Release Date: 23/05/14
Publisher: Titan
SYNOPSIS:
" Mick Oberon may look like just another 1930s private detective, but beneath the fedora and the overcoat, he’s got pointy ears and he’s packing a wand. Among the last in a line of aristocratic Fae, Mick turned his back on his kind and their Court a long time ago. But when he’s hired to find a gangster’s daughter sixteen years after she was replaced with a changeling, the trail leads Mick from Chicago’s criminal underworld to the hidden Otherworld, where he’ll have to wade through Fae politics and mob power struggles to find the kidnapper and solve the case."
REVIEW:
As a huge reader of Urban Fantasy, I always love it when I get a genre mix such as adding a touch of crime with the supernatural and whilst there’s been quite a few who’ve done it well before, I like it when someone steps away from the norm and to be honest that’s what Ari has done in this outing.
Set in the 30’s its full of action, gangsters and of course action that keeps it moving, however the major problem for me was that I had trouble associating with the principle character and his abilities that felt pretty useless. As a reader I do like the potential for this world and the events that can occur within however for a first outing it felt a little lacking for me.
Release Date: 03/02/15
Publisher: Pyr
SYNOPSIS:
The thief Widdershins and her own "personal god," Olgun, return to their home city of Davillon after almost a year away. While Shins expects only to face the difficulty of making up with her friends, what she actually finds is far, far worse. Her nemesis, Lisette, has returned, and she is not alone. Lisette has made a dark pact with supernatural powers that have granted her abilities far greater than anything Widdershins and Olgun can match.
Together, Widdershins and Olgun will face enemies on both sides of the law, for Lisette's schemes have given her power in both Davillon's government and its underworld. For even a slim chance, Shins must call on both old friends--some of whom haven't yet forgiven her--and new allies.
Even with their help, Widdershins may be required to make the hardest sacrifice of her life, if she is to rid Davillon--and herself--of Lisette once and for all.
REVIEW:
Ari is an author who really comes up with interesting premises and whilst I may not always love the writing, I do appreciate all the hard work alongside intriguing background that goes on within. What this, the fourth outing of Widdershins brings to the table is a book that has everything a young fantasy reader could want to the table, there’s high octane action, cracking dialogue and of course characters who must face their own consequences for what has gone before.
Its definitely a book that I enjoyed and when you throw into the mix a complex lead character relationship all round makes this something that the reader will more than enjoy. However I will state that you need to read the other three prior to starting this one.
Release Date: 28/02/12
SYNOPSIS:
Filled with excitement and adventure, this is an engaging fantasy novel for young adults. Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of Davillon's aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one night a conspiracy of forces - human and other - stole it all away in a mist of blood and murder. Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon's underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It's not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had...but it's hers. But now, in the midst of Davillon's political turmoil, an array of forces is rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she's built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something dark and ancient is reaching out for her. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her - but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don't finish the job first.
REVIEW:
Ari is an author that is a little hit or miss for me, either I really like what he’s doing or its something that doesn’t quite click with me as a reader. In this title, it’s more of the later as I found the lead character not only dislikeable but also one that I felt I couldn’t get a real handle on as I did end up wondering if, at times, she was mentally ill as the god like aspect felt that it could have been a mental illness over a real deity acting within her world.
All in, this was a big miss for me as I felt that it never really got going, didn’t achieve much for me as a reader and after struggling right to the very end, was more relieved at having completed it than for enjoying the story. A great shame all round.
