mitabird
Written on Jul 16, 2018
Seven years ago, the Veil that separates us from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.
Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she's a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil's Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.
Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack - in full view of the French Quarter - Liam decides to bring her to Devil's Isle and the teacher she needs - even though getting her out of his way isn't the same as keeping her out of his head.
As more and more Sensitives fall prey to their magic, and unleash their hunger on the city, Claire and Liam must work together to save New Orleans, or else the city will burn...
- ISBN10 147321534X
- ISBN13 9781473215344
- Publish Date 14 April 2016 (first published 4 August 2015)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Gollancz
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 352
- Language English
Reviews
wyvernfriend
Written on Oct 14, 2016
Cocktails and Books
Written on Jul 25, 2015
I am a huge fan of Chloe Neill. I anxiously await the next book in the Chicagoland Vampire series and devour it as soon as I get it. So when I discovered she had a new series out, set in New Orleans with a different paranormal tone that CV, I jumped at the opportunity to read it.
What I love about Chloe Neill is her ability to world build and create characters that leave a lasting impression. In THE VEIL, she's created a post apocalyptic New Orleans that is trying to recover from a supernatural world war, one that scarred the city and the residents that remain. At the heart of the story is Claire Connolly, the remaining member of her family fighting to keep the family business alive and to hide a secret. A secret that could cause her to become a permanent resident of the supernatural prison, Devil Isle. But it's her clandestine meeting with bounty hunter, Liam Quinn, that opens Claire's eyes to what's happening in her city. It's with Liam that she discovers what's truly important to fight for.
I loved the relationship that begins to build between Liam and Claire. She trusts him immediately with her secret and he does what he can to find the right people to help her. There are romantic sparks between the two of them, but the author build their relationship as more of a partnership instead of a romance. You can see where that partnership is going to become more important to both of them as the story unfolds.
As with CV, there are lots of secondary characters that help move the main characters through the storyline. Each of them play an important role and I look forward to seeing what kind of impact they'll have on the overall storyline.
This was a fast paced read, that I could not put down. From the very beginning, I was hooked on the storyline and eager to see what was going to happen to Claire. I was on the edge of my seat and dreaded when I got to the end. I most definitely look forward to what comes next in this series.
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Berls
Written on Jul 23, 2015
Here's the thing y'all. I read A LOT of Urban Fantasy. It's easily one of my favorite genres. But the downside of reading a lot of one genre is that it's easy for things to get stale. You've been there seen that a million times.
I NEVER had that problem reading The Veil. If it weren't for that pesky need to sleep, I would have read The Veil in one sitting, easily. Chloe Neill took some of my favorite paranormal elements - the fae!! Squee!! - and put them in a fairly brilliant new world that I adored.
World building can so easily bog down book 1 of an Urban Fantasy, but Chloe is an expert at weaving in details as you need to know them while keeping the momentum going. It certainly helps that she's taken one of my favorite settings - New Orleans - and used it's rich history of fascination with the paranormal to give it a great post-apocalyptic twist.
I just loved reading about life in the zone -the area where paranormal creatures passed through into our world, which includes New Orleans - their struggles with electricity, growing food and most especially, their fear of anything and anyone magical. It's good old human racism at it's finest. I saw a bit of what reminded me of the Jewish Ghettos that popped up in Early Modern Europe - but this time humans are afraid of anyone magical, even humans -- called Sensitives -- that have no control over who they are. I thought Chloe did a really great job showing how this situation was much more complicated than clear cut good and evil, particularly through the eyes of her main character Claire.
Claire is a Sensitive and yet, she holds some of these prejudices. I really enjoyed seeing her world view shaken and stirred up. It totally helped that the main shaker and stirrer was an equally great charater - Liam. I'm so excited for this love interest - it's going to be a slow build with lots of obstacles... AKA The Best Kind!! Claire and Liam are very likable characters. Claire lives in a world where exposing her abilities - that she's a Sensitive - could mean permanaent lockdown, but she's willing to take that chance to save a complete stranger. What's not to love? And Liam - well, I like that he doesn't share the prejudices that the majority of the world seem to share and is willing to put pressure on Claire and other's to make them see things differently, even at his own expense. Like I said, LIKEABLE!!
