Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

Book Info
Paperback, 368 pages
Expected publication: April 28th 2015 by K-Teen
original title Cold Burn of Magic
ISBN 1617738247 (ISBN13: 9781617738241)
edition language English
series Black Blade #1
other editions (2)
Source:Netgalley EARC

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

There Be Monsters Here. . .

It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power.

I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.

But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call--get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her. .

My Thoughts

Like most readers we all have authors who we feel certain will provide us with a good product, no matter what the genre, no matter what the plot there will be interesting, entertaining and an all around good experience when you crack the pages open on something they have written.

As I grow older the list of authors may have changed a bit, as have added so many that were previously new to me or new to the world of being published, but have to say that in 2010 when found Jennifer Estep after reading Spider’s Bite that there will be a long list of work that she has written that I have read and enjoyed. So far have read Elemental Assassins series (of which there are 13 books so far as well as short stories about Gin) and all 6 books in the Mythos Academy series and am just getting more fond of her style of writing as the books come out.

The pace was steady, the characters well portrayed, the world came alive more and more the longer you read into the story. What was especially one of my favorite parts is that Lila is one of those people who considers herself to be very grounded almost to the point of being self-centered, she however finds herself unable to become involved with Devon and his Family at which point she also finds out that she is much more like her deceased mother than she ever thought she could be.

Lila’s mom was a bodyguard for those with the means to hire her, she was the one who taught Lila how to take of care of herself in a fight and also how to steal to make ends meet when jobs were few and far between. Not the upbringing one would expect of a normal childhood, but than again living in Cloudburst Falls West Virginia and possessing several magical Talents Lila is not exactly a normal young woman.

Like Gin Blanco before and Gwen Frost, Lila Weatherby is a survivor.

Cloudburst Falls West Virginia is now a make believe destination that I will be returning to. Lila is quite an interesting combination of some of my favorite female characters and the conflict she has found herself embroiled in is both unique to this story as well as very familiar at the same time. After all it is about good battling injustice and evil. Wonder who wins in the end? Have to read the book to find out!

Another shining example of a clever imagination with the ability to create characters, conflicts and villains we cannot help but want to learn more about. A great start to what I hope will be a long running series.

[EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]