Joint Review: E.A. Copen’s Guilty By Association

Tags

book, book review, e.a. copen, guilty by association, judah black, monsters, review, series, texas, urban fantasy, vampires, werewolf, werewolves

Everything’s bigger in Texas…Including the monsters.
When a young werewolf is murdered on the Paint Rock Supernatural Reservation, the local cops think it’s a drug deal gone bad. BSI agent Judah Black knows better. An occult expert, she knows magick is at work from the beginning. Using only her wits, knowledge of the supernatural and her limited magickal abilities, she must untangle a web of cover-ups and lies before the killer finds his next victim.

 

 

Liza’s Review

Guilty by Association had me in its’ grip before I realized it. From start to finish it is a non stop procession of action. Judah Black is a BSI agent, assigned to Paint Rock Reservation in Texas. As we follow her we quickly learn that this 5′ spit fire isn’t about to let anything stand between her and justice, even if you are a monstrous Werewolf that stands taller.

Immediately I was in love with her presence, and the fierce way she cares for her son. She strives so hard to do the right thing, even if it means battling herself over what that actually is. She has a softer spot for the paranormal, that we watch unfold as she finds herself walking into the center of a madmans plan to eradicate the varying species that have shown themselves to the world.

This book gave me a charming sense of discomfort. I say this because in most paranormal books I have read there are always rules, boundaries to what can and can’t be done. Not here, here we have yet to really find those boundaries, the government still only knows a fraction about this old world that has come to light. It only makes sense to lack the knowledge of a world that has existed for centuries, and only been exposed for a decade. We grow along with Judah as she dives past the surface of what she knows.

This story is full of everything that a supernatural fan loves: Fae, Vampires, Werewolfs, Glamours and so much more.

My only complaint is the lack of depth or background in some spots, in some areas the story felt a little compacted. In turn I felt some detail was lost. At the end of it all the author put me at ease, the level of acceptance that Judah has for what she has to do was consoling. I look forward to the next book!!

4 out of 5 quills.

Evie’s Review

This is the first book by EA Copen that I have had the pleasure of reading, but I can say with certainty that it won’t be the last.

Judah Black is a flawed character and that’s what I love about her. She’s prejudiced against almost everyone around her and, to be fair, everyone around her is prejudiced against her. She faces the challenge of earning the trust of the reservation’s citizens while trying to solve a few murders.  The thing about trust is it’s hard to earn trust without also giving it. This story is Urban Fantasy meets Dystopian meets Western meets Detective story and it is done fantastically.

The novel is paced well and I didn’t notice that the plot jumped leaps and bounds. Most of the Judah’s leads brought more questions than were answered and it was most definitely an uphill battle, but the story pulls you in and keeps you interested. Some of the characters I immediately liked, even if our MC (main character) didn’t, and others I hated (usually Judah did too), but some characters kept me guessing until the end and even better… some characters I still haven’t made a decision on.

The only complaint I had, and it wasn’t a very big one, was that there was no hint of The Ways until suddenly they were there. They were explained a little bit, but other things were explained much better, like the way Judah’s magic works and the transformation of werewolves. The reason this is a very small complaint is that this is the first book in a series… things can and probably are expounded upon in the next novels. I find that there are usually two ways that first novels go, they either focus on the character building or the world building, but some novels, like this one, focus pretty evenly on both. As a reader, I prefer this way because it leaves room for the world to grow and gives us a baseline for the characters. It creates balance.

I also want to point out that I like that BSI, the government agency that Judah works for, is presented in a not so flattering light. It is multi-faceted and rings very true to quite a few real-life agencies throughout the world. I’m sure that more than Americans can relate to it. I also love that Copen addresses other countries besides America. So many Urban Fantasy novels never address that their world of werewolves and vampires and fae expand past the borders of the USA and it leaves you wondering…how did the rest of the world handle it? While E.A. Copen didn’t go into details about the rest of the world’s policies on the supernatural coming out, she at least acknowledged that they had policies in place.

The last thing I want to talk about and that I absolutely loved is the ending. The author satisfactorily ends one story line, but in the process opens up a few more, not to mention a couple that she hints to throughout the rest of the story. It leaves us wondering where the next book will go and how long until all these story arcs are addressed…because you know it won’t all be in one novel. This book is expertly written and I’m going to say that you need to read it if you like detective stories or urban fantasy or westerns.

I give this story 4 out of 5 quills and you can rest assured that I will be reading the rest of the series.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Quills. It’s obvious that we here at Bibliophile’s Delight love Guilty by Association!

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Dangerous Ways to be Entertained

Tags

dangerous ways, epic, grave beginnings, grave measures, rr virdi, series, the grave report, urban fantasy

Blog update:

It’s been awhile since Liza or I have posted. I decided to go back to school and it took up much more time than I was expected and Liza’s life has gotten equally busy in different ways. She approached me about getting back into the swing of things. We both love books and love to share our love of books. We want to focus more on indie or lesser known authors who deserve recognition. The industry is hard for new names or indie names. Now onto today’s book!

Evie

PS. I think I’ll post a blog on Friday to go over all of the books I read in 2016 with a sentence or two about what it’s about and whether or not I liked it.

The Blurb:

Jonathan Hawthorne has lived over a century beholden to one rule: do not meddle in mortal affairs. He’s broken it twice. So when he crosses paths with Cassidy Winters, he’s forced to interfere again.

Strike three. And the third time’s not the charm.

Hawthorne is swept along as Cassidy slips through the cracks in reality.

And being hunted by bands of monsters doesn’t help.

To find the answers they need, they’ll have to play in a dangerous world. One where the odds and rules are stacked against them. They will have to navigate magical courts, queens and lords all while trying to keep Cassidy out of their scheming hands.

If they fail, she will end up a pawn in a plot that will consume them all.

Hawthorne will have to face the consequences of his past, and risk his future to ensure Cassidy can have one of her own.

For a man with all the time in the world–it seems to be running out–fast!

My Review:

R.R. Virdi is one of my favorite Urban Fantasy authors. His Grave Report series (which I’ve reviewed here…and here) are fast paced and full of witty dialogue. I love witty dialogue. So when he announced that he had a new series coming out that existed in the same world as Vincent Graves, but was not about Vincent, I was ecstatic. And then when I found out that this series was going to be Epic Urban Fantasy I was not only ecstatic but my mind was officially blown. I bought it the day it came out and immediately set to reading it.

Let me just sum this up for you in a sentence, in case you’re in a hurry. Dangerous Ways is what you would get if Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearn, Brandon Sanderson, and Robert Jordan (Rest in Peace) could write a book together.

The story is exciting and you just keep wanting more but when you’re done you feel like you’ve been living a different life. I immediately wanted to start on the next book, but then I remembered I’d have to wait.

I want to go more in depth. I want to talk about all of the characters and the relationships, but I do firmly believe that it’s best if you read it for yourself and experience the story as it goes. I have re-written this review four or five times because I keep catching myself giving to much away. Too many character secrets or plot reveals.

If you love Urban Fantasy or Epic Fantasy, or are thinking about giving either genre a try, I cannot recommend this novel enough. You do not need to read his other series first even though they take place in the same universe.

Find it on:
Amazon
GoodReads
R.R. Virdi’s Website

 

 

An Interview with R.R. Virdi

Tags

author, grave beginnings, grave measures, interview, jim butcher, r.r. virdi, rr virdi, series, the grave report, urban fantasy

This was scheduled to post last Friday, but for some reason none of my scheduled blog posts are actually being posted. (I suspect this has more to do with my phone where I had been scheduling drafts to post than anything about WordPress. Well… live and learn.)

R.R. Virdi

I recently reviewed the second book in the Grave Report by R.R. Virdi (which you can find here… or the first book’s review here) and all it’s done is made me crave more. So I sent him a message and asked if he would mind doing an interview and HE SAID YES! Here’s my online interview with a really awesome author:

Bibliophile’s Delight: Let’s start off with some Grave Report related questions… Are all of Vincent’s cases going to be in NYC?

R.R. Virdi: For the main body of the series (IE. the novels), yes.

The short stories, which I do have many planned, will take place all over.

BD: Sweet. Does Graves have cases between the NYC cases (novels)?

