Rod Kierkegaard Jr

THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGIC by Rod Kierkegaard Jr. oozes wit amongst a magical backdrop of secret government agents trying to save America.

When Jasmine Farah and Rocco di Angelo take a job with the Department of Magic, their lives are forever changed. They not only learn that magic is real, as well as many terrifying mythical creatures, but the fate of America rests in their hands. They follow their boss’s orders to steal George Washington’s artifacts while being chased by vampires, demons, show more and more. If they fail, nothing will be the same.

THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGIC excelled in wit and sarcasm. The characters are unique and are brought to life—even though a few were technically dead—by their dialogue. THE FEDERAL BESTIARY at the beginning of each chapter amused me and was a brilliant addition to the novel. The historical and mythological references were intriguing and fantastical. This novel reminded me of a magical DA VINCI CODE, except the execution of the plot was at times clunky. The pacing was off, and the descriptions sometimes bogged down the storyline.

Overall, Rod Kierkegaard Jr.’s THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGIC intrigues the reader into this magical and dangerous world, yet it could’ve been better. show less

I just finished Moon Bayou by J.R. Rain and Rod Kierkegaard, Jr. It is the first book in the Samantha Moon Case Files series. Sam is in New Orleans looking for Wendy Lo for her clients, when she gets a strange text from Fang (fellow vampire and friend). An old vampire group called the Tete de Mort Krewe has a blood-price (a contract) on Sam. Sam is wanted by them dead or alive! Fang tells Sam to get out of town immediately, but, of course, Sam does not listen. She has yet to find her client. show more Kathy Bordelon in the Special Ops section of the New Orleans Police Department offers to help Sam. Sam really should have gotten out of town, because Kathy was only looking out for herself. She turns Sam over to the Tetes de Morts (means death’s heads). Specifically to Leopold-George Rakoczi (he just sounds sleazy), the Count Saint-Cyr. He also has Wendy who has a spike (the kind used for taping maple trees) in her jugular vein.

Luckily Sam and Wendy are rescued by Eulalie Macarty. Sam, though, wants to go and rescue Wendy’s roommate. Sam barges in to the ceremony to try and save the girl, but the ceremony gets completed. The next thing Sam knows is she is waking up naked in a swamp. Nothing but trees around her. She starts walking until she locates some people. Sam ends up getting arrested (called a prostitute) and taken in a carriage to town. The town looks like something from before the Civil War. Somehow, Sam how gone back in time to 1860. Sam needs to find a way to get herself back to 2015 (she knows she can just wait around and rejoin her life in 2015, but Sam would rather take a more direct route home). Sam is going to learn to navigate her way through old New Orleans (where women were considered delicate) and find the original Marie Laveau to get her to send her home.

I give Moon Bayou 4.5 out of 5 stars. It is a bewitching novel. The only part I did not like was the cliffhanger! We are left not knowing what is going to happen to Sam (we have to wait for the next book to come out). Otherwise, I found Moon Bayou a mesmerizing book!

I received a complimentary copy of Moon Bayou from Curiosity Quills in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are strictly my own. show less

Despite the deaths, murders, and various paranormal nasties that abound in THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGIC, I found it to be a fun, lighthearted read. Perhaps it is because is difficult to take the book seriously which is a good thing especially if you have trouble sleeping. This book also explains the rather strange layout of Washington DC’s streets and the fact that it has some of the better weather to be found in that part of the country.
The author, Rod Kierkegaard, Jr. does a great job of show more hooking the reader right in the beginning with the murder of Farah and Rocky’s employer. One just has to keep reading to find out just what they got themselves into. And what that was is a life filled with magic and far too many paranormal creepies. In fact so many that I had trouble keeping up with them all. I was pulled out of the story a few times trying to remember just what they had discovered about this or that creature.
I did enjoy the character development shown by Farah. She grows from a spoiled fashion chit that was part of the beauty queen pageant to a caring woman that can be counted on in any situation. Not that she ever grows out of using her beauty to get her own way at times. Rocky however seems to be stagnant. Possibly because he just tends to go so much with the flow that he really doesn’t have obstacles to overcome that would force him to change.
I will admit that I did have problems finishing THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGIC which is disappointing when you consider that it started out with such a bang. Instead towards the middle it really started to drag as Farah and Rocky move from one theft to another, from one disaster to another. And the ending was more of the same.
This book might appeal to readers looking for a lighthearted fast paced paranormal but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I rate it a 2. show less

I’ve been reading the series back-to-back and am surprised that this third book wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as the first two. There is just too much missing. This is a highly emotional story for Allison and yet as a reader I felt none of it. So how am I to be on board with the seriousness of what she’s feeling? That end just fell flat.

Too much was left unexplained when it came to the reveal of what they were facing and what exactly happened. Very rushed, and it feels like a cop out for show more us to be missing out on their explanation to the police without any evidence, especially since one of the dead is an officer. That’s huge!

Allison picks up a human as a familiar when the guy begs her to take him on. It doesn’t make sense that a response of “OK” would be enough to create the relationship.

The situations are definitely interesting but there is just too much lacking—more than I mentioned here—for even fiction to be believable. show less