TANGLED SOULS by Jana Oliver - Book Review

Rating: 4/5 -  A satisfying read that’s worth every word.

Title: Tangled Souls

Author: Jana Oliver

Format: ebook

Published: 2013

Genre: paranormal romance, mystery

Publisher:  Nevermore Press

Landed in my hands: purchased myself


Summary (from the author’s website):

Wiccan Gavenia Kingsgrave’s psychic gift, the ability to talk to the dead, comes with strings attached. As a Shepherd, she escorts them into the hereafter, but not all the souls want to cross over, and some can be downright vicious. When her latest case involves a heart-breaking hit-and-run victim, Gavenia is stressed to the max. The last thing she needs is a no-nonsense private detective on her tail, even if he is a handsome Irishman.

Former homicide detective Douglas O’Fallon possesses his own psychic gift, one he’s denied for years. Hired by a wealthy client to prove that Gavenia’s a con artist, he is skeptical of the witch’s claims she can speak to the dead. If he finds her gift as genuine, then he will be forced to accept his own. When their two cases intersect, opposites attract. But will they be able to set their differences aside long enough to outwit their foes – both the living and the dead?

Review:

I find I gravitate to a lot of young adult titles. Admittedly, it was one of the reasons I picked up Ms Oliver’s The Demon Trapper’s Daughter (and because I was familiar with her name from JordanCons past). It was refreshing to read a story where the main characters were more established, where their personal histories were more cluttered with baggage.

It was a nice change of pace to have characters second guessing the actions of others, but also having enough self-awareness to recognize and debate whether they might be unwilling to trust someone based on their own demons, not the actions of the other character in question. It was a tidy muddle that served to increase narrative tension. As an over-analyser, I could definitely relate.

Tangled Souls was a great book to pick up for a change of pace between epic fantasy reads, letting me reset my brain as it were. And it excites me because I’ve enjoyed Ms Oliver’s Demon Trappers series so much that I was holding my breath, hoping I’d fall in love with her other characters, too. Sure enough, Gavenia and O’Fallon are an idiosyncratic pair that feel genuine—exactly what I was hoping for.

And I’m not going to lie: I got teary at moments. Oliver has managed to tug at the heartstrings again. And because that’s the case, I’ll be picking up more of her work—she’s solidified herself as a good read in my books.

She has another series I have yet to check out called The Time Rovers, and I'm looking forward to reading her take on time travel.

And the winner is...

SHEILA! For her comment: "I've been looking for new reading material and your recommendation makes me want to read it."


Well that's good, because you're getting a copy of The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver! The Rafflecopter widget tells me it did some fancy schmancy thing via Random.org and came up with your name, which was entry number 6.

Congratulations!

I'll be shipping Sheila her swag, and after Jana personalizes a copy of the book, it'll be heading her way, too.

If you're dying to get your own copy of The Demon Trapper's Daughter, it can be found here, and The Book Depository has free shipping to almost every country... (If you can't tell, I kind of have a thing for them—and not just because their customer service reps admit that drinking and online book buying are a good mix. True story.)

Or if you're interested in something else by Jana, her new novel Tangled Souls is available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo for $2.99 CAD... sounds like good value for 334 pages if you ask me.

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who entered, and happy reading!

GIVEAWAY!

Want to know what can happen even when you're spastic and ridiculous? (Something I possibly know firsthand because I'm walking proof?)

Authors can be generous enough to offer up swag and a free signed (and personalized!) copy of a book for a tiny blog's giveaway.

Even when the blogger is clearly certifiable and possibly shouldn't be allowed out of the house without supervision.

Yes.

YES!

How cool is that?!

Credit goes to the wonderful Jana Oliver, who so sweetly put up with my inane babbling, banana brain, giddy fan girl enthusiasm (all the above, really), and who just so happens to be the author of my new favourite Young Adult Urban Fantasy series—The Demon Trappers.

This is no hyperbole. The Demon Trappers has skyrocketed into my list of bookshelf staples—it's smart, sweet, and (most importantly) feels fresh in a genre that has a lot of repetitiveness. (See my review of The Demon Trapper's Daughter here.)

Riley stole my heart with her badassness (totally a word). And then Beck did, too, possibly even more.

True story: When I saw Jana at JordanCon 2013 I told her that if he ever showed up on my doorstep I'd most definitely run away with Beck, the endearing redneck—but no worries, I'd already warned my hubby, so it was all cool on the home front.

