Between Jobs

The City Between #1

by W.R. Gingell

When you get up in the morning, the last thing you expect is to see a murdered guy hanging outside your window. Things like that tend to draw the attention of the local police, and when you’re squatting in your parents’ old house until you can afford to buy it, another thing you can’t afford is the attention of the cops.

Oh yeah. Hi. My name is Pet.

It’s not my real name, but it’s the only one you’re getting. Things like names are important these days.

And it’s not so much that I’m Pet.

I’m a pet.

A human pet: I belong to the two Behindkind fae and the pouty vampire who just moved into my house. It’s not weird, I promise—well, it’s weird, yeah. But it’s not weird weird, you know?

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

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2018

About the author

W.R. Gingell is a Tasmanian author of urban fantasy, fairy-tale retellings, and madcap science fiction who doesn’t seem to be able to write a book without a body suddenly turning up. She solemnly swears that all such bodies are strictly fictional in nature.

W.R. spends her time reading, drinking a truly ridiculous amount of tea, and slouching in front of the fire to write. Like Peter Pan, she never really grew up, and is still occasionally to be found climbing trees.

GOODREADS FRIEND POLICY: I don't tend to friend anyone unless they're a personal friend or someone from my close author circle. I have a limited social battery which needs constant care. If you want to keep up with my reading/writing, you can absolutely follow me here or on pretty much any social media site.

Reviews

[Sylvia Mercedes · Rating 5 out of 5]

So any of you who have been following my blog for any length of time at all already know this--I'm completely mad about anything written by W.R. Gingell. I mean, seriously. If it's got her name on it, I'm there. But usually she writes fairy-tale retellings (sort of) with a more classic fantasy flair (kind of), so when I saw that she was writing an urban fantasy featuring fae and vampires, I was a bit surprised. Intrigued. Bewildered.

And totally on board for whatever she wanted to write.

I actually read Between Jobs a few months ago. It came out in late May, and I devoured it within days of release. But I've been saving it to review as art of my Month of Fae Revels, since it technically falls within this category. The main character--whose real name we never learn, but who is sort-of-affectionately known as "Pet" by her three otherworldly roommates--ends up venturing into Between and Behind, which serves as a completely freaky variation on Fairyland. Two of her "roommates" are fae: immortal, powerful, arrogant, dangerous. The other is a vampire. Only he's a Korean vampire who understands but will not speak English, so that makes for some interesting dynamics.

I've honestly never read anything like this book. I'm categorizing it as fae fantasy, but it's not like any of the other books I'm featuring this month. The plot is crazy, all-over-the-place, twisted, and alluring. I was never entirely certain I had my feet under me the whole time I read it . . . all I knew for sure was that I enjoyed every moment!

Pet makes for a dynamic and completely individual heroine. Gingell has a gift for creating fascinating heroines, no two of them alike, and through their unique perspectives we get to observe their equally unique worlds. And there was never a world more unique than Between Jobs!

The story is dark, hilarious, twisted, and just plain fun . . . except when the blood and guts are flying. Then it's still fun but in a peering-between-my-fingers sort of way. I CANNOT wait for book 2, and while I'm waiting, I'm doing everything I can to try to convince my friends to pick up this book and get as addicted as I am to Gingell's writing!

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is different in a lot of ways so it's going to be really hard to predict who might like it or not. The main character goes by Pet, though it's a couple of chapters before that actually happens. Her background is definitely fraught. Her parents died three years ago and she's been essentially squatting in their home ever since in a tiny bedroom hidden behind a bookcase (child-me has definite envy, here). She works sub-rosa at a diner that pays in a mix of cash and food with the plan to buy the house once she turns 18 and is "legal" (I assume that means out of danger of being a ward of the state, i.e. Australia).

We get hints of oddities about the house but the incident that starts us off is a murder of the weird guy across the street in a house with way more oddities than Pet's. Showing up to investigate are three "psychos" who have their own versions of odd and end up renting her house (and later buying it for reasons that are obscure). Ghosting around, Pet learns that they are two fae and a vampire and does her best to stay hidden. Which works for a while until it doesn't. At which point, she tap-dances like crazy to convince them that she should stay at the house she is so attached to. Which is where the pet thing comes in. She cooks and cleans and they don't kick her out or turn her in. Later on, they make an explicit deal that when Zero (yeah, whatever) and his friends leave, he'll sign the house over to her, cementing her cooperation.

So let me say at this point and with emphasis that there is nothing sexual or romantic in this story at all, not even a little bit. Which Melissa tells me doesn't make her being their pet any less creepy, but whatever. I liked the dynamic it setup with the obviously much more powerful otherworlders taking a casually neglectful attitude towards her and her doing her best to serve her own needs in the midst of the dangerously powerful dudes occupying her home—kind of like living around waltzing elephants who sometimes bestow gifts but want regular feedings.

