The Others

The Council Trilogy #1

by Evette Davis

True Blood meets Supernatural in the kickoff of this urban paranormal fantasy series from an acclaimed author. Readers enter a dystopian San Francisco filled with empaths and vampires embroiled in political unrest—and Book 1 is just the beginning.

Much as she wishes otherwise, superstar political consultant Olivia Shepherd was born a powerful empath. It’s a legacy she walked away from long ago—but when she wakes up one morning to find Elsa, a tenacious time-walker, standing in her kitchen, she realizes she can no longer ignore her gifts. She is quickly plunged into the hidden world of powerful “Others” and drafted to work for the Council, a shadowy organization that summons the fog to San Francisco to obscure their involvement in human affairs.

Complicating matters further is Olivia’s new love interest, William. A centuries-old vampire, William is far too jaded to take an interest in human affairs—but Olivia no longer has the luxury of remaining impartial. As shocking details from Olivia’s own past emerge and her role in the Council begins to take shape, will she rise to the challenge of her destiny?

"Davis brings all the quirkiness of San Francisco to life like never before, seamlessly weaving together the modern and mystical. ... The Others is a delicious adventure, unconventional romance, and compelling parable for our politically wrought time." — Mike Trigg, author of Bat Flip and Burner

"The Others is a captivating read that left me eagerly anticipating the next installment, and I’d certainly recommend it to fantasy fans seeking a new accomplished author to discover." — Readers’ Favorite, ★★★★★

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Romantasy, Vampires, Romance, Urban Fantasy

352 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2024

About the author

Evette Davis is a science fiction and fantasy writer. She is most recently the author of 48 States, which Kirkus named one of the Best Indie Books of 2022. The book was also a quarter-finalist for the BookLife Prize 2023 and longlisted in the 2023 Indie Book Awards.

Davis is also the author of The Others and The Gift, the first two installments of The Council Trilogy, which Spark Press will publish beginning in September 2024.

Davis is a member of the Board of Directors for Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival. In 2023 and 2017, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library honored Davis as a Library Laureate. Her work has also been published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

When she's not writing novels, Davis advises some of the country’s largest corporations, non-profits, and institutions as a consultant and co-owner of BergDavis Public Affairs, an award-winning San Francisco-based consulting firm. Before establishing her firm, Davis worked in Washington as a press secretary for a member of Congress. She previously was a reporter for daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Davis splits her time between San Francisco and Sun Valley, Idaho. Visit www.evettedavis.com for more information or to sign up for her newsletter.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Others is a supernatural fantasy story about Olivia Shepherd, set in San Francisco and the surrounding area. San Francisco with it’s foggy days and history of colorful characters from Beat poets of the 50’s to the Hippie movement of the 60’s is also home to The Others…witches, fairies, vampires, werewolves, demons and other members of the other society that would prefer to be unnoticed by the human population.

Olivia, who is a empath has been having very realistic dreams about a sleek black panther and then one morning she wakes up to find the panther in her room and the panther has become a young woman named Elsa who is also a time-walker. Elsa is there to help Olivia find her way and be her guardian.

Olivia is approached and then goes to work for a group of The Others who believe one way to help the humans is to steer their elections away from extreme political positions. This book has more current political observations than you would expect from a book about the supernatural. The book The Others definitely takes a side in the current political climate in the U.S.

The story is about Olivia’s journey of discovery, the people she meets and loves along the way, and what work she does for The Council.

I liked a number of things about the book The Others. The first part is set in and around San Francisco so it was good to read about some of my favorite spots in the city. There are also other locals in and around the Bay Area, however, reading about your favorite areas is not enough to recommend a book.

I did like Olivia’s character and her friends Elsa and Lily (how could you not like a fairy who is also a San Francisco librarian), but I did not care for many of the male characters in the story. William, her vampire boyfriend with his southern drawl felt forced (also too much like True Blood).

More importantly the first part of the book took its time getting going, got going very well and then just suddenly stopped. The ending was so abrupt that for a moment I thought I was missing pages. The first chapter of the next book (included) told me otherwise.

I would like to thank NetGalley and SparkPress for the opportunity to read and review this eARC

[Billie's Not So Secret Diary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Others
by Evette Davis
The Council Trilogy #1
Urban Fantasy
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
SparkPress
Ages: 17+


Even though she had made a name for herself as a consultant, Olivia Shepherd finds herself losing her clients to a man who only years before failed miserably. With these losses, Olivia falls into a major depression, but when she wakes one morning, Elsa, a time-walker sent by her grandmother, is in her home, ready to push Olivia into acknowledging the empathetic gifts she was born with so to save herself from the man and the demon he had summoned.

But working with Elsa and waking her powers, allowed her, the first human, to be drafted into the Council, who work in secret to influence human politics.


I found that I could relate with Olivia falling into major depression because of the actions of another. It's happened to me.

Elisa, as a character, I don't trust her because she made Olivia, who hadn't exercised in months, run up stadium steps... twice. No respectable trainer would do that to someone. I get a push, but not like that, so all of her lectures about exercise irritated me. Another character I didn't like, Joe(?) (William's brother) he reminded me of the 'spoiled little brother' who would throw a hissy fit if he didn't get what his older brother had, including hurting others. And most of the other characters were bland.

While this story was supposed to be 'supernatural' I felt it was lacking. There was more rambling about running a political campaign than the supernatural community, which was why I requested it.

Don't get me wrong, this book did have some unique potential but was poorly executed. This was a telling story, not a showing. 'We went here, ate (details of what it was), the fog rolled in, we went to his house (details of the house).' The important little details; like how the fog rolled in, what it did, how it felt, etc, were not detailed enough to create the setting, including California. I have never visited, and the descriptions were written as if the reader lives there. I could not imagine anything, making this a telling story instead of a showing. I was being told what they did and how; not shown, so it made for a slow and boring read.

I think the author needs to find a mentor to show them how to get two or more layers down into the characters, the setting, and the plot so the reader can get into the story instead of just hearing Olivia tell about her adventure.

Sadly, the author had to add some 'adult' situations into this story, not as graphic as most, but there was enough to make this story unsuitable for readers under 17.

A little more depth could have earned this one more star.

2 Stars

[❊ maddie kay ❊ · Rating 1 out of 5]

-DNF-

I don't even know where to start with this one. I try not to DNF, especially when it comes to ARCs, but this one was... beyond me. I officially DNF'd after a couple of chapters, but skimmed through to find what might encourage me to keep reading. I was ultimately quite disappointed. This is a perfect example of a great idea with a horrible execution. There is a minor spoiler towards the end of my review, this is your warning.

