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The Succubus Executioner #1
Dead Shifter Walking
**Re-Edited** Olivia is an exceptionally talented killer with a dark past and a questionable future. As the lead executioner for the Supernatural Council of the eastern United States, she patrols her territory delivering justice and death without remorse. Until the vampires threw a wrench in her well planned days, announcing their existence to the human public, forcing her into a political spotlight she never wanted. Add a rogue supernatural going on killing sprees, and it’s perfectly understandable why she drinks heavily. With the help of a tall, dark, deadly vampire and her gang of misfits, Olivia fights to maintain the order she has worked so restlessly for.
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
77 people are currently reading
819 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 11, 2016
The story was all over the place, there was no consistency nor inner coherence. Flat characters with no easily understandable reasons to their behaviour made a very dry and boring read.
The "relationship" was utterly laughable and had no reason within the story, but then nothing had. Plus the writing lacked any spark. Not a book I can recommend.
The "relationship" was utterly laughable and had no reason within the story, but then nothing had. Plus the writing lacked any spark. Not a book I can recommend.
August 11, 2016
I was disappointed with this one. I felt like there were holes big enough to drive cars through. I felt left out of the plot as a reader. When the author mentioned certain names it was like we were suppose to know them, but...nothing. Not sure if I can continue with the series.
September 5, 2014
I really enjoyed Dead Shifter Walking, I didn't want to stop reading once I started. All of the characters were unique,quirky and fun. Olivia is a strong and loving heroine, she's very much the tortured soul type which works wonderfully with this type of story. Oli is a succubus, a being that typically would live and thrive on sex, HOWEVER Ms.Schubert has majorly elevated this idea. Succubus and incubus are more than just sex crazed people, they have other powers an gifts-they don't need sex to survive, they simply need that emotional release.
I love the flow of the story, you have your main plot going on, but throughout the story you get bits and pieces of what make the characters. It's not a slam,bam, thank you ma'am typical book, but it's not overwhelming and off the tracks either, it's well developed.
Overall, I found Dead Shifter Walking to be a fun and refreshing read with well developed characters and new twists on old "monsters". I can't wait to see what'll happen next!
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love the flow of the story, you have your main plot going on, but throughout the story you get bits and pieces of what make the characters. It's not a slam,bam, thank you ma'am typical book, but it's not overwhelming and off the tracks either, it's well developed.
Overall, I found Dead Shifter Walking to be a fun and refreshing read with well developed characters and new twists on old "monsters". I can't wait to see what'll happen next!
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 6, 2016
I almost stopped reading this. I put it down for a week because I just grew uninterested in it. Picked it up again when I got bored. Almost quit again when I was 80% through it. This book was just one of those stories where the execution wasn't great, the plot wasn't great and the writing wasn't all there either. Like it just plopped you down in the middle of a story and skimmed through some parts without explanation, leaving you with no idea what was going on.
And the romance? I can't even. It was a fiesta of confusing ups and downs and no specific directions as to which person was supposed to be the romantic lead... It was pretty much every man that came across her was an option that she wanted and at the same time didn't want. If this sounds confusing to you, that's how it felt to me.
I'll try reading the next one. Because as much as I didn't like it, I'm curious enough about our heroines past to keep going.
And the romance? I can't even. It was a fiesta of confusing ups and downs and no specific directions as to which person was supposed to be the romantic lead... It was pretty much every man that came across her was an option that she wanted and at the same time didn't want. If this sounds confusing to you, that's how it felt to me.
I'll try reading the next one. Because as much as I didn't like it, I'm curious enough about our heroines past to keep going.
Read
August 25, 2014Really hard time getting into this one. I feel like the story is all over the place. First chapter was great - but then it lost a lot of focus for me.
December 28, 2017
Reread before moving on to the sequel and I pretty much feel the same as I did last time when I wrote the review below. The only thing that stuck out this time around is that I disliked not knowing who the romantic interest was going to be, we flip flop a bit between various men before settling down with somebody super fast. I can't figure out why she suddenly decided to have a relationship with somebody after barely sharing a few words between them.
Original review for first reading:
This was a total mess, but it could be great with some spit and polish. Some things aren't explained at all, even though there are entire scenes based around them. Our heroine is a super Mary Sue "Executioner" that doesn't really seem to execute anyone. Important characters aren't really introduced, while nobodies are given backstory. The whole book definitely needs to be picked over with a fine tooth comb - but it was a lot of fun and I'd be very interested in continuing with the series.
Original review for first reading:
This was a total mess, but it could be great with some spit and polish. Some things aren't explained at all, even though there are entire scenes based around them. Our heroine is a super Mary Sue "Executioner" that doesn't really seem to execute anyone. Important characters aren't really introduced, while nobodies are given backstory. The whole book definitely needs to be picked over with a fine tooth comb - but it was a lot of fun and I'd be very interested in continuing with the series.
September 28, 2014
Won via Goodreads Giveaway.
A misery yawns on top of a wren. Beneath the accessible buyer writes the magical bath. The catholic boils next to the milk. Our process crawls below whatever conflict! Should the perverse mechanism salt a first lust?
A misery yawns on top of a wren. Beneath the accessible buyer writes the magical bath. The catholic boils next to the milk. Our process crawls below whatever conflict! Should the perverse mechanism salt a first lust?
November 7, 2015
The good:
- I liked the overal story. It wasn't brilliant in it's originality, but it was interesting enough.
- I liked the main character. She was interesing and had enough faults and virtues to make her feel "real".
- I liked the promise of the world being build, but...
All this was overshadowed by the bad:
- The writing was terrible! This book needs an editor, or at least a proofreader in the WORST way. Bad grammar, nonsensical sentence structure, just plain stupid descriptors, wrong conjugations, typo's, wrong or missing comma's.
I know my English isn't always perfect either, but I'm Dutch, I'm not a writer and I really don't speak English often in my day-to-day life. But I read (for pleasure) excusively in English. This book constantly pulled me out of the story because I had to keep re-reading sentences that did not make any sense.
- The story takes so many things for granted you kind of feel lost most of the time. And it jumps all over the place, leaving out key pieces of travel, like she's a damn teleporter.
- Characters are not properly fleshed out and connections between characters don't really make sense. Like the best-buddy friendship between Olivia and Jerry, her driver, who she meets in the beginning of the book and who she basically trusts instantly. Trusting him with watching over her while she tends to Hannah.
- Too many damn storylines.
- The almost insta-love romance with her vamp. The guy that wants a real relationship before ever having dated/slept with her... yeah, how likely is that?
- The random explanation of powers. We don't really get a feel for the things Olivia can and can't do. And the consequences of her actions. We learn about first blood, but not enough. Some times it's apparently a big deal and then other times it suddenly not, or just not mentioned in any way. Some actions drain her and cause her to blast her release all over the place and other uses of her power just drain her a little bit, but we don't learn why.
