REVIEW: Sacrificial Magic (Downside Ghosts #4)

Sacrificial Magic (Downside Ghosts #4), by Stacia Kane
Published March 27, 2012
Publisher: Del Rey
Format: audiobook, purchased
Genre: adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating: 5 STARS

(From Goodreads) READING, WRITING, AND RAISING THE DEAD

When Chess Putnam is ordered by an infamous crime boss—who also happens to be her drug dealer—to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she knows she must rise to the challenge. Adding to the intensity: Chess’s boyfriend, Terrible, doesn’t trust her, and Lex, the son of a rival crime lord, is trying to reignite the sparks between him and Chess.

Plus there’s the little matter of Chess’s real job as a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth, investigating reports of a haunting at a school in the heart of Downside. Someone seems to be taking a crash course in summoning the dead—and if Chess doesn’t watch her back, she may soon be joining their ranks.

As Chess is drawn into a shadowy world of twisted secrets and dark violence, it soon becomes clear that she’s not going to emerge from its depths without making the ultimate sacrifice.

I cannot get enough of Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series. Each new book is more innovative, creative, emotional and impactful than the one before it. And, Terrible... I mean, what can I really say about this hero that comes close to doing him justice? Prepare for a bit of fangirling and babbling. 

In Sacrificial Magic, Chess' newest case from the Church takes her back to school. A school in Slobag's territory has reported a haunting and, after the first debunker assigned to the case flakes and runs off, Elder Griffin passes it off to Chess. Unfortunately, that means she'll be spending lots of time on Lex's side of town, which is what she does NOT need now as she's trying to rebuild Terrible's trust in her. To make Chess' plate even fuller, there are other ritualistic murders being committed on Bump's side, and it looks like a snitch in his ranks is partially responsible, and Bump wants her to get to the bottom of it. 

We've slowly had a picture of Chess and her past painted over the course of the last three books in the Downside Ghosts series. We know now that she was passed around from foster home to foster home, and horribly abused in most of them - mostly by the men. Chess has learned to rely only on herself and her pills and that has served her well. Until Terrible entered her life. Now, she's in love and while it should be a completely wonderful thing, it instead has heaped stress in spades upon her life. 

Chess has to come to terms with the fact that she gives a crap about someone. She's never cared about anyone before. Not even herself. Hell - probably least of all herself. But, she loves Terrible fiercely, and Chess doesn't know what to do with all those feelings. She over-analyzes everything Terrible says and does to the point where it all gets twisted in her brain to some unrecognizable version of the truth. She second-guesses herself all the time. Should I tell him I love him? Should I touch him now? Would he want me to? Should I call him, or will that seem too needy? OMG - it was sad and painful to read how little credit Chess gives herself. 

And, Terrible - man, I love him to pieces. But, the dude is not a conversationalist. And, honestly, sometimes I think he's not much better than Chess at all this relationship stuff. Together, they're like the blind leading the blind, and it makes for some seriously tense situations. Not to mention the fact that Terrible is still trying to come to terms with Chess' prior relationship with Lex and her ongoing friendship with him. Lex is always the elephant in the room. Chess and Terrible have some horrible fights and say some awful things to one another before they finally cut through the crap and are truly honest with one another. Those fights made my heart hurt. But, the making up... now that was one of my favorite parts. ;)

The thing that I think amazes me the most about these books is the flawlessness of the worldbuilding. I am in awe of Stacia Kane's storytelling abilities. She has made Downside explode to life with these vivid characters and interesting mythology. The Downside lingo is so awesome - it just adds to the complexity and seamlessness of the rest of the world. 

In what I'm seeing is typical Downside fashion, Chess starts out working two separate cases - one for the Church and one for Bump - and somewhere along the way, she discovers they're connected. There were twists and turns and surprises along the way. I love being surprised, and it happens in every one of these books. 

After the dust settles from the final showdown, it's clear that things are going to change in Downside. The real question is, how much, and how will it all affect Chess and Terrible? I know that currently there is one more book out - Chasing Magic. The best news ever appeared on Stacia Kane's website earlier this month - not only are Downside #6 AND #7 a go (!!!), but so is another Terrible novella (!!!!!!!!!!). OMG - that is the best news ever. I can't wait to find out if Chess can at least lessen her addiction to drugs and if she can pull herself out of her own head long enough to realize that Terrible and she are each others' end games. If you haven't started this dark urban fantasy series yet, you now have plenty of time to get all caught up before the story continues again. What are you waiting for?!

REVIEW: Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts #2)

Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts #2), by Stacia Kane
Published July 6, 2010
Publisher: Del Rey
Format: audiobook, purchased
Genre:  adult urban fantasy
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
 
Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) For Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job. As an agent of the Church of Real Truth, Chess must expose those looking to profit from the world’s unpleasant little poltergeist problem humans filing false claims of haunting's all while staving off any undead who really are looking for a kill. But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new “celebrity” assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes.

Someone’s taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumors that it’s the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they along with their ruthless employers are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural, and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.

OMG. This series. I really enjoyed the first book, Unholy Ghosts. More than I thought I would. But, it was the second book, Unholy Magic, that solidified me as a certified fangirl of the Downside Ghosts series. The beyond complicated relationship between Chess and Terrible laced together with an incredibly weird and twisted mystery made for a book that was completely unresistable.

Prostitutes are being mutilated, and Bump has Chess and Terrible looking into it. Meanwhile, Chess is looking into a supposed haunting at a famous actor's house. Only, things start going wrong at every turn. The prostitutes keep dying, the house really might be haunted by the spirit of a murderous ghost, and Chess' time of burning candles at both ends when it comes to Lex and Terrible is about to blow up in her face.

