Owl and the Japanese Circus (The Owl, #1)

by Kristi Charish

The first in an exciting series featuring the unforgettable antiquities thief Owl—a modern-day “Indiana Jane” who reluctantly navigates the hidden supernatural world—from the pen of rising urban fantasy star Kristi Charish (The Kincaid Strange series). For fans of Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Jennifer Estep, Jenn Bennett, and the like.

Ex-archaeology grad student turned international antiquities thief, Alix—better known now as Owl—has one rule. No supernatural jobs. Ever. Until she crosses paths with Mr. Kurosawa, a red dragon who owns and runs the Japanese Circus Casino in Las Vegas. He insists Owl retrieve an artifact stolen three thousand years ago, and makes her an offer she can’t refuse: he’ll get rid of a pack of vampires that want her dead. A dragon is about the only entity on the planet that can deliver on Owl’s vampire problem—and let’s face it, dragons are known to eat the odd thief.

Owl retraces the steps of Mr. Kurosawa’s ancient thief from Japan to Bali with the help of her best friend, Nadya, and an attractive mercenary. As it turns out though, finding the scroll is the least of her worries. When she figures out one of Mr. Kurosawa’s trusted advisors is orchestrating a plan to use a weapon powerful enough to wipe out a city, things go to hell in a hand basket fast…and Owl has to pick sides.

• ISBN10: 1476778671
• ISBN13: 9781476778679
• Publish Date: 13 January 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Artemis]

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Another book recommended to me by my future brother-in-law. I was not expecting much from this book, especially since the title is a bit strange and a little off-putting for a fan of the urban fantasy genre. I was surprised to find a well written and entertaining adventure urban fantasy series!

Owl is an antiquities thief that gets involved with the supernatural. She’s been terminated from her archeology master’s program due to some supernatural circumstances. For the last year she has been running from an encounter gone wrong involving vampires and ends up being blackmailed into working for a powerful red Japanese dragon in Las Vegas.

Add a fast paced plot with friendship, betrayal and a few interesting supernatural beings and you have a unique adventure in this action packed series. Owl constantly runs into trouble (or more like throws herself into it head first). I spent most of the time being annoyed by Owl and her attitude or reactions to situations, but ended up liking how flawed she was. It made her more interesting and want to read the series.

Recommended for urban fantasy lovers who involve a light but fast story.

[Heather]

Owl had a promising career ahead of her as an archeologist until she uncovered a supernatural site and her department made her a scapegoat. Archeologists don't allow publication of supernatural sites. They keep them covered up.

Now Owl is using her knowledge as a very discreet and very expensive thief. It was going well until she accidentally exposed an ancient vampire to the sun during a job and his underlings are angry. Now she's on the run and living off the grid with her Egyptian Mau cat, Captain. His breed was developed to sense and fight vampires.

The Japanese Circus is a Las Vegas casino that turns out to be owned by a dragon.  She did a job for him without knowing he was a dragon and now he wants another.  She can't really refuse and stay alive.

This is a great start to a series that is different than other urban fantasy stories.  Owl's friend Nadya got out of the archeology program too and now runs a bar in Tokyo.  You find out a lot about the host and hostess bar culture in Tokyo where having an attractive person pay attention to you is part of the provided atmosphere.  The creatures in this supernatural world are familiar but each has a few different characteristics that aren't commonly seen.

Owl is stubborn and doesn't listen well to advice.  She gets into trouble over and over because of it.  That can get a little annoying to read but the author has made it make sense in context.  I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

 

A photo posted by @dvmheather on Apr 3, 2016 at 11:17am PDT

This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Breakdown of Owl and the Japanese Circus

The world: The tale takes place mostly at the Japanese Circus Casino in Las Vegas, but Charish also takes us to Tokyo and Bali. Our heroine had a bad run in dealing with vampires and has one rule, “No supernatural jobs.” Of course, life does not workout that way, especially if you have Owl's luck.  Charish’s world is filled with unique creatures from naga to radish demons. Owl along with her unique cat reluctantly take on a case for a dragon.

Characters:

Owl is such a unique character. I rather imagine her to be like the character, Claudia Donovan from the hit TV show Warehouse 13. At this time, I believe she is 100% human, and is an archaeologist turned thief. She can read oodles of dead languages and understand them just do not ask her to speak them. She works literally by the seat of her pants diving head first into situations. I find it hilarious that she cannot detect supernatural creatures without the aid of her cat. She is also a gamer and loves to escape into World Quest. Trust issues, and years of living off the grid in her Winnebago have not helped, but I liked her, laughed at the precarious situations she found herself in and hope we see growth as the series progresses.

Nayda is Owl’s best friend.  She owns a nightclub and  is skilled at deciphering code. I like Nayda and love that she holds Owl accountable and pushes her.

Owl met Ryann previously through Nayda and they formed a friendship. I enjoyed how the author developed Ryann. She delivered one surprise after the other. The man is sexy, mysterious and a good listener..a quality I adore.

Mr. Kurosawa is the red dragon who hires Owl to retrieve and translate an artifact in exchange for something Owl cannot resist. Between the dragon and his seconds in command, I was spellbound.

Alexander is a vampire who tangles with Owl. I absolutely adore their interactions. Snark meets flirtation and their conversations made me giggle. Despite being enemies their relationship is laced with mutual respect. I want more.

Captain is a Mau cat and Owl’s sidekick and companion. She has trained him to hunt vampires. This was fun, and the tricks Owl taught him made me laugh as he helped her out of jams. My only issue is the logistics of carrying his carrier around. Idk, put him in a knap-sack or something.

There are so many side characters that added to the tale, and the list of supernatural creatures we encounter was delicious. I never knew what we would come across next. What is the bartender or the girl on the train?

Romance: We witnesses a relationship grow from friendship to more despite Owl’s fears. This relationship is filled with snark, friendship and wicked banter. It developed slowly and is one that will continue to develop. There are some twists, and a few bump but they really made things interesting. From the chemistry to the banter, I look forward to more.

Plot: For the first book in a new series I felt the author did an excellent job of fleshing out the world and characters all while delivering an exciting case. The story was action-packed from dig sites to battles in the casino. I didn't want to set Owl and the Japanese Circus down and was consumed by thoughts of it when I did.  While I still have some unanswered questions, the ending has me excited for the next installment.

Conclusion: I thoroughly enjoyed Owl and the Japanese Circus and look forward to more adventures with these characters. For me this was a refreshing urban fantasy filled with unique characters and unlimited possibilities. Owl and the City of Angels the next book in the series is set to release in the summer of 2015. *Hoot-Hoot* This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer