incredibly atmospheric" book . . . which is a really vague description when you think about it, but whatever.

A couple bloggers did clarify that claim, and I was lead to believe that Martin brought Charleston, SC to life--that you could feel the history, see the old plantation manors, taste the salt in the air . . .

Pfft.

This isn't the first, and I'm sure it won't be the last, time I've been disappointed by claims of a book's Southernness, but in this case it was particularly disappointing, b/c I love Charleston (<-----probably also the reason it didn't work for me).

I don't like to speak in absolutes . . . BUT . . . I'm going to say, absolutely, that authors not-from-the-South should stop writing novels that are going to be marketed as Southern.

And I don't feel bad about that absolute, b/c I would never try to write a book that captured life in New England.

Why not?

B/c like a non-native language speaker, I would inevitably miss my mark despite my best intentions, b/c NOT A NEW ENGLANDER. *bangs head against wall*

BUT.

That wasn't my only problem.

I was also bored out of my friggin' mind.

Cassidy (the heroine) has a very specific type of psychometry: she can tell if an object has supernatural qualities. Kind of like all the crap in Warehouse 13.

And that by itself is kind of cool.

She works in conjunction with others (also like Warehouse 13) to neutralize these objects, and keep the mass population both safe and in the dark about the existence of such objects.

The problem is that the first object that Cassidy inspects droned on for page after page about an opera fire (in early 20th century Chicago, I think), and halfway through the flashback, I started shrieking, "I don't care, I don't care, I DON'T CARE!" in my head. Literally. B/c BORED.

And I don't know about you, but an opera house fire in early 20th century Chicago sounds pretty dang exciting.

And yet . . .

You remember how Hermione (or maybe Harry? One of them anyway) lamented how interesting History of Magic would be if the class wasn't simply Professor Binns droning on and on in a monotone about the Goblin Wars?

It was kind of like that.

So I quit. *shrugs*

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of several of this writer's other series...Witchbane. Badlands...and Treasure Trail which I have reread numerous times and she writes under the name of Morgan Brice. In the last Witchbane book Cassidy Kincaide and her team helped the characters from Witchbane with a hunt that they were on. Seems that she is the cousin of one of the hunters in Witchbane and she has also given advice to the characters of Badlands and Treasure Trail. It’s what I love about this author’s works...she never lets our favorite people disappear. For some reason I hadn’t read any of this series until I spent time in her shop with the two guys from Witchbane. I decided then that I had to know more about Cassidy and Teag and Sorren. I liked the characters when they were in the series above, but to my surprise I couldn’t get into this series. In all fairness I may try it again when I can get the book instead of the audio book. The reader either has a terrible southern accent, or is trying to too hard to come across as “southern”. I’m not prejudice...I’m from the south... but this didn’t do anything to help the story at all.

[All Things Urban Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Courtesy All Things Urban Fantasy

DEADLY CURIOSITIES is one scary, creepy book. I grew up with King and Koontz, so it takes a lot to scare me when I’m reading. Or, it takes demons and men who meddle with them, and characters who touch objects and fall into their dark, disturbing history.

The story starts out easy enough, just a simple pair of opera glasses gone wonky. But don’t all horror stories start out on a bright, sunny day? Ah, that lovely false sense of security. DEADLY CURIOSITIES doesn’t stay easy for long. Soon, Cassidy and her business partner Teag are in the thick of it and the scary ramps up to epic. Without giving too much away, the scene at the museum gave me nightmares. Teach me to read before I go to bed.

I loved every character in the story – Cassidy, Teag and Anthony, Lucinda, and most especially Sorren. Oh yeah, and I can’t forget the late-entry, Chuck. He is all kinds of awesome with his no-bullshit manner. DEADLY CURIOSITIES uses magic well and not in the usual spell-casting way. Touch magic, weaver magic, athames and Voudon are spun into the story but not over-used as the cure-all to the bad guys. Magic helps, but the true power is in the user and the tenacity to keep fighting.

I’m definitely headed back into the DEADLY CURIOSITIES world when the next story comes out. There was no romance to speak of (and the fact that I loved it even without that hook should tell you something), but I do have hopes that it might someday. Could be I’m reaching, but time will tell. All I know is for the next one, I’ll be reading in the light of day.

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 63%

The story is decent enough. The characters are fairly nice. And I really wanted to finish it. But once I put it down for another buddy read I just didn't feel like reading it again. And when that happened a few times I just decided to give up. Time to move on to something else.

[Puddlyduck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from netgalley.

Deadly Curiosities is a refreshing urban fantasy set in Charleston, South Carolina. Being a Brit I am not sure how accurately the mood of this city is portrayed, but I was equally charmed and fascinated by this book's setting. This choice helped set it apart from others of its genre.

The main protagonist, Cassidy, runs her family's antique shop in order to neutralise any magical dangerous objects she comes across. She is psychometric, so this power to see visions or sense an item's energy is extremely useful. While this talent is not that rare in the fantasy genre, the author introduces a range of supernatural powers in the form of her allies and athemes (objects that lend the user a certain skill) which makes it feel unique. Her colleague and best friend Teag, for example, is a weaver and he can find threads of information on the internet, as well as creating physical patterns of power. Martin's creative approach to a well travelled genre made this book very refreshing.

Deadly Curiosities quickly settled into the story. I had to check if it was a sequel as it felt like a second book rather than the first of the series. Most characters were already in control and aware of their abilities, so there was no large 'reveal' scene. Also, Cassidy, Teag and Sorren already had a working relationship of sorts, and easily cooperated and complimented each other. Apart from Cass and Teag, who are very close, I would have liked to see more warmth and intimacy between characters thrown into increasingly dangerous encounters. One character is barely mourned later in the story, which felt a little odd.

