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Adam Saint #1
Rune & Claw
Adam Saint is not prepared to take over for his uncle as Sheriff to Portland's supernatural underworld. But when his famed (and infamous) uncle Pete Saint turns up murdered and Adam appears to be next on the killer's list, it doesn't appear that he'll have a choice in the matter.
To make his day worse, it seems that the same person responsible for taking down Pete is also minting amateur warlocks left and right—and the body count is quickly piling up. Add to that weretiger Cole Sheppard, who has a pack of angry shifters right behind him, and pushy Detective Vanessa Moreno, who can't decide whether to arrest Adam or follow him into battle, and Adam's first week on the job might just be his last.
But there's other trouble brewing in Portland—and unless Adam can come to grips with his fate, his allies, and the secrets his Uncle has kept from him his entire life, he won't survive long enough to stand against the tide that is coming and make the choice that could threaten to hurl the world into chaos and stain it red with a sea of blood...
To make his day worse, it seems that the same person responsible for taking down Pete is also minting amateur warlocks left and right—and the body count is quickly piling up. Add to that weretiger Cole Sheppard, who has a pack of angry shifters right behind him, and pushy Detective Vanessa Moreno, who can't decide whether to arrest Adam or follow him into battle, and Adam's first week on the job might just be his last.
But there's other trouble brewing in Portland—and unless Adam can come to grips with his fate, his allies, and the secrets his Uncle has kept from him his entire life, he won't survive long enough to stand against the tide that is coming and make the choice that could threaten to hurl the world into chaos and stain it red with a sea of blood...
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First published January 28, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 13, 2015
I’m not usually a big fan of urban fantasy…I’ve tried getting into “The Dresden Files” and other similar series, but I just don’t get hooked quickly enough to keep my interest. That is NOT what happened with “Rune and Claw.” I was hooked in the first few pages.
The story is fast-paced, a total page turner, with lots of great action and a very driving story arc. As it is set in Portland, I was chuckling to myself the whole time when I would recognize local landmarks and neighborhoods – Forest Park as the location of a demon attack prevented by a weretiger? Awesome. Gresham as the less-desirable home of the shifters while the more fashionable vamps get the Pearl District? Hilarious.
There are three things I think set this first book in the series apart from other, more formulaic treatments of magic, shifters, vampires and noir:
First, the characters are unique. Adam is snarky, a little goofy, somewhat clumsy and awkward, a little self-conscious and not as arrogant as other lead figures in similar stories. He felt like someone I might have actually met in Portland – funny, witty, a little dorky, and really very sympathetic. The supporter characters are equally interestingly fleshed out – yes, they are archetypes of the genre, but much more fully realized and compelling.
Second, the backstory and history is both rich and complex while, at the same time, not requiring long, drawn out, labored explanations of the magic system or context. Yes, there are demons, warlocks, shifters, vampires, and secret, shadowy orders that oversee the non-human/human interaction – but those elements are seamlessly folded into the story. You don’t need a five thousand year history of The Court or The Hall to understand what they are and how they function. The world is so fully realized, and well integrated into the story, that it feels almost like an alternative history novel.
Third, the two main characters are gay. Not politically, in-your face, with an attitude about changing the way the world sees gay people kind of way. They are warlocks and shifters, people with families and friends, facing adversity and struggle (often involving demonic creatures with very long talons), experiencing sorrow and joy, developing relationships, being funny and scared…and, oh yeah…they just so happen to be gay.
Having an urban fantasy novel with a gay protagonist isn’t 100% unique in the world, but having a gay protagonist whose sexual orientation is so easily and comfortably a part of his world…well, in many ways it is one of the most progressive ways to include gay characters in a popular work of sci-fi…just let them be gay and don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s just…you know…a thing that people are.
Loved it. Can’t wait for the next one.
The story is fast-paced, a total page turner, with lots of great action and a very driving story arc. As it is set in Portland, I was chuckling to myself the whole time when I would recognize local landmarks and neighborhoods – Forest Park as the location of a demon attack prevented by a weretiger? Awesome. Gresham as the less-desirable home of the shifters while the more fashionable vamps get the Pearl District? Hilarious.
There are three things I think set this first book in the series apart from other, more formulaic treatments of magic, shifters, vampires and noir:
First, the characters are unique. Adam is snarky, a little goofy, somewhat clumsy and awkward, a little self-conscious and not as arrogant as other lead figures in similar stories. He felt like someone I might have actually met in Portland – funny, witty, a little dorky, and really very sympathetic. The supporter characters are equally interestingly fleshed out – yes, they are archetypes of the genre, but much more fully realized and compelling.