The Veil wasn't perfect though. I have two main complaints - first off, and this is the big one... Claire's sudden ability fast-forward. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that one of the things I was loving was that Claire was STRUGGLING hard-core with her magic. And then, all of sudden, well, she wasn't. It was a bummer for me. Secondly, and this is very minor - I want to know more about what's going on outside the zone. Probably not fair to ask for because that's not the focus of the book, but I just want to understand how the rest of the world is coping a bit better. I mean, their REALLY having a hard time in the Zone and I'm wondering, what's the rest of the world doing to help them? Because it seems like some of their problems the world SHOULD be able to do something about. But I do know our world, so I believe that they aren't... I just want to know WHY. I'm curious.
Ultimately, The Veil was pretty great. I loved the world, I loved the characters- including the friendships that I haven't had time to talk about but were pretty strong - and I loved the sense of potential epicness for the series over the long haul. I mean, that ending! Yowzers y'all! Things are going to get INTENSE!! And I can't wait for the ride!
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Jul 20, 2015
- The World: The Veil is set in a dystopian New Orleans after a great war that occurred when the veil between our world and the paranormal world opened. Magic is now banned, there are food shortages and very few people remained in the effected areas. Para (beings from the other side) trapped in our realm when the veil closed and humans known as sensitives who have paranormal abilities are contained in a walled of section of NOLA known as Devil’s Isle. The government occupies NOLA and for those who chose to remain life is hard. Neill did an excellent job of explaining the world and did so without info dumps creating a wonderful flow. I consumed this story in two sittings.
- The Characters: Claire Connolly our heroine owns a store in NOLA, and loves the city. I loved this ginger-headed, kick-ass character. Claire is fearless, and harbors a secret- she is a sensitive and must be very careful not to expose herself. She has no training and understands very little, in fact she feels very alone despite being surrounded by friends, and loyal customers. This allows us to learn with her and leaves room for her to grow as a character. Liam Quinn is a bounty hunter who hunts para and wraiths. He lives within the walls of Devil’s Isle and when he sees Claire fight of a pair of wraiths he steps in to help her. Liam is a total alpha without being controlling. I enjoyed their interactions and his belief in Claire. There is some chemistry and complications there but Neill has me curious about what could develop. The secondary characters are mix of humans and para. Some are part of the military controlling NOLA and others are citizens like Claire who are just trying to find normalcy. It created a dynamic group and their interactions added depth and furthering my enjoyment of the story.
- The Veil: The world beyond the veil and the paranormal creatures we encounter all have me curious. The Veil itself is almost a living breathing character. Despite being at war with creatures from the beyond the folks know very little about the para.
- Suspense/Action: Neill is an excellent storyteller and she created some intense battles, placed our characters in danger and gave us a villain to loathe. All of this had me reading just one more chapter.
- Original/Fresh storyline: From the world to the characters Neill created a world I am anxious to return to. I loved how down to earth and normal Claire was. While the males had alpha tendencies, she added some depth, particularly with Liam’s backstory. The ending was climatic and had me holding my breath. Neill even managed to surprise me with a little twist and reveal. The threat in this first installment was handled and I appreciated that the ending didn’t feel rushed. She has created unlimited storyline possibilities with this motley crew of characters and I am curious as to what will happen next.
Copy provided by publisher This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Linda
Written on Jul 4, 2015
ARC received on 25 May 2015.
This book counts towards COYER scavenger hunt item #59: Read a book by an author you have previously read and given less than 3 stars. (4 points)
The Veil is filled with magic, friendship, treason, and quite a bit of hurt. In this new world of hers, Neill managed to keep me pretty much at the edge of my seat for the duration.