Night Owls (A Night Owls Novel, #1)

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I grabbed Night Owls the first book in the new urban fantasy series by Lauren M. Roy for the setting. The tale takes place in the college town of Edgewood at a bookstore called Night Owls. Roy offered an engaging tale with a motley crew of supernatural and human characters. Mini review: With a new supernatural creature and interesting characters, it holds the promise of an exciting new series.

Valerie McTeague is the proud owner of the Night Owls bookstore and a vampire. Her Renfield, Chaz, helps her by running the business during the day, along with Jason an undergrad student from the local college. Elly, is a young girl of sixteen who hunts Jackals or Creeps; flesh devouring creatures, with her guardian Father Value. When Value is killed after stealing a book, she takes matters into her own hands. The book causes Valerie and Elly to cross paths and team up to stop the Jackals. The tale that unfolds has us conjuring up spells, hang out with Succubus and learning more about this world.

Roy shared this tale using third person with multiple perspectives. It was a unique attempt and gave us insight into the characters. There are five characters who work against the Jackals or Creeps. Why the two names? Elly Garrett was raised by the Brotherhood under the guidance of Father Value, and this little girl is one tough cookie. Roy showed us Elly’s bad-ass skills but also revealed the child beneath. Valerie our store owner and the local vampire has an interesting history. She is fearless, and for the most part avoids interaction with the supernatural world. When one her “own” is in danger she quickly steps into action. I liked Valerie, and her Renfield, Chaz (who clearly has a crush on her). The author skimmed the surface of how they came to be, and I am anxious to learn more. Justin Kennedy the undergrad who works for Val unwittingly gets himself in trouble and becomes a target. Cavale was a fascinating character. He does odd jobs like removing poltergeists and casting spells. He is also connected to Elly, and I found the thread interesting. The succubus; Lia and Sunny were funny, and could kick-butt.

Night Owls, was a fast read, and I quickly consumed it. The world-building was solid but not as in depth as first books in this genre typically are. Roy still managed to give us enough details to keep me engaged, and the shorter length will appeal to some readers. There isn’t a romance, although one character has hidden feelings for another. The perspective helped flesh out the characters, and they worked well together as a team. Each offers different strengths, and I am anxious to see how they develop. I loved the blending of spells, myth, secret societies and the paranormal creatures we encounter. The casting of circles, wards and secret archives gave the tale a vibe similar to the television show Supernatural. The tale was not without flaws; there were a few minor inconsistencies but didn’t deter from my overall enjoyment and fascination with the story. Night Owls could have taken on a darker tone with the Jackals and that element missed the mark. Whether by intent or not, it is one I would have preferred. We aren’t given much of a history on these new supernatural creatures leaving them shrouded in mystery. I have it on good authority that the next book will provide some of those answers. Intense moments where infused with humor making this a lighter tale.

Night Owls offered a solid start to this new urban fantasy series. Fans of old school urban fantasy will find this appealing. I look forward to reading the next book in the Night Owls series.