Her reply was to say I needed to get in line.

Ha!

Want to know what else? Jana Oliver has a brand spanking new ebook out available on Kindle, Kobo, and Nook, called Tangled Souls. (I've bought it, but I haven't read it yet, so shh with the spoilers, you.) Go check it out, it's only $2.99 CAD—and let me tell you, this lady is a solid storyteller. I figure we're all guaranteed to be entertained.

Okay. So. For this giveaway... hm... 

Since I fell in love with Denver Beck, I think that to be entered into this giveaway everyone needs to mention a literary hero (or heroine) they've enjoyed so much they were smitten.

Who would you love to run away with if they showed up on your doorstep?

C'mon, who's your favourite? Everybody's got one. Dish!

It's mandatory to comment to be entered into the draw, but you can earn optional bonus entries, too. One for liking Lannis on Facebook, and more for Tweeting the giveaway on Twitter.

And Twitter's fun—you can earn multiple giveaway entries by Tweeting once each day of the contest, if you're so inclined.

(Be sure to comment below, then go through the widget to Like the Facebook page, and Tweet for entries to count towards the giveaway.)

What's the prize?

Well, it's some cool Demon Trapper's swag and a copy of the first book of the Demon Trapper's series—The Demon Trapper's Daughter—signed and personalized by Jana Oliver herself.

Full disclosure: that's actually my book—Jana will personalize a copy for the winner once the giveaway closes.

Pretty sweet, am I right?

(I'm excited just thinking about it.)

You've got from now until midnight on Wednesday, June 26th to enter! Have at 'er, kids!

(Here's hoping this fancy pants Rafflecopter widget works...)



a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE DEMON TRAPPER’S DAUGHTER by Jana Oliver - Book Review

[Note: This review was originally published December 5th, 2012, on PostWhatever.com. Jana Oliver is an Author Guest at JordanCon 2013.]


Rating: 4.5/5 - Writing down the title so I can recommend it to everyone.

Title: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter

Author: Jana Oliver

Format: trade paperback

Published: 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Publisher:  St. Martin’s Griffin

Landed in my hands: purchased myself


Summary (from the cover blurb):

Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself -- and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on...

Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary demon trapper Paul Blackthorne has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers Guild needs all the help it can get — even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils — Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.

But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart — and her life?

Review:

Okay, here we go.

::steps onto soap box::

A giant pet peeve of mine is when a cover blurb spoils a plot for me. The job of the cover blurb is to make you want to read more, not to summarize the entire story so succinctly that you’re 200 pages in and thinking, “okay, NOW she’s going to see the purple horse and learn her uncle never died but ran away, and he stole that frying pan that magically turns all scrambled eggs rainbow colours...”

Ahem.

Point being, I don’t like knowing what happens, hence the spoiler alarm. I’m very conscious of not spoiling plot-points for others, too.

::steps off soap box::

Now that that's said, you’d think I was about to bite into The Demon Trapper’s Daughter for its cover copy, right?

Not so. 98% of the cover’s blurb happens by page seven. BY PAGE SEVEN. And the last paragraph is vague enough that it satisfies my non-spoilery tendencies.

Kudos, St. Martin’s Griffin. You got me to pick up the book, and then Oliver wowed me by action and sucked me in far further than I’d anticipated in a first sitting — yep, the storytelling did the rest.

Seriously. I mean, I’m not sure what I expected from this book, but it certainly didn’t give me what I’d anticipated. Let me phrase that differently: I’d expected a good meal, but I didn’t anticipate a feast.

The idiosyncratic worldbuilding, the charm and depth of the protagonist, the realistic characters, the humour (seriously — Oliver could’ve dragged the joke about the tiny Biblio demons flipping the bird much farther before I’d’ve been tired of it... ha!). It’s a charming read, and very fresh.

Riley is a wonderful protagonist. She’s spirited, she's reactive, she’s stubborn, she’s a fully-fleshed out teen with ups and downs, insecurities, faulty logic, and well, she’s just plain badass.

Yes. Badass.

So if you want a gutsy heroine who’s not afraid to take on Hell itself, grab The Demon Trapper’s Daughter. I finished the last page and was disappointed I’d reached the end, so you can bet I’ve already burned through Soul Thief and Forgiven, the next two books in the series (also excellent), and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Foretold, in December 2012.