Second, the backstory and history is both rich and complex while, at the same time, not requiring long, drawn out, labored explanations of the magic system or context. Yes, there are demons, warlocks, shifters, vampires, and secret, shadowy orders that oversee the non-human/human interaction – but those elements are seamlessly folded into the story. You don’t need a five thousand year history of The Court or The Hall to understand what they are and how they function. The world is so fully realized, and well integrated into the story, that it feels almost like an alternative history novel.
Third, the two main characters are gay. Not politically, in-your face, with an attitude about changing the way the world sees gay people kind of way. They are warlocks and shifters, people with families and friends, facing adversity and struggle (often involving demonic creatures with very long talons), experiencing sorrow and joy, developing relationships, being funny and scared…and, oh yeah…they just so happen to be gay.
Having an urban fantasy novel with a gay protagonist isn’t 100% unique in the world, but having a gay protagonist whose sexual orientation is so easily and comfortably a part of his world…well, in many ways it is one of the most progressive ways to include gay characters in a popular work of sci-fi…just let them be gay and don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s just…you know…a thing that people are.
Loved it. Can’t wait for the next one.
September 28, 2015
An unexpectedly great read. The start was a little disorientating but the plot interest built up steadily and my attention was gripped until the end. Don't expect the traditional M-M romance built into the urban paranormal story though - the like/love/fear/withdraw elements are strongly drawn between our two male MCs (one of whom is a shape-shifter). I can only anticipate a long multi-story romance arc for these two. Thank God one of them looks like being more persistent than the other - else it will not end well. There's quite a deal of 'horror'/monster/creature from other dimension action - but not so gory that it overwhelmed my general reading squeamishness. I look forward to the next book in the series.
March 29, 2015
I discovered this on Amazon today. I love Fantasy. The whole "mage and shifter team up with the police to save the world" has been done before, but, it's one of my favorite genres. I liked the story and Adam the MC. And even though this is no sex in this book, I still see the romance building between Adam and Cole. I am so into this and ready to read book two.
September 4, 2015
While this is not my typical genre of book, a friend convinced me to pick it up, and I’m glad I did! This book was very entertaining and the characters and plot end up being very well thought-out and not cheesy like I was afraid of. This story is unique because the main character, Adam, is not your typical run-of-the-mill hero. He’s fairly ordinary and has no noble or bold ambitions. It is interesting to watch Adam develop as crises occur and see the process of how a “hero,” or at the very least a very strong character, is made. If you enjoy Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter, you’ll like this book of fantasy and Sci-Fi. Awesome first edition of the Adam Saint series!
August 28, 2015
Well-written but
This really deserves more stars if I based it purely on writing and editing. Unfortunately, I read an earlier version of this story a few months ago and loved it. I just didn't like most of the changes. Between plotlines and characters changing I just didn't like it as well.
This version might be easier to write book 2 to but I loved the MC Adam Saint in the first book. In this book I found him kind of boring and wishy washy . I was just really disappointed.
This really deserves more stars if I based it purely on writing and editing. Unfortunately, I read an earlier version of this story a few months ago and loved it. I just didn't like most of the changes. Between plotlines and characters changing I just didn't like it as well.
This version might be easier to write book 2 to but I loved the MC Adam Saint in the first book. In this book I found him kind of boring and wishy washy . I was just really disappointed.
February 3, 2015
This is more of a MM Paranormal than a romance. It took me a minute to get into the action, but everything worked out at the end.
I wanted more of a relationship between the MCs, but I guess I will need to wait until the next book.
I wanted more of a relationship between the MCs, but I guess I will need to wait until the next book.
March 9, 2017
4.5 stars
He emphasizes way too many words and it often feels random and completely unnecessary. I don't like being told where to emphasizesomething, especially when I would never emphasize that many words in a paragraph. It was so annoying, I almost couldn't keep reading.
But other than that, the story was interesting, the MC likable and humorous. The magic was interesting and complex, although not particularly original. I did like the portable quick use spells/charms on little squares of paper.
I think there was an intent to be the gay Harry Dresden, complete with petite female feisty brilliant police detective sidekick and I think it succeeded at that fairly well.
The story started off with a bang, right in the middle of the action, and although it was without any real danger, there was still a mild injury. It was mostly to get the energy up and that worked well. Unfortunately, that meant that in this short book, the actual plot didn't start until a fourth of the way into it.