First off, the writing is an atrocity. I felt like I was back in middle school reading Twilight fan fiction in the worst way possible. Words were repeated constantly (in the page-ish long prologue, the words "San Francisco" and "fog" were used MORE THAN TWICE EACH ), there wasn't a whole lot of flow to how the writing was *attempting* to move the story along, and overall it just kind of felt like it was written by a teenager... which is not always a terrible thing... but in this case it was entirely unflattering to what the story was going to cover.

Second, though it ties in with the first, I felt the story jumped around with very little context. Side characters are mentioned before being introduced, there is a lot of telling rather than showing when it comes to what's going on, and really it just felt jumbled.

Third, the characters. I really just could not connect. I found the main character entirely annoying and very shallow. From what I garnered, all of the characters felt very one-dimensional. Sometimes that can be looked past if the story and writing itself are good (or vise versa) but dear god I could not push through.

Finally, the... spice... Before I get into this entirely, I want to say that I am not generally a spice reader. That being said, I can tell when it is well done and when it is not. This is a major case of not being well done. What parts I found while skimming through the rest of the book did not come across as well as I think the author intended them to. Not only did they just feel awkward, they again, read like middle school fan fiction. !! SPOILER !! At one point there's even an attempted threesome... I don't even have words to talk about that, if I'm honest. Just know it was not a pleasant reading experience.

While there is so much more I could talk about just from what little I read, I'd really rather not spend any more time thinking about this book. As I mentioned prior, unfortunately this was an ARC. So I appreciate for the opportunity to try reading this one. It was absolutely not for me but I'm sure it'll find its target audience. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Olivia Host · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley & the Publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I'm a little conflicted what to rate this one. I think ultimately I want to give it 3.5 stars, & am rounding it up to 4.

It started off a bit rocky for me. I really didn't like her writing style, and I didn't like our main character. The FMC just felt really unrealistic and bland. She was every FMC you've ever read in one person, and completely boring as a result. She would make weird, seemingly out of character decisions, but it never felt super out of character because she didn't have enough personality to really say exactly that. It just doesn't read quite right. Like the character feels like a caricature of a character. Not a real person. It feels like what you think a character would be like, not what a person is actually like. No one realistically reacts like Olivia does. I don't know, but she wasn't vibing with me.

A lot of what our FMC was thinking or feeling or doing felt "dumb". Just basically illogical. This made her feel like she was constantly breaking character. She's saying she's "so logical" and refuses to acknowledge her emotions, and then immediately turns around and acts like magic is real and that she's always believed in it, and that it's coming for her. Tell me how that works? Especially based off of what we know about her (seemingly not believing in "the gift" being magic? Or at least that's how I interpreted it). She's 0 to 100 really quick. She went from having realistic business disagreements with the guy to saying that he's basically torturing her mentally? And literally nothing happened except that he texted her a taunting message. Other than that literally nothing has happened with this guy. All this shit had me lost from the start.

To add to this, I kept forgetting we were in first person. I think was due to the huge exposition segments of text in the first 35% or so. I'd finally get back to a part where she speaks, and would immediately be reminded that we were still in first person instead of third. The author chose to explain everything in these giant paragraphs instead of letting the information come naturally or clueing us into anything. I would rather take three to five chapters to experience all of the "weird things" happening with Olivia, instead of just being told about it second hand by her familiar or whatever. Like, why can't we just take a second to do some world building so we don't have all this exposition dump? Things just started happening really fast and for no reason. It felt really random and within sentences apart. Very jarring and confusing.

It works that way between characters too. 0 to 100% friends. 0 to 100% lovers. Etc. Things are just happening around these characters and they're all just acting like its totally normal or that it's so obvious despite us, the reader, having 0 reason to play along with it.

Ultimately one of the major flaws in this book is the in world logic. It's just sort of stupid, I'm sorry. I just found myself finding extremely obvious counter arguments to most of the things these characters were saying or concluding. Someone was like, "well okay but you'll never be able to make friends cuz who are you gonna tell about your abilities?" Like HUH? She literally has an "Other" friend already, and she knows how to locate/sense them now. Why the fuck couldn't she just make new "other" friends? And, if her business fails, she can just start up a weird mediumship thing where she consults people on their emotional health or some shit by using their aura information. Literally no one is going to think she's crazy once she's predicting their feelings on the fly. Side note, later in the book she's like "I'm not supposed to tell ppl" then immediately *Spills her guts* because she's making a FRIEND and telling him about her ABILITIES. lmao.

Another conflicting point of the book: "Once you join you can never leave" -- meanwhile, William has clearly joined previously and then left. Ugh.

My initial question, that I don't think was ever truly answered, was why the fuck these Others want to help the humans at all in the first place. What's the gain? They could just have the world all to themselves and run it so perfectly they don't have to save anybody right? Why are the humans even integral to the plot? It's just kind of useless. I guess maybe it's because the Others have to live in the aftermath if the humans blow each other up, but still, where was the explanation in book?

I knew immediately that Gabe was her dad. You can't make it that obvious - having him making faces and hiding shit, etc. If you wanted us to know, don't cover it up for so long then.
There are a lot of really stupid takes like this in the book, sorry not sorry.

This book was weirdly political. It is very specific to NOW, and she frames characters to outline the characteristics of Trump, and other known Repubs, etc. Which is annoying. I agree with most of her politics in this book, but I hated reading about it. It was presented like stupid "hot takes" and didn't belong. I, like other reviewers, wanted it to be "Others" politics. Not American politics. I found myself completely skipping over these sections.

I did, however, like William and their relationship. The only parts in which I liked Olivia where the parts where she was interacting with William. Their relationship was the sole reason I rounded my review up to 4 stars, instead of rounding down to 3. I wasn't into the threesome thing with Josef, but I didn't hate it either I guess. It just felt shoehorned in. Not natural. and William was way to chill/gave no commentary on it which is just weird. I'm still confused why he picked her though of all people but I guess we wouldn't have the book without it so, meh. The relationship got stagnant after while because of obvious reasons. No conflict, no drama, so meh again.

The book really likes to date itself with not only the politics, but also its references. There's a section that references Tik Tok explicitly, and TWO different spots that refer to a statement on "X, formerly known as Twitter". I could see saying it once, but twice?

I think at like 75% she finally switches to 3rd person for a bit. It was unstated with no POV switch called out, but it felt super natural like it should have been that way the whole fucking time. It finally felt like it was reading appropriately.

Then it just ends. I guess. I don't know, I kept wanting to read it to see where it was going, and Olivia's relationship with William was the main thing keeping me going. I didn't hate it, but I also just kept thinking how dumb some of the most basic things were. The logic was off, the delivery was off, the timing was off, Olivia sucked, and ultimately it was just kinda bleh. I am interested in reading the remaining 2 books but I could also see myself forgetting to circle back.

