THE CITY OF LOST FORTUNES by Bryan Camp

The City of Lost Fortunes

by 

Bryan Camp

The post–Katrina New Orleans of The City of Lost Fortunes is a place haunted by its history and by the hurricane’s destruction, a place that is hoping to survive the rebuilding of its present long enough to ensure that it has a future. Street magician Jude Dubuisson is likewise burdened by his past and by the consequences of the storm, because he has a secret: the magical ability to find lost things, a gift passed down to him by the father he has never known—a father who just happens to be more than human.

Jude has been lying low since the storm, which caused so many things to be lost that it played havoc with his magic, and he is hiding from his own power, his divine former employer, and a debt owed to the Fortune god of New Orleans. But his six-year retirement ends abruptly when the Fortune god is murdered and Jude is drawn back into the world he tried so desperately to leave behind. A world full of magic, monsters, and miracles. A world where he must find out who is responsible for the Fortune god’s death, uncover the plot that threatens the city’s soul, and discover what his talent for lost things has always been trying to show him: what it means to be his father’s son.

What I thought:

So many stories are set in New Orleans where the author has never lived in the city (sometimes never even visited) and I'm always nervous picking up a book set here because it's so rare that an author gets it right. 

Bryan Camp definitely got it right. New Orleans is its own character in this story and I love how she's portrayed. Fully fleshed. Nuanced. Full of the culture and ambiance that is New Orleans. 

I found the pacing a bit slow at times but I really enjoyed Jude's story. It's a new take on the different mythologies and I like the way it leaves room at the table for everyone. There were twists and turns that I didn't see coming and Jude's kind of an asshole, but in a likable way, which is always a plus. 

The mystery aspect was very well done and there was just enough humor stirred into the mix. I wanted a little less narrative distance overall, I think that would have helped the pacing in some spots, but a fun read and a great New Orleans fantasy. Can't wait to read what comes next. 

Rating: **** ( 4 stars)

*I received an arc of this title from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I also bought a copy. 

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RATING SCALE: 

 5* = OMFG loved it. Will read it again. Touch my book and I will cut you. 

 4* = Really good. Highly recommend. Miiiight reread. Maybe. Don't touch my book. 

 3* = Good. I liked it. Go ahead and touch it. 

 2* = Not for me, finished but struggled. Didn't connect. Here, have a book.

 1* = DNF. Couldn't do it.

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Click on the cover to link to Goodreads and leave your book recs in my comments. Comments make me smile. :) 





Oh, yeah, and find me on twitter: @ChellyPike



Happy Reading, 



Chelly

THE SMOKE THIEVES by Sally Green

The Smoke Thieves (The Smoke Thieves #1)

by 

Sally Green

A princess, a traitor, a hunter and a thief. Four teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Four nations destined for conflict.

In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a loveless political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell.

As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our four heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize? 

What I thought:

Buy it for the cover? I don't know, if you like pretty covers and have money to throw away. 

I couldn't get into this book at all. It's long. Over 500 pages, and I'm all for big books, but a whole lot of those pages weren't necessary in my opinion. It's told in multiple POVs, and, really, out of the 5, I only liked one. 

If this was Tash's story I might've been able to get on board. I liked her. She's feisty and she likes boots. What's not to like? The first chapter hooked me but then the POV switched and switched and switched. To get to the good parts I kept getting forced to read page after page of Catherine pining over Ambrose and Ambrose pining over Catherine, to the point where everything just felt repetitive. There was so much fluff in the middle that I found myself not caring about anything that happened. 

In the end, this one wasn't for me.  

Rating: ** (2 stars)

Happy reading,

Chelly

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RATING SCALE: 

 5* = OMFG loved it. Will read it again. Touch my book and I will cut you. 

 4* = Really good. Highly recommend. Miiiight reread. Maybe. Don't touch my book. 

 3* = Good. I liked it. Go ahead and touch it. 

 2* = Not for me, finished but struggled. Didn't connect. Here, have a book.

 1* = DNF. Couldn't do it.

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Click on the cover to link to Goodreads and leave your book recs in my comments. Comments make me smile. :) 



Oh, yeah, and find me on twitter: @ChellyPike

THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

by 

Holly Black

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself. 

What I thought: 

So I finished this book, screamed when I realized it's a standalone, and then started reading it again from the beginning. There. That's my review. I mean, really, if I just keep starting over again and again and again, then it won't ever end, right? Right. 

I need more Tana. 

More. 

More. 

More. 

I love this book. So much. And it's obviously broken my ability to form coherent sentences. I didn't find out how amazing Holly Black's writing was until Cruel Prince hooked me with its sneaky pre-order promo. I mean, who can resist a cool enamel pin when it comes with a shiny new book. 

Not me. 

And I kept hearing good things so I dropped everything and read it. See review here (Warning it contains much babbling). And then, then, I read Tithe, Valiant, & Ironside because how could I not. See review here. 

And now THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN has undone me. I'm caught in an endless loop. Someone send help. (Not really, I don't want to be saved... unless unless Holly wants to write me (just me) book 2 and then maybe I'll share.) Mwahahahahahahah. 

Alright I'll stop. 

Just buy this book.  

Rating: ***** (5 stars doesn't feel like enough) 

Happy Reading, 

Chelly

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RATING SCALE: 

 5* = OMFG loved it. Will read it again. Touch my book and I will cut you. 

 4* = Really good. Highly recommend. Miiiight reread. Maybe. Don't touch my book. 

 3* = Good. I liked it. Go ahead and touch it. 

 2* = Not for me, finished but struggled. Didn't connect. Here, have a book.

 1* = DNF. Couldn't do it.

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Click on the cover to link to Goodreads and leave your book recs in my comments. Comments make me smile. :) 



Oh, yeah, and find me on twitter: @ChellyPike