RRV: Yes, he does; many of the short stories will cover those.

BD: I’m super excited! That leads to me to my next question… When he’s not on a case, where is he? Is he sentient between cases?

RRV: Ah. That I can’t answer. Well I can, but I won’t. Not yet. That’s going to be explained.

BD: Gasp! I am wounded… Okay. Not wounded. Impatient. I’m impatient.

RRV: Haha

BD: Church dropped a huge bomb at the end of the story and it has a lot of possible ramifications, but my first thought (as I’m sure many a fangirl has had) was “does this mean that Vincent and Camilla have a chance?” (Side note that I did not say to Mr. Virdi at the time: I’m shipping this as Vinilla)

RRV: Spoilers?! Sacre bleu! I’m not gonna tell you.
Always wanted to say that after [Jim] Butcher said it to me once at a Q&A.

BD: Rhyming Rejection? I think that hurts worse. Alright…let’s steer clear of huge spoilers…

How did you come up with the idea for Vincent Graves?

RRV: Ah. I wanted a hero that had the masked hero effect… ie. Spider-man. Batman. You know who they are…but you can imagine anyone under the mask. Even yourself. It’s a mantle of sorts.

Vincent graves has no set body. Anyone can be Vincent. He’s a hero for everyone.

…and I’m a huge urban fantasy nerd so ta-da.

BD: I like it. I could be Vincent…though I’d have to die horribly first…besides the point…

Here’s a big one, how much time and effort do you put into plotting?

RRV: Plotting?

BD: Are you a pantser?

RRV: I am. That’s not to say I don’t know what will happen. I always know the general idea for each novel. This thing dunnit. Beginning, opening lines, ending, climax, few scenes here and there. That’s natural whether you pants or plot. Your mind’s going to come up with something if you’re a writer.

Fan Art of Camilla Ortiz

BD: Since we’ve seemed to have switched gears… Let’s get into general writerly questions.

RRV: Okay!

BD: How long have you wanted to be a writer?

RRV: Since age 18, so eight years. That’s when I started. I’d like to think..I count as one now??

BD: You do, but you still want to be one…so my question is a valid one lol

What was the first thing you wrote?

RRV: A horrible piece of unfinished fantasy. Twelve chapters where I left off, 200K words. It was a monster. Both in size and writing quality.

BD: So I have heard on the not-so DL that you have another book coming out this December. What can you tell us about it?

RRV: It’s going to push the mythology and lore in my world to a new level. Flesh things out from new perspectives and show that Vincent Graves isn’t the only one dealing with the supernatural.

Church and Vincent Graves Fan Art

BD: Can you let something slip about the main character? Or maybe the blurb?

RRV: Unfortunately, at this time I can’t since its still in editing, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the novel completely. As it stands, there are two traditional publishing offers as well that I’ve been really lowkey on talking about because… reasons.

BD: Alright. Let’s get on to the personal.

What does the R.R. stand for?

RRV: Ronnie (my nickname I’ve gone by my whole life) and my legal name.

BD: You are a man of secrets. Share just one secret?

RRV: Which one?

BD: Which ever you think you can while still remaining a mystery man?

RRV: My middle name is Ranbir.

BD: !!! I love it!

Well, thank you for answering my questions. I can’t wait for your novel coming out in December. Anything else you would like to say?

RRV: You’re awesome.

R.R. Virdi is a blast to talk to… even if he won’t even hint at anything spoilery, which in the long run, I’m probably grateful for. I don’t need the spoilers to keep me interested. I love his novels and will pre-order both The Books of Winter and the Grave Report book 3… as soon as they are available.

If you haven’t given R.R. Virdi’s books a try you can find them here…

If you would like to find his social media… it’s here…

Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
Blog/Website
Instagram

Grave Measures

Tags

book, Camilla ortiz, church, grave measures, kitsune, mystery, mythology, phage, quills, r.r. virdi, review, rr virdi, the grave report, urban fantasy, vincent graves

Hey! This is a sequel. You can find my review of the first book in the Grave Report here. This review may contain spoilers for that book, so if you consider spoilers to be Satan’s handiwork then click on the link above and read that review. You have been warned.