Since this was a pre-release copy, the paragraphs and spacing between words would sometimes be really off which made it hard to read at times. I am assuming the formatting issues were a result of it being pre-released, but obviously I don't know. It was so bad, I think it was intentional just in case of copyright things, though I've never seen that from any other publishers yet.

Sooooo yeah! Overall, 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. We will see if the 2nd book gives this series a little more life!

[✧ Beanie Reads ✧ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this book!
DNF @ 32%
2 stars

I realllly tried to give this book a chance. Mostly just because I feel bad for all the dnf-ing I've been doing for ARCs. But I just could not bring myself to want to keep reading this book. It's just not for me. I found the writing too dialogue-driven, the random jumps in time too missing on information (especially the very start itself), and just sorta bare overall. The summary also did mention politics, so this one is partially on me, but I vastly underestimated how much it meant by politics.

The author very much made her politic stances known in this book, which I'm not saying authors cannot do, but it's not really my preference. I don't really read books because I wanna hear more about American elections/political parties or MAGA. I thought I'd be getting more Other politics, less... us politics xD There was also a route this book was going with it's supernatural council that I didn't love. There's a chance it's setting up for said thing to be wrong, but for now it just feels ick to me and I'll never find out how it was meant to go.

So yeah, overall, this book wasn't for me. Others may enjoy it, though, especially if they're intrigued by the way supernatural creatures involve themselves in politics. There's also a hot southern vampire that plays in a band and challenges the MC. If this stuff sounds interesting to you, maybe look into the book :D

[The Bookish Blonde · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rarely do not finish books. Even when they are dull or poorly written, I try to stick it out, especially when the book is one I've won in a giveaway. I feel like I owe the writer and the publisher that much when I've received a book for free.

However, "The Others" was sadly a DNF for me. I got to about 25% and just couldn't imagine going any further. It felt like a waste of my precious and limited Reading Time.

I felt the characters lacked depth and authenticity. The plot was hard to follow - and overall just a blah read. I found myself getting frustrated with the writing style - it was jumpy & jerky, disjointed and at times, extremely juvenile.

I am probably not the target audience for this book - the urban fantasy genre is not in my top 3 and this novel's blend of supernatural creatures and politics just came across as a hot mess. Clearly, there are fans out there, especially since it is Book #1 in a trilogy. I could not get through book #1, let alone three! I would like to thank SparkPress for the ARC and GoodReads for the giveaway.

[Ana (the.bookish.scorpio) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Others by Evette Davis

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Dystopian (hint)

Book One in The Council Series, it follows well-established political advisor Olivia Shepherd as she re-discovers her empath gifts running deep in her family's blood, thanks to a situation including her long-time enemy Stoner Halbert and a supernatural "familiar", a time-walker named Elsa.

This woman opens Olivia's eyes on San Francisco's people, many of them being otherwordly beings like fairies or vampires or witches. They call themselves "The Others", with some of them have their own agenda of watching over human race, sometime subtly manipulating through their gifts political elections.

This is The Council, a kind of UN organization, in which Olivia is recruited by head Gabriel Laurent, with her first task being a California election to the Congress.

Her job struggles with her intimacy, as Olivia falls head-over-heels for vampire William, whose opinion on humanity is less than favorable. Meanwhile, there are dark forces at work, forces which are a threat to Olivia and her Inner Circle.

...

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me at all. I save Davis' writing, which felt fluid and enjoyable to read, but the plot is a perfect example of "great idea, terrible result".

This was meant as an urban fantasy with political intrigues. It felt like a contemporary novel on US politics. It felt so strange, especially because I was waiting for supernatural politics, and there was none in it. It's like I wrote a book on Italian/EU politics weaving it with witch folklore.

It was quirky but not in a way I liked. What was worse... were the characters.
I felt nothing for them, if not annoyance for someone (like Elsa the time-walker or Josef). They were innatural, behaving in a stupid and strange way, especially Olivia, who seemed not to perceive danger (and she's an empath).

The romance with William was insta-lust, but at least was warm, a little bit cheesy, but cute. I don't want to speak on the possible love triangle since the other he is unsufferable and useless (if not for drama). It ruined even the good drops of the romance.

In the end, I'm truly disappointed, and I cannot say I liked this book.

...

Rating: ★★

...

I want to thank SparkPress for the digital ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) via Netgalley. I'm not affiliated to the author, to the publishing house or any other person/agency. My review is honest and based only on my thoughts/feeling while reading the book.

Anais by The Bookish Scorpio

[Josee Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book thoroughly captivated me with its engaging storyline and exceptionally well-developed characters, making it a truly delightful read; I eagerly anticipate the release of the second book so I can continue the journey!!

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Books Forward and Goodreads for sending an ARC to me as a giveaway! I really enjoyed the premise of this one with these supernatural beings residing in San Francisco, mingling with humans completely unaware every day. This weighed heavy on politics as the MC delves into a role as campaign manager, and mentions a lot of current issues in American politics. That kind of took me out of the story a bit since this is set in present day, it makes sense. This does have romance and it’s nice to see a thirty-something woman instead of a teenager mingling with hundreds of year old vampires. Overall, a fun start to this series.

[Mariè · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a supernatural urban fantasy, where the human world meets the world of The Others, the concept attracted me to this one immediately i mean who wouldn't get attracted to it ?? However reading it left me disappointed, don't get me wrong it was okay still, passable. but i just expected so much more! It promised a Gaimanesque experience but gave a lackluster attempt at the genre.
We follow Olivia, a political consultant.. and yet again that point was one of the things that got me giddy for this book but left me yearning for so much more! I mean The concept of a tightly wound political consultant that is "forced" to face the more magical side of her and her ancestors would do that to a girl.
Character wise.. i wanted so much more from our main character.. to be honest she was just ..meh, i did not understand her mind at all, it was weird her going from complete disdain to the occult then just...getting on with it all?!?
The structure as a whole didn't make much sense to me, it was slow to begin with ..which is okay but the bulk of the book got lost, between the slow start, the training montage dragging the middle, random demon info dumping, to the abrupt ending.
I could definitely see that this has a "self development" point to it for Olivia. But i could also feel a schism between that and the setting and the other characters that resulted in a poorly structured split experience.
I had a really hard time getting into it and forced myself to continue in hopes i would "get to the good part" ... the good part did in fact not come through, the flow of the writing felt broken and unclear to follow for me. And at other times waaay too simple for what it ought to be, given the setting and occult and all and it just confused me, I found myself absentmindedly rolling my eyes every few pages in from the cliché "oh no this SUPERPOWER is in fact not a gift but a burden and curse blah blah blah.." it was quirky i get that but it felt as if it was Trying was too hard to be quirky, approachable and "normal".
The romance .... truly was the rotten cherry on top, it just did not work, felt forced and redundant.
This is the first in what will become a trilogy so this may be a case of "just stick with the first book", but for now .. this just was not for me.
2.5🌟

[Shawna Borman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Today, it’s time for a book review! No, it’s not the last Wednesday of the month, but Rachel Lachney from Books Forward (a marketing firm I’ve reviewed for before) contacted me to see if I was interested in reviewing a fantasy dystopian type book and I said sure. The Others by Evette Davis was released yesterday (the 17th) by SparkPress. My reviews are honest and unbiased. Let’s get to it!

The Others follows Olivia Shepherd who has strong empathic powers, but has spent most of her life ignoring and suppressing them. When a time walker appears in her room, Olivia is forced to acknowledge her abilities and the fact that the Others, magical beings like witches and demons and vampires and fairies, exist alongside humans. She’s drawn into a mysterious organization called The Council that manipulates the human world by dabbling in human politics. What will her role be in all of this? Is she capable of changing the world?

Sounds fun, right? It’s not. The blurb on the book is super misleading. It sounds like it’s going to be a fantasy driven book with an in depth look at the Council and how the Others live and work. But instead, it’s basically about a woman who ends up running a small political campaign in California and all the fantasy is secondary to that. The blurb also mentions a dystopian San Francisco. You can’t really call it dystopian if it’s just real life San Francisco. It’s just San Francisco in 2022 (yes, the book literally dates itself which is weird).

Aside from the misleading blurb, the plot and pacing were poorly done. The plot was super awkward. I think it wanted to be a political thriller, but it’s basically just a rant against MAGA America (which I totally get) and someone’s fantasy about fighting against it. Most of the book is a mundane political campaign. Everything cool and important happens off the page or is glanced over. Olivia has no idea how to use her powers, but two pages later she has everything mastered. It’s ridiculous. There are basic expectations when you pick up a fantasy book (like seeing the MC struggle with their power before they figure it out), but this book skips them all. Then, after a slog of two thirds of a book, a car explosion is thrown in and at the very end, a surprise parent reveal is made (if you were paying attention even just a little bit, it’s not a surprise). And there was a completely random almost-threesome thrown in for a laugh. I don’t know if I was supposed to read this book high for it to make sense or what, but it definitely doesn’t work when you’re sober.

The characters don’t do much to improve things. Olivia is an annoying and entitled person. She doesn’t seem to care about anyone else as long as she gets her way. William is supposed to be a southern gentleman, which is really just code for a douchenozzle. Everyone else are cookie cutter stereotypes and its sad. Elsa and Lily could have been great, but they just fade into the background. Everything good about this book gets pushed into the background.

The writing is another thing I have nothing nice to say about, since most of the problems stem from bad writing. I feel like I’m being harsh, but a quick scan of other reviews tells me I’m not alone in my thinking.

Ultimately, I almost gave up on finishing The Others and I probably should have. There’s nothing remotely satisfying about this book. I won’t be checking out the other two in the trilogy if they come out.

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One and a half, actually. One because it’s been written. A half because some people seem to like it. I don’t recommend it, though, unless it has undergone massive revisions since I received my ARC.

[William Bentrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Others by Evette Davis
A different look at the folks of fantasy. Vampires, witches, and demons, oh no!
Olivia discovers that San Franciso’s weirdness has roots in its otherworldly denizens. Olivia finds her political consultant skills required to maintain stability in the world.

There is a wide range of fantasy characters with a surprising semi-official governing body that is in charge of balancing off the negativity of the devil.

This book focuses more on interpersonal relationships than action. A young woman delves into her well of talent while developing connections to others. Olivia discovers empathy may be overrated.

[Sheila Samuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 Stars!!
Review:
Thank you to Books Forward for picking me to join this Books Tour this week and for the FREE EBOOK to promote and review for Evette.

This was my first time reading a Fantasy Novel by Evette so I wasnt sure what to expect but this book reminded of 2 Series I recently started First being Charlene Harris's Sookie Stackhouse Series and Strange Angels Series by Lis St Crowe.

The Characters were fun and enjoyable to read about. It was hard to pick just one as my favorite since I seemed to like all the characters.

The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like I was actually in the book while reading especially when the scenery was described.

Overall a Fun Book 1 in this Fantasy series about a Woman who learns she's inherited Supernatural Powers from her Mother.

Can't wait to read Book 2 when it comes out next year!!

[The Book and Bubble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olivia is a political consultant who’s been neglecting her gift—until a time traveler suddenly appears in her kitchen. That’s when she discovers that the Others are real. Demons, vampires, and fairies walk among us.

Olivia is drawn into a political campaign to help these supernatural beings. Her world is turned upside down. Along the way, she meets a handsome musician (who just happens to be a Vampire). Her new life quickly becomes a whirlwind of danger, secrets, friendship, and unexpected love.

While the political focus was a bit heavy for me at times, this is good start to the series. This is an urban fantasy with political intrigue and supernatural beings.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Others by Evette Davis.
The Council Trilogy Book 1.
This was a really good read. It was slow to start with. I did like the cover and blurb of this book. It was simple. Showing the city of San Francisco. I liked Olivia straight away. I liked William. Elsa, I wasn't sure about. She grew on me. I liked Lily. Gabriel, I wasn't sure about. I liked the writing style and the story. I liked that we have witches, vampires and other mystical creatures. I love anything with vampires. Wow. I can't wait for the next book. I recommend this book.

[Lisa Hostetler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at page 30. I tried, couldn’t get into the story or the characters.

[Lisa Grønsund]

I received an advanced digital copy of this book, courtesy of the author and publisher, via Netgalley, for review consideration.

RTC

[BabyGrinch2277 · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I need part 2 immediately 😩😩😩😩

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me begin by noting I was provided an ARC .pdf of this book by Book Sirens in exchange for a candid review. Said candid review follows.

Evette Davis' The Others is the first in a trilogy titled, "The Council Trilogy." As such, Book 1 has the hard job of introducing the cast of characters, doing all the world-building, establishing relationships, tossing around the proper mix of foreshadowing and misdirection, and driving the plot. The book centers on a San Francisco based, thirty-something year old political consultant/strategist named Olivia Shepherd with former experience as press secretary to a Congressman on Capitol Hill, who comes from a line of female Seers and empaths and has denied her "gifts" her entire life and a global organization called the Council that is led by non-human supernatural beings (i.e., a mix of vampires, shifters, witches, fairies, etc.) whose goal is to maintain social, political, and economic stability in the world by tipping the balance toward election of reasonable, moderate candidates at all levels of elected office around the globe. Over the course of the book, Olivia is sent a spirit guide (the book's term, not mine) in the form of a shifter and 16th-century time-walker named Elsa, learns a bit more about her parentage (no spoilers here, but if you don't tip to it quite early in the book you are flat out Not Paying Attention), and comes to terms with moving beyond a quiet half-life (again, the book's term, employed by multiple characters) to one of fuller meaning in support of the greater good. The book explores themes of the importance of public service in all forms (everything from the public library to elected office), of knowledge as power and an uneducated electorate as susceptible to autocratic leadership, to the importance of a healthy body in service to a healthy mind, the meaning of loyalty and friendship (esp. female friendship and mutual support), and offers differing perspectives on whether humankind ever really learns from its past or is, instead, condemned to repeat its worst mistakes across time and space.

The Others has a lot here that is quite clever. The author really knows San Francisco, its neighborhoods, and landmarks. The notion of its legendary fog as a private screen employed by the Others to allow them to safely convene without undue attention from prying human eyes, is ingenious. The Others contains ruminations on the American political machine and how local elections work, generalities about California's state political party system, and shares the author's--and likely many readers'--concern voiced by Council Director Gabriel Laurent that, "The governments of the world . . . are no match for religious intolerance, xenophobia, and renegade dictators" (p. 54). Readers are provided an intelligent protagonist who is good at her job (minus a few absolute rookie flubs associated with journalist JP Ellington and campaign fundraiser Richard Lyon), has a tremendous work ethic, is a caring friend, and is curious about the world and the interrelationship of its parts. She is likeable in that despite working around politics, she does not take herself too seriously and is happy to take a folding chair and a thermos of rum and coke off to the local park to listen to some live music while ruminating on the sharing of "other goodies" (i.e., cannabis) at such events and the fact that a political strategist needs to keep her wits about her. She knows her priorities, has concluded she has no time in her life for a long-term relationship and, once hit with the intense feelings for an individual readily acknowledges she's infatuated enough to "sign over the deed to her house" in order to make it happen. In other words, she's human (or mostly so), she's decidedly fallible, and a sympathetic protagonist. The supporting characters are written with different levels of depth, and I'm sure I afforded some of them greater latitude based on similar characters I've encountered in other paranormal literature and urban fantasy reads. I also could not help but see parallels between what she learns, early on, about the Council and wonder if like the character Syndney Bristow in Alias she might possibly be signing on with a group that is not precisely as it presents itself. Readers are also treated to a quite different take on fairies than the one most frequently presented in fantasy literature. It's a nice break, since the court politics would be at odds with the human realm politics were that the case in The Others.

My two biggest quibbles, however, do land at the foot of the author. First, Will has unambiguously established that "Vampires don't share" (p. 127) and yet, somehow, totally out of the blue you drop in an invitation to a three-way between Olivia, Will, and Will's "brother" Josef on pp. 310-311. WTAF? Where in the world did that come from.?! She is fortunate I am not sending you a chiropractor bill for treating my whiplash. In my estimation, this didn't make the book sexier, didn't do anything to demonstrate the strength of either the Will-Josef or Will-Olivia relationships. In fact, it destabilized those things and the trust that undergirds them a bit. My second problem was with the abrupt, drop-the-transmission without down-shifting abrupt termination (vs. conclusion) of the book. Admittedly, it's hard to wrap a book that continues into the next smoothly. It wasn't accomplished here, and I do think readers are owed a stand-along book that successfully concludes on the off chance that either they--or the author--doesn't end up wrapping the successor book or series.

By my count, The Others contains seven major typographical errors, something that is a personal bugaboo for this reader. That said, anyone from Spark Press with authority to make these corrections should promptly refer to pp. 18, 120, 223, 226, 235, 255, and 266 toute de suite and take the appropriate actions to circumvent some readily avoidable gaffes. I also clocked a great many--13 by my count--inconsistencies or continuity errors that detract from authorial credibility. In fairness, it's hard to know over what period of time a book is written and quite possibly there were shifting plot points that led to some of these. As just one example, though, the editors have really let Davis down by not calling to her attention that when discredited campaign fundraiser Richard Lyon resigns following the internet distribution of video in which he maligns the American electorate to the candidate, who then holds a hastily-arranged press conference at which Lyon's resignation is announced noting, "He is now out of the country on business and I do not expect him to return until the New Year" (p. 232), yet Lyon is present at the candidate's victory celebration shortly after Election Day--a celebration at which the press are present. Hello?! Darwin calling. Select other examples involve paying close attention to moon phases when writing about shifters, noting that a cabinet maker might build a bed where a carpenter is less likely to do so, that misspelling French phrases in a book where select characters are French and others identify as Francophiles is problematic, and that a character who has sustained a near fatal injury to their leg is not likely to be taking a bath a day or two later. Again, these are the sorts of things editors are supposed to catch.

The Others is a light read and a fast read. I knocked it out in a day. One of my favorite quotes in the book comes from a 192-year-old vampire named William Ferrell who has a small property management company, works as a part-time musician, and has a few thoughts regarding bad luck. Will observes to Olivia, "In my experience, there's no such thing as bad luck. There is bad information, bad planning, or bad execution. If you have one of those three, then you usually have bad luck" (p. 97). Watching Olivia slowly come to take ownership of her choices, the consequences of her actions and, ultimately, of her fate, remains a work in progress and something that will likely be a continued as readers head into Book 2, titled The Gift. See you there!

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Others was an interesting read about Olivia’s self discovery among many personal and political dangers! I enjoyed the characters and it will be interesting to see where everyone will end up as the series moves along! It did take me a little bit to get into this book but I still found it to be an interesting read! If you like plot twists, fascinating characters, interesting politics and a hidden magical world you will enjoy this one! Thank you Books Forward PR and Evette Davis for sharing this book with me!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Accomplished political consultant Olivia Shepard is used to the quirky antics of San Francisco residents, but when her mystical spirit guide appears after a drunken night out, she realizes things are a bit more magical than they seem. With help from her friends, Olivia is introduced to the supernatural world of the Others, a world of vampires, fairies, witches, and werewolves. With rising political unrest and an open senate seat up for election, Olivia must use her own powers to head the political campaign of the potential new senate member chosen by the Others. Despite her enemies being actual demons, Olivia must balance her important career, her passionate new vampire boyfriend, and her undiscovered powers that no human should have.

“All I’ve ever wanted was to live my life in peace.”
“Mon Dieu! Who doesn’t?” Gabriel said, offering a sympathetic smile. “But that is not always what fate has in store.”

