Melanie Rawn

Sort of young druggie rock stars in a fantasy rpg milieu. Different enough to intrigue, familiar enough that not everything needs to be explained or held in mind for later integration. Good flow and great characters.

A terribly disappointing book. I've read and enjoyed everything else that Melanie Rawn has ever published, and enjoyed them all, but this book was a major departure - and really just not good. Rather than epic fantasy soap-opera (like her previous works) this is a modern-day supernatural romance - with the emphasis on romance. I've noticed before that Rawn has a distressingly conservative streak regarding relationships, but it's easier to excuse when the characters are living in a show more pseudo-medieval world that DOES care a lot about the production of heirs and women NEED to have children, blah, blah. But in modern-day New York (not that the setting of the book EVER feels like New York), it's, to me, inexcusable.
Holly McClure is a practicing witch (good) and also a massively wealthy and successful novelist. She mysteriously falls for a blue-collar Irish cop who doesn't know that she's a witch OR rich. When he finds out she's rich, her has such issues with her making more money than he does that he tries to break up with her. Basically, the guy is a jerk through-and-through, there is not ONE attractive thing about him. Why Holly likes him is a total mystery to the reader. Anyway, Holly has a rival, who is ALSO a sucessful, Anne-Rice-type novelist, who is a Slut and a Bad Witch. Her hi--jinks lead (slowly - this book is very long and rambling) to a showdown with Evil Occultists which gets some people murdered and her cop boyfriend dragged into the mess... along the way gratuitously insulting New Yorkers (and all city folks), goths, most pagans, most fans of bad supernatural novels such as this one, etc. (Although, surprisingly, there is a positive portrayal of gay characters, and pains are taken to portray Good Paganism as a positive religion). Still, in the end, Holly and the cop Get Out of the Big Bad City, Settle Down on a Nice Country Farm and Have Children. I roll my eyes. show less

What I appreciate most from Rawn is how flawlessly she’s able to weave various viewpoints together to create a cohesive story. This is a monster of a book and took me a very long time to get through because of how packed it is. The story back and forth from several different fronts of the ongoing war (including from the enemy’s perspective), and I was able to follow along almost effortlessly. I also felt connected to ALL of the characters, which is a feat in itself with so many show more perspectives. Rawn does a great job in taking her time and telling a comprehensive story.

I was very stressed throughout this whole novel–the stakes are HIGH and I can’t imagine how heart-pounding the next one is going to be, but I’m excited for some resolution. It’s also fun to see growth from these characters I’ve spent four (very large) books with getting to know and love. Some advancements are heart-wrenching and some are great, but I was an emotional mess for most of this reading experience.

Can’t say much more without giving spoilers–I’m excited to read the sequel and see where this story ends!

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less

I have really enjoyed this series! A substantially different take on a world with many of the classic western fantasy races of humans, wizards, elves, pixies, trolls, and a group of young men out on adventures with plucky female family and friends. These young men are more like drug-saturated rock stars than sword- and spell-weaving heroes, but it really changes the tone and the ultimate treasure. As a fifth book, this is a tour de force, keeping our interest with new events while resolving show more a host of issues with only a single jarring paragraph of dialog that threw me out of the story about midway. Otherwise, I couldn't put it down. show less