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Ordinary Magic #2
Devils and Details
Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea…
Police Chief Delaney Reed is good at keeping secrets for the beach town of Ordinary Oregon–just ask the vacationing gods or supernatural creatures who live there.
But with the first annual Cake and Skate fundraiser coming up, the only secret Delaney really wants to know is how to stop the unseasonable rain storms. When all the god powers are stolen, a vampire is murdered, and her childhood crush turns out to be keeping deadly secrets of his own, rainy days are the least of her worries.
Hunting a murderer, outsmarting a know-it-all god, and uncovering an ancient vampire’s terrifying past isn’t how she planned to spend her summer. But then again, neither is falling back in love with the one man she should never trust.
Police Chief Delaney Reed is good at keeping secrets for the beach town of Ordinary Oregon–just ask the vacationing gods or supernatural creatures who live there.
But with the first annual Cake and Skate fundraiser coming up, the only secret Delaney really wants to know is how to stop the unseasonable rain storms. When all the god powers are stolen, a vampire is murdered, and her childhood crush turns out to be keeping deadly secrets of his own, rainy days are the least of her worries.
Hunting a murderer, outsmarting a know-it-all god, and uncovering an ancient vampire’s terrifying past isn’t how she planned to spend her summer. But then again, neither is falling back in love with the one man she should never trust.
7 pages, Audiobook
First published August 31, 2016
422 people are currently reading
649 people want to read
About the author
Devon Monk
88 books2,061 followersDevon Monk is a national best selling writer of urban fantasy. Her series include Ordinary Magic, House Immortal, Allie Beckstrom, Broken Magic and Shame and Terric. She also writes the Age of Steam steampunk series, and the occasional short story which can be found in her collection: A Cup of Normal, and in various anthologies. She has one husband, two sons, and lives in Oregon. When not writing, Devon is either drinking too much coffee or knitting silly things.
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December 21, 2021
Devils and Details
(Ordinary Magic #2)
by Devon Monk
When the gods come to this town of Ordinary, they must leave their powers locked up with one of the gods in charge of this job for that year. Well, somehow, someone steals all the gods powers!
Meanwhile, someone kills a vampire. Delaney, oldest of the cop sisters, is working on her trust issues with her crush. There is also so much craziness happening it is almost non-stop!
Very exciting and entertaining!
I got my copy from chirp when it was on sale.
(Ordinary Magic #2)
by Devon Monk
When the gods come to this town of Ordinary, they must leave their powers locked up with one of the gods in charge of this job for that year. Well, somehow, someone steals all the gods powers!
Meanwhile, someone kills a vampire. Delaney, oldest of the cop sisters, is working on her trust issues with her crush. There is also so much craziness happening it is almost non-stop!
Very exciting and entertaining!
I got my copy from chirp when it was on sale.
September 7, 2016
I had hoped book 2 would be an improvement on 1, but to me it was definitely a step back. It had all the problems of the first upgraded to armageddon. I simply couldn't believe it.
I have no idea if this wants to be romance or mystery, what I know is it spectacularly fails as both. It's ridiculous on both counts. But then it deals with 'tragedies' trying with humour. Not. The town's quirkiness lost any appeal, and so did the valkyrie and her volunteering. Above all during a man hunt to save someone's life.
Characters could be defined as dumber and dumbest, squared. Things happen on the author say-so, because that small world building you may find is totally inconsistent to my eyes. Reeds' role is stupid, but never as much as the character.
The Reeds sisters should be late 20, early 30 yo and sound and act as NA (really early 20). It's infuriating, and offensive. The heroine lacks any professionalism, and most of times any brain. I couldn't believe it. Why make her Chief of Police if she can't find her nose? If she's unprofessional to the extreme. I don't see a woman in love, one who is struggling between conscience and duty. She's just plain stupid. She trusts without reasons, gives away clues, details, secrets she's supposed to keep.
His role is even worse.
Basically this book is one hot mess. With a wide open ending to boot. Steer clear, if you would.
I have no idea if this wants to be romance or mystery, what I know is it spectacularly fails as both. It's ridiculous on both counts. But then it deals with 'tragedies' trying with humour. Not. The town's quirkiness lost any appeal, and so did the valkyrie and her volunteering. Above all during a man hunt to save someone's life.
Characters could be defined as dumber and dumbest, squared. Things happen on the author say-so, because that small world building you may find is totally inconsistent to my eyes. Reeds' role is stupid, but never as much as the character.
The Reeds sisters should be late 20, early 30 yo and sound and act as NA (really early 20). It's infuriating, and offensive. The heroine lacks any professionalism, and most of times any brain. I couldn't believe it. Why make her Chief of Police if she can't find her nose? If she's unprofessional to the extreme. I don't see a woman in love, one who is struggling between conscience and duty. She's just plain stupid. She trusts without reasons, gives away clues, details, secrets she's supposed to keep.
His role is even worse.
Basically this book is one hot mess. With a wide open ending to boot. Steer clear, if you would.
March 17, 2022
This series is doing its job as something for me to listen to as an audiobook in my drive to and from work. Helps that I can listen to it on fastforward, now.
The previous book established that Delaney and her sisters are the vaguely magical police force protecting Ordinary. Ordinary is a town with lots of supernatural residents, but the ones who matter most are gods who temporarily divest themselves of their powers, leaving Delaney and her sisters acting as liaisons between the natural and the supernatural. The sisters have powers, but they are subtle, or mostly useless. Delaney can house god power when the mantle needs to pass from one mortal body to another, but she can't use the power for anything. Her sisters may have some vague psychic sensory abilities, but that is about it.
This installment had another murder mystery, but this time it was a vampire who died instead of a god. There was more drama about Delaney's possible love interest. Previously, they had a one-night stand and last novel he broke up with her around the same time she was recovering from a gunshot wound. He doesn't seem like a particularly great catch, but her other ex-boyfriend was so much worse, and we don't have any better candidates.
