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4.5 AVERAGE
4.5 AVERAGE
If Guilty by Association and Blood Debt, the first two novels in E.A. Copen's Judah Black series, were worldbuilding affairs, the third book -- Chasing Ghosts -- puts all the puzzle pieces together in an emotionally fraught, highly intense adventure that wraps up the initial arc and sets up what promises to be an exciting future.
Everything that made Guilty and Blood fantastic novels is back for Chasing Ghosts; Copen is clearly growing and maturing as a storyteller, and she's fine-tuned each of the characters' voices. Judah is quintessentially herself, but she is so much more, as she progresses both on her own and with regards to several of the relationships she keeps.
Chasing Ghosts is, fair warning, an emotional gut punch. There are at least three occasions where this book practically moved me to tears, and there's something viscerally satisfying about that. Yes, we often read to escape, but we also read to feel. Copen gets us to feel for several of the key players in this tale, while simultaneously taking us on a journey that twists and turns far more than I had anticipated.
The depth Copen has given not just Judah, but several of the other important characters, really helps flesh out Paint Rock -- a world that, on its own, doesn't really amount to much. Paint Rock makes Sunnydale seem like a bustling metropolis, but the reservation's inhabitants more than make up for the lack of scenery.
I'm excited to see where this series goes from here, even though Chasing Ghosts would make a fitting end to a trilogy. Judah Black is one of my favorite characters, and Copen has established herself as one of my favorite independently-published authors. If TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural tickle your fancy, then this is a series you should be reading.
And if not? Hell, read it anyway. Cause it's really, really good.
Everything that made Guilty and Blood fantastic novels is back for Chasing Ghosts; Copen is clearly growing and maturing as a storyteller, and she's fine-tuned each of the characters' voices. Judah is quintessentially herself, but she is so much more, as she progresses both on her own and with regards to several of the relationships she keeps.
Chasing Ghosts is, fair warning, an emotional gut punch. There are at least three occasions where this book practically moved me to tears, and there's something viscerally satisfying about that. Yes, we often read to escape, but we also read to feel. Copen gets us to feel for several of the key players in this tale, while simultaneously taking us on a journey that twists and turns far more than I had anticipated.
The depth Copen has given not just Judah, but several of the other important characters, really helps flesh out Paint Rock -- a world that, on its own, doesn't really amount to much. Paint Rock makes Sunnydale seem like a bustling metropolis, but the reservation's inhabitants more than make up for the lack of scenery.
I'm excited to see where this series goes from here, even though Chasing Ghosts would make a fitting end to a trilogy. Judah Black is one of my favorite characters, and Copen has established herself as one of my favorite independently-published authors. If TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural tickle your fancy, then this is a series you should be reading.
And if not? Hell, read it anyway. Cause it's really, really good.
Yet another amazing continuation of the Judah Black series. As always, this book kept me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put the book down. Judah tries to solve what's ailing a baby while dealing with werewolf politics as well as human politics. There's an increased number of vandalizm and killings toward the paranormal kind by a hate group causing increased animosity between those who want to do what's right by legal means and those who want to seek immediate revenge. Interesting turn of events and I wouldn't have guessed on Mia's condition as well as other things involved.
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
These Judah Black novels are some of my favorite paranormal fantasy ones right now. They follow the eponymous Judah Black, a federal paranormal enforcement/regulatory/investigative agent who lives and works on the paranormal reservation of Paint Rock in Concho County, Texas. She has a "real" job and a son, and now she even has a boyfriend--the werewolf Sal, who lives next door and is part of the local pack, and who Judah kissed in the last book, which I guess makes him her boyfriend even though they never actually discussed anything or went out and just kissed once during a fight? I dunno, that seemed kind of strange--I love some romance in a book, but there seemed to be a leap here that didn't really connect properly.