I could go on, but it would be more of the same. This was the book that could, but didn't. Too bad.
- I liked the overal story. It wasn't brilliant in it's originality, but it was interesting enough.
- I liked the main character. She was interesing and had enough faults and virtues to make her feel "real".
- I liked the promise of the world being build, but...
All this was overshadowed by the bad:
- The writing was terrible! This book needs an editor, or at least a proofreader in the WORST way. Bad grammar, nonsensical sentence structure, just plain stupid descriptors, wrong conjugations, typo's, wrong or missing comma's.
I know my English isn't always perfect either, but I'm Dutch, I'm not a writer and I really don't speak English often in my day-to-day life. But I read (for pleasure) excusively in English. This book constantly pulled me out of the story because I had to keep re-reading sentences that did not make any sense.
- The story takes so many things for granted you kind of feel lost most of the time. And it jumps all over the place, leaving out key pieces of travel, like she's a damn teleporter.
- Characters are not properly fleshed out and connections between characters don't really make sense. Like the best-buddy friendship between Olivia and Jerry, her driver, who she meets in the beginning of the book and who she basically trusts instantly. Trusting him with watching over her while she tends to Hannah.
- Too many damn storylines.
- The almost insta-love romance with her vamp. The guy that wants a real relationship before ever having dated/slept with her... yeah, how likely is that?
- The random explanation of powers. We don't really get a feel for the things Olivia can and can't do. And the consequences of her actions. We learn about first blood, but not enough. Some times it's apparently a big deal and then other times it suddenly not, or just not mentioned in any way. Some actions drain her and cause her to blast her release all over the place and other uses of her power just drain her a little bit, but we don't learn why.
I could go on, but it would be more of the same. This was the book that could, but didn't. Too bad.
September 11, 2024
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
DNF
Half way through the book.
Not too keen on the MC, to me she didn't feel consistent character-wise and also IMHO is a bit of an idiot. Also for a succubus it feels like she should be way more in control of her emotions and not distracted etc. by pretty faces. Seriously she's supposed to be the big bad, but she tolerates men she finds attractive ignoring her clearly stated wishes.
Needs a better proof reader / editor -- MC is supposed to be vegetarian, stated a couple of times, yet she got a cheeseburger....
Not keen on either of the potential love interests... although I find the second one a little better than the first one. But only by a bare smidgen (and I've re-named him Drake, because I don't like him having my name...)
For me its yet another book where I feel the 'love interest/s' are an unneeded element. If the second book turned one of them into such, then for me that'd work much better, plot wise. I don't find either attractive, actually the opposite. It's supposed to be Urban fantasy, not a paranormal romance! IMHO none or slow burn works better in UF.
Felt like missing a book for some of the world-building. -- Also some of it for me didn't make sense... -- I really do not understand the hierarchy structure at all. The book starts out with MC seemingly to be at the top, but she then goes on to just do what she's told by everyone!
I know the author was trying to be different but I kept pausing to go 'huh?'
1]
2] She was assigned a driver, she'd never met him before. Yet they're quickly acting like they've known each other for years and are almost 'BFFs'. Up to her being protective of him and his being worried for her safety beyond normal for people who have just met!
Typing all that I'm sort of wondering if I want to bother finishing the last half of the book.
Okay I tried and no sooner did I open chapter 10 and I'm out.... they've gone to the police station, she's supposed to be trying to find killer of multiple people and the Vampire is showing his teeth to them and she gives him a playful shove and says 'stop it'.
Yeah I'm supposed to take her seriously as an enforcer and executioner and someone the supernaturals are scared of, yet the book doesn't show that, it keeps IMHO showing the opposite.
They are there to work on catching a person who has killed but both are treating it like a date. There is a time for being playful, just because you want to jump him, doesn't mean you can't act like a decent being and glare at him and tell him to stop being a brat, like you actually mean it.
Also WTH happened to her 'don't sleep with those you work with' rule... it's clear she's going to do more than sleep next to him.
She's pathetic, a succubus shouldn't be lead by her desires, she's supposed to induce that in others. She's not a bad ass when it actually makes sense for her to show a backbone and she's an idiot.
I'm out.
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: No
Would you recommend?: No
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
DNF
Half way through the book.
Not too keen on the MC, to me she didn't feel consistent character-wise and also IMHO is a bit of an idiot. Also for a succubus it feels like she should be way more in control of her emotions and not distracted etc. by pretty faces. Seriously she's supposed to be the big bad, but she tolerates men she finds attractive ignoring her clearly stated wishes.
Needs a better proof reader / editor -- MC is supposed to be vegetarian, stated a couple of times, yet she got a cheeseburger....
Not keen on either of the potential love interests... although I find the second one a little better than the first one. But only by a bare smidgen (and I've re-named him Drake, because I don't like him having my name...)
For me its yet another book where I feel the 'love interest/s' are an unneeded element. If the second book turned one of them into such, then for me that'd work much better, plot wise. I don't find either attractive, actually the opposite. It's supposed to be Urban fantasy, not a paranormal romance! IMHO none or slow burn works better in UF.
Felt like missing a book for some of the world-building. -- Also some of it for me didn't make sense... -- I really do not understand the hierarchy structure at all. The book starts out with MC seemingly to be at the top, but she then goes on to just do what she's told by everyone!
I know the author was trying to be different but I kept pausing to go 'huh?'
1]
2] She was assigned a driver, she'd never met him before. Yet they're quickly acting like they've known each other for years and are almost 'BFFs'. Up to her being protective of him and his being worried for her safety beyond normal for people who have just met!
Typing all that I'm sort of wondering if I want to bother finishing the last half of the book.
Okay I tried and no sooner did I open chapter 10 and I'm out.... they've gone to the police station, she's supposed to be trying to find killer of multiple people and the Vampire is showing his teeth to them and she gives him a playful shove and says 'stop it'.
Yeah I'm supposed to take her seriously as an enforcer and executioner and someone the supernaturals are scared of, yet the book doesn't show that, it keeps IMHO showing the opposite.
They are there to work on catching a person who has killed but both are treating it like a date. There is a time for being playful, just because you want to jump him, doesn't mean you can't act like a decent being and glare at him and tell him to stop being a brat, like you actually mean it.
Also WTH happened to her 'don't sleep with those you work with' rule... it's clear she's going to do more than sleep next to him.
She's pathetic, a succubus shouldn't be lead by her desires, she's supposed to induce that in others. She's not a bad ass when it actually makes sense for her to show a backbone and she's an idiot.
I'm out.
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: No
Would you recommend?: No
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
November 28, 2018
Dead Shifter Walking begins when Olivia is back home and now must deal with the supernaturals being outed to the humans, and a crazy paranormal murdering humans.