GoodReads blurb

What do shadows darting across walls, cryptic writing, black fog, and a little girl who can see ghosts have in common? Paranormal investigator and soul without a body, Vincent Graves, has forty-four hours to find out.

To make matters worse, his years of body-hopping and monster-hunting are catching up with him. He’s losing his mind. An old contact has shut him out. To top it all off, something’s skulking through an asylum, killing patients.

Three guesses who might be next, and the first two don’t count. The writing on the wall is not so clear. But one thing is: if he doesn’t figure this out he’s a dead man—well, deader—and a strange young girl might follow. Vincent’s got his back against a wall, and that wall’s crumbling.

Some days it’s not worth it to wake up in someone else’s body.

Review

Let’s just get this straight. R.R. Virdi writes some of the most smartass, nerdy, pun-addled and badass stories I have ever read and I love it. I will sit over here and try not to fangirl all over the place, especially since Mr. Virdi promised me an interview. (Which I’m hoping will be posted on Friday… if I don’t get too caught up in asking questions.)

Vincent wakes up in a mental institution wrapped up all snug in a straight jacket. Getting himself out of the jacket and into a chapel turns out to be one of the easiest challenges that Vincent faces. Church is still as vague and cryptic as ever, but I feel like at some point in the future we’ll actually get to know him a lot better. And, boy, does he drop a huge bomb at the end.

What surprised me about this book was how the characters are still traumatized from the events of the last book. They are all still dealing with the emotional fall out of almost dying and dealing with new things. It’s wonderfully done. Many serial mystery/urban fantasy novels just pretend like what happened in the previous books was not a huge deal. They’ll refer to them, but rarely do the events of previous books take a huge toll on the characters mental states in the current novel. I love that even as the characters are dealing with new horrors, the old ones directly effect how they are dealing with the current ones.

The one thing I don’t like is how Vincent treats Ortiz. He says he trusts her with his life, but he doesn’t trust her with the truth? I get that it’s a lot to handle, but the toll of feeling like every time a “tattoo guy” shows up in her life, she’s going to have to accept that at the end of the case she’ll lose someone she risks her life to help has got to suck. Knowing that Vincent would be back, even in a different body, would probably do wonders for her psyche. That being said… I’d love to read a short story about Camilla Ortiz on her own…

I highly recommend this book to any one who likes urban fantasy, mysteries, or smart-ass characters. Oh! Or mythology. You’ll be googling monsters for days.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 quills. C’mon Vincent! At least give Ortiz some hints.

Darkest Fear — Birthright 1

Tags

book, burthright, cate, darkest, fantasy, fear, review, series, tiernan, urban fantasy, YA, Young Adult

Goodreads Blurb

Vivi has known the truth about her family—and herself—since she was thirteen. But that doesn’t mean she’s accepted it. Being Haguari isn’t something she feels she’ll ever accept. How can she feel like anything but a freak knowing that it’s in her genes to turn into a jaguar?

Now eighteen, Vivi’s ready to break away from the traditions of her heritage. But all of that changes with the shocking, devastating deaths of her parents and the mysteries left behind. Vivi discovers family she never even knew she had, and a life open with possibility. New friends, new loyalties, and even romance all lay ahead—but so do dangers unlike anything Vivi ever could have imagined.

Review

I read Cate Tiernan’s Sweep series a million years ago when I was 12/13. I loved it back then and still have many of the books on my shelf. Some got misplaced by friends who borrowed them. Though I loved them when I was younger I have seriously questioned whether or not I would love them if I re-read them now. When I found her new Birthright series I knew I had to give it a try.

I found it interesting and I will definitely be reading the sequel. That being said…I give a lot of leeway to books I know will be the first in a series. This novel seemed like it was more about setting up the character’s family history and friends. So not a lot happens and though it was a quick read at the end I didn’t feel completely satisfied. It felt like we had just gotten to something good when it ended.

Next on the list, is the romance. I both love and hate how the romance was handled. On the one hand, I absolutely love that (so far) the romance is not central to the storyline. It’s about an 18 year old girl, so of course she focuses some on boys, but the story is more about getting to know her family, figuring out what happened to her parents, and figuring out what she was going to do with her life now that they’re gone. On the other hand, I absolutely hate that the guy she moons over is kind of a jerk. It’s obvious he has some tragic backstory from the get go, but still. I am super tired of the trope, I’m traumatized so I get to be an asshole and it’s okay. It is not okay.

