- 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