She's got a lot on her plate, and she just wants some time to relax, but that's not going to happen. Add in some strange shifter who she seems to be attracted to, and a vampire who she also wants, and you've got a lot of action, drama, and one pissed of female.
This book totally blew me away. I was not expecting it to be that good, but it was. It kept me interested throughout the whole book, there was never a dull moment. And I really loved Olivia's character. And, I also really liked the relationship between Olivia and Logan. I really don't want her with Blake, but I'm hoping stuff changes in the next book.
I look forward to reading more in this series. This was a good UF story filled with action, a kickass heroine, and a dash of romance.
She's got a lot on her plate, and she just wants some time to relax, but that's not going to happen. Add in some strange shifter who she seems to be attracted to, and a vampire who she also wants, and you've got a lot of action, drama, and one pissed of female.
This book totally blew me away. I was not expecting it to be that good, but it was. It kept me interested throughout the whole book, there was never a dull moment. And I really loved Olivia's character. And, I also really liked the relationship between Olivia and Logan. I really don't want her with Blake, but I'm hoping stuff changes in the next book.
I look forward to reading more in this series. This was a good UF story filled with action, a kickass heroine, and a dash of romance.
July 6, 2015
I think there's something missing but can't put my finger on it unfortunately. That being said, it certainly didn't stop me from enjoying this book immensely. I really liked Olivia and, while I only feel a small fondness towards Blake (her vamp boyfriend), I loved seeing their banter. It was a welcome reprieve from the murders and Olivia's internal struggle with what she perceived as her failings. I have to admit though that I don't see their relationship going far. He's good for her, no doubt, but she seems hesitant and I think they expect different things from their relationship. I do look forward though to see their progress. I also look forward to seeing more of Olivia's kick-ass side. She's very strong mentally and physically and her propensity for violence makes her an interesting read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2017
Not bad!
It was a pretty good UF.
True, I'll probably forget it in a while, but it was a nice, fast read. The characters were interesting and the plot, enjoyable.
All in all, a weekend read. Easy to read and cute, but not much else.
It was a pretty good UF.
True, I'll probably forget it in a while, but it was a nice, fast read. The characters were interesting and the plot, enjoyable.
All in all, a weekend read. Easy to read and cute, but not much else.
October 16, 2014
Good amount of action and a good plot.
The main character was a bit annoying though.
The main character was a bit annoying though.
December 29, 2015
like Ben and Jerry' s for the written word. delicious, fun, sometimes a bit too much, but you always want more.
November 26, 2014
Olivia is a succubus and the enforcer for the local supernatural council. She is the one who keeps people in line and chops off heads that step a little too far out of line. It’s a demanding job.
A job that wasn’t made any easier by the vampires, watching far too much modern media, decided it would be a great idea to reveal themselves to the world. Now humanity wants to get involved in supernatural business: Olivia is not welcoming of the idea.
But when an ever growing number of humans are being killed by an apparent supernatural being, Olivia has to act quickly - and with mortal authorities – to stop the killing and put an end to the backlash. If it were all Olivia had to worry about it would be enough – but werewolf and vampire politics are both pulling at her attention as well: one of them coming very close to her own family.
This world setting is extremely rich and diverse and immensely deep. There are a huge amount of different supernatural beings in this book as well as some pretty involves structures around them. So we have vampires, werecreatures, witches and succubae; which lots of magic and the undead all really filling up this world. On top of that all of these creatures don’t just exist in our world, there are political structures and positions and hierarchies and how all of that relates to human politics in this newly revealed supernatural world.
Each of these supernatural creatures also has their own political structure, their own ways of running their societies and even their own cultures which themselves are interesting to delve into – like the way the werecreature pack works. Or the vampires and their very major elements of consent and fidelity in their culture; I especially liked the consent issues that are really powerfully included in their interactions, their sex lives and their feeding. (I think this was especially vital since we have so many books in the genre where vampires are very dubious when it comes to consent).
There’s also the individual creatures, magic and a whole lot more – because this book doesn’t rely entirely on “here’s a vampire, you know what vampires are” and dispense with further description; in addition to their involved culture we have to also consider exactly what they are – this is especially true with Succubae and their emotional manipulation abilities which is not quite feeding and is very involved and layered while being at the heart of who Olivia is, how she interacts with the police, the supernatural community, her role as Executioner and the friends and co-workers she lives with.
Speaking of, there are a lot of characters in this book all of whom seem to fill pretty important roles in the world. Several vampires, several wereanimals, her fellow succubae who live with her in the dance club, Grams who is an associate of hers, a chauffeur/witch, a police contact and a few others. All of them actually feel developed and all of them do have a sense of their own stories or a hint of them at least – even if we don’t see it they feel like more than names.
There’s a lot here and a lot of it is very very good which has really pulled me in
But there’s too much. Or, rather, there’s too much that has been hinted at without a lot of development that left me a little lost. Like the two major vampires Olivia deals with – Blake and Tate; I got the two confused a few times (which didn’t help that one of them is Olivia’s love interest), it took me a while to sort out where they each fit in the hierarchy and I’m still not entirely sure why they decided to follow her around for as long as she did, especially since she’s involved in a murder investigation. I know she’s not the human authorities and outright denies human law – but surely dragging random sex partners with you to crime investigations is an objectively bad idea? Speaking of human law enforcement there was Mercer who liked her then hated her then disappeared for several chapters and seemed to be quite neutral towards her – the book was so full that when he returned I had a “wait… and who are you?” moment. Then there’s Grams who is connected to Olivia but I’m not sure how – it’s somehow related to her dark and tragic past that is alluded to and regularly causes Olivia to have little rage/grief meltdowns but I don’t know much else. It’s also related to the kids she seems to live with who may or may not be Succubae/Incubi. The wereanimals were also guys whose names I often forgot (and mixed up) and it was only towards the end of the book when I realised they were werelions and not werewolves.
I’m still not entirely sure what it means to be a succubus. I’m not sure how their council works how much scope and authority it has, whether she’s one of many executioners or not, and whether she’s defacto leader of the council or she’s just so scary no-one will disobey her which is weird because she doesn’t actually act that scary. She walks around like a colossal badass who every vampire should wet themselves when she comes near them, but when it comes to actual combat? Not so much.
I have to return again and say that I do like these characters, I love this world and I love the potential that has been put in there. I actually suspect the author has really really detailed notes on all these characters and the world that is so deep and rich – but unfortunately that has led to not realising how little of that information actually makes it to the page. There are gaps. I can follow the story, but there are places where I was sure I’d missed something and just really needed some gaps finished.