Delaney isn't that great a feminist character. She doesn't display much in the way of combat ability, and last novel we all pretty much agree she came across as Too Stupid To Live. She needed to figure out who would be the new candidate for a deceased god's mantle, and it was painfully obvious to the reader who she was supposed to pick, but the police chief just couldn't figure it out. The closest we came to nice feminist moments were when the sisters hung out and demonstrated that they actually cared about one another. Still, this book hardly passes the Bechdel test, because the sisters spent way too much time discussing men.
Don't take this novel too seriously. It is a little bit like Ilona Andrews' Innkeeper series, but it suffers in the comparison.
The previous book established that Delaney and her sisters are the vaguely magical police force protecting Ordinary. Ordinary is a town with lots of supernatural residents, but the ones who matter most are gods who temporarily divest themselves of their powers, leaving Delaney and her sisters acting as liaisons between the natural and the supernatural. The sisters have powers, but they are subtle, or mostly useless. Delaney can house god power when the mantle needs to pass from one mortal body to another, but she can't use the power for anything. Her sisters may have some vague psychic sensory abilities, but that is about it.
This installment had another murder mystery, but this time it was a vampire who died instead of a god. There was more drama about Delaney's possible love interest. Previously, they had a one-night stand and last novel he broke up with her around the same time she was recovering from a gunshot wound. He doesn't seem like a particularly great catch, but her other ex-boyfriend was so much worse, and we don't have any better candidates.
Delaney isn't that great a feminist character. She doesn't display much in the way of combat ability, and last novel we all pretty much agree she came across as Too Stupid To Live. She needed to figure out who would be the new candidate for a deceased god's mantle, and it was painfully obvious to the reader who she was supposed to pick, but the police chief just couldn't figure it out. The closest we came to nice feminist moments were when the sisters hung out and demonstrated that they actually cared about one another. Still, this book hardly passes the Bechdel test, because the sisters spent way too much time discussing men.
Don't take this novel too seriously. It is a little bit like Ilona Andrews' Innkeeper series, but it suffers in the comparison.
January 16, 2024
“Okay, that kind of double-guessing everything was going to have to stop right now. I was not paranoid. I refused to become paranoid. Unless maybe I should be paranoid.”
This was a Hershey’s Hug of a read, a sugary treat that required absolutely nothing from me except low standards (I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course). Urban fantasy and paranormal romance swirled together in one little treat; just don’t try to savor, don’t get too fussy about the intensity of your chocolate flavor, or heaven forbit, its origin, and it’ll go down fine. Mostly because, as advertised, the devil is in the details.
After friend John’s review, I thought I’d give this a try, but wary of these type of UF-lite, I thought I’d skip ahead to book two. You see, just like Hershey’s, the authors seem to believe they need a lot of build-up and advertising to get to their point. If they manage to sell a second book, they are so excited about it, they recap everything from book one anyway. It was a gamble; Monk should be experienced enough to skip expo-babble, but nope. Not only does the main character, Delaney, helpfully explain the town’s strange circumstances to the reader, but one of the other characters will be brought into The Big Secret, giving the reader a refresher.
Still, the setting is a lot of fun, particularly the varieties of the pantheons ‘vacationing’ in the town of Ordinary. It’s a special kind of place and there’s a ton of hand-waving to help us let go of the details:
“Vampires in town could go out in daylight, though they usually kept most of their skin covered and wore sunblock. I’d asked Old Rossi why daylight in Ordinary didn’t hurt vampires and had gotten a vague lecture on geology, meteorology, and I’m pretty sure the Bermuda Triangle.”
I was curious to see what myths and folklore would show up, and so far we have Greek, Roman, and Norse, and a strong supporting role from Native Crow (who interestingly has a role as Wise/Trickster in many mythologies) along with the ‘creatures.’ Like Kate Daniels, I think the fun is in the mythology.
It’s not really in the pacing or the errors. The central problem is brought forth and then Delaney spends the next fifty pages or so (no spoilers; it seemed, I don’t actually know) continuity, on an entirely different problem. Apparently, she and her sisters can’t run two investigations at the same time. Monk also very much presents us with Checkov’s Gun/conservation of characters at least twice, which, well, whatever. It’s a Hershey’s Kiss. It’s not like I was looking for a passion fruit-infused truffle.
It also could have used some quality control at the factory here; I’m almost positive my kindle version referenced the gods being barred for ten years instead of the stated ‘one.’ And what’s a year being barred from Ordinary anyhow, when you live in eons? Really, not sure Monk has thought this through fully (see all my comments about being old, druids and Kevin Hearne), but I get in this case, she probably wants to rotate her characters back into active duty if they are ‘punished.’ And that blurb! Don’t get me started, but the Pancake Skate is really only a minor flair, much like that little tag in the Hershey’s Kiss. Not the main event in the least.
The other part that is a lot of fun is the humor, which does manage a decent balance between Delaney’s libido, the danger to the citizens, and the mystery. It did crack me up a couple of times.
“That Valkyrie could out-drink a sailor. Or a fish. Or a sailor fish that’s been stranded in the desert with nothing to eat but salt for a week.”
Or a chocoholic with a bag of Kisses.
Oh, almost forgot--it does end on a fairly sizeable cliffhanger. You know, not the 90 foot cliff, but probably a 40 foot one. (general spoiler)
This was a Hershey’s Hug of a read, a sugary treat that required absolutely nothing from me except low standards (I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course). Urban fantasy and paranormal romance swirled together in one little treat; just don’t try to savor, don’t get too fussy about the intensity of your chocolate flavor, or heaven forbit, its origin, and it’ll go down fine. Mostly because, as advertised, the devil is in the details.
