It's not bad, but I'm not overly enthusiastic. ( )

Up until to the final I really enjoyed the story.
It didn't reinvent the wheel but even tho the world is built from common uf elements, the combination is original enough.
The magic in the world could be called very soft if I was a nice person but I am not.
Honestly, the book gives not a flying fuck about logic in the magic. None of it makes a lick of sense.
This in itself isn't a big problem tho as the magic really is only ever used as a plot device and the story doesn't live in any way from the magic system.

Something that rubbed me the wrong way was how the mc is (not really intentionally) keeping multiple interested guys in orbit and just keeps picking up new ones without ever dating any of them or sending any of them away either. A bit of lusting after a few juicy guys if you are not in a relationship is fine with me as long as it doesn't happen in completely inappropriate situations (I won't mention names) but this stagnant inaction just annoys me.
This sucks.
Tbh I'd rather read about a reverse-harem than this and I am not really a fan of those either.

The thing that kind of killed the enjoyment for me was the aforementioned ending.
The story suffers from bipolar disorder regarding the atmosphere of the story among many other aspects.
Dark and desperate atmosphere seems to just vanish from one moment to the next just to reappear just as suddenly again.
And then, after the final, everything became so cheesy I was threatening to choke on it.
It was really disconcerting.

The world seems to be one in which supernaturals don't exist in complete secrecy but aren't officially acknowledged (yet?) either. So naturally, the question becomes who is responsible for justice in which case. But the solution or lack thereof was really frustrating. One second we have murderous righteous anger and vengeance, the next moment we are compassionate with rapist criminals.
Punishments (or lack thereof) are completely out of whack in relation to the deeds.
People fighting in a life or death situation one moment are suddenly patient and understanding parent figures to each other in a way you would expect towards teenage heartbreak in the next.
It is really disorienting and completely kills the atmosphere.
Honestly, it's really fucked up especially because the author apparently doesn't seem to notice how fucked up the situations and their resolutions really are.
I got the sense that part of the problem was that the book just didn't want to confront the hard questions it itself raised and instead clumsily navigated around them and everything is puppies and kittens in harmony, amen, in the end.

I have a bit of trouble putting my thoughts into words here without being specific and spoiling parts of the end but I hope I got it at least somewhat across.

Maybe I do the book an injustice and these issues are properly addressed in later volumes but I really don't think so and I have no interest to read further into the series after this ending.

In conclusion: I liked the world, I liked the plot, I didn't like the end, I don't like cheese and I didn't like the way the mc treats her guys. ( )

Not one I would rave about, but very entertaining. I really enjoyed the fact that this book was about the characters and the plot rather than a romance with plot as a sideline. Ms. Carey continues to impress me with her song and unique characters. ( )

fairly likable characters, the mystery wasn't particularly engaging, the world-building was ok.
on the whole, might read more by author ( )

DARK CURRENTS begins an urban fantasy trilogy. It is set in the resort town of Pemkowet, Michigan, and is peopled by locals, summer people, tourists -- and fairies, ghouls, vampires, sprites, naiads, and lots of other eldritch folks. They are all presided over by Hel who is a reclusive Norse goddess.

Daisy Johanssen is Hel's deputy. She is a half-breed fathered by Belphegor, lesser demon and occasional incubus, on her human mother. She's a twenty-something blond with her father's black eyes. She works for the local police department as a part-time file clerk who is called in when the cases involve the eldritch community. She has a crush of Deputy Cody Fairfax who is keeping the fact that he's a werewolf secret from most of the community.

When a frat boy is found drowned in the river and Hel tasks Daisy with finding out what happened to him, she and Cody are teamed up to work the case. They are under pressure to solve the case fast because the boy's family is not a fan of the eldritch and wants them to be outlawed.

This was a great story that integrated a lot of worldbuilding seamlessly into the action-filled plot. Daisy has her hands full juggling her duties with Hel and the Pemkowet Police department. She also gathers quite a crop of potential suitors including the new head of the ghouls Stefan.

Fans of urban fantasy will enjoy this story and be eager to read more about the world that was developed and Daisy's further adventures. ( )