As for the main character, Vivi isn’t awful. She’s just a sheltered 18 year-old. I like that she refuses to accept her family’s traditons and customs. And she reacts to her parents’ deaths like you would expect. But my favorite part is that she is a virgin for valid reasons, not because she’s shy or doesn’t know that she’s beautiful. She acknowledges that she could be very beautiful if she put any effort into it. But she wasn’t interested in being Haguari. At all.

All in all, I reserve the right to save my judgement of this series until book 2 comes out in July.

Rating:3 out of 5 quills. I liked it and will be buying the sequel, but I can definitely see why it gets a bad rap

 

Spring Break and a Quick Promo

Tags

fantasy, grave beginnings, grave measures, mystery, r.r. virdi, rr virdi, urban fantasy, vincent graves

So this week is spring break and since in my other life I am a nanny, I am watching 4 kids for 5 days this week and another little one this weekend. This leaves very little time to write a new review, but I am determined to skip no more weeks. I was a little baffled at what I was going to post today, but then a friend posted that they had pre-ordered R.R. Virdi’s new novel that’s  coming out next month. I thought I would point you towards my review of his debut novel, Grave Beginnings. (Just click on the title right there to see the review.)

And let me say again, if you like urban fantasy and/or mysteries I highly recommend this book. The ebook is $2.99 and the pre-order for book 2 is $3.99. If you order either come back so we can talk about it!

And no, I’m not getting paid to do this blog. I’m just super excited about Grave Measures coming out.

The Painted Maidens Trilogy

Tags

book, fantasy, review, series, Terra Harmony, The Betrayed, The Painted Maidens, The Rising, The Taking, urban fantasy, Young Adult

Blurb: Seventeen-year-old Serena is the youngest member of a dying race. The increasing acidity of the ocean is destroying her home, slowly eating away at the once thriving underwater landscape. But since the night of Serena’s birth, it is an outside force that most threatens their dwindling population. Werewolves, who once served as protectors for mermaids in the Kingdom of the Undine, now seek to eliminate all who dwell in the ocean—and Serena is about to find herself right in the middle of the deadly conflict.
Given the title of Werewolf Liaison, Serena is determined to make things right for her people. When she ventures to The Dry, she meets Liam, the werewolf with hazel eyes, and her whole world gets turned upside down. As Serena discovers the real history between werewolves and mermaids, she is left wondering who her true enemies are.

Review: I think the thing that says the most about this series is that I almost always hate stories written in the present tense. I still finished all three books. In fact, the writing got better in each book.
Another thing I loved about this series was that there was no love triangle. Love triangles are extremely over done. In a book that isn’t about romance I appreciate that there isn’t a lot of focus wasted on “will she pick this boy or that boy?” I feel like authors and the world in general underestimate a girl’s ability to prioritize.
I love Serena from the beginning of the book until the end. Outcast by both circumstance and choice, she takes it in stride. Her best friend is in love with one of her many bullies and she supports him anyway. She handles her many relationships in a way that I would have envied at 17.
The problem with reviewing a whole series at once is that I can’t reveal many of my favorite things with out spoiling earlier plot twists. If you’re looking to read some urban fantasy outside of anything you’ve probably read before, I’d suggest giving this trilogy a try. Just remember that it (the present tense writing) gets better as you read from one book to the next. The story is there the entire time.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 for originality and wonderful story telling.