This book was a struggle to finish. The pacing and flow of events was so bizarrely fast that I rarely felt immersed or engaged in the story. Important aspects that deserved much more attention were instead summarized offhandedly in a single sentence. Less important things, like exercise routines, coffee preparation, and anything tangentially French or San Franciscan were given the spotlight. The detail inclusion and pacing choices were so jarring that I had to reread too many sections just to keep track of location hopping, characters appearing and disappearing, and time pacing. For example, while having a deep conversation with her love interest, Olivia becomes tired. In a single, small paragraph, she stops the conversation, goes to bed, wakes up, then finds him again to continue the conversation in the morning. In another instance, Olivia is told she must drink a special concoction to help with her powers. While the potion making could be an opportunity for world building and fun exposition, the timeline instead jumps ahead, to once Olivia has already had the drink. It then jumps ahead again, barely spending any time with her while she discovers her powers. Having to read situations like this again and again became frustrating. Any opportunities to connect with the characters and world were ripped away at breakneck speeds. As a whole, the writing style often felt amateurish (also I got sick of starting so many chapters with Olivia waking up, despite that being a time honored middle school classic).

The characters were similarly bland. There was no real chance to delve into character arcs or motivations. Olivia is a “middle aged woman protagonist” and that’s about it. The story desperately wants to convince the reader Olivia is smart, headstrong, a political powerhouse (one of the main reasons I wanted to read this book!), but provides no proof besides everyone fawning over her in true main character fashion. Instead, Olivia comes across as limp wristed, petulant, and impulsive. She routinely is given sound advice that she ignores because she’s a big girl, she’s in her 30s (not my words lol). She actively ignores or doesn’t notice glaring issues in the world around her, and she ultimately just seems stupid and unfit for such a high position of power. Her motivations are frustratingly inconsistent. For one, she has proudly never had a boyfriend and is adamant that she doesn’t care for one. Upon meeting the love interest (who’s name is WILL FERREL for some goofy reason), she immediately is in instalove with him. Their relationship progresses at an illogical speed, with them getting engaged in just a few weeks (Weeks? Months? I honestly have no concept of time in this book, but it was recognized on page how fast their relationship was moving). Everything falls easily into her lap and she doesn’t have to work hard for anything, which honestly made me start to dislike her by the end. Olivia is super powerful, super rich, and super boring.

The ensemble of characters around Olivia are rag-dolled around the plot, exposition given legs so they can be wherever it’s convenient. While there were several good ideas (a library fairy was one of the bigger casualties, what an incredibly fun idea), the delivery was flat and unsatisfying. Her close friends and love interests are fine on the page but easily forgettable. As in, the plot also seemed to forget their existence sometimes, and characters just disappeared without acknowledgement for large parts of the book.

As far as actual plot, I don’t even know what to say here. I am so baffled at the plot of this book. In essence, it seems like self insert fan fiction of the author vs. MAGA America. I’m not sure if the author and agent communicated only via smoke signals, but the marketing for this book feels strangely disconnected. I was so excited to read a dystopian, urban fantasy comparable to True Blood and Supernatural. What I got was a boring work schedule of a campaign manager. Sure, there are fantasy creatures around, but they don’t actually make a difference. Olivia never uses her powers in an important way, and pretty much immediately has ultimate control of her rare abilities. Her vampire boyfriend is, I don’t know, fast sometimes? Her best friend, the library fairy, uhhh, she’s seen reading a couple times? Everything fantastical sat charring on the back burner while the plot focused heavily on political commentary and the daily life of a very proud, 30 something San Franciscan. I think a lot of my dislike of this book comes from very misplaced expectations, something I’ve seen pop up in other reviews as well. Even taking this book as it is, the politics felt a little silly- characters discussing abortion rights and the literal actual real life Donald Trump (ew, why) was hard to take seriously when Olivia had evening plans with a witch to get enchanted tattoos or a date exploring a castle with a vampire, especially when this book was not remotely a comedy or satire.

This has been such a chaotic and disorganized review, as I’ve just finished the book and am reeling trying to piece together what I just read, but I think it’s still more put together than The Others lol. Unfortunately, this is a case of great ideas, with lackluster execution. I know this story will continue in what looks to be a planned trilogy, but I won’t be following Olivia beyond this. I’m also not sure what audience to recommend this to, as it’s not for any reader looking for fantasy, and I’d feel guilty suggesting this to those who enjoy political intrigue.

“I’m amazed at the businesslike way in which this all operates. You have a state-of-the art building, wireless technology. It all seems, well. . . routine.”
“Did you expect us to fly around on broomsticks?” Elsa asked sharply. “That’s a children’s fantasy.”

1.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sally Speight · Rating 1 out of 5]

Im giving this book .5 star purely because it has an interesting premise. It was not one for me unfortunately. I read two chapters and DNF it didn't hold my interest. I may pick it up again but not in the immediate future.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Gwynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olivia Shepherd has been closing herself off from her powers as an empath her entire life. In the middle of string of bad luck a mysterious woman appears to her. In awakening her powers Olivia is thrust into the world of vampires, fairies, and other supernatural creatures. While still trying make sense of her place in this world she is offered a job with the Council, an international group of Others that intervene to keep the needs of Others and humans balanced. They tell her that she has a place with them doing an important job: helping to get level headed politicians elected to US Congress.

So this book was a little hard for me to finish. Its an interesting premise, that there are people who live among us that are more than they seem, but I think that the writing was still a little unpolished.
The characters were very one dimensional and the writing was a little repetitive. At times I felt that the story lacked detail that I think would be more relevant to the story, like how Olivia trained her powers and what the whole thing with the demons was. The whole fact MAGA and current affairs were brought into it was kind of difficult for me. I read for escapism and I can't escape the news so easily when its front and center in a fantasy novel. Though I did think it was funny that in this world there is a shadow government trying to manipulate elections, but in this case it was witches and other supernatural beings behind it rather than whatever minorities are deemed scariest.

I also didn't really like the relationship with main dude. For one thing every time he talked to her was telling her something along the lines of "One thing you need to know about vampires is," which I found very strange. Usually vampires retain some image of who the were as humans and have some perspective because of that. William is incredibly unsympathetic to humans and continuously calls them stupid and unteachable. It seems to me that that should be a bigger problem to their relationship because he never changes his views or anything, he just stops bringing them up. I think it would be more compelling if he had to reconcile his current thoughts based on what he has experienced to Olivia's beliefs. He really seems to give up his ideals without a fight simply because he is *too in love* with Olivia after knowing her for like 3 weeks.

Also around the end he seems fine with Olivia making out with his sworn brother despite having constantly said things like "vampires are territorial/competitive" and that "they don't share." Its really only brought up in the ending despite there being a scene where a wise woman foretells that Olivia will have "two great loves." I think that if the brother is supposed to be introduced into their relationship it would need more than just Olivia thinking he was attractive. Especially since William doesn't seem happy with it at all after and then they just don't talk about it.

There's a scene where Olivia talks to her friend about how she's basically bonding herself to William for the rest of her life after knowing him for only a few months. Her friend is put off by this thinking its too soon, and I thought the same thing. There's just not enough depictions of their relationship that makes this step believable for me.