After friend John’s review, I thought I’d give this a try, but wary of these type of UF-lite, I thought I’d skip ahead to book two. You see, just like Hershey’s, the authors seem to believe they need a lot of build-up and advertising to get to their point. If they manage to sell a second book, they are so excited about it, they recap everything from book one anyway. It was a gamble; Monk should be experienced enough to skip expo-babble, but nope. Not only does the main character, Delaney, helpfully explain the town’s strange circumstances to the reader, but one of the other characters will be brought into The Big Secret, giving the reader a refresher.
Still, the setting is a lot of fun, particularly the varieties of the pantheons ‘vacationing’ in the town of Ordinary. It’s a special kind of place and there’s a ton of hand-waving to help us let go of the details:
“Vampires in town could go out in daylight, though they usually kept most of their skin covered and wore sunblock. I’d asked Old Rossi why daylight in Ordinary didn’t hurt vampires and had gotten a vague lecture on geology, meteorology, and I’m pretty sure the Bermuda Triangle.”
I was curious to see what myths and folklore would show up, and so far we have Greek, Roman, and Norse, and a strong supporting role from Native Crow (who interestingly has a role as Wise/Trickster in many mythologies) along with the ‘creatures.’ Like Kate Daniels, I think the fun is in the mythology.
It’s not really in the pacing or the errors. The central problem is brought forth and then Delaney spends the next fifty pages or so (no spoilers; it seemed, I don’t actually know) continuity, on an entirely different problem. Apparently, she and her sisters can’t run two investigations at the same time. Monk also very much presents us with Checkov’s Gun/conservation of characters at least twice, which, well, whatever. It’s a Hershey’s Kiss. It’s not like I was looking for a passion fruit-infused truffle.
It also could have used some quality control at the factory here; I’m almost positive my kindle version referenced the gods being barred for ten years instead of the stated ‘one.’ And what’s a year being barred from Ordinary anyhow, when you live in eons? Really, not sure Monk has thought this through fully (see all my comments about being old, druids and Kevin Hearne), but I get in this case, she probably wants to rotate her characters back into active duty if they are ‘punished.’ And that blurb! Don’t get me started, but the Pancake Skate is really only a minor flair, much like that little tag in the Hershey’s Kiss. Not the main event in the least.
The other part that is a lot of fun is the humor, which does manage a decent balance between Delaney’s libido, the danger to the citizens, and the mystery. It did crack me up a couple of times.
“That Valkyrie could out-drink a sailor. Or a fish. Or a sailor fish that’s been stranded in the desert with nothing to eat but salt for a week.”
Or a chocoholic with a bag of Kisses.
Oh, almost forgot--it does end on a fairly sizeable cliffhanger. You know, not the 90 foot cliff, but probably a 40 foot one. (general spoiler)
February 24, 2022
In the little town of Ordinary, where the gods go to vacation, all their powers have seemed to have been stolen from the trickster god who was currently their guardian. Delaney needs to find where the gods powers have gone, solve the ritualistic murder of one of the towns vampires, figure out what the love of her life is hiding and volunteer for the annual skating competition. It is a full time job and then some being sheriff.
Delaney always seems to have her hands full and now she has to babysit Crow a.k.a Raven the Norse the trickster god as they look for all the powers being held somewhere in Ordinary. The gods in this are pretty hilarious sometimes and the trickster god is no exception as he pushes all of Delaney's buttons and possibly helps her on/off relationship with Ryder.
I am having a lot of fun with this series. The town itself is fun with all of its quirky festivals and competitions ran by the local Valkyrie along with the gods and paranormals has a lot going on. At least Delaney has her sisters to help her get down to the bottom of the mysteries and show up just when they are needed. Death also seems to have an interest in the town's Sheriff and seems to drop by exactly when needed.
So far this is a fun series with so many possibilities. I'm really loving the sisters running the town and the town itself. It is one of those places that you wish was a real place you could go visit and people watch for awhile, get a beer at the local bar and a piece of pie at the diner.
So lets see where the next story going up against a vampire looking for a book of dark magic takes us.
Delaney always seems to have her hands full and now she has to babysit Crow a.k.a Raven the Norse the trickster god as they look for all the powers being held somewhere in Ordinary. The gods in this are pretty hilarious sometimes and the trickster god is no exception as he pushes all of Delaney's buttons and possibly helps her on/off relationship with Ryder.
“He wants you to give him the Rauðskinna or everyone dies, he burns Ordinary down, yada, yada, psycho-egomaniac, yada.”
“He did not yada.”
“He threatened. Death to all, make you scream, and all that jazz. There was probably some yada I didn’t catch. I didn’t have a chance to write down every word.”
I am having a lot of fun with this series. The town itself is fun with all of its quirky festivals and competitions ran by the local Valkyrie along with the gods and paranormals has a lot going on. At least Delaney has her sisters to help her get down to the bottom of the mysteries and show up just when they are needed. Death also seems to have an interest in the town's Sheriff and seems to drop by exactly when needed.
So far this is a fun series with so many possibilities. I'm really loving the sisters running the town and the town itself. It is one of those places that you wish was a real place you could go visit and people watch for awhile, get a beer at the local bar and a piece of pie at the diner.
So lets see where the next story going up against a vampire looking for a book of dark magic takes us.
January 11, 2024
This novel seems to me to want to be a romance, an urban fantasy, and a mystery at the same time. While the romance proceeds in the standard way for that genre, through strong feelings, failures to communicate, misunderstandings, and doubts all the way to where it should have been in the first place (you can tell I'm not exactly a romance fan), the romance also interferes in a major way with the urban fantasy and thriller elements.
That's mainly because it's told in the first person by Delaney Reed, the chief of police in the little town of Ordinary, Oregon, who's thoroughly dominated by her feelings for Ryder Bailey. She grew up with him there in Ordinary, he was her boyfriend, he dumped her while she was in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound, he left town, and now he's back and acting mysteriously. As the blurb (reprinted at the top of this Goodreads page) tells us, he's keeping deadly secrets of his own.
