Justice Calling is a solid 3 stars despite being extremely short. I was mostly intrigued because one, it takes place in Idaho, and two, the main character Jade, and her friends are nerds (something they like to draw attention to a lot). The story was fast-paced and while fun it didn't have much depth or character development. I mean, the sexy Russian 'Justice' Alek went from threatening to helpful in the blink of an eye. There may be a smidge insta-love here, but it all depends on the next book and how their relationship progresses for me to say for sure.

I do wish the book was a little longer to really set the tone and properly introduce the characters and the location. Since it is a mystery, you kinda need some setup and a reason for the readers to get invested. It felt more like a prequel novella than a first book to me, as I felt like I should have already known the characters. The world and magic were surprisingly fleshed out and seemed pretty interesting despite the length but because I found it so interesting I do wish there was more.

Overall, fun but does lack substance. ( )

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S JUSTICE CALLING ABOUT?
In the college town of Wylde, Idaho (which I'm guessing is inspired by Moscow more than anything else—definitely not Wilder, Idaho, but isn't anywhere near any actual college), the residents are essentially college students or some kind shape-shifter. And those who are neither are likely associated with the supernatural somehow. Like our protagonist/narrator, Jade Crow.

A Justice comes to town, convinced that Jade is going to do something to kill several shapeshifters. At about the same time, the mother of Jade's best friend is found in her animal form—apparently after a taxidermist. Which is pretty disturbing no matter what—the fact that this is someone she knows makes it all the worse. With the law enforcement arm of the supernatural world (the Justice) considering her suspect number one, Jade's life has gotten very complicated.

She's able to get the Justice to step down (momentarily) while she and her friends start looking into things. What they find is terrifying—but it does get the Justice to start trusting Jade. Sadly, she has to expend enough power to draw attention to herself—old enemies are probably going to come looking for her.

Jade has to decide—is it time to leave and save her skin, or does she stick around and try to stop whatever dark thing is afoot in Wylde?

JADE CROW
Jade Crow strikes me as a variation on Atticus O'Sullivan with a little bit of Ree Reyes thrown in. Her past makes you think of Atticus—she used to throw around a lot of power and was a force to be reckoned with—but then she stopped using her power, changed her name, and did all she could to stay under the radar to save her life.

Her attitude and interests make me think of Ree.

I'm obviously not suggesting that Bellet ripped off Hearne and Underwood—or anything like that. I'm just saying as a reader, those are things I was reminded of.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT JUSTICE CALLING?
This is a fast read. A breezy introduction to this world and the magic in it.

I thought everything felt a little rushed—the action, as well as Jade's need to leave town (and her budding relationship with Kirov). But most of that occurred to me after the book was over—in the moment it worked really well.

I'm curious about where the series goes from here—the fact that there are 9 more is a little on the intimidating side. But if this is anything to go off of, there's a lot of reason to keep going. ( )

This fantasy is a quick read that is enjoyable, if a bit shallow. In other words, a great fluff read. Jade Crow is a sorceress that has hidden her true identity, because she's so powerful that another sorcerer wants to kill her for her magic. Instead, she lives a relatively quiet life as a comic book and game shop owner. She has supernatural friends, such as shapeshifters and leprechauns, who know she has magic, but think it's only low-level witchery. However, when another magic-user starts to murder people in her community, putting her friends in danger, Jade has to start using her powers and risk drawing the attention of the person she's been hiding from. To make matters worse, a council that polices magical crimes has sent a shapeshifting were-tiger to investigate, and he thinks that Jade may be the culprit behind the murders.

The tiger shapeshifter, Alek, also happens to be incredibly hot. Chemistry and star-crossed romance ensues. I enjoy urban paranormal stories, and also appreciate a good tale with an underdog main character who happens to be way more powerful and dangerous than the other characters realize. The world building is pretty limited here, but the comic book shop setting is great fun, and I loved all of the nerd culture references. The side characters were a little flat, and we could definitely have used more development of Alek's character, but the author does build up our interest in Jade and her life. It has flaws, but was still engaging. As I wrote, a fun fluff read. I likely will read the next in the series, but am not sure when, as it didn't grab me enough to immediately scoop up the second book. ( )

This series was suggested to me by one of my fav authors Tricia O’Malley. I play D&D 3-4 times a month with my husband, daughter and some friends. It came up in some correspondence with Tricia and she suggested I may like this series. I liked this book as it was different and a genre I could relate to. There are quite a number of books in this series so there is a lot of fun and exciting reading ahead. :) ( )

This is an enjoyable novella, and it seems like the start of a good, geeky series. (Video games, D&D, and sorcery and shapeshifters? Great ingredients.) There’s a lot of setup at the start, which probably won’t be the case with future books in the series, but once the action got going it was a fun romp. Once things got started the plot didn’t hold any surprises for me, but it was still enjoyable to read. ( )