Friday, January 3, 2020

BR Kingsolver: Shadow Hunter

In The first in a new series BR Kingsolver shows what happens when a trained assassin leaves the Illuminati:

Erin was sold to the Illuminati by her parents when her magic developed and how strong it was. So began her life of learning to be a Spy, Assassin and Thief. She is told that she is helping people and that the Illuminati are guiding the world for the better place. What she learns when she is tasked with eliminating a rival secret group and stealing an artifact is the opposite; The Illuminati are only about their own power and gain. She had been lied to for most of her life. She has been working for the dark not the light. This causes her to take drastic measure and somehow she ends up miles away on the run working as a bartender at Rosie O'Grady's Bar and Grill. Erin just wants the quiet life but trouble seems to follow wherever she goes.

This was the first book that I have heard of by Kingsolver and I wonder why I have not heard of her before, as this book was really fun to read, had interesting characters and I was wanting more of Erin and Rosie's Bar at the end of the book. I actually found it a nice replacement for Kate Daniel's Ilona Andrew series (So far, but we are only one book in) as there are some definite similarities between the two main characters (I still love Kate more though, lol). I really felt like the beginning was a bit rushed with Erin's training and being part of the Illuminati. As this is what has defined her for so many years it would have been nice to have a  bit more background than just the beginning few pages and snippets throughout the book. It also seems odd at times that with all her training that they did not do more cultural integration into a new environment as there are times in the book where she feels lost/naive in what should be familiar situations/events but she can mix any drink Sam asks her about, seem a bit of a clash in her characterization. 

What is really interesting in how Kingsolver decided to do with Erin (aside from her school powers) is as much as she tries to hide, she does not do it very well, where did all the spy training go? There are times when she almost flaunts her powers and abilities, so of course people are going to be suspicious of her and her possible connection to not only the Vampire deaths but also possibly being a hunter as well. However, by not really hiding her powers Erin shows who she really is and her need to help and protect those around her even if she has only known them for a short amount of time.

There is a nice sense of magical community and all your favourites are there, witches, werewolves, mages, Fae etc but there are some that I was not familiar with as well. It seems like Kingsolver has done some research on different entities from different cultures. But the world building is nothing special but I do not mind that as I was able to immerse myself into the story right away.

This is great start to a new series (though there are some flaws in Erin's characterization i think and the world building is lacking) and I look forward to learning more about Erin, this world and her history with the Illuminati. I am also going to check out some of the other series that she has written as well. Really happy I discovered her book. 

Enjoy!!!
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