#1 in the Alex Craft series
Pages: 325
Released: September 21, 2010
Publisher: ROC
Received: Library
Rating: 4 out of 5stars
Goodreads
At this point I've read the first three books in the series and they've all blended together in my memory so this is really more of a review for the series thus far than for any one book in that series.
Paranormal romance/urban fantasy books and me have a weird relationship. In general, I really don't like them. There's this gritty feel to them that just bothers me and I usually feel dragged down by the desperate- but-tough main character and her aloof, mixed-signals love interest.
But every once in a while, I'm in the mood for a book in this genre. I haven't been able to pin point yet what makes some of these books work for me when most of them don't at all, but oh boy, when they work for me, they work for me. I flew through this series and only stopped because the fourth book hadn't been published yet.
So, what do you get with the Alex Craft series? A desperate-but-tough main character, but there's something about her that's endearing. She's tough, but she's not kick-butt-tough. She isn't the kind of badass lady who can take on the world with her giant shoulder chip. She's more subdued and fully aware of her limitations, which made me want to protect her rather than roll my eyes at her.
She also just seems nice. But that's the thing about a lot of the characters in this series: they're just nice (and I mean that in a good way). I like them, I'd hang out with them, and I care about what happens to them. They make me smile (especially Alex's ghost side-kick). This is the biggest thing the series has going for it for me.
But, the other thing that keeps me reading are the mysteries. Each book has a self-contained mystery (usually a murder) and an overarching series mystery, and all the mysteries were well-crafted. Clues were given out at just the right pace and each time I was invested in trying to figure out what was going on.
The magic system was also pretty engaging. I was just as interested in figuring out the world and magic rules and possibilities as I was in figuring out the murder mysteries. Alex knows a lot and sets the stage, so I felt pretty grounded in the world right away, but Alex is also discovering new things about her own magic and the greater magical world and I enjoyed sleuthing with her on this front, too.
The romance is probably the biggest point loss for me since we get the dreaded love triangle. I'm also not a fan of how either of the love interests treats Alex. The set up for why she can't be with them is so contrived and at three books in I'm getting pretty tired of it all. I'd like to see Alex forget about them both and just find herself a nice, stable man without baggage. That said, when things are working out between Alex and her romantic interests, the chemistry is definitely there and I'm convinced she should stay with them.
Bottom line
When I'm looking for something light, engaging, fun, and nice this is a good go-to series.
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I've seen this series around but wasn't sure about picking it up. I do like the sound of self contained mysteries and an overarching plot, but the love triangle aspect makes my eye twitch. I think you'll really like the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews- it's got humor, action, a unique world, and great romance (no triangle!).
ReplyDeleteYeah, the love triangle is definitely eye-twitchy, but I love the series enough that the triangle doesn't stop me from reading them. Just finished number four and it's still going strong! (the series AND the love triangle)
DeleteI read the first Kate Daniels book and just didn't click with the main characters. I so wanted to like it so maybe I'll give the second book a try even though I didn't love the first.
I haven't heard of this series, but urban fantasy with nice characters sounds like a refreshing change!
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