Chess continues to be an enigmatic heroine. Her drug use doesn't appear to be tapering off. In fact, if anything, it seems to be getting worse. Her success at solving complicated and dangerous jobs has sent more high-profile - and high-stress - cases her way. She is falling more and more in love with Terrible, which scares the poo out of her. And Lex is giving her free pills. All of which serve as evidence that her pill-popping is not going to stop anytime soon. 

Chess is a study of the imperfect heroine. It seems that, in books, heroes and heroines are very "good." They're strong, confident, beautiful, intelligent and well-liked. They sometimes make bad choices, but things always have a way of working out in the end. Chess is like the anti-heroine. Although intelligent and pretty, Chess is not strong or confident or well-liked. She hates herself and where she comes from. She suffered horrible abuse as a child which seriously messed with her head. She doesn't think she's capable of love or being loved. She second guesses all her choices and she usually takes the easy way out in order to not face the truth, especially if she thinks the truth will be particularly hard to face. 

Chess has cornered the market on making mistakes. Particularly when it comes to the men in her life. Whenever she starts having real feelings for Terrible, she runs right into the arms of Lex because he is safe and she feels nothing for him. It's a temporary balm, but all of it comes crashing down around her and she eventually has to face up to all of her actions and feelings. 

The mysteries in Unholy Magic are seriously messed up. I've got two words for you - GHOST WHORES. Seriously - if those two words don't make you want to run right out and read this book right now, I don't know what will. It's an intricate plot with lots of twists and turns, many of which I didn't see coming from a mile away. It was awesome! Although dark and twisted, I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out who did what and how the two separate cases were tied together as they seem to be in this series. 

Terrible is just the most awesome guy ever. He's scary and formidable and uneducated. He's scarred and unattractive by most people's standards. Yet, it's so easy to see that he cares deeply and fiercely for the people he considers important. We learn more about him and his past and it just goes further toward proving this fact. 

Once again, I listened to the audio version, and once again I'm so glad I did. Narrator Bahni Turpi does an amazing job with the Downside lingo. I enjoy her interpretation of the books so much, I intend to continue with the books in the series in their audio format. I enjoy them so much - I can't wait to get in my car every day to go to work. 

REVIEW: Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts #1)

Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts #1), by Stacia Kane
Published May 25, 2010
Publisher: Del Rey
Format: audiobook, purchased
Genre:  adult urban fantasty
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  4 STARS

(From Goodreads) THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED.

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

Unholy Ghosts is most definitely a book outside of my comfort zone. Like, WAY outside. Urban fantasy, although definitely growing on my list of must-read genres, has always been hit or miss for me. In addition, the world includes a "church" that rules everyone's lives. And, our main character? She's a drug addict. 

Chess Putnam had an awful life before The Church of Real Truth rescued and educated her. She now works for the church as a debunker - a witch who has a penchant for banishing murderous ghosts. The damage her early life inflicted on her is dampened only by drugs, so Chess also has to answer to drug lord Bump and his enforcer Terrible. Soon, her loyalties are tested as she does a job for the Church as well as a job for Bump, and it seems that they might be related. 

No, Unholy Ghosts is definitely not something I would normally make time to read. My book bestie Jen suggested we start to listen to it on a drive to a book signing, though, and I had heard some stories about how awesome Terrible was, so I was a tiny bit curious. Although it took me a few chapters to get into it - world building always seems to take so much longer with urban fantasy - once I did, I was shocked to find myself hooked. 

Chess is the most damaged heroine I've ever encountered. She had such an awful childhood, the likes of which only scratched the surface in Unholy Ghosts. I'm honestly surprised she's as functional as she is. But, honestly, she's more than functional. Chess is incredibly smart and intuitive. Despite her need for her pills and the fact that she owes a drug lord a crap ton of money she doesn't have, she is really good at her job. She doesn't always make smart decisions - hell, she makes really, really bad choices quite often in fact. But, I think she's inherently a good person who is trying to deal with a lot of baggage and self-loathing.

Terrible is an awesome hero because he's completely unexpected. He's not gorgeous. Or rich. Or well-spoken. He's a drug lord's muscle. He has poor fashion sense (but, a really cool car). And I fell completely in love with him. Terrible is a little bit damaged as well, and it's obvious he cares a lot for Chess. He's kind of adorable, really. Chess is oblivious to his attraction for most of the book even if the reader isn't. This was the cause of a ton of frustration on my part. 

The world in which these characters live is incredible. Ghosts stormed the world in 1997 and killed half the population before people with magic beat them back and imprisoned them in The City. The people with magic became The Church of Real Truth, and the set about effectively eliminating all of the world's organized religions and set themselves up as the law. Now, The Church runs everything everywhere. They employ the most powerful people to round up any straggling ghosts and return them to The City. Chess is one of those people, and she lives in Downside, which is like the slums of Triumph City. Drugs, prostitution, and crime of the worst kinds happens daily. Stacia Kane did an amazing job setting up this world and introducing it to the reader a bit at a time so as not to be too confusing. 

The mysteries that Chess was asked to solve were complex and interesting. I couldn't wait to find out who the mastermind was and how Chess would thwart him or her. The crimes and the methods of detection were really graphic and gruesome at times, but in the context of the story, they fit in perfectly. Chess' and Terrible's relationship is sweet and fun to read about. Well, listen to, in my case. I'm very glad I listened to the audio version of this book. The Downside lingo would be rather hard to understand if I had to read it, and I thought the narrator did a fantastic job with it. I was so taken with this series, I immediately moved on to the second book. I can't wait to see what's in store for Chess and Terrible next.