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No Heart: A Hoodoo Novel
Charlotte Roote is a twenty-four year-old convenience store clerk and upstanding citizen of the small Terrebonne Parish town of Coeur, LA.
But by night, she's a Mambo's apprentice; a hoodoo practitioner who conjures and fixes with the blink of an eye.
The only problem is that Charlotte isn't very good. In fact, on her first test she accidentally created a vampire when she was supposed to conjure a hoodoo zombie. Things only go downhill from there for Charlotte as she tries to tame her unpredictable vampire puppet.
But when a string of murders spring up Charlotte is obligated to find out who's been skinning the people of Coeur when her Mambo, The Widow, goes missing.
Magic, murder, mystery and mayhem take the lead in this romantic, sexy and enchanting tale of southern rituals that weave together an unpredictable ending and leave you craving for more.
But by night, she's a Mambo's apprentice; a hoodoo practitioner who conjures and fixes with the blink of an eye.
The only problem is that Charlotte isn't very good. In fact, on her first test she accidentally created a vampire when she was supposed to conjure a hoodoo zombie. Things only go downhill from there for Charlotte as she tries to tame her unpredictable vampire puppet.
But when a string of murders spring up Charlotte is obligated to find out who's been skinning the people of Coeur when her Mambo, The Widow, goes missing.
Magic, murder, mystery and mayhem take the lead in this romantic, sexy and enchanting tale of southern rituals that weave together an unpredictable ending and leave you craving for more.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2010
39 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 4, 2010
NoHeart has a lot of things going for it. It has a mix of supernatural adventure with a light dusting of mystery and romance.
There are several instances where the author takes what is familiar and adds his own unique twist. There are vampires and werewolves but they are a little different from what you might find in other novels. These differences are shown in a way that adds to the story instead of detracting from it, such as the differences between Hoodoo and Voodoo.
The setting seems simple yet it is complex. Couer, LA is not just any small town. There are things about the town and surrounding area that becomes apparent the more you read.
Like the setting, many of the characters are more than they first appear to be. This plays to the author’s advantage as he slowly reveals things about each character. This technique helped me warm to Charlotte. I do admit that I had a slight problem with the number of people who seemed attracted to her but it made sense as the story progressed.
The writing style coupled with the pacing and tone of the story made reading the book a pleasure. I particularly liked how the dialogue was handled. Each character has his or her own way of speaking, making their voice stronger.
The plot like the setting was more complex than it first appeared. There are a few sub-plots as well as twists and turns that made the book that much more enjoyable. I even liked the romantic sub-plot which says a lot. I’m usually not one for romance yet this one was handled well. Finally, the ending was handled well though a few more hints could have been dropped throughout the story.
If you’re looking for a supernatural adventure with a dash of romance and mystery, give NoHeart a try.
There are several instances where the author takes what is familiar and adds his own unique twist. There are vampires and werewolves but they are a little different from what you might find in other novels. These differences are shown in a way that adds to the story instead of detracting from it, such as the differences between Hoodoo and Voodoo.
The setting seems simple yet it is complex. Couer, LA is not just any small town. There are things about the town and surrounding area that becomes apparent the more you read.
Like the setting, many of the characters are more than they first appear to be. This plays to the author’s advantage as he slowly reveals things about each character. This technique helped me warm to Charlotte. I do admit that I had a slight problem with the number of people who seemed attracted to her but it made sense as the story progressed.
The writing style coupled with the pacing and tone of the story made reading the book a pleasure. I particularly liked how the dialogue was handled. Each character has his or her own way of speaking, making their voice stronger.
The plot like the setting was more complex than it first appeared. There are a few sub-plots as well as twists and turns that made the book that much more enjoyable. I even liked the romantic sub-plot which says a lot. I’m usually not one for romance yet this one was handled well. Finally, the ending was handled well though a few more hints could have been dropped throughout the story.
If you’re looking for a supernatural adventure with a dash of romance and mystery, give NoHeart a try.
October 20, 2010
NoHeart is a great story. Charlotte Roote is trying to follow the steps of her mother who was a practitioner of hoodoo. Her first "conjure" made me laugh out loud. She forgot half of her ingredients and tried to bluff her way through. Her mentor was on to her, but still, her attempts to not seem ill-prepared reminded me of the scene from Army of Darkness where Ash is saying the words "Klaatu, verata, necktie!" "I said the words, I did!"
Even though it started on such a promising note, I ended up disappointed with the book. Charlotte came across as too passive to me, in a lot of ways. It seemed like half the time she dealt with things via the ostrich method - stick your head in the sand, ignore it, and it will go away. Infuriating, but still, that's a personal reaction to the character. Far worse was the lack of editing. NoHeart was rife with typos, misspellings, and in a couple of spots I was confused as to what the author was trying to convey. Just as an example, in one place one of the villains, Maria, had her name spelled as "Maris". That's the sort of thing I'd expect even rudimentary proof-reading (not necessarily a full edit) to catch.
Another issue, and this was purely technical - for some reason the text was a gray color on my Kindle. I know it wasn't my Kindle, either. Locations were a crisp black. The chapter names and the the symbol drawn at the start of each chapter were very crisp and dark, but the actual text was just very light. As an aside, I really liked the hand-drawn art at the start of each chapter - it was a nice touch.
Despite its flaws, I still enjoyed NoHeart, and I will probably read future books in the series. I just think that with a little more attention to detail it could have gone from three stars to four and a half.
Even though it started on such a promising note, I ended up disappointed with the book. Charlotte came across as too passive to me, in a lot of ways. It seemed like half the time she dealt with things via the ostrich method - stick your head in the sand, ignore it, and it will go away. Infuriating, but still, that's a personal reaction to the character. Far worse was the lack of editing. NoHeart was rife with typos, misspellings, and in a couple of spots I was confused as to what the author was trying to convey. Just as an example, in one place one of the villains, Maria, had her name spelled as "Maris". That's the sort of thing I'd expect even rudimentary proof-reading (not necessarily a full edit) to catch.
Another issue, and this was purely technical - for some reason the text was a gray color on my Kindle. I know it wasn't my Kindle, either. Locations were a crisp black. The chapter names and the the symbol drawn at the start of each chapter were very crisp and dark, but the actual text was just very light. As an aside, I really liked the hand-drawn art at the start of each chapter - it was a nice touch.
Despite its flaws, I still enjoyed NoHeart, and I will probably read future books in the series. I just think that with a little more attention to detail it could have gone from three stars to four and a half.
August 23, 2010
Charlotte Roote's life is about to take a turn into the freaky and bizarre. Vampires, wolves, creatures of the unknown; that's just the beginning. From the very start, this book is an adventure. With each twist and turn I was sitting on the edge of my seat. I couldn't help but feel a deep connection with the characters as their lives unfolded in the pages, and felt like I was right there, experiencing everything they were. This is truly one of the best thriller books I've read in a long time, and I can't wait to read more by Ronnell.
August 30, 2010
It was fun and enjoyable in between a bit gross. I was missing the actual development of the Romance, it seemed rush which. But other than this, I liked it and definitely consider reading his other books.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews