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kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
First in the Dante Valentine urban fantasy series set in an alternate world.
My Take
No kidding!! Ever wondered what it felt like to work for Lucifer? Well, wonder no more. Dante Valentine has got a smart mouth that won't quit…even when she's dissin' the de'il hisself. I do like her chutzpah!
Dante feels very much like a Kate Daniels, an Anita Blake, or a Jane Yellowrock.
As Danny hunts down her quarry, we are introduced to her world, her ex-lover, and we witness her transformation by the familiar with whom Lucifer has saddled her.
The Story
Lucifer has heard of Danny Valentine's reputation and hires her to find a bounty…not that she has much choice in accepting the job or not. When she learns who the bounty is…I'm not sure Lucifer would have had to work very hard to persuade her.
The Characters
Danny Valentine is a licensed necromancer who hunts bounties in a world that has come to accept that such oddities exist.
Lucifer rules in Hell.
Vardimal Santino.
My Take
No kidding!! Ever wondered what it felt like to work for Lucifer? Well, wonder no more. Dante Valentine has got a smart mouth that won't quit…even when she's dissin' the de'il hisself. I do like her chutzpah!
Dante feels very much like a Kate Daniels, an Anita Blake, or a Jane Yellowrock.
As Danny hunts down her quarry, we are introduced to her world, her ex-lover, and we witness her transformation by the familiar with whom Lucifer has saddled her.
The Story
Lucifer has heard of Danny Valentine's reputation and hires her to find a bounty…not that she has much choice in accepting the job or not. When she learns who the bounty is…I'm not sure Lucifer would have had to work very hard to persuade her.
The Characters
Danny Valentine is a licensed necromancer who hunts bounties in a world that has come to accept that such oddities exist.
Lucifer rules in Hell.
Vardimal Santino.
witchy_book_babe's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book so long ago and it is a beloved favorite of mine. This graphic Audio was amazing! I am very new to Audio books and I have to say that this experience was so much fun getting to hear this world come alive
dajoyofit's review against another edition
4.0
I definitely enjoyed reading this book. I’m not a fan of the occasional yet frequent use of, in my opinion odd stylistic freedom she takes with some of her sentences. It was hard to tell if it was just typos or artistic experimentation. Whichever it is, I found it distracting. I was able to just ignore it for the most part. And I’m glad. The story LS is telling is captivating. Totally worth the effort of reading. Very action packed. And the futuristic setting was a new for me and interesting.
katyanaish's review against another edition
3.0
This is a hard one for me to rate.
The story was interesting. The world was cool - this kind of Blade Runner-esque future world. It was confusing at times, though, because there wasn't a lot of explanation. I kind of felt like I was jumping into the middle of a series, honestly. Details about the world - the Hegemony, how psis got rights, it was referenced frequently but with no info.
But I had a hard time with the characters. Dante was a shrill bitch a lot of the time - she was horrible to Jaf, for no reason, and she'd flip in temperament like a light switch. I also don't understand when she decided she cared that much about him. She was pretty nasty to him in a flip-flopped way all the way through the end, which made that ending have so much less weight to me. I just didn't buy the connection between them to that degree. Like, they were maybe just barely beginning to form something.
Jace... I just don't like at all. Look, nothing excuses him leaving without a word. She's not a child, nor an idiot. He could have explained the situation. I don't buy that he loved her. He left without a word 3 years ago, because it was easier for him than explaining and dealing with her sense of betrayal for his lies. That's not love.
Gabe also sucked. Here's the deal. If my best friend was in a relationship with a dude for a year and a half, and then he just ghosted her - moved out while she was out of town on a job, leaving no word, no note, no nothing - and stayed gone and silent for 3 years, hell would freeze over before I forced my friend to do a job with that guy. But Gabe decided, herself, to contact Jace behind Danny's back. Commit to the team staying with him, and to him joining them on the job, without even talking to Danny about it. Gabe just sprang it on her. And then treated Danny like a whiny bitch who needed to get over herself when Danny was upset about it.
So honestly, fuck Gabe.
Eddie was a 2-dimensional whatever.
Jaf, Lucifer, I don't know. They clearly were playing a game here, and I don't know what I think of them until I get more info.
I'm going to read on, because I didn't hate it and I know a lot of people love this series. But I'm pretty skeptical. Particularly because I just don't like Danny. But we'll see if what happened changes her a little.
The story was interesting. The world was cool - this kind of Blade Runner-esque future world. It was confusing at times, though, because there wasn't a lot of explanation. I kind of felt like I was jumping into the middle of a series, honestly. Details about the world - the Hegemony, how psis got rights, it was referenced frequently but with no info.
But I had a hard time with the characters. Dante was a shrill bitch a lot of the time - she was horrible to Jaf, for no reason, and she'd flip in temperament like a light switch. I also don't understand when she decided she cared that much about him. She was pretty nasty to him in a flip-flopped way all the way through the end, which made that ending have so much less weight to me. I just didn't buy the connection between them to that degree. Like, they were maybe just barely beginning to form something.
Jace... I just don't like at all. Look, nothing excuses him leaving without a word. She's not a child, nor an idiot. He could have explained the situation. I don't buy that he loved her. He left without a word 3 years ago, because it was easier for him than explaining and dealing with her sense of betrayal for his lies. That's not love.
Gabe also sucked. Here's the deal. If my best friend was in a relationship with a dude for a year and a half, and then he just ghosted her - moved out while she was out of town on a job, leaving no word, no note, no nothing - and stayed gone and silent for 3 years, hell would freeze over before I forced my friend to do a job with that guy. But Gabe decided, herself, to contact Jace behind Danny's back. Commit to the team staying with him, and to him joining them on the job, without even talking to Danny about it. Gabe just sprang it on her. And then treated Danny like a whiny bitch who needed to get over herself when Danny was upset about it.
So honestly, fuck Gabe.
Eddie was a 2-dimensional whatever.
Jaf, Lucifer, I don't know. They clearly were playing a game here, and I don't know what I think of them until I get more info.
I'm going to read on, because I didn't hate it and I know a lot of people love this series. But I'm pretty skeptical. Particularly because I just don't like Danny. But we'll see if what happened changes her a little.
book_nerd_1's review against another edition
3.0
This book takes place in a world that's a combination of the standard vampires, wizards, and demons world and a slightly dystopian near future. It's a weird world where certain drugs are still illegal but you can fill out some paperwork and start a mafia family, where you can carry a sword on the subway (But only if you can raise the dead), where apparently slavery has only recently been outlawed. Maybe the later books tell more but I was really wondering how all this came about.
The main character is a tough, badass necromancer/bounty hunter with a sword. She has a lot of backstory and she goes through a lot, but somehow she still seems like a total stereotype.
The main character is a tough, badass necromancer/bounty hunter with a sword. She has a lot of backstory and she goes through a lot, but somehow she still seems like a total stereotype.
michael_gallipo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I had mixed emotions about this story. The world was interesting but I wanted more. (What year is it for starters?) Little tidbits are tossed out but never fleshed out into anything very comprehensible.
My other complaint is Danny. I have no problem with feisty heroines in urban fantasy (love Kate Daniels etc) but Danny is just angry and petulant ALL the time. It gets tiring.It also made Japh’s love interest a little tough to buy
I have the five book omnibus and I’ll most likely give book 2 a shot. But if it doesn’t improve doubt I’ll make it thru all five.
My other complaint is Danny. I have no problem with feisty heroines in urban fantasy (love Kate Daniels etc) but Danny is just angry and petulant ALL the time. It gets tiring.
I have the five book omnibus and I’ll most likely give book 2 a shot. But if it doesn’t improve doubt I’ll make it thru all five.
mellhay's review against another edition
4.0
A Lord of Hell shows up at Dante's door with an invite from the Prince for a contract - she fulfills and she'll be allowed to live with riches beyond her dreams. The Prince, Lucifer, wishes an escaped demon executed and the Egg, a demon artifact he's about to break, brought back to him. Jaf, the demon assassin of Lucifer's is to go with her and keep her alive until the job is done. The demon - Santino - is a dangerous serial killer and Dante and Jaf have personal vendetta's to settle with him. Why Dante? Because the demon was granted immortality years ago. Lucifer hopes since Dante is neither human or Demon she will be able to do the job.
