Reviews

Fire & Water by Alexis Hall

beulah_devaney's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love this brilliant series about a paranormal private eye in contemporary London (or at least... London up until 2020...). There was a lot of dream magic in book two that knocked it's ranking down a bit for me, but Fire & Water was more of the excellent stuff I fell in love with while reading the first book in the series. Kate is still a messy badass, her girlfriend is still a pirate vampire, she's still got half of London trying to fuck and the other half trying to kill her. All truly excellent. I particularly enjoy the way Alexis Hall keeps taking tropes and flipping them, Elsie the living statue being a case in point. Can't wait to read the next in the series.

see_sadie_read's review

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4.0

It’s been almost five years since I read the first two books in this series. So, I went into Fire & Water a little warily. I wasn’t sure I’d remember enough to follow the plot or if my memory of enjoying the earlier books was accurate. But Alexis Hall is one of my favorite authors, so I had faith. Hall catches the reader up on past events, in the beginning, carries Kate’s sardonic humor throughout and wraps everything up (while leaving an opening for more) in the end. All in all, it was another win for me.

However, I did think things just sort of happened. From the start to the finish, the book is a series of Kate did this, did that, then a small section fo Elsie did this and that, then more Kate did this before a lot of people did that. There isn’t really any pause in the series of events for any character development or even getting to know anyone if you don’t already.

Despite my one complaint, I look forward to more Kare Kane in the future. I just hope I don’t have to wait five years for this one.

christinefredrickson's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

dobbsthedog's review

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4.0

So, initially I was having some trouble with this book.  As with the first two in the series, there is A LOT happening, and I just couldn’t keep things straight.
But then once we got in to the last part, things came together for me and I really enjoyed it!
I think what really did it for me were the chapters from Elise’s POV.  Oh my god, so many things had me laughing out loud.  I really liked Elise in the first two books, as well, but hearing things from her POV just really made me love her.  I think my favourite bit from her was (she is trying to convince the alpha werewolf to help rescue Kate Kane):
“I also understand that you have a strong desire to engage in sexual congress with Miss Kane and this will be a very different experience if she is dead”. 😂😂😂
I really can’t wait to get to the fourth book now.

pepper9627's review

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

nutmegnomegano's review

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5.0

I love the attitude of the main character. She has a lot of cone liners that made me laugh out loud.

musebeliever's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

greymalkin's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Even more of a straightforward mystery and adventure than the previous two, this one has a darker, sadder tone overall. 

Bad shit starts happening just as Kate is starting to sort herself out and it's sad to not see her get to enjoy the fruits of her self-improvement.  But more Elise being awesome, so that's a huge plus!

chaosqueen's review

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5.0

NO. HOW DARE ALEXIS HALL AND THE BOOK THIS WAY I AM SO SAD AND UPSET HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL


At the same time boy am I glad there's more books coming because jeeezus fuck if that's how the entire series ended I would have rioted.

What a rollercoaster

frothy's review

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5.0

I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fire & Water is book 3 in the Kate Kane paranormal series. I have read each book as it has been published. I reread them back to back to fully understand what was going on. The series improves with rereading.

Book 3 resolves the story, but plenty is left for more stories, which is delightful.

We get to hang out with Kate and her world. The characters are great and multifaceted. Kate seems to be overly fond of roaring up to people and yelling at them which isn’t always helpful. In fact, reading the books back to back I was left very aware of Kate’s general limitations.

This book is somewhat darker than the previous two. This is a paranormal series, with a relationship arc.

Honestly my main takeaway is that Hall should drop all his other stuff and just write in this universe.

TL:DR
1. It’s great. This is desert island keeper stuff.
2. Start with book 1.
3. It’s a bit darker than 1 and 2.