The story itself, therefore, is a little confused. There’s so much happening, so many characters and such a wide world that it takes a lot of concentration to keep up with it. But the tension of the story is well maintained and we have a lot at stake ensuring there’s a fairly constant sense of what is at stake… but while that is maintained the pacing isn’t always great, I do feel there are times when Olivia seems to entirely forget the serial killer case. I think, in part, it’s because there’s a lot of other things going on in Olivia’s life (like Kass’s issues) but it still can be jarring. Particularly when she takes time out to flirt with a vampire or go dance. The writing itself is pretty tight and the story does bring everything together and lay out both the world and characters that I really want to know more about – the story itself showcases all this but does lose itself more than once
Olivia is an interesting character. She has a lot of positive points – she’s definitely confident, she’s authoritative, she’s powerful and she’s determined. She has skills that people respects. But she also has rage issues that border Keillie independence and, as I’ve mentioned, her lethal demeanour is not always backed up by her skill set. She’s also got an ill-defined tragic background that causes a lot of self-flagellation but I know so little about it I can’t really analyse it. So she’s a mixed character with a lot of potential.
Read More
A job that wasn’t made any easier by the vampires, watching far too much modern media, decided it would be a great idea to reveal themselves to the world. Now humanity wants to get involved in supernatural business: Olivia is not welcoming of the idea.
But when an ever growing number of humans are being killed by an apparent supernatural being, Olivia has to act quickly - and with mortal authorities – to stop the killing and put an end to the backlash. If it were all Olivia had to worry about it would be enough – but werewolf and vampire politics are both pulling at her attention as well: one of them coming very close to her own family.
This world setting is extremely rich and diverse and immensely deep. There are a huge amount of different supernatural beings in this book as well as some pretty involves structures around them. So we have vampires, werecreatures, witches and succubae; which lots of magic and the undead all really filling up this world. On top of that all of these creatures don’t just exist in our world, there are political structures and positions and hierarchies and how all of that relates to human politics in this newly revealed supernatural world.
Each of these supernatural creatures also has their own political structure, their own ways of running their societies and even their own cultures which themselves are interesting to delve into – like the way the werecreature pack works. Or the vampires and their very major elements of consent and fidelity in their culture; I especially liked the consent issues that are really powerfully included in their interactions, their sex lives and their feeding. (I think this was especially vital since we have so many books in the genre where vampires are very dubious when it comes to consent).
There’s also the individual creatures, magic and a whole lot more – because this book doesn’t rely entirely on “here’s a vampire, you know what vampires are” and dispense with further description; in addition to their involved culture we have to also consider exactly what they are – this is especially true with Succubae and their emotional manipulation abilities which is not quite feeding and is very involved and layered while being at the heart of who Olivia is, how she interacts with the police, the supernatural community, her role as Executioner and the friends and co-workers she lives with.
Speaking of, there are a lot of characters in this book all of whom seem to fill pretty important roles in the world. Several vampires, several wereanimals, her fellow succubae who live with her in the dance club, Grams who is an associate of hers, a chauffeur/witch, a police contact and a few others. All of them actually feel developed and all of them do have a sense of their own stories or a hint of them at least – even if we don’t see it they feel like more than names.
There’s a lot here and a lot of it is very very good which has really pulled me in
But there’s too much. Or, rather, there’s too much that has been hinted at without a lot of development that left me a little lost. Like the two major vampires Olivia deals with – Blake and Tate; I got the two confused a few times (which didn’t help that one of them is Olivia’s love interest), it took me a while to sort out where they each fit in the hierarchy and I’m still not entirely sure why they decided to follow her around for as long as she did, especially since she’s involved in a murder investigation. I know she’s not the human authorities and outright denies human law – but surely dragging random sex partners with you to crime investigations is an objectively bad idea? Speaking of human law enforcement there was Mercer who liked her then hated her then disappeared for several chapters and seemed to be quite neutral towards her – the book was so full that when he returned I had a “wait… and who are you?” moment. Then there’s Grams who is connected to Olivia but I’m not sure how – it’s somehow related to her dark and tragic past that is alluded to and regularly causes Olivia to have little rage/grief meltdowns but I don’t know much else. It’s also related to the kids she seems to live with who may or may not be Succubae/Incubi. The wereanimals were also guys whose names I often forgot (and mixed up) and it was only towards the end of the book when I realised they were werelions and not werewolves.
I’m still not entirely sure what it means to be a succubus. I’m not sure how their council works how much scope and authority it has, whether she’s one of many executioners or not, and whether she’s defacto leader of the council or she’s just so scary no-one will disobey her which is weird because she doesn’t actually act that scary. She walks around like a colossal badass who every vampire should wet themselves when she comes near them, but when it comes to actual combat? Not so much.
I have to return again and say that I do like these characters, I love this world and I love the potential that has been put in there. I actually suspect the author has really really detailed notes on all these characters and the world that is so deep and rich – but unfortunately that has led to not realising how little of that information actually makes it to the page. There are gaps. I can follow the story, but there are places where I was sure I’d missed something and just really needed some gaps finished.
The story itself, therefore, is a little confused. There’s so much happening, so many characters and such a wide world that it takes a lot of concentration to keep up with it. But the tension of the story is well maintained and we have a lot at stake ensuring there’s a fairly constant sense of what is at stake… but while that is maintained the pacing isn’t always great, I do feel there are times when Olivia seems to entirely forget the serial killer case. I think, in part, it’s because there’s a lot of other things going on in Olivia’s life (like Kass’s issues) but it still can be jarring. Particularly when she takes time out to flirt with a vampire or go dance. The writing itself is pretty tight and the story does bring everything together and lay out both the world and characters that I really want to know more about – the story itself showcases all this but does lose itself more than once
Olivia is an interesting character. She has a lot of positive points – she’s definitely confident, she’s authoritative, she’s powerful and she’s determined. She has skills that people respects. But she also has rage issues that border Keillie independence and, as I’ve mentioned, her lethal demeanour is not always backed up by her skill set. She’s also got an ill-defined tragic background that causes a lot of self-flagellation but I know so little about it I can’t really analyse it. So she’s a mixed character with a lot of potential.
Read More
April 13, 2019
Interesting New Urban Fantasy Series
This author is new to me and I enjoyed this new take on the Urban Fantasy genre. The main character Olivia is a succubus who is the supernatural Executioner. The vampires and shifters have recently come out of the closet so there are lots of issues with humans. It’s an interesting choice of world building as often in UF books the supernatural are either hidden or they have been out to humans for a long time. The actual newness of the situation is interesting, as the humans don’t really understand the supernaturals.
Olivia has not had a happy life and spends much of it feeling isolated as she has to force great control over her feelings to prevent them spilling out onto other people. She supports a home filled with supernatural children by running a strip club where she dances. Her powers enhance the audience’s experience and that success is what keeps her succubus clan safe behind high compound walls.
