Nocturnal Book Reviews

I actually really liked this book. It's refreshing, easy and just a little bit different to be memorable among the sea of other urban fantasies.

Dru is certainly not a kick-ass heroine. Physically she is an average human apart from being able to work with magic. She gets beaten and hurt easily, and you have to respect her determination to continue in the circumstances when a normal human being retreats. She's got a lovely sense of humour, it's a pleasure to read her banter with Alex, her unwilling partner, or her snarky observations.

What really makes this book unique is its rich, authentic atmosphere of New Orleans - it's smoky, sassy and spicy, heavy with accents, full of different backgrounds and beliefs. New Orleans just after Katrina is hard to read about, but it's a setting that I haven't encountered before in UF, and Suzanne Johnson really brings it to life.

I also loved the idea of all the supernaturals living in the Otherworld and slipping sometimes through the cracks and portals to our world. That's what the sentinels are here for - to send them back to the beyond.

Jean Lafitte, a famous pirate from the past is one of these supernatural beings featured in Royal Street, and I have to say he was a riot. Really great secondary character, playing an important role in the plot, he turns from a villain to an unexpected ally, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of him in the books to come.

There are some drawbacks of course. DJ's partner, Alex, didn't do much for me, even his brother was nicer and had more character. Gerry with all his experience also was a little bit disappointing, because he couldn't see what was right in front of his eyes.

Otherwise I recommend Royal Street to all the fans of Hoodoo series by Adrian Phoenix and The Edge series by Ilona Andrews.