The worldbuilding, with behindkind and betweenkind plaguing her hometown, worked well-enough. And the plot was at least interesting. It wasn't a surprise to learn that Pet is maybe more than she seems as it all fits neatly around her parents being cyphers and the house being, possibly, a bit more than it should be. So I enjoyed the internal speculation it setup and was eagerly along for the ride.

Note that I'm not saying her background actually adds up. No kid spends three years hiding in her house without getting even a little bit lax in her leave-no-trace discipline and I'm pretty sure Australia wouldn't have as little record of her existence as indicated just because she was homeschooled or whatever. But that all fits under giving the book its premise so I gave it the starting point. It didn't need any more than that, so I'm good with it.

So this ends up being a satisfying five stars but with that caveat above that I have no idea how that'll translate to others. It's a weird setup with an odd power dynamic that won't sit well with everyone.

A note about Chaste: I'm marking this chaste, but it isn't a romance, there are no romantic or physical relationships. At all. Which is just as well because Pet is six months shy of eighteen and squick doesn't begin to cover how that'd work with these thirty-plus guys.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 4 out of 5]

⤅ This is going to be a review for the whole series, which I don't usually do but it's a LONG one and I can't be bothered to review every single book individually.

I first started reading this series just over three years ago. At the time, I stalled on book 7, and the other 3 hadn't been released yet. Last week I figured it was time to try again, and this time I managed to get through all 10 instalments. Each is about 13 chapters long, but they're LONG chapters, so they're still full-length books (in case you were worried it was like a serial).

The premise is so intriguing. 17-year-old Pet - not her real name - has been living alone in her house for the past four years, ever since her parents were brutally murdered. Nobody knows she's there; in fact, nobody knows she exists. All she does is slip out to work and back home.

Then the guy who lives in the house opposite hers is murdered. Enter Zero, a stoic albino fae;Athelas, a conniving fae tea-drinker; and JinYeong, a reckless vampire. The three of them are Behindkind, from the World Behind, and they're here to hunt down the killer. In the process, they take over Pet's house, and that's when she earns her name - as their human pet who's given protection and promised her house in future, in exchange for duties around the house. Over the course of the series, their relationship deepens and develops, but there are constant setbacks as the murderer constantly eludes them.

Here's a range of things I love about the series...

✔️ Excellent technical writing, flows well and hooks you straight in. First time I was getting through this series, I read the first SEVEN books in FOUR days.

✔️ Amazing unique plot. I loved the way Pet ends up being adopted as their pet and helping them solve mysteries. The visualisation and world-building is great.

✔️ The characterisation is FABULOUS. All caps. Pet is stubborn, and idealistic, without coming across as irritatingly naïve, and her dynamic with all three of her housemates is awesome.

✔️ I LOVE the author's presentation of grey morality. Of course supernatural creatures don't think much of humans! Nor should they. Their journey (that of Zero and Athelas the fae, and JinYeong the Korean vampire) into growing from completely cold-hearted bastards into people who MAYBE have a soft spot for Pet is slow and believable.

✔️ The romance... swoon-worthy. It's a VERY VERY SLOW-BURN romance, like there isn't even the mildest hint of romance until book 5. But I love slow-burn, especially when the payoff is as great as this one. It's with JinYeong, who is pouty, metrosexual, viciously dangerous, and mildly psychopathic but also totally in love with Pet. I am so here for it. Also, she's completely oblivious to him, which is my favourite trope. I will say that surprisingly, I was more interested in this romance before they actually got together, but I think that's because I loved Pet and JinYeong's antagonism, which largely dies down after book 8.

I do, however, have some complaints.

❌ JinYeong speaks mostly Korean and it's rarely translated for the reader's benefit, so I had to Google a lot and wasn't always successful in unearthing what he meant. I did pick up some phrases (if I ever go to Korea, I will now helpfully be able to tell people to 'watch out' or ask for 'blood') but it was frustrating feeling like I was missing so much subtext.

❌ I'll be honest, at times the plot gets really confusing. Each individual book has its own arc, but the series also has multiple overarching plot lines, which mostly intersect with each other but sometimes left me feeling dizzy. I do feel like even though the world-building is so deep and rich, so much constantly-changing information is thrown at the reader that there's no hope of keeping up.

❌ This isn't really a complaint, but I WISH Pet had better friends. Apart from her three psychos, as she calls that, she collects a ragtag group of humans and other Behindkind whom she thinks of as her family, and for whom she thinks nothing of sacrificing herself. But they very evidently don't feel the same way, and it sort of broke my heart a little - she's clearly so desperate for love and companionship that she'd attach to people like Morgana and Ralph, who honestly don't deserve her and never do anything to really help her.

⤅ Overall

I went on to reread some Sherwood Smith and Andrea K Host after this, so I am well and truly on a YA fantasy kick right now. Suave heroes a plus.

[Blog] - [Bookstagram]

[Amelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

(second reread, September 2025, four stars):

So weird. So fantastic.

(This time around, I’m also particularly marveling at how the author uses adjectives and adverbs with power and skill. It’s such a unique form of prose, and it’s perfect for this story.)