As Executioner Olivia has been nominated to help the police after a murder of an entire family occurs which look like supernatural kills. She is forced to deal with heads of the shifter and vampire clans, with whom she doesn’t have great relationships with. She also gets sucked into dealing with the police after a run in with the Governor. All of a sudden she is pulled in many directions and has to rely on the support of new friends.
There was a lot going on in the story and some sudden jumps in plot which didn’t quite gel for me, but on the whole it was a fun read with interesting world building and characters. I will be reading the next book in the series.
This author is new to me and I enjoyed this new take on the Urban Fantasy genre. The main character Olivia is a succubus who is the supernatural Executioner. The vampires and shifters have recently come out of the closet so there are lots of issues with humans. It’s an interesting choice of world building as often in UF books the supernatural are either hidden or they have been out to humans for a long time. The actual newness of the situation is interesting, as the humans don’t really understand the supernaturals.
Olivia has not had a happy life and spends much of it feeling isolated as she has to force great control over her feelings to prevent them spilling out onto other people. She supports a home filled with supernatural children by running a strip club where she dances. Her powers enhance the audience’s experience and that success is what keeps her succubus clan safe behind high compound walls.
As Executioner Olivia has been nominated to help the police after a murder of an entire family occurs which look like supernatural kills. She is forced to deal with heads of the shifter and vampire clans, with whom she doesn’t have great relationships with. She also gets sucked into dealing with the police after a run in with the Governor. All of a sudden she is pulled in many directions and has to rely on the support of new friends.
There was a lot going on in the story and some sudden jumps in plot which didn’t quite gel for me, but on the whole it was a fun read with interesting world building and characters. I will be reading the next book in the series.
July 6, 2021
She bathes! Readers, Aliens and Creatures of the Sea! SHE ACTUALLY BATHESSS.😭😭😭 **cries with gratitude**
▪︎
Official title: Dead Shifter Walking
My title: Wild Underworld Thugs
Author: Kim Schubert
Publisher: #createspacepublishing
Fav character: Gramps
Type: Book - Series
Will I read the others: Probably no
4/5
▪︎
SIDENOTE: Ok, when authors use ‘olive skin’ to describe people, right? Are they speaking about the greenish sheen of the olive?! Or like… the yellowish green of the oil?! 😭😭😭 Just describe skin shades betterrrrr! Get a pack of crayons or coloured pencils or SOMETHING!
I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEANNNNNNNN! *cries in confusion*
(If you have olive skin please DM me a pic).
If this olive tone is what I think it is… Not sure how many of us Caribbean people are roaming around with it. 🤣💀
▪︎
Olivia 😒, who is not olive skinned, 🤣, is an executioner. When shifters, vamps and other beings step out of hand, she reels them back in with a few knives, a few punches and some expertly used emotions. Olivia is a succubus (took me a while to figure out what her powers were), with the ability to influence emotions greatly and affect words, touches and feelings. She has learnt to use these powers to become an effective killing machine, all thanks to the pile of feces, Serena, we’ll just agree to hate.
Now, back in town with bodies turning up, vamps deciding they want to be known to humans, something weird happening in the shifter ranks and hoomans being humans, Olivia will lose a lot of blood, take a lot of baths, take numerous hits and fight hard for her coven? of succubi and all supernaturals, while avoiding the advances of horny vamps.
▪︎
Although it’s mentioned that she usually does a lot of killing and blah, blah… 😑 I didn’t get enough. DISAPPOINTTTTMENTTTTTT 🤣🤣🤣
Overall, it was a good story. The world created is pretty interesting and there is room to develop it more.
There were however some elephants in the room 😏, that I will discuss on my blog (brieselby.wordpress.com/blog).
▪︎
Official title: Dead Shifter Walking
My title: Wild Underworld Thugs
Author: Kim Schubert
Publisher: #createspacepublishing
Fav character: Gramps
Type: Book - Series
Will I read the others: Probably no
4/5
▪︎
SIDENOTE: Ok, when authors use ‘olive skin’ to describe people, right? Are they speaking about the greenish sheen of the olive?! Or like… the yellowish green of the oil?! 😭😭😭 Just describe skin shades betterrrrr! Get a pack of crayons or coloured pencils or SOMETHING!
I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEANNNNNNNN! *cries in confusion*
(If you have olive skin please DM me a pic).
If this olive tone is what I think it is… Not sure how many of us Caribbean people are roaming around with it. 🤣💀
▪︎
Olivia 😒, who is not olive skinned, 🤣, is an executioner. When shifters, vamps and other beings step out of hand, she reels them back in with a few knives, a few punches and some expertly used emotions. Olivia is a succubus (took me a while to figure out what her powers were), with the ability to influence emotions greatly and affect words, touches and feelings. She has learnt to use these powers to become an effective killing machine, all thanks to the pile of feces, Serena, we’ll just agree to hate.
Now, back in town with bodies turning up, vamps deciding they want to be known to humans, something weird happening in the shifter ranks and hoomans being humans, Olivia will lose a lot of blood, take a lot of baths, take numerous hits and fight hard for her coven? of succubi and all supernaturals, while avoiding the advances of horny vamps.
▪︎
Although it’s mentioned that she usually does a lot of killing and blah, blah… 😑 I didn’t get enough. DISAPPOINTTTTMENTTTTTT 🤣🤣🤣
Overall, it was a good story. The world created is pretty interesting and there is room to develop it more.
There were however some elephants in the room 😏, that I will discuss on my blog (brieselby.wordpress.com/blog).
October 21, 2016
This story line had such great potential. Unfortunately, the author's writing style was not my cup of tea. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the flow of the story just didn't make sense to me. There were typos, transposed words and the wrong version of words (i.e to, too and two). These kinds of things make it hard for me to enjoy the story.
Olivia is the executioner, she's a succubus, she can suck in a person's pain, their feelings, she can force her feelings onto others and she's a seductive dancer. Another part of her succubus abilities, her blood helps to heal vampires and great sex is another perk of being a succubus. She can also help to bring another succubus back from almost dying. She's supposed to be the best of the best of executioners but it seemed to me someone was always getting the upper hand.
It was just too much. As you can see from my start to finish dates, I had to force myself to finish the book, but like I said at the beginning, this could have been a great story. I mean no disrespect to the author as writing is a tough thing to do. I'd like to end on a positive note and say, the book book covers and titles she chooses for her books always make me look twice. That's the first step in catching my attention.
Olivia is the executioner, she's a succubus, she can suck in a person's pain, their feelings, she can force her feelings onto others and she's a seductive dancer. Another part of her succubus abilities, her blood helps to heal vampires and great sex is another perk of being a succubus. She can also help to bring another succubus back from almost dying. She's supposed to be the best of the best of executioners but it seemed to me someone was always getting the upper hand.