[Alejandro Soto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fog over the threshold

In The Others, Evette Davis inaugurates The Council Trilogy with a briskly paced urban fantasy that juxtaposes the arcane with the political, situating supernatural intrigue within the fog-drenched landscape of contemporary San Francisco. The narrative centres on Olivia Shepherd, a seasoned political consultant whose latent empathic capacities draw her unwillingly into the hidden operations of a supernatural syndicate known as The Council. The sudden appearance of Elsa, a time-walker, acts as the catalyst that reactivates Olivia’s long-suppressed powers, positioning her at the crossroads of competing forces among vampires, fairies, demons, and witches. The novel’s engagement with themes of concealed histories, inherited power, and reluctant destiny resonates through its portrayal of Olivia’s shift from political realism to occultist involvement. Her reluctant induction into a world of shadow governance reframes the city itself as a liminal space, both geographic and metaphysical, where fog functions less as atmosphere than as strategic obfuscation.

Davis’s reimagining of San Francisco as a site of layered supernatural governance is one of the novel’s principal achievements. With its amalgam of political allegory and mythic trope, the setting becomes a character in its own right. Through a rich—if at times overly brisk—unfolding of hidden networks and concealed pasts, the text crafts an ecosystem where ancient beings maneuver in bureaucratic secrecy. Olivia’s entanglement with William, a war-wearied vampire disillusioned by humanity, adds a melancholic thread to the plot. Davis’s invocation of historical allusion—particularly through William’s embodied memory of global conflicts—grounds the fantasy in a world not fully severed from ours. Yet, despite this complexity, the narrative sometimes lapses into exposition-heavy passages, compressing emotional arcs and leaving certain revelations underdeveloped.

Nevertheless, The Others is marked by Davis’s evident enthusiasm for the genre and her aptitude for constructing multi-layered cosmologies. While some of the narrative’s accelerations dilute its emotional weight, the novel maintains a compelling momentum and promises richer elaborations in subsequent volumes. It is a text that rewards readers drawn to hybrid genres—those that bind political realism to paranormal structures—and offers an intriguing reconfiguration of urban space as a site of spectral diplomacy and latent myth.

[Nicole (the library of n) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olivia Shepherd is a political consultant who lives an average, normal life in San Francisco. Despite coming from a long line of empaths, Olivia has shut down that part of herself. Having watched her mother suffer from her empathic abilities, Olivia refuses to lead her life the same way. Until she is pulled into the Council and the circle of Others that happens to live their lives right alongside the humankind. Olivia finds herself intrinsically linked to the Others and to the Council even in the face of demons and dangers.

The Others is marketed as True Blood meets Supernatural and on those fronts, it absolutely succeeds. The Others is absolutely an urban fantasy, very very urban in fact. Multiple references are made to Twitter (X), Ubers, Kindles, etc. It also references specific American political parties right down to real slogans. Admittedly, I didn’t expect particularly the political aspect to the extent that it is referenced in the book (A LOT). Which isn’t necessarily bad, I find campaigns in particular fascinating but perhaps True Blood meets Supernatural meets Scandal would have been a more apt description.

There was a good amount that I quite liked from the Others. I think Davis has a wonderful writing style for starters. I also think the concept has excellent potential. I like urban fantasy and I love the idea that there’s a significant amount of Others living among humans. I chuckled at the reference to a Giants pitcher who has long hair and is a vampire, this is Lincecum right???

However, I really didn’t like any of the characters, at all, at minimum. Olivia was just not exciting or likeable even though we’re told multiple times that she’s so wonderful and a born leader (Where???? How??? What is she leading???). My least favourite character by far was William. Literally can’t think of anything I liked about him. The Confederate solider aspect was…odd, just right off the bat and then his like just total apathy towards humans even though his girlfriend is human??? The whole attitude was not it for me. The best character by far was Lily and we barely got to see any of her, I wish we got more of her.

Also, the pacing was a struggle for me. The ending happened in like ten pages??? (I do recognize it was intended to be a cliffhanger.) But we had chapters and chapters about a seemingly irrelevant political campaign and also on running and other aspects of training. I wish the timing was a little different throughout multiple points in the book.

Overall, the Others was good, I liked the concept although the execution was off in some places. I think the writing really saved it and looking forward to seeing more from Evette Davis.

[Reading Our Shelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at: https://readingourshelves.wordpress.c...

Our main character, Olivia, comes from a line of women with empathic abilities. She lives in San Francisco, works as a political consultant, and has always denied her abilities. When we meet her, she is having some trouble with a rival stealing her clients. Then, Elsa shows up. Elsa is a timewalker, who says Olivia’s deceased grandmother sent her to help, because there are some major powers who are trying to get the best of Olivia.

She – and we – learn that San Francisco is just one of many places that are major hubs for “others” like werewolves, witches, and vampires. Elsa trains her physically and mentally, on how to finally use her empathic abilities.

There is also The Council, an international group of these others who try to influence human events, albeit subtly. They have a local office, and want to hire Olivia to run a campaign for a congressional seat that has just become available. She would be the first human to work for the Council.

During her trainings, she also meets a vampire named William, and they become a couple. Throughout the book, Olivia learns about different others from William, Elsa, her librarian friend Lily (a fairy), William’s brother, and her dealings with various Council members.

While Olivia is an empath, her powers seem to be stronger than expected. Of course, she doesn’t know who her father is/was, so the obvious leap here is that she might not be fully human (although we are supposed to assume she is, for most of the book, I suppose).

There are some continued attempts at wrecking her career, but overall the campaign she’s running goes well. In a seemingly unrelated instance, she witnesses a burglary and is left almost blinded by some kind of psychic attack. The Council agrees to investigate after the election. And this opens a whole new can of worms that leads to a direct attack on the Council itself.

When this book ends, a contingency of our characters is hiding out in Paris, trying to figure out their next steps. A few are absent. This is intended to be the start of a trilogy, though, so they should have time to reconvene later and make their moves.

I liked that there was a decent amount of action in here. I suppose it is in the fantasy genre, with witches and fairies, but it takes place in modern day San Francisco… so perhaps urban fantasy? There are a few sexy scenes in it, but I wouldn’t say they are the driving force of the story.

[Akanksha S · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if the one thing you’ve been dodging forever is actually your biggest strength? That’s the question Evette Davis throws at us in The Others, and man, does she weave a story that sticks with you. It’s got ambition, secret magic, and the gut-punch of hiding who you really are.

Olivia Shepherd, the star of the show, is a political consultant in San Francisco. She’s an empath—she feels other people’s emotions like they’re her own—but she’s spent years trying to bury that side of herself. Logic and control? That’s her jam. She thinks that’s how you win. But the book shows she’s got it wrong—hiding her gift leaves her wide open. Then Elsa, this mysterious time-walker, pops up, sent by Olivia’s late grandmother, and tells her it’s time to embrace her powers.