Hopefully this will develop in Martin's future works. I look forward to another instalment!

3.5 stars

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
I liked this! All the characters were sweet, likeable, and believable. This was one of those books that went for realism and subtlety in the characters so they all felt like just normal, decent people. Sorren, the vampire, was adorably protective of Cassidy and Teag, and for some reason I wasn't expecting that. There was no romance (at least not in this book), which I feel is rare to find in urban fantasy with a female lead. There was a complex, detailed mystery involving the supernatural (mostly ghosts) that the author clearly put a lot of thought into. Also some cool magic, what with Cassidy's psychometry (reading memories in objects) and Teag's weaving (weaving fabric to store magic and also weaving data and information). Overall, this was some solidly good urban fantasy.

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2020 // Format: eBook*

Recommended For:
Anyone who likes urban fantasy without romance, magic, ghosts, likeable and realistic characters, and complex mysteries for the characters to solve.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pacing made me think "cozy mystery" while the actual story contained Urban Fantasy elements that I feel would have been better suited if the story wasn't so wordy. I feel as if the story was weighed down and that I had to slog through non-essential descriptors to get to the good parts.



I don't know if I like the author's writing style or not. The details were interesting when talking about the antiques, but not so much with the dialogue and introspective sections. It was kinda like listening to a boring history professor.

I reserved judgment on reading anything else by this author until I acquire more evidence.

Just an "okay" read that had a lot of potential.

*I was given an ARC in exchange for a honest review*

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Well, first thing first ... the blurb is slightly misleading!! I thought that the story would be mainly of Cassidy and his business partner, Sorren. But Sorren didn't appear until about 1/4 of the story and most of the times, I felt that he did things out of Cassidy's reach. Instead, Cassidy mostly gathered the information with her assistant manager, Teag. I wonder why Sorren get the bigger portion in the blurb? Is it because vampire is more someone with supernatural 'Weaver' magic??

Anyway -- for the most part, I did enjoy the story. Cassidy's psychometric talent was amazing; and Gail Z. Martin was able to interestingly blend the historical stories alongside the supernatural stuffs. Some of them were creepy as hell. I mean, the part where Cassidy must faced the evil ghost at the haunted museum part of The Historical Archive was vividly scary!! I got goosebumps just reading about it!! I also liked the way Cassidy and Teag worked on their way to find information regarding the demon and the connection between the people from long-time past.

Unfortunately, I also felt the story as rather sluggish. Maybe because Cassidy's power, to me at least, was basically 'passive'. Her power was more about getting stories from items. Teag's power as well, he was able to data bits to find information, but this was more of 'research' power. So I felt like I was missing the action. Sure, Cassidy then could use some of the magical items to attack and defend, but she wasn't really a 'warrior' in that sense. I guess after a while, reading the flashback on items that Cassidy's touched started to bore me.

It was a nice urban fantasy though -- and I'd love to read more about the team. I see that there are almost 11 short stories released in this 'world' each cost 0.99. I prefer to wait for the next novel though :)

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really intrigued while reading the description for this one. What a cool idea for a book! There are tons of books out right now that have some sort of magical spin to them but this one was a bit different from the rest.

Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. Not that the book was bad, it just lacked the finesse that I had thought it would have. I found myself getting a bit bored. That became an issue because the things that were happening, should have really made me want to tear through this book.

I think maybe that it just started off on the wrong foot for me with some acronyms in the beginning. Now, this is just an irritant for me. The rating I gave the book didn't have anything to do with the acronyms but since I did write it down in my notes, I thought I would bring it up. I just don't like weird acronyms because I think it's a waste of perfectly good writing space. Let's say you put an unknown acronym in your book. You have to write that acronym and then explain it... And then I'll probably have a horrible time trying to remember this weird acronym and I'll have to keep looking in previous text for it just so I can remind myself. And THEN, I'm going to waste a crap-ton of blog space just explaining why I can't stand acronym explanations. Le sigh.

Okay, moving this show along... I didn't get attached to any of the characters. To be honest, I had a hard time relating to anything about any of them. They felt really detached from me, from the story, from each other... It just didn't work for me at all and that's always hard to swallow. I want to love every book that I pick up, but it just doesn't work out like that most of the time.

[Lynsey is Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Curiosities was a really enjoyable urban fantasy and one that, unbelievably, I even forgive for having absolutely no romance. This is positively unheard of for me as I usually insist on at least a sprinkle of romance in any book that I read, but most especially in my urban fantasies as I love the slow burn of a romance that evolves over several books (think Kate and Curran!). And who knows? Maybe that will be the case with this series too, eventually, but I was struggling to find any hint of where it might come from in this first instalment.

That said, I'm doing it a disservice even dwelling on that aspect for a second since the plot was so strong that I barely even registered its lack, in truth.

The story revolves around Cassidy, a twenty-something antique store owner with psychometric talents. Cassidy was quite a passive heroine if you ask me - particularly as UF ones tend to go. Definitely not one I would describe as badass, which may count as a negative for some readers. Her strength, in my opinion, comes from her intelligence and bravery, despite lacking any obvious or traditional UF heroine-type mad skillz or even a particularly outlandish personality. I see her as the kind of quiet, steadfast heroine that grows on you slowly. Only time will tell though, of course.