It was just too much. As you can see from my start to finish dates, I had to force myself to finish the book, but like I said at the beginning, this could have been a great story. I mean no disrespect to the author as writing is a tough thing to do. I'd like to end on a positive note and say, the book book covers and titles she chooses for her books always make me look twice. That's the first step in catching my attention.
January 31, 2021
The story had a lot of potential - unfortunately the writing got in the way. To me, it seemed like some scenes were very choppy and rough. I’m sure the characters had reasons for some of their actions, but the author didn’t share them half the time. Not sure I will continue this series as I didn’t like the flow of the story/writing. I don’t love or hate any of the characters. There were no sections that really impressed me, made me laugh or stand out.
My reviews for 3 star books are really for my reference. Occasionally I will debate months from now if I should continue on with a series. This reminds me of why I did not start the next book. 🤔
My reviews for 3 star books are really for my reference. Occasionally I will debate months from now if I should continue on with a series. This reminds me of why I did not start the next book. 🤔
December 29, 2019
Pros: I would put this book right up there with Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. The plot had plenty of heat, action, and suspense.
Cons: There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and this book could have used one more pass of proofreading to clean up some small errors.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next one in the series.
Cons: There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and this book could have used one more pass of proofreading to clean up some small errors.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next one in the series.
December 28, 2017
This was seriously hard to follow, I have host of complaints but am intrigued enough to start the 2nd book
September 17, 2017
The heroine was super interesting but the story had some holes. 4 stars for messed up super cool heroine.
March 19, 2019
Could have been better but it was fast-paced and interesting enough to continue.
July 19, 2015
This was my first ever GoodReads giveaway win, and believe me, I was excited to receive it in the mail. The cover looks awesome, I love Urban Fantasy, and it was self-published. What's not to love, right?
And then I opened it up.
I know it's not fair to deduct review points for a story's formatting, but I'm going to. It takes about half an hour to learn how to properly format a print book. Really, all you have to do is *open another book* to see what the formatting should look like. If an author doesn't have the time to fiddle with it (or really hates technology, which is completely understandable), there are numerous individuals out there offering formatting for reasonable prices. This is an inexcusable faux pas. Seriously. If you want to be a full-time professional author, take the time to present your work professionally.
Now, let's get to the writing, because this is really where the story failed for me. An author's writing style should never get in the way of the story. Never. When a reader's eye is drawn, for example, to the fifteenth semi-colon on a page, maybe the author needs to rethink things. (At least there weren't an overabundance of exclamation points, thank goodness.) And then we get to bell ringers like this one:
"I squinted at the midday sun exhaling my own breath."
Really? You exhaled your own breath? Is someone else living in your body breathing through your lungs?
How about this one:
"'I don't know what it will do to him; I don't believe he will suffer any ill effects. If I had, I wouldn't have slept with him,' I answered, remarkably surprised at my maturity."
Ah. Hmm. Well. Good to know the main character thinks of herself as an immature twit.
Then there were the really annoying things. Most of the characters had no last names, but maybe they didn't deserve them, considering the complete lack of character development. (I know there's more to identity than a name, but the name was a huge part of the descriptor for each character in this book. Many times, there weren't even adequate physical descriptions woven into the text, so the characters were pretty much cardboard cutouts in my mind with a first name hovering over them.) When will people learn to add depth and complexity to their bad guys? Or, hey, how about adding some complexity to your main character? Just once, I'd love to see a new UF author create a lead character that isn't a bad imitation of Anita Blake. Also, Olivia was 17 when she did all these fantastic things, and she has all this power and control, yet...she's forced into situations beyond her control by forces beyond her control and she doesn't even understand the nature of herself and... *deep breath*
Urban Fantasy is known for its multi-layered, often obscure plots. This one beats all of those hands down, for obscurity, anyway. I had no idea what was going on in the story, none, and I read *really carefully* hoping it would, at some point, make some kind of sense.
And finally, the author slipped back and forth between the first person past tense and the first person present tense. Pick one. Stick with it. Please.
Ultimately, it was a DNF for me. Maybe if I hadn't been distracted by the poor formatting and the amateur writing, the story itself would've pulled me in. That never happened. Then again, if I'd taken the time to preview the story, the first paragraph would've kept me from entering the giveaway:
"Adjusting my uncomfortable seat on the makeshift desk Grams was seated behind for this impromptu meeting, I peeked over my tense shoulder to see her rigid gaze at the self-important Governor Hash. The hatred simmering below the surface was evident from her steel gaze, but she wasn't allowing it to contort her facial features, good for her."
Awkward. Overwrought. Insensible. Those three words pretty much sum up this read.
ETA: Prior to my review of this book, it had a 3.81 overall rating. After, it dropped to 3.74. I came back online to read the review to my editor and, coincidentally, the rating had risen to 3.77 due to a new five-star rating. Given the complete awfulness that is this book, I have to wonder how it could possibly have garnered 28 four- and five-star ratings (as of this writing), one coincidentally given less than two hours after I left a scathing one-star review. Hmm. Something to ponder...
And then I opened it up.
I know it's not fair to deduct review points for a story's formatting, but I'm going to. It takes about half an hour to learn how to properly format a print book. Really, all you have to do is *open another book* to see what the formatting should look like. If an author doesn't have the time to fiddle with it (or really hates technology, which is completely understandable), there are numerous individuals out there offering formatting for reasonable prices. This is an inexcusable faux pas. Seriously. If you want to be a full-time professional author, take the time to present your work professionally.
Now, let's get to the writing, because this is really where the story failed for me. An author's writing style should never get in the way of the story. Never. When a reader's eye is drawn, for example, to the fifteenth semi-colon on a page, maybe the author needs to rethink things. (At least there weren't an overabundance of exclamation points, thank goodness.) And then we get to bell ringers like this one:
"I squinted at the midday sun exhaling my own breath."
Really? You exhaled your own breath? Is someone else living in your body breathing through your lungs?
How about this one:
"'I don't know what it will do to him; I don't believe he will suffer any ill effects. If I had, I wouldn't have slept with him,' I answered, remarkably surprised at my maturity."
Ah. Hmm. Well. Good to know the main character thinks of herself as an immature twit.
Then there were the really annoying things. Most of the characters had no last names, but maybe they didn't deserve them, considering the complete lack of character development. (I know there's more to identity than a name, but the name was a huge part of the descriptor for each character in this book. Many times, there weren't even adequate physical descriptions woven into the text, so the characters were pretty much cardboard cutouts in my mind with a first name hovering over them.) When will people learn to add depth and complexity to their bad guys? Or, hey, how about adding some complexity to your main character? Just once, I'd love to see a new UF author create a lead character that isn't a bad imitation of Anita Blake. Also, Olivia was 17 when she did all these fantastic things, and she has all this power and control, yet...she's forced into situations beyond her control by forces beyond her control and she doesn't even understand the nature of herself and... *deep breath*
Urban Fantasy is known for its multi-layered, often obscure plots. This one beats all of those hands down, for obscurity, anyway. I had no idea what was going on in the story, none, and I read *really carefully* hoping it would, at some point, make some kind of sense.
And finally, the author slipped back and forth between the first person past tense and the first person present tense. Pick one. Stick with it. Please.
Ultimately, it was a DNF for me. Maybe if I hadn't been distracted by the poor formatting and the amateur writing, the story itself would've pulled me in. That never happened. Then again, if I'd taken the time to preview the story, the first paragraph would've kept me from entering the giveaway:
"Adjusting my uncomfortable seat on the makeshift desk Grams was seated behind for this impromptu meeting, I peeked over my tense shoulder to see her rigid gaze at the self-important Governor Hash. The hatred simmering below the surface was evident from her steel gaze, but she wasn't allowing it to contort her facial features, good for her."
Awkward. Overwrought. Insensible. Those three words pretty much sum up this read.
ETA: Prior to my review of this book, it had a 3.81 overall rating. After, it dropped to 3.74. I came back online to read the review to my editor and, coincidentally, the rating had risen to 3.77 due to a new five-star rating. Given the complete awfulness that is this book, I have to wonder how it could possibly have garnered 28 four- and five-star ratings (as of this writing), one coincidentally given less than two hours after I left a scathing one-star review. Hmm. Something to ponder...
March 8, 2017
Interesting new series I came across. I look forward to reading the next installments.
September 10, 2020
This was good enough to like but not enough to respect.
I like Olivia . I really do . Even though this weird combo of seemingly almost masochistic martyr crossed big bad selfish bad A is what their sold to us as.
Its such a weird situation these books,one one hand you have these fmc’s who are either telling us themselves or having others telling them that they are selfish in almost that they do in say in efforts to keep themselves and others alive and get the job done. As they go above and beyond completely disregarding their own lives and personal safety to take care of others put in their care. I just don’t get it. You have these women putting their own mental and emotional and physical lives in danger, more often than not taking the pain of others in so they don’t have to and yet,usually do they not only do they NOT get thanked for all they do,they get one selfish self absorbed complaint after another.
Olivia is at EVERYONES, E V E R Y O N E’s beck and call trying to be something to everyone, when she’s tired or hungry,hurting or exhausted or half dead she’s there trying to help. And more often than not she gets a complaint I’d something goes wrong but not one single F’ing “Thank you”.
Not one.
All the while she herself is saying she’s a selfish jerk or others are reprimanding her fir things they don’t have the balls are the sense to do themselves.
BS!
To me a “strong” female lead doesn’t let herself be a doormat to others all the while self flagellating her self every chance she gets. No. She owns who she is ,she works to love herself and doesn’t let herself be willing used or abused by others .
Case in point : Kass a supposedly good friend, spends most the book either keeping secrets from her ( she’s in love w/a local shifter alpha and is pregnant with his baby) or dragging her into shifter business,that Olivia doesn’t really have time for. You know ,on the hunt for a killer and all,but Kass demands and Olivia drops everything. Kass demands Olivia go to a club and Olivia ends up taking on a punishment die someone who deserves it and demeans both herself and her position as executioner in the process. Yet, is she thanked for her sacrifice ? No, of course not. This is soo messed up and warped. Olivia tells us she’s bad or selfish but when badly betrayed by her new bf’s ppl/coven she’s been helping ( badly betrayed) she hurts them a tiny back in return ( which is mostly just angry self defense)she seems to forgive way to easily.
No, it’s not right for the FMC to take soo many hits so others don’t have to and be unthanked and almost as un respected Rodney Dangerfield used to claim.
Ps. Why Logan was soo useless was never explained. I’ve read this series before and I know he’s not a one hit wonder here Soo his poor introduction here feels really odd. Just like how fast Blake goes from 0 to sixty should have felt more foreshadowing than it did the first go around . Because succubus or not the speed at which her and Blake just doesn’t make sense. He gloms on to her way to fast and it honestly makes about sense has loser Logan and his waste of space fiancée.
Would I recommend? Yes. Not best , but definitely not the worst.
I like Olivia . I really do . Even though this weird combo of seemingly almost masochistic martyr crossed big bad selfish bad A is what their sold to us as.
Its such a weird situation these books,one one hand you have these fmc’s who are either telling us themselves or having others telling them that they are selfish in almost that they do in say in efforts to keep themselves and others alive and get the job done. As they go above and beyond completely disregarding their own lives and personal safety to take care of others put in their care. I just don’t get it. You have these women putting their own mental and emotional and physical lives in danger, more often than not taking the pain of others in so they don’t have to and yet,usually do they not only do they NOT get thanked for all they do,they get one selfish self absorbed complaint after another.
Olivia is at EVERYONES, E V E R Y O N E’s beck and call trying to be something to everyone, when she’s tired or hungry,hurting or exhausted or half dead she’s there trying to help. And more often than not she gets a complaint I’d something goes wrong but not one single F’ing “Thank you”.
Not one.
All the while she herself is saying she’s a selfish jerk or others are reprimanding her fir things they don’t have the balls are the sense to do themselves.
BS!
To me a “strong” female lead doesn’t let herself be a doormat to others all the while self flagellating her self every chance she gets. No. She owns who she is ,she works to love herself and doesn’t let herself be willing used or abused by others .
Case in point : Kass a supposedly good friend, spends most the book either keeping secrets from her ( she’s in love w/a local shifter alpha and is pregnant with his baby) or dragging her into shifter business,that Olivia doesn’t really have time for. You know ,on the hunt for a killer and all,but Kass demands and Olivia drops everything. Kass demands Olivia go to a club and Olivia ends up taking on a punishment die someone who deserves it and demeans both herself and her position as executioner in the process. Yet, is she thanked for her sacrifice ? No, of course not. This is soo messed up and warped. Olivia tells us she’s bad or selfish but when badly betrayed by her new bf’s ppl/coven she’s been helping ( badly betrayed) she hurts them a tiny back in return ( which is mostly just angry self defense)she seems to forgive way to easily.
No, it’s not right for the FMC to take soo many hits so others don’t have to and be unthanked and almost as un respected Rodney Dangerfield used to claim.
Ps. Why Logan was soo useless was never explained. I’ve read this series before and I know he’s not a one hit wonder here Soo his poor introduction here feels really odd. Just like how fast Blake goes from 0 to sixty should have felt more foreshadowing than it did the first go around . Because succubus or not the speed at which her and Blake just doesn’t make sense. He gloms on to her way to fast and it honestly makes about sense has loser Logan and his waste of space fiancée.
