My Initial Reaction...
Wow! That was incredible! Despite having one of the most frustrating heroines, this series is quickly becoming a favorite. And the heroine? I officially kind of love her too! (there will be some series spoilers here... sorry, couldn't avoid it and gush like I wanted to!)
The Narration...
Thank you for reading this series, Bahni Turpin, so I don't have too. This is a brilliant series and one of the things that makes it brilliant is the way she's created a slang language all her own. But I don't think I could read it and get the meaning out the way Bahni does. Her ability to bring characters to life has landed her at the top of my go-to narrators list (though this is the only series I've read with her so far). If you've tried this series and had a hard time with the language, try again listening to Bahni. Just sayin'
The Characters...
Chess started growing on me with Unholy Magic. I started to understand her a lot better and it got me past my dislike of her drug addiction. Sure, I still am not a fan of her addiction, but I'm way over it. And I'm starting to believe that she'll get over it too. I see Chess thinking a lot better in this book - yes, she still makes dumb decisions and her addiction is still a handicap (which gets her into serious trouble at one point, again) - but she's starting to make decisions that are make sense. She seems to want something from life and that's a huge step for her. And I think it speaks volumes for the power of love.
And who does she love? Well, even if she's having a hard time with these feelings, we recognize them for what they are. Chess loves Terrible. But, she effed that up bad in Unholy Magic... though I think loosing him was what she needed to realize exactly how much he meant to her. I was really pleased that Stacia Kane went head first into that with City of Ghosts - from the get-go, Chess is feeling horrible about the loss of Terrible as a friend. And she has lost him. Terrible feels betrayed and he's letting her know. Talk about harsh! Every interaction with him broke my heart for the first... well, you don't want me to spoil it for you, now do you? Let me just say, this is a couple that is seriously effed up and I want things to work for them more than most.
I have to give a quick shout out to Lex. I have always been okay with him. Sure, he's really not right for Chess and her relationship with him never felt like more than prostituting herself for drugs. But she ends things with Lex early on in City of Ghosts and I was impressed, not only with the way he took it, but with the fact that he was still a friend to her. I hope at some point Chess will look back at some of the moments in this book and see that she is worth more than she thinks she is, because she has two guys who care for her deeply.
The Story...
As much as I love the characters, City of Ghosts has got one incredible story! The mystery kept me on my toes, guessing constantly. There is some incredible action and Chess is on it with her magic. I mean, this chick has always had the potential and we've seen glimpses, but in City of Ghosts she's downright fierce. The last bit is particularly intense.
Oh wait - I forgot to tell you what's going on, I got too excited about how awesome it was! What I love about this book is that it's so connected to both Unholy Ghosts and Unholy Magic, in true Urban Fantasy style. As in, you won't have a clue what's going on if you haven't read the first two. At the start of Unholy Magic Chess is working with the squad and they uncover illegal magic users - and it's time for the head, Madame Lupita's execution at the start of City of Ghosts. But things go terribly wrong and two members of the Church end up dead. It's the start of all sorts of problems that has Chess doubting the one thing she's always trusted in - her magic, which is Church Magic. She gets put on a case that puts her at the center of everything and it's, once again, up to Chess to save the day. Only this time she has a partner - the Grand Elder's daughter, Lauren - and that complicates the shit out of things. Not to mention she's not exactly a lovely person. I loved every moment of their interactions though, and particularly seeing that Chess could hold her own with someone who's supposed to be so much above her.
Concluding Sentiments...
I'm officially addicted to this series and can't wait to read more. It's action packed, sexy as hell, and bursting with magic. What more can you ask for?
This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.