The editing was atrocious, stuff most word processors would catch like United States being lowercase.
I wish I knew why the book was reissued with the same title almost three times as long, with a different author and the love interest having a different last name. That's the kind of crap that irks me about self-publishing.
Vanessa bought into things WAY too easily. Then taking them along on what was essentially a stake out... but she was kick ass which just illustrates my observation that m/m books that are sexist are pretty much always written by women and that ones written by men are almost always feminist/egalitarian.
That was fun. Good climactic scene, peril, hospital bedside vigil--wonderful. This needed to be longer though so I may end up reading the longer version before reading the sequel.
He emphasizes way too many words and it often feels random and completely unnecessary. I don't like being told where to emphasizesomething, especially when I would never emphasize that many words in a paragraph. It was so annoying, I almost couldn't keep reading.
But other than that, the story was interesting, the MC likable and humorous. The magic was interesting and complex, although not particularly original. I did like the portable quick use spells/charms on little squares of paper.
I think there was an intent to be the gay Harry Dresden, complete with petite female feisty brilliant police detective sidekick and I think it succeeded at that fairly well.
The story started off with a bang, right in the middle of the action, and although it was without any real danger, there was still a mild injury. It was mostly to get the energy up and that worked well. Unfortunately, that meant that in this short book, the actual plot didn't start until a fourth of the way into it.
The editing was atrocious, stuff most word processors would catch like United States being lowercase.
I wish I knew why the book was reissued with the same title almost three times as long, with a different author and the love interest having a different last name. That's the kind of crap that irks me about self-publishing.
Vanessa bought into things WAY too easily. Then taking them along on what was essentially a stake out... but she was kick ass which just illustrates my observation that m/m books that are sexist are pretty much always written by women and that ones written by men are almost always feminist/egalitarian.
That was fun. Good climactic scene, peril, hospital bedside vigil--wonderful. This needed to be longer though so I may end up reading the longer version before reading the sequel.
February 29, 2020
My only complaint is that the only ebook available isn't complete. It's amazing and the world building is top notch. Too bad I basically only got to read a long sample.
September 5, 2015
Wow, this was unexpected!
Well, first of all this is a story more along the lines of Kate Daniels kicking ass than anywhere near romance or worse, erotic. Don't let that shifter + m/m fool you! Yes, there is attraction. Nope, that is not the story. Adam needs a few too many hugs to even think about that. (Cole is SO thinking about that, oh yes.)
Second thing: It is a gay story, yes, but there are females running around and the third main character is a *drum roll* police woman. Strong, competent and part of the story. YES! Just for that fact alone it gets an addional star.
Oh and then there is the world-building. There are humans, police, vampires, shifters, politics and demons! I love those otherworldly monsters already. They are creepy, dangerous and frankly a bit terrifying.
But the greatest thing is the story itself, which has great turning points and managed to take me by surprise a few times. This definitely isn't a story that goes A + B = C.
The only downside is, that the story's pace sometimes feels as if it's stumbling a bit. Considering that this is Castle's first book, I am expecting great things to come. :)
Well, first of all this is a story more along the lines of Kate Daniels kicking ass than anywhere near romance or worse, erotic. Don't let that shifter + m/m fool you! Yes, there is attraction. Nope, that is not the story. Adam needs a few too many hugs to even think about that. (Cole is SO thinking about that, oh yes.)
Second thing: It is a gay story, yes, but there are females running around and the third main character is a *drum roll* police woman. Strong, competent and part of the story. YES! Just for that fact alone it gets an addional star.
Oh and then there is the world-building. There are humans, police, vampires, shifters, politics and demons! I love those otherworldly monsters already. They are creepy, dangerous and frankly a bit terrifying.
But the greatest thing is the story itself, which has great turning points and managed to take me by surprise a few times. This definitely isn't a story that goes A + B = C.
The only downside is, that the story's pace sometimes feels as if it's stumbling a bit. Considering that this is Castle's first book, I am expecting great things to come. :)
February 17, 2015
There were a few editing mistakes throughout, which is the only reason I gave it four stars. This book is a little short, but the story is really good. I like finding a good urban fantasy read with a gay main character. There was plenty of action, and Adam Saint, the main character (the book is written in first person from his point of view, pretty typical for the genre), is funny and kind of cute throughout. I'd like to see more development of Cole's character, and hope that Vanessa gets some good page time as well! She seems like she might be the 'Detective Murphy' for this series, but I guess without the love story arc since she's a chick. The ending definitely makes me wonder where this series is going to go, I'm looking forward to the next one which I guess is coming out pretty soon. Overall a really good read!
