Harbinger of Books

Arcadia Bell (Cady) is a woman in hiding. She has been on the run for 7 years because her parents were accused of murder. She has tried to carve out a normal life and hide in plain sight, she is half owner of a demon bar and she uses her magic only to keep the patrons (earthbound demons) in line. Then one day her safe world comes crashing down on her because her parents are back in the lime light. Cady soon learns she has two weeks to figure out who framed her parents for murder because the counsel of magicians are seeking retribution for the murders from either Cady's parents or from her. With nowhere else to turn she seeks out help from a priest who introduces her to Lon a demonologist.

I picked this book up on a whim with no idea what it was about and I am so glad I did, it was a really great book. Also very shocking that it was the author’s first book. The world building was great, like demons all have halos, humans are savages and in this world we have magicians instead of witches was a really pleasant surprise. I really appreciated there was no info dump in this book which is quite common in first books of a series. This book feel more urban fantasy than PNR but there is a little romance, on the one hand it feels to convenient but on the other it feels like it fits which makes it a bit realistic because it feels real, easy in some ways and complex in others. Oh and I really liked Jupe what a very nice surprise he was.

This issues I have with the book is there was no sense of urgency it all felt very casual like they had years or months not two weeks. Also for someone who has been in hiding for 7 years she seems awfully chatty to a stranger and a bit careless. The other thing is while I like magician's idea they almost felt more like druids so I am hoping the next book will give us a bit more back story. Despite these issues it was still a great read and I look forward to the next one.