Delaney and her sisters Myra and Jane, who are also on the police force, have two new cases as we know from the blurb--somehow the god powers were stolen and a vampire was murdered. Now the story of the theft of those god powers was truly delightful, and it continues what I enjoyed most about the first book in this series, Death and Relaxation. This time we get to know Odin, who is on vacation as a mortal like the other gods in town, having put those god powers in storage according to the centuries-old rules of Ordinary. Death and Raven (as Crow) are also in many of the scenes.
As we know from the first book, though, the town of Ordinary also hosts "creatures," meaning vampires, werewolves, gill-men, and the like, and they come under looser rules. If a god picks up his powers from storage, he has to leave Ordinary for at least a year; the vampires and werewolves also live as regular citizens but do their fang-y and wolfy things secretly at any time. The alpha werewolf is called Granny Wolfe, and the head of the local vampires is Old Rossi. They maintain order among their kind, and the police only get involved if a mortal is involved.
It turns out that Old Rossi, who dates from the Roman Empire, is the one who decides if a vampire can live in Ordinary and adopts that vampire into the Rossi family. Old Rossi was a fascinating character, very well developed, and I enjoyed reading all his scenes as Delaney tries to find out who killed Sven Rossi and (here it comes) why her total crush Ryder is bizarrely connected to the crime scene. Talk about romance interfering with police work!
The mystery is solved at the end without much of a surprise, though red herrings are still swimming around, and the adventure of the god powers has a happy ending for most of the gods while it brings a disturbing new element into the town and into Delaney's life. No spoilers here, but two major problems are left open for the next novel in the series.
That unfinished business plus Delaney's heart versus mind conflict drag my rating down, but I enjoyed the rest of it so much I'll keep it at 3.5 stars, always automatically rounded up.
That's mainly because it's told in the first person by Delaney Reed, the chief of police in the little town of Ordinary, Oregon, who's thoroughly dominated by her feelings for Ryder Bailey. She grew up with him there in Ordinary, he was her boyfriend, he dumped her while she was in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound, he left town, and now he's back and acting mysteriously. As the blurb (reprinted at the top of this Goodreads page) tells us, he's keeping deadly secrets of his own.
Delaney and her sisters Myra and Jane, who are also on the police force, have two new cases as we know from the blurb--somehow the god powers were stolen and a vampire was murdered. Now the story of the theft of those god powers was truly delightful, and it continues what I enjoyed most about the first book in this series, Death and Relaxation. This time we get to know Odin, who is on vacation as a mortal like the other gods in town, having put those god powers in storage according to the centuries-old rules of Ordinary. Death and Raven (as Crow) are also in many of the scenes.
As we know from the first book, though, the town of Ordinary also hosts "creatures," meaning vampires, werewolves, gill-men, and the like, and they come under looser rules. If a god picks up his powers from storage, he has to leave Ordinary for at least a year; the vampires and werewolves also live as regular citizens but do their fang-y and wolfy things secretly at any time. The alpha werewolf is called Granny Wolfe, and the head of the local vampires is Old Rossi. They maintain order among their kind, and the police only get involved if a mortal is involved.
It turns out that Old Rossi, who dates from the Roman Empire, is the one who decides if a vampire can live in Ordinary and adopts that vampire into the Rossi family. Old Rossi was a fascinating character, very well developed, and I enjoyed reading all his scenes as Delaney tries to find out who killed Sven Rossi and (here it comes) why her total crush Ryder is bizarrely connected to the crime scene. Talk about romance interfering with police work!
The mystery is solved at the end without much of a surprise, though red herrings are still swimming around, and the adventure of the god powers has a happy ending for most of the gods while it brings a disturbing new element into the town and into Delaney's life. No spoilers here, but two major problems are left open for the next novel in the series.
That unfinished business plus Delaney's heart versus mind conflict drag my rating down, but I enjoyed the rest of it so much I'll keep it at 3.5 stars, always automatically rounded up.
October 19, 2020
As I’ve missed my opportunity to review this title (having already continued beyond to book 5), a super mini review will have to suffice: I enjoyed this one as much as the first one. It was a little strange to see supernatural beings highlighted in a series where vacationing gods were supposed to be the focal point, but I rolled with it. I love the town, I love the characters, and I loved the concept.
I just wish it had continued so well beyond this point...
I just wish it had continued so well beyond this point...
October 19, 2017
This book...
I'm actually writing this about a week after finishing this. After really loving the first one in spite of some very serious issues, I immediately bought this one. Huge let-down.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a character as wishy-washy as Delaney (that's a lie - yes, of course I have, but a bit of hyperbole just really appealed after the let-down that was this book). Ryder dumped her in the previous book as she was lying in a hospital bed... after being shot! But does she grow a spine and keep her lusty feelings to a minimum when he's around? Nope. It's just he really hurt my feelings, but oh, his lips are so pretty and making out with him after he broke up with me the night after sex as I was recovering from a gunshot wound is really rational for me. Screw Ryder, but also really, screw Delaney.
We get several different mysteries in this book. 1) Someone has stolen the god powers from Crow. 2) Someone has murdered a vampire. 3) What's up with Ryder's wacky split personality? (I couldn't care less about #3 and it took Delaney waaaaaay too long to catch on.) So Delaney has to calm down a severely pissed off god population, not to mention the equally pissed Old Rossi, the head of the vampires, while solving double mysteries. Plus deal with Ryder and his nonsense and ruin any possibility of getting any good angsty stuff out of that. Seriously, good reasons or not (spoiler alert: NOT!) Ryder should have had to work for a second chance after the crap he pulled in the first book. But no, Delaney is too busy staring at his mouth or whatever.
Also, the book ends on kind of a cliffhanger. We do find out the answer to the three mysteries I listed above, but the answers lead to more problems and the book didn't feel like it was meant to stand on its own. It just sort of ended.
Like this review.
(See? That feels unfinished, doesn't it.)