February 5, 2015
Adam is a Magus. He finds out that his uncle has been killed. Cole arrives at his Uncle office injury. He finds out that Cole was their when his Uncle made the creature follow him. Adam is not sure if he should trust Cole in helping to find out why his Uncle was killed. The detective assign to his Uncle case has been doing some digging and find some things. Vanessa is then introduction to the others, she see the shifters in real life. They find the Magus that are trying to destroy the veil, in the process Adam is hurt. This is a must read book and can't wait to see what happens with Adam and Cole. Is Vanessa going to be able to handle the veil and her job as detective.
OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK: This is awesome book.Can't wait to see what happens next.
MY RATING: 5 Hearts *****
OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE BOOK: This is awesome book.Can't wait to see what happens next.
MY RATING: 5 Hearts *****
February 1, 2015
Really funny. A promising start that could have been expanded. The normal rules of shifter packs are "shifted" in this world. It could be interesting to see in which direction the author chooses to take this series. It would be great if it could be in the vein of Kim Harrison's Hollow Series, or the Noble Dead Saga by the Hendees (although both of those had bigger and better starts than this). I'm willing to give Olsen the time to grow because the book held my interest with the use of ancient mythos and made me laugh.
A few errors in syntax were present but I cannot tell if that's because of formatting or lack of knowledge.
A few errors in syntax were present but I cannot tell if that's because of formatting or lack of knowledge.
March 1, 2015
Just the beginning
It is a good start to this new series. I like the characters, and Adam Saint is a really cool lead. I usually don't like to read books revolving around magic but the way this story is told is very straight forward and easy to keep a clear picture of what is going on. I only gave 3 stars because the relationship between Adam and Cole is shallow. I realise they were just introduced but Adam was pretty distant in showing to "us" how he feels towards Cole. I hope the next installment shows some deeper connection and feeling. We will see....
It is a good start to this new series. I like the characters, and Adam Saint is a really cool lead. I usually don't like to read books revolving around magic but the way this story is told is very straight forward and easy to keep a clear picture of what is going on. I only gave 3 stars because the relationship between Adam and Cole is shallow. I realise they were just introduced but Adam was pretty distant in showing to "us" how he feels towards Cole. I hope the next installment shows some deeper connection and feeling. We will see....
November 2, 2015
I really liked the storyline and characters, despite the gay overtones.
There were quite a few editing mistakes. Which gave it a slight unfinished and self published feel to it.
the series has a promising future if it can sort the editing and dull down the overly gay parts.
The cover is pretty tasteless and tacky to say the least.
There were quite a few editing mistakes. Which gave it a slight unfinished and self published feel to it.
the series has a promising future if it can sort the editing and dull down the overly gay parts.
The cover is pretty tasteless and tacky to say the least.
April 1, 2016
3.5
it would be more, but I read previous version first and kinda liked it more.
If I didn't read previous version first this one would be 4.5 probably, I just couldn't stop myself from comparing two -sorry
that isn't to say that I'm not be impatiently waiting for next one :)
February 3, 2015
You know what? I'm not big fan of this hocus pocus, shifter stuff but I enjoyed the hell out this book. Five stars. I really want to know more about Cole. If I could have a play thing he'd be it.
Waiting patiently for book two.
Waiting patiently for book two.
February 1, 2015
Rune &Claw (The Adam Saint Series Book 1)
This was pretty good will be looking for the next one hopefully it will be just as good as the first one..
This was pretty good will be looking for the next one hopefully it will be just as good as the first one..
February 4, 2015
Would have gotten 5 stars but...
Too many editing mistakes. Otherwise a very good start. The story was different and fun. I am looking forward to the next book of Adam and Cole.
Too many editing mistakes. Otherwise a very good start. The story was different and fun. I am looking forward to the next book of Adam and Cole.
March 21, 2015
I really liked it! I was surprised at how much! Can't wait to see Adam's evolution.
September 7, 2015
I really liked it. Great pace and story line. Kept the reader guessing. there was a nice blossoming romance with out to much romance. great for those who like action adventure fantasy books.
September 13, 2016
Excellent start to a series about a mage who's an enforcer of sorts; looking forward to reading more tales in this 'verse.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews