Kathrin Hutson starts the book strong, with a powerful MC and a statement that creates intrigue in the reader, like “Who is Kali Sullivan, why does she have such effect on men?” , “Is she human, a witch, or another type of magical creature?” and showing us an important part of the MC’s personality: she is as focused as she is fierce! And this is only the beginning.
That’s why we are total fans of Kathrin Huston! Her writing is feisty in all the right ways, and we love the characters she creates. From the start, we know that this book, and series, will be an adventure, and as we read, it keeps getting better.
The details are very well put and integrated in the fast-paced narrative in a way that doesn’t stop the flow of reading, keeping the book gripping as the story grows. Waves of mystery, action, suspense and emotional twists are sent to the reader without any signs of stopping.
With dark magic dripping from the pages told with healthy doses of dark humor, we cannot help losing ourselves in this story.
Kathrin Hutson can make her protagonists strong and believable without making them the center of “all strength”. Many of the villains and secondary characters are strong and menacing, but there are some “bold and dumb” characters that put a contrast to the story.
The build of the main character is natural badass, pure determination and sheer power, sure, but it wasn’t inherited from her folks, specially her very despicable father from hell. She trained for years to reach the current amount of knowledge, strength and magical prowess to earn the reputation she has. But even so our MC still has some major flaws and weaknesses, and not only from her human side. The fact that the artifacts she collects test every ounce of her and make her “lose it”, sometimes quite easily, are great details to read. Impressive from Kathrin Hutson.
The always present action, the original, immersive, with scenes will force a cinematic imagery on our heads. Fantastic. There isn’t only physical and magical altercations, well, there are a lot of that, almost every other page, but there is also stark emotional tension, personal tension, rising from unspoken inner-issues of our main characters that surface and create tension between them and all of the processes feel real, as there is trauma, miscommunication, misunderstandings, shouting and secrets kept between the parts, and thank god, little to no romance, although… one can assume that there is implied romantic tension, which makes this book even more original. Love it!
You got to love and appreciate Kathrin’s boldness when it comes to narrative and story-telling. She does not mind cursing in every other sentence, which makes the whole story and the main characters more interesting and engaging! It fits!
We have a VEEEEEEERY interesting set-up for this book. A “demon-like” creature as our MC, that has immense power and a dark good and righteous – and sarcastic– heart and ass-kicking tendencies, that collects powerful objects in order for the world not to go “bum” and an her best-friend, that helps her out on these missions, collecting info and having arguments of what to keep, sell or destroy.
The dynamics of the two best-friends, Kali and Heath is realistic and feels pure and sometimes “business-like”, when they are not being sarcastic with one another, and it’s something comforting that we don’t get hints of romance on it. The friendship is complex, with its own problems, dynamics and mysteries given that there seems to have secrets from one part that will affect the relationship in the near-future, and has its ups and downs… LOTS of angry, unpredictable and thriller-tense verbal fights. It’s firecrackers all over. To stop reading this book is a feat on its own. Kathrin Hutson nailed it!
Kali, has some clear issues with her father, because of the way he was trying to raise her, as the narrator hints that he was as evil and power lustful as one can get, and that he tried to make her as his own image, or worse. It’s interesting to see how this is said several times and it’s used as a contrast between our MC’s attitude and how evil she could have been, because her father sounds like a Hell Lord, hahahaha.
Have you ever read a book so good, but so good, that when the plot took a 180 degree spin , you didn’t care and were actually excited it was happening because it made the story even more interesting? She doesn’t forget little details! This is something huge, because sometimes some details are left alone for the rest of the book, but Kathrin Hutson leaves hints, parts and pieces scattered on the book and starts using them when she needs to, many times catching us unaware of because we have forgotten that some details were mentioned before, or were that important or even relevant. Nice!
We have a beautiful book in our hands and the start of a promising series. This is the type of work one expects from a best-selling writer. Incredible. If you want to immerse yourself in a heart-pumping, badass adventure filled with magic with a final scene that leaves you begging for more, don’t blink and buy this book.
Pros:
- EXCELLENT narrative! It made this book entertaining all the way
- EXCELLENT action scenes, and the emotional tension was put with precision
- EXCELLENT characters and dynamics that made this book totally believable
- EXCELLENT descriptions of magic, magical artifacts, powers, bloodlines,
- EXCELLENT mystery and thriller
- Great maintenance of pace. The book had lots of high point without going down or becoming boring. It was ever-moving and shifting, and it was simply great to feel that you could not miss the next scene and sometimes you couldn’t breathe
- Loved that the author used heavy doses of dark humor, sarcasm and curses. Made the book even more unique in its own way, loved it
- The beginning of this series is enticing and this series promises MUCH more on every book. A must-read book, a must-read author
Cons:
- None.
Scribble's Worth 