As Olivia starts to lean into her empathic abilities, she sees they’re not a flaw—they’re her superpower. Evette is saying something big here: especially for women, trusting your instincts and owning what makes you different can make you unstoppable, at work and in life. The quote that best encapsulates Evette’s thesis might be: “You have cut yourself off from your true nature and the source of your power. When you do that, it is very easy for an Other to knock you off balance.”

The author uses fantasy to tackle contemporary gender politics, particularly in the workplace. Olivia is portrayed as a high-functioning, emotionally restrained woman in a male-dominated field. Her trajectory reflects the struggle many women face in balancing professional ambition with emotional authenticity.

The book dives into some big ideas: Why do we hide parts of ourselves to survive? Can emotions be a source of strength? What does it mean to live fully? But she never makes the story feel heavy or hard to follow. Her writing stays clear and easy to read. The characters talk like real people. The magical parts feel fun, not confusing. Still, the book’s pacing can feel uneven. Early chapters move slowly, setting up Olivia’s world, while later ones rush through major revelations, like Olivia learning who is her father.

This book isn't just a fun fantasy; it's also a smart look at how we find our true selves and how our emotions shape our lives. It’s not about becoming perfect. It’s about waking up and fighting back—with your whole self. I’m already looking forward to Book 2 to see where Olivia’s journey takes her next.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gifted ARC in return for a candid review.

Human v Others. Personal arc. Knowledge is power.

‘The Others’ centres around Olivia Shepherd (a political consultant with the supernatural power of being an empath) who is fighting against her ‘Other’ background and living fully emerged in the human world. She wants nothing to do with the supernatural, denying her gifts and focusing on her career in San Francisco. That is until her dreams become reality and Elsa (a shape-shifting time-walker) enters her room with the prospect of being her guardian as her skills are needed to help a group of ‘Others’ with some political extremes. Whilst fighting what appears to be her destined path, we are introduced to numerous side characters and the tumultuous love interest that comes in the shape of vampire, William. This relationship proves to be extremely complex but it’s through this we see a lot of Olivia’s personal growth and journey. As this is the first in a trilogy, we are left with a huge cliff-hanger. Will the group succeed in their mission? Will Olivia accept her newly uncovered gifts? Let’s hope book 2 reveals all…

Evette Davis does a fantastic job of combining the fun and buzz of the supernatural world with the very realistic feel of current ‘normal’ world politics. There was a lot of very relatable points made which I was impressed with as I would not class myself as somebody with a political mind. I loved some of the side characters (particularly Lily - the fairy librarian - despite her hardly being in it) and am hoping to see them develop more in book 2. I did not, unfortunately, like our protagonist, Olivia. I found her very ‘meh’ and whilst I know we were experiencing her character arc as she ‘found herself’, I do feel that she flip-flopped and just seemed to be over it all quite quickly. I liked Davis’ style of writing as I’m not someone who needs a lot of flouncy description but I did feel at times it was easy to get lost as to who people were and wished some scenes were more fleshed out. Especially as we got towards the end where the book seemed to just abruptly finish.

Overall, I liked the premise of the book and feel there were some good quality, unique ideas in the plot but I do think some things need fleshing out in order to truly enjoy the reading experience. Hopefully that will come in books 2 and 3

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really tried to give this book a chance, but it fell flat in a lot of ways. First off, from the description I thought I was getting into a creative fantasy with mysterious fog that affects the city and interesting characters with magical powers/extra abilities at work in the city’s machinations, not national US political topics, pointed political opinions, and very detailed campaign workings (bulk of the book). This book was maybe marketed a little incorrectly and might reach the right reader if it included more of the political themes.

Secondly, it took me reading to the 50% mark to get invested in the plot; the first half of the book feels full of random happenings and details that don’t fill in the world or the characters, it all felt very one-dimensional and was missing a flow. There were a few things that could have been so interesting to explore more like the portals, Olivia’s abilities, and the fog, but instead it’s a quick one liner and we move on. Everything felt like it happened too easily and there was not enough detail to invest as a reader. I probably would have DNFd at 20%, but I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt, so I kept going.

Thirdly, my favorite character was Lily (a library fairy? how cool) and she was barely featured, and the rest of the characters (MC included) were sort of annoying. Their actions and dialogue had a lot of passive voice, it was told to you and not shown. For example, people keep telling Olivia (MC) that she is a leader “You were meant to be a leader. It’s etched in every line of your face…” and she gets a prophecy about her forthcoming greatness and romance. The MC is this organized woman who runs campaigns and a successful business, but then makes random impulse decisions that seem to put her in danger or in stupid situations, i.e. like walking toward a car careening toward you dangerously, or staying overnight with a vampire you JUST met and know NOTHING about. Elsa was my least favorite character as she just made snide comments all the time (and every time I read her name I just think “Frozen”). Also money is no problem for any of these people?

I read up to the 72% mark and then I had to quit, I kept getting annoyed reading this and wasn’t enjoying myself.

I think this book was meant for someone who really enjoys heavy US political themes and campaign workings, light paranormal romance and minimal fantasy world-building.

Thank you to Library Thing and the publisher for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Amber Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the better books I've read in a long time this is just a wonderful read this is a bus read if you like fantasy sci-fi paranormal. Not sure if you'd classify as young adult but it's definitely not a guess like most of the adult type books that are out nowadays.

Olivia is this amazing Crazy Character that has grown up hearing that she is an empath and has all these abilities from her mom and her grandmother but she ignores them and at some point can't ignore them when there's a demon trying to torture her entire life and a few select people come into her life and help her through this or kind of you know for her to see what's in front of her face.
The crazy ending to this book still kills me because it I was not expecting it all and I'm usually great and expect like being able to anticipate the end of a book or how it's going to play out I didn't not expect them being at all it threw me for a completely Loop.

And William her vampire lover oh man what can I say this is one vampire that is not the normal like normally you come across like a vampire character that's dark hair brooding doesn't communicate doesn't like feelings all this stuff he's the exact top so all of those things you literally shares more of his feelings than she does and he is very upfront and honest with what he wants and expects out of their relationship and it's so refreshing and amazing and he's this cute adorable redheaded vampire that I don't think I've ever thought of redhead was as sexy as I find that description of this vampire.

This author creates this big elaborate scene that she sets everything into for these characters in this world of fairies and werewolves and vampires and shapeshifters and time Jumpers and witches and all kinds of other things that are just so amazing as she creates this world that's like a dual world with both creatures and humans in it and she just pulls you into it with her amazing storytelling and she really is one that is a must read.

There is more to the series of sending his left on a cliffhanger and I know there's a second book that I have yet to read but I'm very excited to read it and to read more from this author if I could give this book more stars than five I absolutely would it was amazing and I could not put it down.