The story arc for Deadly Curiosities picks up when Cassidy's gift starts acting more like a curse. Intensifying and sometimes even rendering her completely incapacitated. The quest to discover why leads her, and her colourful crew of friends, on a hunt for the source, with plenty of action scenes along the way to keep readers skipping along nicely.

In sum, if you love a good paranormal mystery with a great ensemble cast, you should absolutely pick this one up!

4 Stars ★★★★
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Curiosities set in Charleston, South Carolina is the first in the Deadly Curiosities series by Gail Z. Martin. An old school urban fantasy with a Warehouse 13 vibe, this tale was action packed. Filled with magic, supernatural creatures and possessed objects. I quickly consumed this and look forward to reading more.

Deadly Curiosities offered so many elements I enjoy from downtown Charleston to old museums with possessed artifacts..it was creeptastic! I look forward to spending more time with Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren.

Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer full review on blog

[Mieneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first encountered Gail Z. Martin’s Deadly Curiosities world in her short story Buttons in Jonathan Oliver’s Magic anthology. I was immediately charmed by the premise and the characters and the consequent announcement of Solaris’ acquisition of a full Deadly Curiosities novel was a pleasant surprise. This meant that starting Deadly Curiosities came with certain expectations about its setting, its characters, and its subject matter. And Martin certainly delivered on those expectations with a very entertaining tale of supernatural shenanigans, ancients ghosts returning, and the fight of Cassidy and Teag’s life. 

The story is set in the historic and atmospheric city of Charleston. It’s clear that Martin has true love and great affection for this beautiful town and it makes the streets and buildings truly pop of the page. In Martin’s Deadly Curiosities the supernatural is real and ghosts, demons, and immortals all wander the earth. The supernatural elements are present in the world, but most mundane mortals are unaware of their existence and there are organisations that work hard at keeping it so. One of these is the Alliance, a group of supernaturals and magically-gifted individuals that have banded together to contain the more dangerous and evil of their number. The book’s protagonist Cassidy Kincaid is such a gifted individual; a psychometric, she can read the history of objects and even places, if the emotional impressions left by their owners or occupiers are strong enough.

Cassidy is a fun main character. She’s snarky and spiky with a great sense of humour. She’s comfortable in her life as the owner of Trifles & Folly and the occasional remover of spooky items. She’s got a great support system in her friends and neighbours, especially in her best friend and assistant Teag. To be clear, Cassidy is single, yet there is not a hint of romance in the book. The only men in her life are Teag, who’s gay and in a committed relationship, Sorren, her vampire silent partner, and Baxter, her Maltese. I really enjoyed Cassidy’s independent spirit, but appreciated the fact that she knew when she needed help and allowed her friends to help her. She’s still relatively unschooled in her gift and as she doesn’t truly have a mentor to teach her any more, this sometimes makes her gift hard to control and places her in unexpected and dangerous situations.

Cassidy’s main allies in her work taming the spokes, as she calls the haunted items she comes across, are Teag and Sorren. Teag is her assistant, both in the store and her work. He has his own recently discovered gift; Teag is a Weaver, which means that he can created and weave magic using knots, webs, and cloth. But Teag is not just a Weaver, he’s a Data Weaver— he’s incredibly talented at manipulating the internet and other digital data connected to the World Wide Web. Sorren is the silent partner in Trifles & Folly, the partner that set up the store together with Cassidy’s ancestor centuries before. I liked his paternal attitude to Cassidy, which is protective, without ever becoming patronising or creepy. Sorren is also a vampire and Martin maintains most of the traditional vampire traits: intolerance of sunlight, super strength and speed, incredible healing powers, and a thirst for blood. However, he doesn’t see humans purely as food and it seems as if Martin’s vampires can subsist on animal blood if necessary. He’s more of an Angel character than a Spike. There is an amazing amount of history he’s lived through and I’d love to learn more of it in future tales. A last character that I really enjoyed and who deserves special mention is Lucinda. She’s an academic and a root woman and has a strong connection to the Loas, vodoun spirits, who she invokes for protection. She’s such a warm and comforting presence in the narrative and I hope we’ll see more of her in the future.

The plot of the book was well-paced. Every time Cassidy and Teag got close to solving the mystery, it turned out to be only a minor piece of the puzzle or to open up an whole new can of trouble. It allowed for Martin to reveal more and more of her world and of the supernatural elements in it without creating giant info-dumps. While the tension gets turned up every time, it also caused me to check whether I’d misremembered the number of pages left in the book, as it seemed as if the plot would be resolved in the next chapter or two. Inevitable this would be followed with a twist, which meant more problems to solve. To me this wasn’t a problem, but it might be off-putting to those who dislike this sort of thing. Martin manages to work a lot of history into the book and from the author’s acknowledgements in the back of the book some of the historical figures, landmarks, and events truly existed or happened.

Overall, I was a charmed by Deadly Curiosities as I was by Buttons and I found myself being sucked more and more into the narrative the further we got along. The tale Martin spins us is interesting and complex. Cassidy, Teag, Sorren and the rest are wonderful characters and I hope we’ll see more of them in the future. Deadly Curiosities is a strong opener to a new urban fantasy series, one that stands on its own beautifully, but it leaves many avenues open to explore in future books. I can only hope there’ll be many more in the future.

This book was provided for review by the publisher.