I'm actually writing this about a week after finishing this. After really loving the first one in spite of some very serious issues, I immediately bought this one. Huge let-down.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a character as wishy-washy as Delaney (that's a lie - yes, of course I have, but a bit of hyperbole just really appealed after the let-down that was this book). Ryder dumped her in the previous book as she was lying in a hospital bed... after being shot! But does she grow a spine and keep her lusty feelings to a minimum when he's around? Nope. It's just he really hurt my feelings, but oh, his lips are so pretty and making out with him after he broke up with me the night after sex as I was recovering from a gunshot wound is really rational for me. Screw Ryder, but also really, screw Delaney.
We get several different mysteries in this book. 1) Someone has stolen the god powers from Crow. 2) Someone has murdered a vampire. 3) What's up with Ryder's wacky split personality? (I couldn't care less about #3 and it took Delaney waaaaaay too long to catch on.) So Delaney has to calm down a severely pissed off god population, not to mention the equally pissed Old Rossi, the head of the vampires, while solving double mysteries. Plus deal with Ryder and his nonsense and ruin any possibility of getting any good angsty stuff out of that. Seriously, good reasons or not (spoiler alert: NOT!) Ryder should have had to work for a second chance after the crap he pulled in the first book. But no, Delaney is too busy staring at his mouth or whatever.
Also, the book ends on kind of a cliffhanger. We do find out the answer to the three mysteries I listed above, but the answers lead to more problems and the book didn't feel like it was meant to stand on its own. It just sort of ended.
Like this review.
(See? That feels unfinished, doesn't it.)
December 22, 2018
I have no idea how this series went from enjoyable brain candy to are you fucking kidding me.
There were less gods in this book so that took a lot of enjoyment out of it.
But sweet baby Jesus the main character who was semi annoying in the first book zoomed down to you are dumber than a box of hair and a complete fool when it comes to the also annoying lying man you are so in love with.
The whodunnit was ridiculously easy to figure out ( except for our main character who was too busy swooning over the idiot who was obviously involved in the whodunnit side ).
And then because even though our main character is supposed to be the badass police chief holding the town together, obviously she is a damsel in distress so idiot boy completely ignores her instructions and does exactly what she told him not to because he had to save her.
And of course instead of telling him what a complete ass he is and drop kicking him to the curb she professes her undying love and swoons into bed with him ( could my eyes roll ANY HARDER ).
We end with an unfinished book ( so of course you have to buy the next one to find out how it all ends ) which I will not be doing because frankly I could give a frogs fat ass what happens to any of them.
There were less gods in this book so that took a lot of enjoyment out of it.
But sweet baby Jesus the main character who was semi annoying in the first book zoomed down to you are dumber than a box of hair and a complete fool when it comes to the also annoying lying man you are so in love with.
The whodunnit was ridiculously easy to figure out ( except for our main character who was too busy swooning over the idiot who was obviously involved in the whodunnit side ).
And then because even though our main character is supposed to be the badass police chief holding the town together, obviously she is a damsel in distress so idiot boy completely ignores her instructions and does exactly what she told him not to because he had to save her.
And of course instead of telling him what a complete ass he is and drop kicking him to the curb she professes her undying love and swoons into bed with him ( could my eyes roll ANY HARDER ).
We end with an unfinished book ( so of course you have to buy the next one to find out how it all ends ) which I will not be doing because frankly I could give a frogs fat ass what happens to any of them.
September 28, 2016
4.5 Stars
I’ve been highly anticipating the release of this book because I really enjoyed the first installment in this series and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. DEVILS AND DETAILS definitely did not disappoint. It brought the story tighter together for sure and a lot of questions are answered. It was still a hell of a lot of fun to read!
Our heroine, Delaney, is left investigating a couple of supernatural events in this book. First, the disappearance of all the Gods powers. And second, a dead vampire killed using an old blood ritual. I really liked that we get two things to focus on as part of the plot of this book. One simpler to solve than the other, but I loved to see them multi-task on more than one thing. It kept things interesting for me for sure.
I am fascinated by the mix of mythology and creatures in this series and this book interconnects them all quite well in the plot. We get to see more of the werewolves and vampires as well as the Gods and now more humans that know about the supernatural. The big bad in this story was not a huge mystery, I think as soon as it’s mentioned you are lead to believe that’s the unlikely culprit, but it was certainly entertaining to see it unfold.
This series doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s one thing I love about it. The fresh humor continues in this installment while presenting the serious cases our heroine needs to solve. It makes this such a fast and enjoyable read and I find myself turning the pages with pleasure. I find Delaney charming and I love being in her head. She makes me laugh and smile and I’m always rooting for her.
This book will address more of the romance that we were left hanging with in the previous book. Ryder continues to be a character I love reading about and, although in this book he was a bit unsteady because of the muddy waters he was treading, I am so very intrigued by the turn of events and I’m looking forward to seeing it all unfold in the next one. We are left with a cliffhanger again as one of the cases is not completely solved. That just means I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next one in the Spring of 2017.
If you haven’t picked this up yet and you want something different and highly entertaining then give this series a shot. I am so happy I took a chance and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
Favorite Quotes:
“Gods could be such drama queens.”
“Little known fact: a room full of angry gods sounds a lot like a bingo hall fight.”
“One grouchy god. Check. One pouty god. Check. Silver lining? Starting a Monday out this bad meant it couldn’t get worse. — It got worse.”
I’ve been highly anticipating the release of this book because I really enjoyed the first installment in this series and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. DEVILS AND DETAILS definitely did not disappoint. It brought the story tighter together for sure and a lot of questions are answered. It was still a hell of a lot of fun to read!
Our heroine, Delaney, is left investigating a couple of supernatural events in this book. First, the disappearance of all the Gods powers. And second, a dead vampire killed using an old blood ritual. I really liked that we get two things to focus on as part of the plot of this book. One simpler to solve than the other, but I loved to see them multi-task on more than one thing. It kept things interesting for me for sure.
I am fascinated by the mix of mythology and creatures in this series and this book interconnects them all quite well in the plot. We get to see more of the werewolves and vampires as well as the Gods and now more humans that know about the supernatural. The big bad in this story was not a huge mystery, I think as soon as it’s mentioned you are lead to believe that’s the unlikely culprit, but it was certainly entertaining to see it unfold.
This series doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s one thing I love about it. The fresh humor continues in this installment while presenting the serious cases our heroine needs to solve. It makes this such a fast and enjoyable read and I find myself turning the pages with pleasure. I find Delaney charming and I love being in her head. She makes me laugh and smile and I’m always rooting for her.
This book will address more of the romance that we were left hanging with in the previous book. Ryder continues to be a character I love reading about and, although in this book he was a bit unsteady because of the muddy waters he was treading, I am so very intrigued by the turn of events and I’m looking forward to seeing it all unfold in the next one. We are left with a cliffhanger again as one of the cases is not completely solved. That just means I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next one in the Spring of 2017.
If you haven’t picked this up yet and you want something different and highly entertaining then give this series a shot. I am so happy I took a chance and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
Favorite Quotes:
“Gods could be such drama queens.”
“Little known fact: a room full of angry gods sounds a lot like a bingo hall fight.”
“One grouchy god. Check. One pouty god. Check. Silver lining? Starting a Monday out this bad meant it couldn’t get worse. — It got worse.”
November 29, 2020
3.5 stars = I liked it with nits. Wow this one ended pretty abruptly and the next isn't out until Spring. I did like it though, despite the fact that Police Chief Delilah focuses a bit too much on her crush even when those feelings pose a conflict of interest in a murder investigation - and he should also be groveling more after dumping her in the last book.
September 6, 2016
~*~* VERY SPOILER-Y OPINION ~*~*
So many things I want to take note about, so I am not going to even put them under spoiler tag (just in case, you miss the spoiler warning). You've been warned...
WHOA ... when sh*ts hit the fan!!! Okay, so two major things happened here ... two majors and a couple of almost major ones as well. There were two cases that Delaney needed to take care off.
One, someone managed to steal ALL (yes, ALL) of the gods' power from Crow. Apparently because Crow had broken one of the rules in Ordinary, another god decided that he must be punished. While taking care of this, Delaney found out that Ordinary had demigod (Poseidon's kid! Hello Percy's sister, haha) and well, Ordinary now had a warden, thanks to Mithra (God of contracts. Judiciary. All-seeing protector of truth) as well as Ryder. Which I would get back to that later.
Two, a very old, VERY VERY old vampire was targeting Rossi's back by killing one of the new vampire, broken Jame, and kidnapped Ben (hiks!). Apparently Rossi had a brother-in-arms who wanted a book of dark magic and ready to bring war to Ordinary.
Apart from that ... Ryder apparently worked as freelancer for Department of Paranormal Protection (reenacted under the Homeland Security Act to make communication with paranormal creatures and protect them), later found out about magical creatures in Ordinary, and well, was made as Mithra's warden (An overseer. A supervisor of contracts, deals, and agreements) which meant that he could act as judge and jury aside of the Reeds family.
YEAH. I know. SO MANY THINGS happened in this book!! My head was still reeling. I honestly thought that the book was better than the first. Sure, Delaney might need to get her head in check because whenever she was in Ryder's vicinity, she seemed to be losing all capabilities to think clearly ... but then the revelation of Ryder being an Agent, and later became the Warden sort of kept my anger in check. It was interesting to see what would happen next.
Delaney was pretty capable heroine (again, except when she was with Ryder hah!) and I loved all the gods here. I was sad that since Crow broke the rule he had to leave Ordinary, considering that he was a hoot! But we still had Than (or Death) who amused me to no end with his unintentional dry humor. Odin was fun too.
And now with the war coming, brought by Lavius, as he still kept Ben with him (I hope he is not dead!! Poor Jame!!), seems like it will be all out fights in book three, which is aptly titled "Gods and Ends", coming Spring 2017. Bring it on, Devon Monk!
So many things I want to take note about, so I am not going to even put them under spoiler tag (just in case, you miss the spoiler warning). You've been warned...
WHOA ... when sh*ts hit the fan!!! Okay, so two major things happened here ... two majors and a couple of almost major ones as well. There were two cases that Delaney needed to take care off.
One, someone managed to steal ALL (yes, ALL) of the gods' power from Crow. Apparently because Crow had broken one of the rules in Ordinary, another god decided that he must be punished. While taking care of this, Delaney found out that Ordinary had demigod (Poseidon's kid! Hello Percy's sister, haha) and well, Ordinary now had a warden, thanks to Mithra (God of contracts. Judiciary. All-seeing protector of truth) as well as Ryder. Which I would get back to that later.
Two, a very old, VERY VERY old vampire was targeting Rossi's back by killing one of the new vampire, broken Jame, and kidnapped Ben (hiks!). Apparently Rossi had a brother-in-arms who wanted a book of dark magic and ready to bring war to Ordinary.
Apart from that ... Ryder apparently worked as freelancer for Department of Paranormal Protection (reenacted under the Homeland Security Act to make communication with paranormal creatures and protect them), later found out about magical creatures in Ordinary, and well, was made as Mithra's warden (An overseer. A supervisor of contracts, deals, and agreements) which meant that he could act as judge and jury aside of the Reeds family.
YEAH. I know. SO MANY THINGS happened in this book!! My head was still reeling. I honestly thought that the book was better than the first. Sure, Delaney might need to get her head in check because whenever she was in Ryder's vicinity, she seemed to be losing all capabilities to think clearly ... but then the revelation of Ryder being an Agent, and later became the Warden sort of kept my anger in check. It was interesting to see what would happen next.
Delaney was pretty capable heroine (again, except when she was with Ryder hah!) and I loved all the gods here. I was sad that since Crow broke the rule he had to leave Ordinary, considering that he was a hoot! But we still had Than (or Death) who amused me to no end with his unintentional dry humor. Odin was fun too.