One thing that stuck out in a huge way to me, the world building. Lilith is a pro at it. This world is similar yet so different to what we know. There is an advance in tech here, as demons do love tinkering. There are hover trains, plasguns, holovids, AI pilotdecks on hovers and freight fliers. Magic exists here strongly and is accepted, mostly. There's an Academy to be accredited in area of expertise. But people are still nervous of some of the areas, necromancy being top of the list. Such an interesting creation with psi and even demon intervention in the world.
Demons aren't all that bad. Err, lack of a better word? They are not angels, but they are interesting in humans and the way of the human world as well. Demons are not looked upon with any love by many. But then there are many that don't know there are Demons walking around. But people sure know there are Necromancers and Shamans and others of magic walking around by their living tattoo on their face.
Dante just wants to be left alone to get through her days the best she can. Pay off her Academy loans and buy a house sooner than most her kind. She dabbles in bounty hunting of small things, not an assassin though, to get ahead. And she is. She's a tough shell though. She has a softer side, but hides it well. Then we have Jaf...I...I think 40 pages in and I was falling for the demon.
We meet other friends of Dante as well. They show a broader verse to the world. More magic present and what they can do. Cool. Gabe and Eddie and Jace. And...I think I really like Jace as well. But I doubted the friend relationships a few times as we went. Well done by Lilith.
I will be reading more of this series. The world and magic has caught me. And, seeing Dante as she is now, I want to know what she'll do next.
One thing that stuck out in a huge way to me, the world building. Lilith is a pro at it. This world is similar yet so different to what we know. There is an advance in tech here, as demons do love tinkering. There are hover trains, plasguns, holovids, AI pilotdecks on hovers and freight fliers. Magic exists here strongly and is accepted, mostly. There's an Academy to be accredited in area of expertise. But people are still nervous of some of the areas, necromancy being top of the list. Such an interesting creation with psi and even demon intervention in the world.
Demons aren't all that bad. Err, lack of a better word? They are not angels, but they are interesting in humans and the way of the human world as well. Demons are not looked upon with any love by many. But then there are many that don't know there are Demons walking around. But people sure know there are Necromancers and Shamans and others of magic walking around by their living tattoo on their face.
Dante just wants to be left alone to get through her days the best she can. Pay off her Academy loans and buy a house sooner than most her kind. She dabbles in bounty hunting of small things, not an assassin though, to get ahead. And she is. She's a tough shell though. She has a softer side, but hides it well. Then we have Jaf...I...I think 40 pages in and I was falling for the demon.
We meet other friends of Dante as well. They show a broader verse to the world. More magic present and what they can do. Cool. Gabe and Eddie and Jace. And...I think I really like Jace as well. But I doubted the friend relationships a few times as we went. Well done by Lilith.
I will be reading more of this series. The world and magic has caught me. And, seeing Dante as she is now, I want to know what she'll do next.
sasha_reads_books's review against another edition
4.0
While there are many things to be said about the weak ending to this book, I can say that there are also some really fantastic elements prior to the ending. The main character is written well and has understandable motivations for her journey. The people she picks up along the way are all well-written, save for one which felt a bit weak to me. I thought that Dante's partner was a really well done character with a good character arc.
The things I didn't particularly enjoy about the book are as follows. I felt that the combat in this novel is kind of weak, with poorly defined power levels of various threats. Additionally, I thought that Dante being a Necromance would play more of a role in this book, but it really doesn't.
All in all, I would recommend this book to others and I most certainly will be reading its sequels.
The things I didn't particularly enjoy about the book are as follows. I felt that the combat in this novel is kind of weak, with poorly defined power levels of various threats. Additionally, I thought that Dante being a Necromance would play more of a role in this book, but it really doesn't.
All in all, I would recommend this book to others and I most certainly will be reading its sequels.
redentrapy's review
2.0
It was a good book. The story was very Anita Blake-ish. It was not written very well and was very cliche. The relationships were shallow and Dante was just plain bad as a heroine, not cooperative, too stubborn, never listens to anyone. Most of the time I wished someone would beat her or kill her for being so annoying. The plotline was cliche but there were some interesting parts. The demons and Hell parts were cool and well written. For the most part it was ok.