[Ren Puspita · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Deadly Curiosities is the first installment from a series with the same name and also my first foray into Gail Z. Martin's works. I often find her book in the bookstore in Indonesia, and what catch my attention is the book cover. They are so lush and catchy for traditional fantasy books. And it's the same reason why I request Deadly Curiosities. Even this cover somehow scream "love triangle", and I'm not a fans of love triangle, I'm so curious to read this! :D

The synopsis pretty much tell what the story of Deadly Curiosities (aka DC) have. My disappointment is the blurb that stated the protagonist of DC are just Cassidy and her vampire friend, Sorren. Actually, Cassidy have a partner, Teag, who accompany her from the first chapter and very much a large main character. So, I don't know why the publisher (or author) do not include Teag in this book's blurb.

A key to enjoy DC is one, be patience. I admit that for a traditional urban fantasy, this book start slow (even still interesting, imho) and some chapter have too much dialog but less action. At first. That's why I fall asleep for times when read it. But, like its title, the curiousity part is the reason that make me want to continue read DC until the end. It seems like I can't put this book down, even I need almost a week to finish. Usually, I don't have enough patience to finish a book that didn't pick my interest and the fact that I did finish DC speak a lot.

I love the world building and the magic system in DC. DC also have sword and sorcery aspect, more like modern S&S. When I see Ms Martin previous works, I have no doubt that she is in her element when writing DC. Both Cassidy and Teag's ability are pretty cool. Cassidy's gift is psychometry, a gift that make Cassidy can see the past and history from any object that she touch even sometimes she succumb too deep into the memory and need Teag to pull her out . Cassidy also can wield the power from those object that she touch to defeat her enemy. As for Teag, his ability called Weaver, meaning he can weave through the data in Net and form connection from those information he gathered. To sum it up, Teag's ability is the same with Psy and their PsyNet in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series. Add it with martial art that he capable of, make Teag a perfect ally and dangerous enemy.

Of course there is also Sorren, a 600 year old vampire who is like protector to Cassidy's families.Ms Martin also include some Voodoo (or Voudon) magic (since the setting, I believe is in Southern USA) and an ex-Black Ops that dealed with supranatural bonchos in his past. DC is rich, rich with characters that all have important roles, rich in magic system and rich in world building and history. Oh yes, history also one of important part of DC and I ask you to fully concentrate when read this book because some part might confuse you if you don't pay attention. I will never see the museum in same way again after read this book, because when the enemy of Cassidy haunt her and Teag, it's so creepy and freaked me out! Ms Martin also do not hesitant to write a gory detail for the victim in this book and the part of the ghost give me a heebies jeebies.

As for love triangle, I assure you, THERE'S NO LOVE TRIANGLE!. Heck, there's no romance either, at last traditional romance. The romance part is just from Teag and his partner, Anthony. I admit that I can be a little uncomfortable reading about GLBT love, but I think Teag and Anthony are a cute couple. I can't help to fallin into Teag's charm and I want a BFF like him. As for Cassidy and Sorren, no hint for their romantic relationship and I guess they will never romantically involved. Since Sorren is like a father figure to Cassidy and he had his own grief for lost so many mortal comrades.

If you love urban fantasy that not heavily on romance, mix with intricate world building, magic system, history, some action and investigation, you might want to read Deadly Curiosities. Fans of The Dresden Files? You might want to try this too :).

e-ARC provided by NetGalley and Publisher for honest revier

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot potato soup. That's what I kept thinking about while I read this book. Why? Well, because something about this story was comforting. That's probably not what one would expect from a book like this and it certainly wasn't what I expected. So allow me to explain...

From my first glance at the cover and a quick skim of the blurb I expected typical PNR/UF fare. I anticipated a love triangle between a nubile young heroine and the two sexy men flanking her. I mean, do you see those guys on the cover?? Nice! Well, let me stop you right there... There is no love triangle in this book. Yay! Unfortunately, there is no "love line" or even a single "love coordinate." Let me be plain. With the exception of the sideline relationship of Teag and Anthony (as is sometimes, sadly, the case for us ladies, the gorgeous brunette specimen on the cover is gay), there is no romance in this story. None.

I think that is one of the reasons I found this book so comforting. I didn't have to deal with the often roller-coaster emotions that come from a UF heroine taking on whatever central danger the author has cooked up while also coping with the often demanding attentions of a boarish alpha male. The focus of this story remained firmly centered on the supernatural developments and the underlying mystery surrounding Charleston, SC. I was able to enjoy the fantasy aspect of an Urban Fantasy with little or no distractions.

The plot is reasonably predictable, when the Scooby Gang of Cassidy, Teague, and Sorren needed a clue a clue seemed to magically present itself, the climax was climactic but not entirely unexpected... None of this is a complaint though! It was nice to read a straight-forward story without having to anticipate twists or turns. I think that is the other reason I found this story comforting: simply because the book was fun, almost fluffy. That is kind of a strange thing to say given the gruesome nature of the scenes described by Martin. Believe me there were a lot of moments in the book where I thought "Oh my God!" This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. While there is no sex or even sensual kissing in the book, I would not consider it a book for younger readers. But neither would I rank it as adult UF. Maybe some where in between? It reminded me a little bit of Rick Yancey's The Monstrumologist. Dark, frightening, but not quite adult.

I didn't get a sense of a larger series arc from this book or really much of an idea of the world in which these characters existed. I think there is a lot of room for Martin to expand on the characters and the overall story, otherwise there is the danger that the series will become episodic. Compare it to Supernatural's "ghost of the week" format. But even Sam and Dean had a larger, season-long goal to keep the viewer coming back. I would want more out of this series than Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren fighting a different demon in every book. Hopefully the next book in the series delves deeper in the mythology of the Alliance and the Family.

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deadly Curiosities is the full length introduction to a new urban fantasy series by Gail Z. Martin, preceded by seven related short stories self published by the author.