(Also the audiobooks for this series have got to be some of my favorites.)

UPDATED REVIEW (first reread March 2022, four stars):
The foreshadowing is incredible.

The character voices are impeccable.

The bizarre creativity is fantastic (in both senses of the word).

This was so, so much better on the reread. Still just as weird as ever, but so well-written and simply fascinating.

(Also, for audiobook fans, Zehra Jane Naqvi does an absolutely fantastic job narrating this series!)


ORIGINAL REVIEW (first read August 2021, three stars):
I don’t know why in the world I read this since I don’t usually like books like this...but yeah. I did. I read a book with vampires. Of my own free will. Who am I and what have I done with Amelie?

Ahem. Anyway.

The weird, random story of Between Jobs reminded me of an N.D. Wilson book but with its own unique style.

I feel like I didn’t get to know the characters very well since this was largely a mystery novel, but I still ended up liking most of them. Pet was great. Zero was great. Athelas was great. JinYeong was…annoying. XD It never ceased to amuse me how Pet kept calling those last three “my three psychos.”

Throughout the book, I appreciated that Pet wasn’t sickeningly dramatic like a lot of YA female protagonists, and she was a delightful main character with her wisecracking personality. However, some of her reactions to things felt a little unrealistic. (For example, she was rather matter-of-fact regarding many of the murder scenes she witnessed. You’d think she’d be way more traumatized after what she witnessed, especially after what she witnessed when she was younger.)

Per the summary for this book, Pet is…well, a pet, and it did weird me out that she (a seventeen-year-old female) lived in a house with three men. And that she referred to them as her “owners.”

…somehow this story works. But it’s still very, very weird.

I’m also confused. Everything is so random. (My thoughts during the book were something like: “Okay…I’m confused. Haha! So…weird. Still confused. Ha! Weird. This is unapologetically strange.” Etc.)

I’m intrigued enough and I enjoyed Between Jobs enough to continue reading this series, though. I’ve read many positive reviews, and I’ve heard the books get better, so I’m willing to give it another go. The wit and Australian flavor made this a fairly enjoyable urban fantasy overall…despite the abundance of weirdness.

This book is very, very odd and is definitely not for everyone. (I haven’t even fully decided if it’s for me yet.) But somehow, it was a flamin’ good time.

heads-up for intense violence, gore, and fae magic

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an interesting read, and I had so much fun with the characters!



So-in this book we have our main h, Pet (thats right Pet), who is a 17 year old living and squatting in the house where her parents were brutally murdered when she was 13. She has been on her own since then by working under the table jobs in hopes of earning enough to eventually buy her parents house outright.

However, her plan of staying hidden and under the radar changes when the guy next door is killed under mysterious circumstances too, and with his death-fate brings three mysterious strangers into her life. Or more precisely as she states, her Psychos, who are definitely anything but normal...






x---------------------------------x




So, I really enjoyed the sort of trippy nature of this book and the unique characters. Mostly I really liked Pet's character, the guys, as well as the background we were getting about the Behind and Between. The descriptions really set my imagination going!




In my head I kind of imagine it as like a more fluid and creepier version of the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland what with her being able to pluck objects from Between reality and somehow see what they are/could be.





There is something so adaptable about Pet that I really admire. Also, I'm not constantly thinking 'why isn't she questioning this, or that, or freaking out' its just that fact that she's kind of cooky in her own right, and just goes with everything that makes her really fascinating.
Also, on a side note, I found it kinda interesting that even though she's the main character and were reading in her voice we never really get a description of her.

All I can say is def try this series out if you have KU- I blew through 5 books so quickly because I couldn't put them down! Would recommend!






((oh, but P.S. I wish the author had put translations of what JinYeong is actually saying in the back of the book for those of us that were interested. Its been a while, but I took Korean a few years ago, so even though it was romanized I pretty much got the gist of what he was saying a lot of the times- but even I was a little bit frustrated when I didn't know certain romanized words, and b.c its not in hangul it was hard to look up.
P.P.S- talk to text speech works on your phone if you switch to a Korean keyboard and use Google Translate))

[Kateblue · Rating 2 out of 5]

1) Great worldbuilding, poorly explained.
2) Clunky writing.
3) ADD first-person protagonist. Just when you thought something was going to happen, she's talking about something else. No action was ever described without 20 asides and digressions. It's like a puppy, and it's seeing squirrels repeatedly, which makes it frantic and too excited.
4) Not really a cliffhanger, but lots of new ideas and unfinished threads at the end. Yet I don't feel like reading the next one. If I thought the asides and digressions would stop, I would continue. But I doubt it.
5) The guy that only spoke Korean was annoying because he only spoke Korean.
6) She needs to STOP sticking her tongue out. Stupid. Apparently that's the only way she can express an emotion.
7) I never really did figure out the goals of the 3 guys. Confusing. Point of story obscure.

The thing is, I am interested in this world and the character. I may read more eventually. (Too bad I bought them already after reading this book's beginning only.) We'll see if my mind returns to this book. If it does, I may try the rest. But they better flow better or I will be done.

[Tricia Mingerink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Read Review:
Did I just re-read this book only about a month after reading it the first time? Yep. Yep, I did. It's that good. Also, it came out on audiobook, so of course I immediately bought the audiobook and had to listen to it.

The audiobook narrator does a great job with this crazy book. I loved the trace of Australian accent that reminded me of the setting but wasn't so overwhelming that it made the book hard to understand. Well done. Well worth a listen.

Original Review:
Oh. My. Vampires. What in Tasmania did I just read?????

I've been hearing about W.R. Gingell's books for a while now and finally picked this one up since it is in Kindle Unlimited. Wow. Just. Wow. I was so blown away.

This book is one of the craziest things I have ever read. The author just has such a zany imagination. I'm in awe.

In some ways, this book shouldn't work. The main character is barely described. We don't even know her name. So much of the backstory and current story and stuff that is happening is never fully explained since Pet doesn't want to think about how her parents died and her fae and vampire owners aren't going to explain things in too much depth to their pet.

Oh, yeah. Did I mention the main character kind of ends up a human pet for two fae and a moody vampire? Honestly, that should be creepy. Or weird. Well, it is weird. But it somehow works in this book. I'm not even sure how it works. Maybe because the main character is just so sarcastic and fully embraces her role as a pet...down to being mischievous and sometimes disobeying just because she thinks she can get away with it.

And the world building in this book. All the layers and craziness. I can't even begin to explain it. Probably because the book doesn't fully explain it, and it somehow makes it all the cooler because it isn't fully explained.

What I also really loved was that this urban fantasy is set in Hobart, Tasmania. Sometimes even international authors set their urban fantasy books in England or the United States, but this Aussie author fully embraces her locale and all the dialect and slang that goes with it. All the slang really added to the book, and I just LOVED it.

There is some blood and violence. Some mild descriptions of a vampire ripping people's throats out, that sort of thing. Mostly blood and sound is described while anything more gory is skimmed over.

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third time around, as part of my grand post-finale re-read, it strikes me just how far Pet grows as a character in this series. By the end of this series, Pet has well and truly come into her own; but to come back to the beginning and see how starved for love she is, how incurious, how desperate, and how utterly powerless she is almost hurts. Stick with it: it gets better. This series has THE most epic character arcs.

--

Bravo, Wendee!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While I'll always have a particularly soft spot for Masque, I think this unique, peculiar, and darkly comedic urban fantasy might be the best thing of hers I've read yet.

First, there's the fun of the Australian setting, which is most evident in Pet's language. Then there are the characters. Pet's "three psychos" are all utterly distinct, memorable, and dangerous in their own unique ways, and their backstories, dimly glimpsed, add much epic to the story. Zero is part human and might also be a fae prince; JinYeong was once his friend and now fights by his side to make sure that nobody else kills him; Athelas is the soft-spoken family retainer who might be the most ruthless of them all.

Together, they turn up in Hobart to investigate paranormal crime, and somehow wind up adopting Pet, who is used to being treated like something less than human but has her own sneaky ways of getting what she wants. There's no romance at all in this book, which is an excellent thing for this particular stable of characters, just lots of adventure and plenty of off-kilter humour. I'll definitely be reading this series further!

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly fun. I hope in the next book the romance kicks up a notch.

[Intisar Khanani]

A fast-paced fun read, starting with bloody murder and featuring two cold-blooded fae and one very pouty vampire. Our main character, Pet, has a fabulous voice, and is both fearless and pragmatic, a wonderful combination. Definitely recommend!

[Elizabeth]

well that was one interesting story...

I tried listening to this but wasn't enjoying it as much as I thought it ought to be enjoyed. Then my library purchased ebooks of the first three books in the series and I was overjoyed. Read this in 24 hours.

I really don't have an opinion and won't try to think of who I should recommend this to. If you enjoy *weird* fantasy mystery stuff, you may like this book. Who knows.

Weird in a good way, for clarification.

No rating.

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/1/19 - on sale for $0.99 and free on kindle unlimited

“I can only imagine the mess it might cause, and as a whole, the Fae are only inclined to approve of mess when it’s their own doing.”

Our protagonist, we will call her Pet, is squatting in her parents house. They were murdered seven years ago, and she is avoiding social services and working at a crappy job so she can be paid in cash and stay off the radar.

The story begins when she looks out her window and sees a murder victim. The police come to investigate, and so do three men. Although these men aren’t human. There’s Zero, a fae, Athelas, a fae and Zero’s steward, and JinYeoung, a vampire.

Zero has bought Pet’s house to have a base while investigating these murders, because while there has just been one in the human realm, they are similar to murders he’s investigating in Behind and Below.

Pet is quickly discovered living in the house, and she is reluctantly allowed to stay.

“She does make a good cup of tea, after all. Let’s have her as a pet.”
Zero said coolly, “Don’t go giving it a name and patting it on the head. Don’t get fond of it. It’ll die soon enough.”

Zero is the leader of the group. He’s strong and focused on the investigation. Althelas is clever, he knew pet was in the house all along and kept quiet just to mess with JinYeoung. And JinYeoung can understand English perfectly well, but refuses to respond in anything but Korean. He aggravates Pet and she gives it right back. I love the back and forth, it’s clear by context what he’s saying, and if it’s not clear, Althelas will helpfully translate.

I was really charmed with this story. It has a casual sense of humor. Pet is smart, she’s funny and sarcastic, and although she is only a human in the world of fae and vampire, she does hold her own.

There’s zero romance in this novel. It’s a great start to a unique urban fantasy. It reads a little young, it’s more YA than adult urban fantasy. It’s also set in Australia, and there’s some vernacular I wasn’t familiar with but easy to understand in context.

This book is setting the ground work for the series. Why can Pet see things in the Behind and Below? What exactly is Pet? Is she fully human? Why were her parents murdered? But most importantly, who was paying the electric and water for the past seven years? This was bothering me all along, and is actually called out at the end of the book. So not a plot hole or sloppy writing, but maybe a mystery.

Recommend for urban fantasy/fae fans. Free on kindle unlimited.

[Marzipop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi. We need to talk. Just a lil' ol' heart to heart here. About this story.

When I read books, it's very difficult for me to become attached to characters. I'm a big old baby who cries at the drop of a hat. Doesn't even matter if it's a sad event, I'll cry when it's happy, I cry when I laugh, I cry when something is cute.

I get dehydrated a lot.


So, in the attempts to prevent myself from becoming a shriveled husk there's some things i'm a little more cynical with. Getting too attached to fictional characters is one of them.



(Looking at you Game of Thrones)

This was so well written my heart has been completely stolen by this series. I sincerely adore every single character in this book. If they were real people I would want to be their friends, and probably maybe die for them. At least for Pet I would. And Zero. And JinYeong. And Athelas. And...



This is a story about a group of dysfunctional, magical people (and 1 human teenager they found) trying to put two and two together... and maybe become a family along the way.



With a grumpy Fae lord as the 'Mom' of the group, a scholarly/murdery fae servant as the 'uncle whose a bad influence', and a Korean vampire whose the annoying sibling, you really can't go wrong with this book.

I'm a huge, giant baby. And even though I tried not to, I can tell you that I pretty much cried happy tears through the whole thing for the several books that are out at the time of this review.

If you like Australia, Spirited Away, Tokyo Godfathers, Howl's Moving Castle, Undertale, Korean dramas, and a whole lot of love, give this one a go. If you like it, keep going. There are so many amazing characters to meet, mysteries to solve, worlds to explore and maybe just a little dash of romance. maybe.



Cheers!

[Angela (Angel's Book Nook) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between Jobs is book one in The City Between series by W. R. Gingell and narrated by Zehra Jane Naqvi.

I was so enamored by the audio narration. Zehra Jane Naqvi captured me from the first moment until the last. I couldn’t stop listening! I loved all the voices; especially JinYeoung, vampire, who will only speak Korean even though he knows English and understands it. This element added something more and special to the story.

Between Jobs is an interesting and unusual story. I liked the concept and characters introduced to us. Our lead, Pet (can’t remember if the author tells us her real name), is a 17-year-old-women living alone in a house that was her’s, but isn’t. She finds herself waking up one morning to a dead almost decapitated body outside her window and soon she’s immersed in the Fae world and a few different mysteries.

I really liked all the characters introduced. Each has a distinct personality and the interactions between Pet and her three psycho’s was a lot of fun to watch. It’s an odd relationship, but one that works for the supernaturals. It’s clear their is something different about Pet, but we don’t know what that is. Besides Jenyung who only speaks Korean, we are also introduced to Zero, a Fae, and Athelas another Fae. Zero is the leader of the psychos and we learn some tidbits about him. Athelas sits back and finds humor in the interactions of the others. The dynamics between all is great.

Between Jobs wrapped up well considering some threads and questions are left open. I enjoyed the story enough that I went out and borrowed the next book, Between Shifts, in the series from my library to listen too. I recommend the audio. I don’t think I would have liked this book as much had I not listened.

Rated: 3.5 Stars

[Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not often that I can say that I've truly fallen head-over-heels for a book. After all, considering the amount of books I read, I'm rather sparse in handing out those five stars.

But I think I've found my new favorite book series.

Dark but hilarious, with an endearing heroine sassily annoying (and being annoyed by) her three "psychos," Between Jobs is the sort of book I've always wished existed but could never quite find.

I definitely loved it.

[Carina Shephard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really shouldn't work, but somehow, it does? Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it 😊

First read October 2020; 5 stars.
(Reread July 2021; 5 stars. The foreshadowing!)

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the oddest books I’ve ever read and I weirdly loved it for that? 😂 I’ve heard nothing but good things non stop about this series and I’m glad to have joined the bandwagon as I have a feeling this series will only get better from here!

Gotta say not much of the plot or the whole Between/Behind stuff makes sense or is even explained in a way for you to figure things out (which I have a feeling was the author’s whole intention), but I feel this will become clearer as Pet learns more and we get further into the series as a general whole.

The one thing that shines the brightest in this weird story are the characters. From Pet to Zero to JinYeong to Athelas to the detective and even extremely minor characters, they’re all distinctive in their own weird, personal ways and feel so alive and brutal and I strangely love them all even though these Behindkind are super trigger happy and have no qualms about liking yet almost killing each other at the same time, lol.

It did take me a bit to get into the author’s writing style and while not overly detailed the violence and murder cases they’re investigating are a bit more gruesome then what I normally read and therefore might not be the best book for sensitive readers as things do tend to get a bit bloody, especially when they’re fighting and JinYeong gets going in his vampireness a little too happily.

I thoroughly enjoyed this odd book and am very interested in continuing the series as soon as I can buy book 2!


‼️Content‼️

TRIGGER WARNING: a character’s family was murdered while they were home but they don’t remember if they saw it or not, they only remember blood/parts of intestines covering the living room and soaking into their socks (not detailed—PG-13)

Language: heck; what the heck; flamin’/flaming

Violence: a dead body hangs from power lines (semi detailed); “dripping blood and intestines”; fighting with weapons (not to semi detailed); injuries and blood (not to semi detailed); freaky scarecrow creatures attack characters; a character’s stabbed in the chest (not detailed); mention of blood slicked ground/tiles everyone is stepping in when fighting; blood tends to coat people and things (semi detailed); a character remembers blood/parts of intestines covering the living room and soaking into their socks after their parents are murdered (not detailed—PG-13); a vampire tears out throats while fighting (not detailed)

Drug/Alcohol: poison in a character’s wounds; goblins try to stick drugged needles in characters; a drugged needle stabs a character

Other: magic; magical places and objects; fae; vampires; portals; a vampire drinks blood from blood bags; piles of dead bodies; a vampire brings a human home with the intent to drink their blood but is prevented from doing so

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best fun I have had between two covers in ages!


I mean how can this not catch your attention:

Hi. My name is Pet. It’s not my real name, but it’s the only one you’re getting. Things like names are important these days. And it’s not so much that I’m Pet. I am a pet. A human pet; I belong to two Behindkind fae and a pouty vampire. It’s not weird, I promise—well, it is weird, yeah. But it’s not weird weird, you know? Hang on, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll go back to the first day I saw them. When I woke up that morning there was a dead guy hanging outside my window. It’s not like I was meant to be living where I was, so it wasn’t a personal insult or anything. Just a bit of a shock.

So with my clear bias in mind, I can wholeheartedly say that I LOOVED this book, but why? and without giving anything away lol



1) Pet (17 yr old whose parents were murdered) is great fun, some might say a bit submissive, but somehow she pulls it off with attitude and forever getting into trouble
2) Original world building and storyline
3) A bit of a magical murder mystery, interwoven with the mystery about Pet.
4) The story builds slowly with information given to you in small doses, not full in face on the first page.

5) The Guys/Psychos are still a bit mysterious by the end of the book leaving me dying for the next book.
6) I might be able to speak Korean by the end of the series.
7) Not clear where the relationships are going but knowing my current RH addiction I am gambling on that.

So would I recommend you read this book ..... DUH! of course, especially after all this effort to review it.

[Camila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright guys. My Quirky Book of the Year monitor is DONE. And I mean, overheated.

I saw RAVING reviews for this book.
I thought I was in for a treat.

I was actually in for a constant cuppa tea and coffee.

Maybe I wasn’t invested or interested, because nothing was remotely:
- thrilling
- exciting
- page turner worthy
- made me want to keep reading

But everything was certainly annoying or creepy.


This is how much quirk I can handle:
|—————|

This is how quirky this book was:
|—————————————————————|


Zero and Athelas were the only characters I remotely cared for.
But that was really it for me. The only reason I finished it was because I wanted to give it a chance.

It’s a weird plot that I had no interest in trying to understand.

Idk, will I continue this series? Ehhhhh.
IF SOMEONE CAN VOUCH THAT IT GETS BETTER, maybe.

[Joseph Brink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay... that was weird.

This book didn't make a lick of sense. It didn't even try to. Plus, it was all over the place, without proper structure or normal story elements. And yet somehow, it worked?

For some reason, I had a blast while reading this and am looking forward to the rest of the series. It clearly is just set up, and not a whole lot actually happened in this book that made sense (which is why I left off a star), but I still really enjoyed it!


------ mid-reading review: -----------


My internal thoughts while reading this book:

@10% - 🧐 Am I going to like this book? I thought I'd love it, but I'm no longer sure... this is so weird.

@20% - 🤭 Okay, this is pretty good, but I'm still unsure if I actually like this book or not. This sure isn't what I expected. This vampire is disappointingly unvampirish...

@30% - 😱 HOKEY SMOKES THIS IS SO GOOD!!!! I MUST RAVE TO EVERYONE I KNOW!!!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting. It took me awhile to find my rhythm in reading it, since the location of the story threw me. I knew it was an urban fantasy, and judging my the way the MC talked, I assumed she was British. It wasn’t until about 25% through the book that I realized it’s set in Australia (which then helped a lot of other things make sense 😂).
•
I did love the characters. Pet was feisty and didn’t like the Three Psychos—as she has dubbed them—walk over her. And the Three Psychos are endearing by the end as well. While the world building was a bit confusing at times, I found I could follow relatively easily.
•
All and all 3.5 out of 5 stars. I’m planning on reading the next book, if only to get answers for the remaining questions.
Content—a bit gory at times, with descriptions of murdered bodies and blood. Vampire who does what vampires do.

[Christina Baehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago and I have no idea why I didn’t review it.

This series is deeply Australian, clever, entertaining, funny, and heartfelt (in a suitably Australian way). I really think they are local urban fantasy classics of the future.

I don’t love horror elements, but this series is so well done that I’m ok with them. And the urban fantasy twist on my local city—Hobart, Tasmania—is superb.

[Kadi P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly domestic found-family book disguised as an urban fantasy murder mystery.

Pet was an interesting protagonist. There was a healthy air of mystery surrounding her lack of a real name but the clarity of her strong personality more than made up for that. She provided the narrative voice which was fresh and engaging at the start, however, she had some quirky reactions which she used often, making for increasingly repetitive scenes as the book continued. There was her tongue-sticking-out which seemed a tad immature for her old age of seventeen, and then there were her colloquial phrases like “heck,” “flamin’,” and “blokes,” all of which came across as slightly forced Australian vernacular and made her seem more caricature-like than the author probably intended for her to be. Yet that wasn’t to mean Pet should’ve been immediately dismissed as a failed protagonist. On the contrary, her unique characterisation and voice were very much what defined this book, despite there having been other strongly developed characters and a solid concept to boot.

The three other most important characters of the book, Zero, Athelas and JinYeong were strong contenders, too. What was most noticeable about them all was the huge mountain of information that was not revealed to the reader about them. Unlike books that info dump as an ineffective method of world building, this book does not resort to that and so, for the most part, the true origins and backstories of the men remain a mystery. However, much like Pet, their differing personalities were very pronounced. There was something to like and dislike in all three of them and they managed to be mysteriously complex creatures whilst also being almost repetitively predictable in their responses.

In particular, JinYeong, was a character to behold. Not only was his inclusion an unexpected win for diversity—he wasn’t just a vampire, he was a Korean vampire—but it also allowed for a very unique approach to character dialogue. This was because he spoke exclusively in Korean throughout the book. This was both marvellously uncommon and somewhat irritating because it meant to fully understand all of what he said an excessive amount of time reading this book had to be spent looking up the meaning of romanticised Korean words on the internet. Granted, the gist of most of his words were explained by the narration or by other characters, but if you wanted to know exactly what was going on there was no choice but to research everything. It could’ve been helpful for the author to keep a table of basic translations, at least for the simple words he repeated like “what,” and “why,” etc, at the back of the book.

The plot itself was a loose one. The murder mystery at the beginning was compelling but the exploration of it was ineffective, confusing, and plagued with a subplot that tore away most of the reader’s focus. The first quarter of the book was the most exciting part; watching Pet actively avoid the men whilst they slowly came round to the knowledge of her existence was extremely well-written, making for some thrilling and gripping almost interactions. What followed was a mish-mash of halfhearted investigations taking place only in one place mixed in around an inordinately excessive amount of coffee and tea drinking.

It seemed that what the book lacked in plot it attempted to make up for in concept. After all, this was a classic example of a solid concept that was slightly undermined by its execution. But the idea of Between and Behind were fascinating ones. They were complex and multi-layered (both figuratively and literally) and arguably not explored in enough depth. Luckily, what made them vague was also what made them so interesting. It left a lot of room for further exploration which I’d be very interested in seeing in Between Shifts.

[J.M. Stengl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't believe I've ever read anything quite like BETWEEN JOBS. In fact, I'm sure of it! And now I am totally hooked and can hardly wait for Book 2.

"Pet" is a great viewpoint character. She is secretive, resourceful, incredibly brave, mysterious (she doesn't understand her own past), and a talented cook. Her three "psychos" are awesome, with distinct character quirks and flaws, and each relates to Pet in a different way. They are creepy, immensely powerful, enigmatic--whether or not they are "good guys" is definitely a question--and a formidable Enforcer team although not always united in their methods.

Plenty of blood and guts fly in this story (not for the faint of heart), yet for the most part the carnage is loosely described and not superfluous. The villain of this series is brutal and malevolently intelligent. Plenty of hints are dropped for continuing drama, yet the team does wrap up one mystery to give this story a satisfying ending.

And Pet's place in their number? She has earned it. Although I suspect her secretive ways are going to catch up with her soon . . .

