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stephbookshine's review against another edition
4.0
*I received a free ARC of this novel. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Kind of appropriate in the run-up to Halloween, Halfway Drowned is book 4 in a witchy paranormal urban fantasy series.
The book has a cosy mystery feel to it, despite being nominally fantasy, and featuring an eclectic mix of witches, vampires, Vikings, ghosts and more.
I confess to finding myself somewhat muddled by the plot in places, as it sometimes seemed that the characters were referring to information and events that I didn’t have knowledge of or didn’t fully understand, but I put this down to me jumping midway into an established series with developed characters and backstory.
There were also a few editing errors, such as Tammy being introduced by description to the reader on more than one occasion, but on the whole these were minor and did not affect my enjoyment of the read.
The characters and dialogue were my favourite aspects of this book and really hooked me in. They sparkled with inside jokes, sarcasm, warmth and enthusiasm, and the relationships and interactions between them felt natural and believable. The narrative voice, Carlie’s, is infectious and endearing, and her descriptions are often unusual but really work as visuals and made me laugh more than once, for example: ‘In a fluid motion, he stood, holding me to him like a book or a small stack of laundry.’
I was reminded of two of my favourite series’ whilst reading: Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files for the fantasy setting and witty banter, and Elizabeth Peters’ Peabody series for the light and exuberant tone.
I would definitely recommend this series for anyone looking for a bit of quick, light snarky fantasy, but would also recommend you do as I now intend to and start with book one in the series, Halfway Dead, as I suspect that this is a series which builds and grows on you.
Kind of appropriate in the run-up to Halloween, Halfway Drowned is book 4 in a witchy paranormal urban fantasy series.
The book has a cosy mystery feel to it, despite being nominally fantasy, and featuring an eclectic mix of witches, vampires, Vikings, ghosts and more.
I confess to finding myself somewhat muddled by the plot in places, as it sometimes seemed that the characters were referring to information and events that I didn’t have knowledge of or didn’t fully understand, but I put this down to me jumping midway into an established series with developed characters and backstory.
There were also a few editing errors, such as Tammy being introduced by description to the reader on more than one occasion, but on the whole these were minor and did not affect my enjoyment of the read.
The characters and dialogue were my favourite aspects of this book and really hooked me in. They sparkled with inside jokes, sarcasm, warmth and enthusiasm, and the relationships and interactions between them felt natural and believable. The narrative voice, Carlie’s, is infectious and endearing, and her descriptions are often unusual but really work as visuals and made me laugh more than once, for example: ‘In a fluid motion, he stood, holding me to him like a book or a small stack of laundry.’
I was reminded of two of my favourite series’ whilst reading: Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files for the fantasy setting and witty banter, and Elizabeth Peters’ Peabody series for the light and exuberant tone.
I would definitely recommend this series for anyone looking for a bit of quick, light snarky fantasy, but would also recommend you do as I now intend to and start with book one in the series, Halfway Dead, as I suspect that this is a series which builds and grows on you.
stephbookshine's review against another edition
4.0
*I received a free ARC of this novel. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Kind of appropriate in the run-up to Halloween, Halfway Drowned is book 4 in a witchy paranormal urban fantasy series.
The book has a cosy mystery feel to it, despite being nominally fantasy, and featuring an eclectic mix of witches, vampires, Vikings, ghosts and more.
I confess to finding myself somewhat muddled by the plot in places, as it sometimes seemed that the characters were referring to information and events that I didn’t have knowledge of or didn’t fully understand, but I put this down to me jumping midway into an established series with developed characters and backstory.
There were also a few editing errors, such as Tammy being introduced by description to the reader on more than one occasion, but on the whole these were minor and did not affect my enjoyment of the read.
The characters and dialogue were my favourite aspects of this book and really hooked me in. They sparkled with inside jokes, sarcasm, warmth and enthusiasm, and the relationships and interactions between them felt natural and believable. The narrative voice, Carlie’s, is infectious and endearing, and her descriptions are often unusual but really work as visuals and made me laugh more than once, for example: ‘In a fluid motion, he stood, holding me to him like a book or a small stack of laundry.’
I was reminded of two of my favourite series’ whilst reading: Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files for the fantasy setting and witty banter, and Elizabeth Peters’ Peabody series for the light and exuberant tone.
I would definitely recommend this series for anyone looking for a bit of quick, light snarky fantasy, but would also recommend you do as I now intend to and start with book one in the series, Halfway Dead, as I suspect that this is a series which builds and grows on you.
Kind of appropriate in the run-up to Halloween, Halfway Drowned is book 4 in a witchy paranormal urban fantasy series.
The book has a cosy mystery feel to it, despite being nominally fantasy, and featuring an eclectic mix of witches, vampires, Vikings, ghosts and more.
I confess to finding myself somewhat muddled by the plot in places, as it sometimes seemed that the characters were referring to information and events that I didn’t have knowledge of or didn’t fully understand, but I put this down to me jumping midway into an established series with developed characters and backstory.
There were also a few editing errors, such as Tammy being introduced by description to the reader on more than one occasion, but on the whole these were minor and did not affect my enjoyment of the read.
The characters and dialogue were my favourite aspects of this book and really hooked me in. They sparkled with inside jokes, sarcasm, warmth and enthusiasm, and the relationships and interactions between them felt natural and believable. The narrative voice, Carlie’s, is infectious and endearing, and her descriptions are often unusual but really work as visuals and made me laugh more than once, for example: ‘In a fluid motion, he stood, holding me to him like a book or a small stack of laundry.’
I was reminded of two of my favourite series’ whilst reading: Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files for the fantasy setting and witty banter, and Elizabeth Peters’ Peabody series for the light and exuberant tone.
I would definitely recommend this series for anyone looking for a bit of quick, light snarky fantasy, but would also recommend you do as I now intend to and start with book one in the series, Halfway Dead, as I suspect that this is a series which builds and grows on you.
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