Cassidy Kincaide is the owner of Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store and high-end pawn shop in Charleston, South Carolina. Cassidy inherited the family business, in operation since 1670, upon her uncle's death, finally learning of the family secret and the truth about her own unique skill with psychometry - the ability to know the history associated with an object by touch. Her gift allows Cassidy, with the help of her 500 year old business partner, Sorren, to assist The Alliance - a group of mortals and paranormal beings, in identifying and removing dangerous items harbouring supernatural power from public circulation. In Deadly Curiosities, antiques previously assessed as inert are suddenly creating problems for their new owners. It's up to Cassidy, along with friend and colleague Teag, to determine the cause of the black magic igniting Charleston' deadly history and put a stop to it.

I was excited by the premise of Deadly Curiosities, and I still think the concept is strong, but the style of the narrative didn't quite work for me. I struggled with the incidences of repetition, not only in the information presented, but Martin's tendency to state and then restate lines. I also felt the way in which Cassidy's visions were presented, in the past tense with Cassidy as an observer, dampened the sense of immediacy and gave the narrative a somewhat disjointed feel.

I do think there is real potential in the characters for Martin to develop an interesting cast. Cassidy is likeable, and her talent is interesting though I didn't feel like I learned much about her outside of what she is capable of. I was quite intrigued by Teag's abilities as a 'weaver' that not only gives him in an infinity for traditional materials such as fabric and knots but also the world wide web. Sorren is a bit of an enigma however I've since learned that his character is established in the short stories prequels.

I really liked the atmospheric setting, Deadly Curiosities is set in Charleston, a town rich in history, which Martin exploits to good effect, though I have to admit I have no idea how much of what is presented is actually based on truth.

Overall I would have to judge Deadly Curiosities as an 'okay' read for me, though I can see, in the story and characters, the potential.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was offered Deadly Curiosities for review I jumped at the chance. The cover of this boo looks great, and the synopsis had me wanting to know more, and wanting to know what this paranormal activity was caused by.
The minute I began reading Deadly Curiosities I was quickly introduced to Cassidy and Teag, they run the shop but also keep their eyes open for various paranormal antiques using their gifts. Cassidy can see the antiques history and what happened to it, and can then categorise it into its threat level, deal with it herself, or send if to Sorren who will dispose of it. Teag can do wonders on the dark net, but also able to weave spells for various reasons. I really like how magic is interwoven with trinkets and heirlooms, and that each of these characters that work in the antique shop has a unique ability to deal with said objects. The first chapter alone had me very intrigued over what was going to happen.

The progression of Deadly Curiosities went at a nice pace and I really liked that the further I read, the more that spooky events occurred. Seeing Cassidy, Teag, and Anthony investigate these activities and how they actually work was interesting, and while this group isn't exactly all powerful they do quite well on most investigations until the real help is needed, in the form of Sorren and a demon hunter.

The characters were easy to like and make a connection with. I found myself emotionally invested in the outcome of each one, even the dog, and when they were facing the badest, strongest, entity, I was so nervous, I had butterflies in my stomach worried over what would happen to them.

Deadly Curiosities is a great combination of paranormal and mystery, with tales of the past coming back to haunt the present, a mysterious presence, and a possible serial killer. I found myself enjoying the book more than I did, however I felt occasionally it was too long winded, that it needed more action and less talk.

[Douglas Meeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very multilayered plot and I loved it. Characters that you will like but a couple could have stood to have been fleshed out a wee bit more.

The synopsis is woefully inadequate to describe this book, it is filled with action, intrigue, drama but surprisingly almost no romance (at least not yet, this is book 1).

The villains are delightfully evil, the crimes are horrific and you get pulled into the motivation to find and stop this paranormal killer before things get even worse.

Oddly, even though the vampire Sorren is the big hunk of a hero, his actual participation in this novel is limited a bit, the larger part of this story revolves around Cassidy and her partner Teag. Obviously, when the "big guns" are required Sorren is there along with a couple of other interesting characters pulled in along the way.

So we have haunted objects creating havoc, we have a long thought dead evil sorcerer, throw in a demon and some minions and a good time is to be had by all.

The other thing is that Carrie and Teag both grow in understanding and power by the end of the novel, authors tend to keep their characters as clueless as they started in many books, I like to see normal development.

I am giving this 4.5 Stars (rounded to 5 for Amazon/Goodreads) even though I thought our plucky heroine veered very close to TSTL territory a couple of times. Great reading and can't wait for more (same as with her Ascending Kingdoms fantasy, I need more books Gail Martin!)

[Katrina G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much better than I was expecting it to be. The only reason this doesn't get 5 stars from me is that Cassiy was somewhat annoying at times. If she's had these psychic skills for her whole life, then why was she so scared to touch absolutely everything? I would think she would have a handle on controlling it by the time she was 26. I loved everything else about this book, but I just really wasn't a fan of Cassidy.

[Jasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2014...

As I always say, Urban Fantasy comes in many different shapes and sizes and though some are the straightforward supernatural killing kind, those are just a small part, there are plenty of other options left and this is where Deadly Curiosities comes in. I read a story that somewhat had the same idea, The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff, though there it goes more into the fae realm. With Deadly Curiosities Gail Z. Martin blends more of the supernatural and natural together into one great mix. If you are into fantasy the name Gail Z. Martin shouldn't have escaped you, she is the best selling author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series (Solaris) and Ascendant Kingdoms (Orbit), Deadly Curiosities is her first foray into the Urban Fantasy genre and kicks off a brand new series!