And now with the war coming, brought by Lavius, as he still kept Ben with him (I hope he is not dead!! Poor Jame!!), seems like it will be all out fights in book three, which is aptly titled "Gods and Ends", coming Spring 2017. Bring it on, Devon Monk!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2016
I love that this world the author created is based on the town I live in. It's such a kick to know the tackle shop is right by my sons house and which casino she's talking about.
That said, it was a good book but there was a bit too much internal dialogue going on in Delaney's head at some very inappropriate times. I do like Ryder and the twist she put in his life is going to be interesting. I'm looking forward to the next one.
That said, it was a good book but there was a bit too much internal dialogue going on in Delaney's head at some very inappropriate times. I do like Ryder and the twist she put in his life is going to be interesting. I'm looking forward to the next one.
August 19, 2024
I wanted to try a Devon Monk Series. It was an okay series. I tried the second book too, but the series it not for me.
September 11, 2016
Not much improvement from book 1. I still feel it lacks originality and the world building is extremely lacking. I have to say a lot of the plot felt like Devon Monk was just filling pages for no real reason. Plot could have been over and done with half of the amount of pages. While the MC isn't as stupid in this one as she was in book 1. I still feel like she doesn't have a handle on anything that is going on, and while that can make for an interesting read. In this case it is one of the main deterrent about the series. Overall the Romance is complicated but in a really stupid way. Still it was interesting enough and good enough to earn 3 stars.
So on to what was positive about the book. Clear character build for the MC. More fun stuff and comedy in this. You really get a better feel for many of the characters in this book. While it clearly isn't the action packed epicness one might hope for, it's still a good read. It has romance as I said but it is always "complicated". So remember how I said the MC not being stupid was an improvement? Well instead of her being stupid it is now Ryder who is being an idiot. I won't say why because that would spoil it. But there is still many intrigues and plots from different people in town. New favorite character is Crow a.k.a Raven he is a trixter god, so ofc he is up to no good and looking to stir things up in Ordinary. Other than this I have to say it seems to be a really weak series and doesn't have much going for it.
So on to what was positive about the book. Clear character build for the MC. More fun stuff and comedy in this. You really get a better feel for many of the characters in this book. While it clearly isn't the action packed epicness one might hope for, it's still a good read. It has romance as I said but it is always "complicated". So remember how I said the MC not being stupid was an improvement? Well instead of her being stupid it is now Ryder who is being an idiot. I won't say why because that would spoil it. But there is still many intrigues and plots from different people in town. New favorite character is Crow a.k.a Raven he is a trixter god, so ofc he is up to no good and looking to stir things up in Ordinary. Other than this I have to say it seems to be a really weak series and doesn't have much going for it.
January 11, 2024
Well that was fun except for the cliffhanger. One question is wrapped up about 2/3s in but the other... more important seems is going to be a overarc. The story was a solid 3 1/2 and I would've bumped up but CH endings irritate.
So why only 3 1/2 when it was fun and the characters are great, the romance, relationship and MMC just made me want to slap him upside his head. so the romance and the thoughts of Ryder we had to plow through to get the other characters and mysteries, was a bit of my disappointment and really why it got the lower rating. Will I read on, yes, at least one more just to see where it goes and whether I want to invest completely. Right now, it is looking like maybe not but unsure.
So why only 3 1/2 when it was fun and the characters are great, the romance, relationship and MMC just made me want to slap him upside his head. so the romance and the thoughts of Ryder we had to plow through to get the other characters and mysteries, was a bit of my disappointment and really why it got the lower rating. Will I read on, yes, at least one more just to see where it goes and whether I want to invest completely. Right now, it is looking like maybe not but unsure.
September 15, 2016
I don't know it must be me, I gave the second book a go, but my heart still isn't in this series. It should be perfect read for me, a great writer, a interesting storyline and characters, but for some reason I just can't get into it, I found everything about the book just flat and boring.
Oh well I tried, so good luck to the rest of you who carry on with this series.
December 28, 2017
I didn’t like this book as much as the first one in the series. The main reason I didn’t like it – the novel ends with a clear cliffhanger. The book contains only half the story, and no conflict is resolved by the last page. Usually, I don’t continue with such books. I don’t like being cheated of my ending, but for this book, I’ve made an exception and bought the next one. I like the heroine. I want to know what happened to her.
August 9, 2017
3.6
I enjoyed this but there were some things that I couldn't get over.
1.Laney had some extreme "DUH!" moments because there were things called leads that she should have followed up on. Ex. Piper. Ryder/Seattle. Rossi's past.
What I wanted to say to Delaney : I get it, new to the police chief thing - but is observation really not your strong suit? Why are you getting side tracked with your romantic life? Don't get me wrong, I love Ryder, but you have one job and you should be focusing on that just a little more. Maybe you should use those listening skills that cops are supposed to have and pay attention to what people are saying. Heed the warnings of the Gods and listen, please please listen, when someone says that they have something to tell you. Also, sometimes reading between the lines is something you have to do.
/rant
Also. Ryder? All he had to do was keep his trap shut. Did I love the exchange right before he did the opposite of what he was told? Yes. Yes I did. But seriously? One job. He had one job which was to shut the fuck up.
Another anomaly - why is no one freaking out about what happened with Ryder? Why are the Gods sort of raising brows but the Reeds' are calm? Didn't we just get a paragraph a chapter ago about why we should be worried?
I'm wondering if the story might have been better served if the Dad had died during the first book so that we get a better sense of Delaney struggling in this position. I know she's young, I know the town doesn't really deal with this sort of stuff but things like ' locking your door ', 'remembering what a ring looks like' and just generally heeding warnings, seems like common sense.
I still enjoyed this book, I think that's why I'm so frustrated at the lack of common sense and just obliviousness that Delaney displayed throughout most of the book.
