4 out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank Curiosity Quills Press for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.
This book was great! Though I will freely admit at first I groaned and thought I was reading a ‘Hollows wannabe’. I soon shut myself up, apologised profusely for being such an idiot for assuming such a thing and got on with enjoying the story. It is NOT a ‘Hollows wannabe’ AT ALL! Yes there are some minor similarities… but you could say that about any supernatural urban fantasy that has vampires, shifters (were people) and the like in them. In some ways, it was better than the Hollows as it’s a new series, first off and… time for me and I do apologise to Ms Harrison and her Hollows for saying this… BETTER! More believable and easier to get into, to run with.
Okay, so now I have possibly insulted two excellent authors, let’s try and skip past that and get on with how great this book is.
‘Of Scions and Men’ is a really good spin on the whole vamp/ scion roles often shown in books these days. That in itself was unique. And – yay!!! – the vampires didn’t sparkle! They were seen as what they were by those who looked at them in different lights. Yeah, that was easy to follow, right? Basically the whole idea of the lesser of two evils… with a supernatural twist really came into play with this book.
The main character was likable, you got to know her and her background well as the book progressed – rather than having all dumped on you to start with, or suddenly thrown at you as to why she is the way she is as a poorly planned plot twist near the end. No, Ms Sloan handled the whole character development very well and kept me interested into the wee hours with my ‘One more chapter’ mantra.
There were the odd typo and grammatical glitches, but this was an ARC and so they are easily excused. My work (and reviews) are full of them so cannot judge! I will admit to sometimes getting a little lost in the fight scenes as the terminology used confused me. It was probably the correct and proper phrases used… but not being a fight guru I almost skimmed those sections as they got a little too technical for me. Not a big thing, just a reader thing. As in, the fault lay with the reader, not the book.
Would I recommend this book to others?
Yes I would. In fact, I already have been. Anyone I know who has read ‘The Hollows’ series by Kim Harrison has had me tell them to grab this book and have a read as it’s great.
Would I buy this book for myself?
Yes I would. In fact, I have a MAJOR book hangover from it and really, REALLY want to see how this series is going to progress and I can’t wait to read the next book. Yes, I will be making big moony eyes at Ms Sloan and Curiosity Quills Press in the hopes I can be a reviewer for the next book too.
In summary: Loved it, read it in like 3 days and want more NOW! A brilliant, refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable new supernatural urban fantasy series and something lovers of this genre should go and buy TODAY! Buy it now, thank me later. 😉
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 