As I already mentioned above Urban Fantasy has many idea's from the vampire killing kind to werewolves and the fae. However one idea where this genre can really ring true is with a shop of enchanted curiosities! This is exactly the premise that Gail Z. Martin uses in her Deadly Curiosities, just as with the detective kind off Urban Fantasy series like Simon R. Green's Nightside, there are just as many story idea's as you can devise for yourself, just make a new enchanted items and wham you have a new story, which is similar to the detective casefiles. When I visit an antique store I always wonder about the story behind it and sometimes you do stumble upon just those items that do seem a bit magical. Well, the store that Cassidy Kincaide (main protagonist of the story) runs, Trifles & Folly, only has these kind of oddities!

The story of Deadly Curiosities takes place in the town of Charleston in Southern Carolina. The antique store of Trifles & Folly is handed down from generation to generation and is currently run by Cassidy Kincaide, a young women who has her hands full on the odd business that goes on about her shop, however it is not so much as collecting all the oddities and curiosa for her shop it is also about neutralizing them and keeping the inhabitants of Charleston safe from them, because some of these items to harness great powers. Cassidy is part of a much larger organization one where also the previous owners of the store to part in, the Alliance. In her line of work Cassidy is aided by the gift of her family, she is able to touch items and detect and live the memories hidden within, this helps her out to identify the supernatural items. One thing is bound to happen when you run such a store and have such a job of keeping the supernatural items in control, and that is that things can go wrong, pretty badly. And this is exactly what leads Cassidy into a new job, some of the items that were bought from her store and which she neutralized, turn up to be haunted still. Cassidy and her friends now have to find out just what is going on before it's too late... Her friends though, aren't all that "normal" either... she has one good friend Sorren who is of the blood-sucking kind to start with, and in her quest she does meet up with a demon hunter as well.

What I have come to learn from Urban Fantasy stories is that you are often thrown directly into the fray, full tilt action etc. Deadly Curiosities in this case is more the exception than the rule. Gail Z. Martin starts off her story in a calm and relax manner and continues this all throughout the book creating a slow burning plot, this doesn't mean that Deadly Curiosities is a book where you will fall a sleep, more on the contrary, due to the time invested in many of the characters and the world itself it the story becomes that more gripping and interesting. And besides that there is plenty of action still taking place. I think it is best to see the story of Deadly Curiosities as a snowball effect, the plot start of with a minor problem that soon turns into one of major proportions. This slow burning plot produced for started a great first book with Deadly Curiosities but also shows that Gail Z. Martin is cleverly building up her world, characters and series one step at a time. I am sure that this is far from the last time we will see a Deadly Curiosities book!

Besides the slow burning plot, Gail Z. Martin uses the psychometric ability of Cassidy in an interesting way. This psychometric ability allows Cassidy to touch objects and directly see the history of said object. By this Gail Z. Martine creates these flashback moments of the history of those items and how they are involved in the whole of the story. These histories aren't only just a sum-up of a few sentences but are created to be really vivid visions sometimes involving also the narration as how Cassidy is perceiving it, this added a certain level of intenseness to the story and did allow you to interpret some of the results for yourself as to what might just be happening. I t was a really nice way to immerse the reader more and more into the world.


One thing where Deadly Curiosities draws a major strength from are the characters. Our main protagonist Cassidy Kincaide offers a refreshing take on the typical demon hunter protagonist. From the beginning of the book you will get the feeling that Cassidy is more or less in over her head, there isn't enough money coming in to live a life of luxury or to even pay a nice check for the other colleagues or to give her a solid meal each night and this stress does weigh down on her shoulders, added to this is that she doesn't only has to keep the store running but also has to fight and neutralize the supernatural. From the description of her you can make out that she doesn't look ugly but work is getting to her and this offers her no time to really settle down and enjoy other things in life, I liked that with Cassidy's character, Gail Z. Martin evaded some of the more stereotypical personalities that women usually have in Urban Fantasy. By her hard work for the store, Cassidy has the virtues of a determined women who does know what she wants. The other, secondary, characters that you follow are all friends and colleagues of Cassidy. For starters you have Teag. Teag is the shop managers and he and Cassidy go back a few years, he also has a few skill up his repertoire. Teag is skilled in the martial arts this is also where he and Cassidy first met and Teag has something known as Weaver magic, pretty cool stuff right there. He might seem a bit of a push over on the first take but he proves to be a deadly force when it comes down to it. Another good friend of Cassidy is the few hundred year old vampire Sorren, who got Cassidy into the Alliance to start with. The relation between Sorren and Cassidy first seems a bit distant but on closer exception they are much more involved and Sorren has something of a protector role over Cassidy that fully comes to show in the last chapters of the book. As I said at the top of the paragraph, the major strength of the book are definitely the characters, Gail Z. Martin has created a diverse set and build fleshes them out perfectly, she gives each of them an history where we haven't seen everything from just yet...

In a guest post that featured on the blog last Monday Gail Z. Martin talked about what comes looking around the corner when switching from Epic to Urban Fantasy. For me she has done a terrific job, it's not easy, at least that is what I think to make the switch. Deadly Curiosities is an exciting and fresh Urban Fantasy book and series that holds a ton of promise of future stories. The idea alone of an antique/curiosity store that harbors supernatural items leads a way for me to think about just what else is possible and they are unlimited. In this first book, Gail Z. Martin has created a set of characters that grow on you, avoiding some of the more often seen tropes in Urban Fantasy makes just more of a pleasure to read about. The world in itself is contained to the town of Charleston, but this doesn't mean that the world is static, no it's constant on the move, we have only seen a small part of Charleston and in the hopefully future books to come, Gail Z. Martin will involve the reader more and more in it.