The Girl at Midnight

Tags

book, fantasy, Melissa Grey, quills, review, series, The Girl at Midnight, urban fantasy, YA, Young Adult

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she’s ever known.
Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she’s fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it’s time to act.
Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it’s how to hunt down what she wants… and how to take it.
But some jobs aren’t as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.
I got this book from Net Galley a while ago. By the time I got around to reading it I had forgotten what the blurb had said. I think that helped me go into it with no bias.
I love Echo. She’s a smart ass and kind of an anti-hero. She’s a thief and not a noble one. She’s also on the fringe of Avicen society. There are probably more who disapprove of her than who accept her into society. And it doesn’t get any better when she starts the journey to find the firebird.
I will say I’m not a fan of Echo’s romance with Rowan. Just felt like I saw the trouble there from the minute he entered. Her best friend, Ivy, was a mixed bag. I would like her one chapter and then the next chapter I was unsure.
What I loved most about this book was that it was more adventure than it was romance. And there was a suitable reason for the romance. I would love to talk more about it but it would be a huge spoiler so I’ll just hold it in.
Rating: 4.5 out 5 quills. The pacing was just a little odd for me, but turns out there is a sequel coming out in 2016 so it makes more sense. If you love urban fantasy, magic, thievery, and a witty main character, I would definitely suggest this book.

Shadow, Shadow

Tags

book, curse, fantasy, review, series, urban fantasy, VB Marlowe, YA, Young Adult

“The four of you have been blessed with a great gift. Well, it’s a gift for you, but a curse for someone else.”

Harley receives a mysterious gift on her sixteenth birthday–a shadow box. The box gives her the power to trade someone to the shadows, meaning they will disappear and cease to exist. Harley can’t imagine doing such a horrible thing and is warned that using the box comes at a price. Unfortunately, not using the box can be even more costly. Harley must make this life-altering decision as she discovers frightening revelations about the town she calls home.

Okay. So by the end of the story I was definitely into it, but it took me a while to get there. I definitely plan on reading the rest of the series.

That being said part of what makes this book is so good is that I have extremely mixed feelings about the characters. The main character Harley seems like she would be a truely badass character and that’s how she portrays herself to fellow students. Then you find out that she’s being abused by her boyfriend. It makes her real. Her family life is a little surreal though.

Teaghan is a character I truly liked at first and am still on the fence about now. She is a victim of the typical high school bullies. I love how the author didn’t go the way I expected with this character at all.

It’s interesting because I requested this book from netgalley because of my curiousity of what plot was about but in the end I’m going to keep reading because I want to see how the how the characters grow.

Rating: 4 out of 5 quills.

Grave Beginnings

Tags

grave beginnings, mystery, r.r. virdi, urban fantasy

In Grave Beginnings by R.R. Virdi, Vincent Graves spends his almost after-life jumping from body to body to solve his host body’s murder. This latest case is the oddest he’s come across so far, from a host who looks 20 years younger than he should and apparently just dropped dead to the FBI agent who he just can’t seem to shake. This case is his most difficult yet.
Vincent Graves is a pretty funny guy even if his humor can be a little morbid, but you might be that way too if you were reborn into murdered bodies only long enough to find the murderer. He made me laugh, but he’s not the only character worth reading about in this book. First there’s Church, who’s kind of a mystery in and of himself. All we can really be sure of in the beginning is that he is who Graves answers to.
My favorite character is Ortiz though. She’s not the most badass female to ever walk into a story, but she’s not a push over either. She freaks out every now and again but pulls it together, even if only barely, over and over again. I love this realistic portrayal of a strong woman getting in over her head in a world she doesn’t know anything about. She doesn’t just miraculously become okay with everything she’s seeing. Vincent has had several (short) lifetimes to get used to the world he inhabits. He’s jaded. Ortiz is fresh meat.
There was part of the story I was a little sketchy about at first. Vincent spends his after life jumping from body to body and he retains a little piece of everyone who hosts his soul. It makes his self-identity a mystery. It’s a fascinating concept and brings all new meaning to losing yourself in your work, but I was worried that there would be no answers here. But as he works through his most difficult case to date, you can see him becoming more of himself. It was beautifully done.
Oh and let me just say, I completely geeked out when he had salamanders in the story. I love mythology and the supernatural. I love that he looked deeper for creatures to bring into his world. It wasn’t just vampires, shape shifters (werewolves and the like), and a sprinkling of fae here and there like so many urban fantasies are prone to do. Also, gnomes. Little, bearded, smartass gnomes. Let me just reel in my inner geek and get back to business.

Rating: 4.5 There’s so much room to grow and I can’t wait to read book two. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough to any one who likes urban fantasy or mysteries.