Would I recommend? Yes. Not best , but definitely not the worst.
October 5, 2014
** Unrealized Potential **
Let's start with what I liked. I loved the cover; that was what first interested me in this book. It looks like a very professionally done cover and fits the genre well. I was also intrigued right away because of the title. It obviously made me think of Kim Harrison's "Dead Witch Walking," a book I really liked.
The mythology, politics, and culture of the various supernatural creatures had some unique features, which should have differentiated this book from others in the genre. Thus, this book had the potential to be a great addition to the urban fantasy genre.
Unfortunately, that potential was never realized because of a lack of editing that the book desperately needed. The book was full of misplaced and dangling modifiers, switching of verb tenses, missing commas, and just plain ole typos. Even worse though were the missing movements. For instance, near the beginning, the main character was in the bathroom and talking to someone outside in the bedroom. A mention of clothes laid out on the bed was made, then suddenly the main character was looking at said clothes. I had to go back and read 3 times to make sure I didn't miss anything. The character seemed to vanish from the bathroom and magically appear in the bedroom. There were MANY instances of this type and the aforementioned types. These errors made the story hard to follow in spite of my interest. I was, sadly, disappointed by the time I finished. I never felt like I completely understood the characters because I didn't understand so much of what was actually happening.
If the author updated the book with significant edits then I would probably recommend this book to urban fantasy fans.
2.5 stars
I received a free copy of this book through First Reads.
Let's start with what I liked. I loved the cover; that was what first interested me in this book. It looks like a very professionally done cover and fits the genre well. I was also intrigued right away because of the title. It obviously made me think of Kim Harrison's "Dead Witch Walking," a book I really liked.
The mythology, politics, and culture of the various supernatural creatures had some unique features, which should have differentiated this book from others in the genre. Thus, this book had the potential to be a great addition to the urban fantasy genre.
Unfortunately, that potential was never realized because of a lack of editing that the book desperately needed. The book was full of misplaced and dangling modifiers, switching of verb tenses, missing commas, and just plain ole typos. Even worse though were the missing movements. For instance, near the beginning, the main character was in the bathroom and talking to someone outside in the bedroom. A mention of clothes laid out on the bed was made, then suddenly the main character was looking at said clothes. I had to go back and read 3 times to make sure I didn't miss anything. The character seemed to vanish from the bathroom and magically appear in the bedroom. There were MANY instances of this type and the aforementioned types. These errors made the story hard to follow in spite of my interest. I was, sadly, disappointed by the time I finished. I never felt like I completely understood the characters because I didn't understand so much of what was actually happening.
If the author updated the book with significant edits then I would probably recommend this book to urban fantasy fans.
2.5 stars
I received a free copy of this book through First Reads.
Read
May 30, 2016Dead Shifter Walking:
Tags: Urban Fantasy, Police Procedural, Vampires, Shifters
What is the Enforcer for the Supernatural Council she created to do when a serial killer moves into her community? As Eve is shown the evidence, she is told: “ “They were killed in their home and drained of blood by a vampire or vampires. You are now the new liaison between supernaturals and humans.” He handed me a large file. “Fix it.” #You're it.
Eve is a succubus, so I almost did not read the story. If it is tagged as Paranormal Romance and it includes a succubus, I am afraid it will dwell in the land of gratuitous sex. However, this story surprised me. It is more like the intelligent paranormal mysteries created by Jaye Wells or Linda Poitevin. Despite Eve's predilection, she acts more like iron man than a succubus. There is a strong romantic subplot, and it is blessedly not obvious from the start.
IIf you want to know what the title has to do with the story, read it. It's good.
Tags: Urban Fantasy, Police Procedural, Vampires, Shifters
What is the Enforcer for the Supernatural Council she created to do when a serial killer moves into her community? As Eve is shown the evidence, she is told: “ “They were killed in their home and drained of blood by a vampire or vampires. You are now the new liaison between supernaturals and humans.” He handed me a large file. “Fix it.” #You're it.
Eve is a succubus, so I almost did not read the story. If it is tagged as Paranormal Romance and it includes a succubus, I am afraid it will dwell in the land of gratuitous sex. However, this story surprised me. It is more like the intelligent paranormal mysteries created by Jaye Wells or Linda Poitevin. Despite Eve's predilection, she acts more like iron man than a succubus. There is a strong romantic subplot, and it is blessedly not obvious from the start.
IIf you want to know what the title has to do with the story, read it. It's good.
May 17, 2015
Uniquely Interesting
The characters reach the reader with their appealing nature. Olivia is a treat. She invokes everyone in the sup's world boogie man for naughty behavior. Unfortunately, she's also regarded as daemon spawn. Kinda cuts a girl's confidence or not. A seriously psychotic killer is slaughtering potentials and while an alpha neglects his responsibility, Olivia is forced to make the hard choices. It's her job only because he discounts the truth. She gains a rag-tag group of helpers but they all have their own agendas. As she pursues the puppet master agendas are set aside and seeing through the killers eyes, she can finally get things done. Great read and uniquely written.
The characters reach the reader with their appealing nature. Olivia is a treat. She invokes everyone in the sup's world boogie man for naughty behavior. Unfortunately, she's also regarded as daemon spawn. Kinda cuts a girl's confidence or not. A seriously psychotic killer is slaughtering potentials and while an alpha neglects his responsibility, Olivia is forced to make the hard choices. It's her job only because he discounts the truth. She gains a rag-tag group of helpers but they all have their own agendas. As she pursues the puppet master agendas are set aside and seeing through the killers eyes, she can finally get things done. Great read and uniquely written.
September 12, 2015
I don't know what good things to say about this book, I really don't like writing scathing reviews on books as authors do not deserve it. Well, some do *cough fifty shades cough*.
I liked the idea behind this book, I liked some of the characters though they felt a little small. I did not like the way that Olivia was both a bad ass and a used up stripper. I did not like the relationship, it was kind of thrust upon us, and we were getting the set up for one guy then she shifts to another guy. Not sure what happened there, other than maybe the author changed her mind then didn't want to edit???
The story was lost in confusion and we couldn't focus on any one part of it, this is not a story I was willing to finish and I am sad about that.
I liked the idea behind this book, I liked some of the characters though they felt a little small. I did not like the way that Olivia was both a bad ass and a used up stripper. I did not like the relationship, it was kind of thrust upon us, and we were getting the set up for one guy then she shifts to another guy. Not sure what happened there, other than maybe the author changed her mind then didn't want to edit???
The story was lost in confusion and we couldn't focus on any one part of it, this is not a story I was willing to finish and I am sad about that.
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