[Isis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank NetGalley & Solaris for granting me a copy of this e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review. I give this book 4.5 stars, but as most places only accept whole numbers I'm rounding it up to 5 stars.

Cassidy Kincaide owns Trifles & Folly, an antique/curio store and high-end pawn shop in Charleston, South Carolina that is more than what it seems. Dangerous magical and supernatural items sometimes find their way into mortal hands or onto the market, and Cassidy is part of a shadowy Alliance of mortals and mages whose job it is to take those deadly curiosities out of circulation.

Welcome to Trifles & Folly, an antique and curio shop with a dark secret. Proprietor Cassidy Kincaide continues a family tradition begun in 1670—acquiring and neutralizing dangerous supernatural items. It’s the perfect job for Cassidy, whose psychic gift lets her touch an object and know its history. Together with her business partner Sorren, a 500 year-old vampire and former jewel thief, Cassidy makes it her business to get infernal objects off the market. When mundane antiques suddenly become magically malicious, it’s time for Cassidy and Sorren to get rid of these Deadly Curiosities before the bodies start piling up.

A truly exciting read, Ms. Martin has created one of the best urban fantasies I've had the pleasure of exploring recently. Her characters are all robust, with many layers and facets, giving them the feel of real people. And her world-building is top notch, rich and replete with realistic settings and scenes that place you directly in the story. This is easily one of the more thrilling urban fantasies I have read in the past year or more. Certainly to the point where I am anxious to get my hands on more of her stories, particularly any that continue on with the core cast from this book.

Cassidy is a psychometric, meaning she can tell the history of an item just by touching it. And in a place like Charleston, South Carolina, that pretty much guarantees lots of real interesting experiences for Cassidy. And many of them are sadly, highly unpleasant histories. This is a city renowned for slavery, pirates, smuggling, and lots of things that go bump in the night. Things that Cassidy has learned are real, and you don't want to face them unprepared. Cassidy is the kind of girl that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. She's got the heart of a lion, and her non-corporeal protectors are great choices on Ms. Martin's part. They are warm and fuzzy, one in the literal sense, but anyone threatens their girl Cassidy will be facing some serious defenses.

Brought into the Alliance by her friend and mentor Sorren, Cassidy's education comes in fits and starts. Sorren is a 500+ year-old vampire who has been working with a member of Cassidy's family since the opening of Trifles & Folly in 1670. His protective feelings toward Cassidy reminds me a bit of Stefan's feelings for Mercy in Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series, minus the romantic inclinations Stefan harbors for Mercy, at least that we're aware of thus far!

Teag is Cassidy's assistant manager and close friend. They met through a martial arts class, where he was her instructor. He knows tons of different styles and is definitely a force to be reckoned with, and all that is before you add in his Weaver magic, which he is still learning about. Just like Sorren, Teag is also very protective of Cassidy. He is also every bit as invested in the real reason Trifles & Folly exists as Cassidy and Sorren.

Items they sold (that hadn't give Cassidy any history of the nasty sort) are suddenly becoming increasingly dangerous. It is only luck that a local woman bought a bunch of pieces for her B&B, thus leading her back to the shop, and Cassidy, when things begin to get seriously spooky at her previously quiet B&B. From there Cassidy and company discover that all kinds of formerly 'mundane' pieces have become charged, in the scary way, and all in the past six months. Which unfortunately aligns with the beginning of a series of unsolved murders. The more they learn the worse things look. This is one 'adventure' that could take everything they've got and it still might not be enough to put an end to the danger. But if they don't try the danger will most certainly extend well beyond a few pieces of affected furniture and locations, and could very well destroy all of Charleston and beyond.

Sorren brings more help onboard, and Cassidy trusts her instincts and brings in another person to help, much to the frustration of the rest of the team, though they allow him to stay. But will their small team be enough to deal with what's out there? Will they be able to get justice for the innocents who died simply because they knew too much, or were in the wrong place at the wrong time? Will they even survive the coming battle?

Full of suspense and intrigue, this book keeps you on your toes. It is nearly impossible to set it down once you've begun reading, as the characters and storyline reel you in like a fish on a line (though far more enjoyably). I am very hopeful that there are more books with Cassidy and crew awaiting me, and more Ms. Martin plans to put onto paper for us!

[Eureca Laurice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deadly Curiosities will enthrall you first, if your reading stride is different. In my case, long hiatus of reading. I still have 2 books that I have started like 2 months ago and not yet finish but when I started this, well it took me a month almost, but the problem was in me.

Oh man, I forgot how to write now; I might end up writing a journal here instead of a review. I will try my best, *silent cheering* Fighting!

Deadly Curiosities was set on a town somewhere in the US named Charleston, forgive me for any misinformation for I am only retelling it thru what I remember on the story.

Charleston is known for its History, tourist come and goes because of its richness on it. But what accompany its history is a dark past that linger on the place and even things.

Cassidy our narrator is a part owner of an antique shop named Trifles and Folly, she has a psychometric power that could experience things by touching it. Alongside her is her assistant Teag, he is a weaver a magical thingy also and a vampire, Sorren, her co-owner.

I never much read about vampires that doesn’t involve love story, surprisingly this story don't have that. Well except for Teag and his partner Anthony. I like how it was written that way.

The Story

Trifles and Folly is just a front, for Cassidy and friends their true objectives is to separate bad mojo things to good ones. They sell the good ones of course and the bad ones? well they have to extinguished the bad mojo in it, and if they can’t? well they are part of an Allies that might know how extinguished it.