I did love the secondary characters, I want to know more about the sisters (yay for the novellas coming out) and I wish we had more of the Gods but the ones that were there were awesome.
Does anyone feel like
I'm on to the next one but Delaney better wise up.
I enjoyed this but there were some things that I couldn't get over.
1.Laney had some extreme "DUH!" moments because there were things called leads that she should have followed up on. Ex. Piper. Ryder/Seattle. Rossi's past.
What I wanted to say to Delaney : I get it, new to the police chief thing - but is observation really not your strong suit? Why are you getting side tracked with your romantic life? Don't get me wrong, I love Ryder, but you have one job and you should be focusing on that just a little more. Maybe you should use those listening skills that cops are supposed to have and pay attention to what people are saying. Heed the warnings of the Gods and listen, please please listen, when someone says that they have something to tell you. Also, sometimes reading between the lines is something you have to do.
/rant
Also. Ryder? All he had to do was keep his trap shut. Did I love the exchange right before he did the opposite of what he was told? Yes. Yes I did. But seriously? One job. He had one job which was to shut the fuck up.
Another anomaly - why is no one freaking out about what happened with Ryder? Why are the Gods sort of raising brows but the Reeds' are calm? Didn't we just get a paragraph a chapter ago about why we should be worried?
I'm wondering if the story might have been better served if the Dad had died during the first book so that we get a better sense of Delaney struggling in this position. I know she's young, I know the town doesn't really deal with this sort of stuff but things like ' locking your door ', 'remembering what a ring looks like' and just generally heeding warnings, seems like common sense.
I still enjoyed this book, I think that's why I'm so frustrated at the lack of common sense and just obliviousness that Delaney displayed throughout most of the book.
I did love the secondary characters, I want to know more about the sisters (yay for the novellas coming out) and I wish we had more of the Gods but the ones that were there were awesome.
Does anyone feel like
I'm on to the next one but Delaney better wise up.
May 23, 2017
Another great nstallment, although beware it ends on a cliff-hanger.
At the end of the first book Delaney had been shot and she had been dumped after a one night stand with the love of her life. But now she has bigger fish to fry, somehow Crow has 'lost' all the god powers that he has been storing whilst their owners holiday in Ordinary and Delaney needs to get them back. Then one of the vampires is found murdered with strange symbols drawn and n his body in blood which appear to be an invitation/ message to Rossi, the head vampire in Ordinary.
I lov d this second instalment, there are mysterious government agencies, ancient vampire feuds, Death takes a vacation, there's a Cake Skate competition and so much more.
Heading into the next book right now!
At the end of the first book Delaney had been shot and she had been dumped after a one night stand with the love of her life. But now she has bigger fish to fry, somehow Crow has 'lost' all the god powers that he has been storing whilst their owners holiday in Ordinary and Delaney needs to get them back. Then one of the vampires is found murdered with strange symbols drawn and n his body in blood which appear to be an invitation/ message to Rossi, the head vampire in Ordinary.
I lov d this second instalment, there are mysterious government agencies, ancient vampire feuds, Death takes a vacation, there's a Cake Skate competition and so much more.
Heading into the next book right now!
July 10, 2017
In the second book in the series, it picks up about 3 months after the first book. Someone steals all the vacationing gods powers. Then on top of that, a vampire is murdered. So, Delaney and her 2 sisters are on the hunt. You start to learn a lot more about all the gods and creatures living in town piece by piece. You finally get to find out what her childhood crush is hiding too. It keep the book interesting, and who doesn't enjoy a good murder mystery with a paranormal twist. Delaney and her sister's also try to figure out why their father, the old police chief, ran off a road he's traveled for many years. It was well worth the read, I've started book 3. The war Hera warned Delaney about in the end of the first book, has now hit them full force. So, I'm looking forward to learning more about the towns inhabitants, and how all of them are going to have to work together to save their town. Not an easy feat.
November 24, 2020
This is book 2 in the series. I enjoyed the ending and I can't wait to read the next book in the series! I really enjoyed all the characters but I love the chemistry between Ryder and Delaney the most. All the Reed sisters are fun to read about! This series, I think, would make a cute and fun movie! I can see all the fun these books would be to bring to life on the big screen! Devon you are a great author and the series, so far, is fun to read. Please keep up the great entertaining work! On to book 3 for me.
March 25, 2019
I liked this one a wee bit less than the first one only because the romance between the main character and Bailey is super annoying. Also, it left off on a HUGE cliff-hanger and that annoys me so much. Thankfully, I have the third (and last?!?) book at home from the library already. Hopefully the final book doesn't leave me wanting for more and can finish things up.
July 20, 2019
Book two of this series was just as good as the first, if not better. Enjoyed reading about all the characters from book one and was glad to see that Delaney isn't giving up on Ryder...just yet. Love the small town feel of Ordinary coupled with the extraordinary residents; it makes for a fun read.
July 15, 2022
3.5 star listen
I enjoy this series
Listened via graphic audio which I always like.
We find out more about the mmc in this one.
He gets given a new job…… the world-building is good.
There’s no smut
Romance is definitely a secondary aspect but fmc has been in love with Ryder since they were young.
I enjoy this series
Listened via graphic audio which I always like.
We find out more about the mmc in this one.
He gets given a new job…… the world-building is good.
There’s no smut
Romance is definitely a secondary aspect but fmc has been in love with Ryder since they were young.
January 11, 2021
This series is a quite ridiculous and over-the-top, but I'm still enjoying it as fun fluff. The author doesn't seem to take herself too seriously, and if this were a TV show, it would be a silly supernatural/physical humor/dad joke mash-up.
August 3, 2017
loved it!!
July 19, 2020
Not a fan of the romantic pair ... she did get head back in the game before I tossed it to the DNF shelf.
I mean it was paragraphs from just NO.
Still love the set-up and the plot arc.
I mean it was paragraphs from just NO.
Still love the set-up and the plot arc.
November 29, 2023
Its quite short and boring as it gets.
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