Anyway. this book picks up immediately after the last one. Judah is told by local vampire higher-up Marcus Kelley to investigate a paranormal illness plaguing a toddler--said toddler being the daughter of wendigo Zoe, featured in the first book. And it turns out that the little girl's father isn't another wendigo, as Judah had thought, but Sal--because Zoe is Sal's ex-wife. Oh boy... She wants to tell Sal, but also doesn't, because it's kind of Judah's fault (a little) that this situation happened, and she's afraid that it'll drive him away. Meanwhile, she also tries to balance her new relationship with Sal with his involvement in a biker club of questionable legality and with her son Hunter.
While Hunter was an integral part of the first book, he continues to be shoved aside in this one, constantly left with minor side characters or even stuck in a hospital room, unconscious. Though Judah is a busy woman, it does rather feel like Copen didn't know what to do with a kid in this situation, so she just sidelined him. How Hunter was actually a character in the first book was one of its big draws to me, so I'm extra disappointed to see the sidelining of the second book continued here.
The plot itself also wasn't as compelling to me. Copen used this as a "relationship" book, and it felt like that came at the expense of a strong central plot, which doesn't have to be the case--you really can have both! But the main plot and the "big bad" here seemed, for the most part, pretty apparent from the beginning. There were a few minor surprises that popped up, but nothing that really made my jaw drop or made me re-examine other parts of the book. It was more like, "Ah, yes," moments, than "Aha!" moments, if that makes any sense. I did, however, like the integration of the spirit world and how Marcus and his family played into the plot here. It made him much more "human," for a vampire, and also gave me a much better understanding of how vampires work in Copen's world. So that was very well done.
Overall, I liked this, but not as much as the previous books. I do think that, now that Copen's got some of the relationship stuff out of the way (I say relationship and not romance, because it's not really a romance at all) she might come back with a stronger focus and better balance in the next book.
3 stars out of 5.
These Judah Black novels are some of my favorite paranormal fantasy ones right now. They follow the eponymous Judah Black, a federal paranormal enforcement/regulatory/investigative agent who lives and works on the paranormal reservation of Paint Rock in Concho County, Texas. She has a "real" job and a son, and now she even has a boyfriend--the werewolf Sal, who lives next door and is part of the local pack, and who Judah kissed in the last book, which I guess makes him her boyfriend even though they never actually discussed anything or went out and just kissed once during a fight? I dunno, that seemed kind of strange--I love some romance in a book, but there seemed to be a leap here that didn't really connect properly.
Anyway. this book picks up immediately after the last one. Judah is told by local vampire higher-up Marcus Kelley to investigate a paranormal illness plaguing a toddler--said toddler being the daughter of wendigo Zoe, featured in the first book. And it turns out that the little girl's father isn't another wendigo, as Judah had thought, but Sal--because Zoe is Sal's ex-wife. Oh boy... She wants to tell Sal, but also doesn't, because it's kind of Judah's fault (a little) that this situation happened, and she's afraid that it'll drive him away. Meanwhile, she also tries to balance her new relationship with Sal with his involvement in a biker club of questionable legality and with her son Hunter.
While Hunter was an integral part of the first book, he continues to be shoved aside in this one, constantly left with minor side characters or even stuck in a hospital room, unconscious. Though Judah is a busy woman, it does rather feel like Copen didn't know what to do with a kid in this situation, so she just sidelined him. How Hunter was actually a character in the first book was one of its big draws to me, so I'm extra disappointed to see the sidelining of the second book continued here.
The plot itself also wasn't as compelling to me. Copen used this as a "relationship" book, and it felt like that came at the expense of a strong central plot, which doesn't have to be the case--you really can have both! But the main plot and the "big bad" here seemed, for the most part, pretty apparent from the beginning. There were a few minor surprises that popped up, but nothing that really made my jaw drop or made me re-examine other parts of the book. It was more like, "Ah, yes," moments, than "Aha!" moments, if that makes any sense. I did, however, like the integration of the spirit world and how Marcus and his family played into the plot here. It made him much more "human," for a vampire, and also gave me a much better understanding of how vampires work in Copen's world. So that was very well done.
Overall, I liked this, but not as much as the previous books. I do think that, now that Copen's got some of the relationship stuff out of the way (I say relationship and not romance, because it's not really a romance at all) she might come back with a stronger focus and better balance in the next book.
3 stars out of 5.