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read 2023: As expected, I enjoyed this so much more the second time. When I finished the series initially, I was so curious to go back and reassess my feelings about the first book, which had me very confused and very off-kilter, but wanting to know more. Now, with a solid knowledge of the world and the characters, I'm obsessed with this opening. It's excellent, driven by Pet's sass and Zero's mystery and the world Behind. So if you've read this one and aren't sure whether you want to keep going, take this as a sign to do it. Just do it. 👍

(also, biggest character arc in the series goes to JinYeong. for sure.)

4.5 stars from me now.


Original 2021 review:
*3.5 stars

I am... confused. but I had a good time? so that's good? I'm intrigued enough to want to continue!

[Laurel (Yeetarandomwriter) Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was FUN! Can I describe it? Give me 30 minutes and I can. The worldbuilding, humor, characters, and mystery is AWESOME.

Some violence and a little gore. No foul language unless the Australian words are but IDK.

I feel this book is very under hyped. Read iiiiiiit.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a refreshing read. I enjoyed it immensely. Wait, now that I think about it I do not know the name of the h. Throughout the book she was referred to as Pet. 🤔. She’s a little bit loose in the head but that’s one of her good qualities. She handled herself pretty well for a 17 year old living with three supernatural psychos. Pretty smart mouthed too and clever.
I’m still trying to figure out Zero, The immature vamp and the old hoot who finds amusement in serious gruesome situations. Will the detective 🕵️‍♀️ become friend or foe? Right now he’s a annoying fly. Who will the killer strike next? Is the old beggar really alive and not a changeling? Can’t wait to start book 2 to find out.

[Inna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for the entire series up until the last book. I really disliked the last book. This series doesn't have a HEA ending, more a bittersweet one, imo.

I don't think I'm the target audience for this series as 1. I really don't read YA ever anymore 2. I prefer romance and the romance is pretty mild and in the last few books only.

[Anna Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lot to love here but I think the voice was probably my favorite part. just a really confident narrative voice and a bizarre character dynamic that just works for some reason???? desperately need to know where this thing goes.

[OldBird · Rating 2 out of 5]

An urban fantasy with an Aussie twist that sounded like a faerie-based Neverwhere? I was sold until I realised I barely had a clue what was going on. Despite finishing the book, I'm still not sure what the point of it all was. Like a beat that never drops, this novel gets going... And then stops.

So we have "Pet", a seventeen year old squatting in her murdered parents' house until she's old enough to buy it outright. There's been another killing, and the victim lived across the street. It's attracted the attention of the police (bummer for said underaged squatter who needs to stay hidden), as well as three unusual blokes. They just happen to be Fae. Except the one who is a Korean vampire who won't speak English until he can do it perfectly. They move in to her house. Awkwardness, bloody-gore and mystery ensue.

Firstly: What was even the point? Our Fae fellas Zero and Athelas (along with JinYeong) are trying to, presumably, solve the murder of Pet's neighbour. Why? Guessing it has something to do with the supernatural, but what that is doesn't ever really get satisfyingly explained. They talk to themselves about Between and Behind and the Family, yet these things doesn't make much sense until way too late in the book. There's mysterious, and then there's downright frustrating. We don't even get a satisfying conclusion to this opening crime-drama despite this whole book being motivated by it.

Then there's Pet. She's supposed to be the usual ballsy, sarcastic heroine... Only she's irritating. It only gets worse as the book goes on. She has random bursts of rage that I just didn't get (hopefully not an "accent" thing - the colloquialisms may be Aussie but she could pass for Cockney just as easily to a Brit). She never has much to say or do that really matters. She just acts as a tell-not-show narrator who is weirdly contrary. Why did she talk to the policeman? The crazy old man? Why did she only just remember things about the house, or her parents, way later on in the narrative?

The character relationships were impossible to decipher - their language and reactions never seemed to make sense because we had no real context. I know the supernaturals are supposed to be all edgy round each other, but still the why was elusive (and spelling it out in the last chapter felt like a poor replacement for character progression). My poor K-drama grasp of Korean gave me some hints to JinYeoung, but not much. Not understanding parts of written conversations made him annoying to read.

I'm also a bit creeped out by how Stockholm Syndrome the three-guys-and-a-girl situation is. Pet definitely shows signs of it, but nothing ever challenges this. They are not friends. She's their pet. That probably doesn't help the character relationships much.

On to the magical setup of our world, Between and Behind. Logically it's understandable, but the execution of it, especially around the 50% mark, left me bemused. I guess I got what was going on when the action shifts between levels of reality, but it was a bit of a confused mess of description. No one offers more than fleeting explanations.

Ending the book left me deeply unsatisfied. I wanted to DNF, but I hoped there would be some kind of closure or payoff to the crime/mystery element that opened the story. There was none. It's like on extra-long, extra-slow setup for the next novel rather than feeling like a satisfying read in and of its own. I don't think I could read any more of Pet's outbursts, especially if it's as anti-climactic as this.