And one day all the mild things from before is starting to go crazy, they have been alarmed that someone or something is triggering it. And of course they are right, some demon is goin stronger and stronger and feed from people.

It got them hard, they didn't know how it was happened, all things just starting to go wild, they needed help from Allies, they needed the connection on how, what and why it is happening. It was revealed that Charleston History is really crazy, well whose history is not [crazy] right? We all have been there. It's just a matter of how we survived.

The Settings

I love History. I love how Charleston was set on my mind, the Trifles and Folly, the Navy Yard, the theater.

"I felt a rush of excitement as we walked into the Academy. The theater lobby had been painstakingly refurnished to its glory days. From the big, retro lit-up marquis outside to the old-style concession stand, plush red carpets, and velvet upholstered seats, the Academy Theater was quiet a showplace.

...

Everything screamed Victorian abundance, from the lush burgundy velvet curtains and the plush carpet to the crystal chandeliers, gilded decorations and huge mirrors."

I have never been to theater this nice, and for the record I think we don't have this kind of theater here, theater that is known to me. Lucky bishes has this.

To Navy Yard that has: crumbling roads, rubble buildings, think of an abandoned place.

Charleston I think from this story is an interesting place.

Down Side and Characters of the Story:

Cassidy with her power proved that she's the rightful heir to the Trifles and Folly and its back work. Her power is the most useful among them, she was born to it. In the story Cassidy was well usually saved by people around her, I felt a little special snowflakes on her and the manipulation of story thru her. But she's not a hating person; I do like her, for her courage and goodness.

Teag, Cassidy's assistant, if I remember it well Teag is some kind of genius because of his power, he is a weaver. Those who weave information that the usual normal people can't attain, I think it was more of a Cracker/Hacker .His power never really had a green light to me. It's confusing, it was not just the hacker thing; he has other capability that is in connect with being a weaver. But I also like Teag

Sorren, the vampire. Sorren appear occasionally and well he is a vampire your usual vampire. Except that he's not in love with Cassidy, vice versa.

Lucinda, the Loan practitioner. It's my first time reading this type of Voodoo like magic (sorry, I don't know on what category it has to fall, it must have mention but I forgot about it). Well Lucinda is not your traditional type of magic user; she is a professor, a sponsor and also your regular spell chanter.

The story tends to lose you on the process for its slow pace, info dumping, but you might like it, like I did.

Overall, it is an enjoyable read for a long page.

Overall rating:

3/5

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A native of Eastern Tennessee I would often spend summers in North Carolina, either shopping just over the state line with my mother and grandmother or spending weeks at a time at the beach for family vacations. I have always loved the cities and the stories of my old stomping grounds so when I picked up Deadly Curiosities and discovered just what it had in store I was tickled. The story is set in a fictional version of Charleston. Mrs. Martin captures the city wonderfully, bringing up memories my time there but adding her own twist with Cassidy, Sorren, and Teag. Cassidy owns and runs a shop called Trifles and Folly, buying and selling antiques and historic items. Teag works as her assistant and Sorren is their silent not-so-human partner. The trio do more than buying and selling, also working through the shop to identify and control dangerous artifacts that harbor the supernatural.

I adored the setting, like I said above. It was unique, and really made it a fun experience. For most urban fantasies you see big cities filled with strangers and strangers are what your character’s deal with. Yet this Charleston is filled with friends and families that our characters know. It was a bit surreal getting used to it at first, every time Cassidy walked the dog she ran into someone she knew. However once I reminded myself that this character is part of a large and probably fairly close knit community it began to make sense and the pieces fell into place. The town is upset by a serial killer stalking the streets, and Cassidy is faced with the possibility that something is juicing up the items she sells and handles on a day to day basis. Items that normally give off nothing more than faint vibe, or resonance as she calls it, become full on haunted. No spoilers guys, but I really enjoyed the plot and how the story turned out. Along with the great setting the magic is fascinating. There are magics we’ve all heard of, such as Cassidy’s ability to read objects she touched, but then there were ones I was unfamiliar with such as Weaver magic and the system created for it. Can we also talk about the Voudon (Voodoo) in the novel? I have such a love for that particular character, Lucinda, you wouldn’t believe. I really wanted more about that side of the world, I’m hoping we see more about the Voudon or local magic in future books.

My one complaint (which actually could also be taken as a compliment so there’s that) was that for all the story building I was left wanting to know more, with questions. The information we had filled the book, yet as I finished it I had questions. I want to know about Sorren, how did he become what he is and I want to know more about the Alliance. I want to know about Cassidy’s uncle and Lucinda, oh god did I love Lucinda. I would read entire books about some of the side characters we met, I enjoyed them so much. Chuck, Lucinda, Moran… I would eat them up. Doing some research, Mrs. Martin has a series of short stories out set in the DC world, you can bet I’ll be picking them up this weekend and hopefully will include them in another micro-reviews post I’m working on for my recent short story reads.

Overall, I clearly enjoyed it! My copy was an unedited manuscript provided by Netgalley, so there were some editorial issues. I had to get used to the giant size 20 font on each page that denoted the actual page break and the spaces that should have been a full break, but it was a fun read regardless. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy, and it releases on my birthday so we’ll consider this my birthday present to myself! I would recommend this for any urban or paranormal fantasy fan. It brings in new and old elements and introduces an exciting new world and rich cast. I honestly cannot wait to see more of Cassidy and the team, and this volume isn’t even out yet!