I’ve got another review to share that I did for Reedsy Discovery, a site that hosts (mainly) self-published books and helps them get discovered. I’ve been at it for about 3 months now and it’s been a great learning curve.
(Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using these links, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.)
If you’re interested in being a reviewer, you can use my referral link to sign up! It’s the sort of thing you can do on your own time, and there is the potential to earn a little bit of cash! But I wouldn’t call it a side hustle–it’s mostly for experience and exposure, I think. Still pretty fun, especially if you’re a fan of indie books!
So here’s my second review of Stolen City by L.D. Greenwood!
Stolen City by L.D. Greenwood
4/5 stars: according to Reedsy’s scale, I “loved it!” And I actually did. It hit a lot of my personal quirks, if that makes sense.
A fun, sassy urban fantasy with unique settings and a great “found family” dynamic
synopsis
Living in paradise with a vampire was actually part of the plan.
Getting drawn into a conflict between a powerful coven and a vampire willing to stop at nothing to get his revenge? Not so much.
Min and Owen’s jack of all trades business was surviving, despite their siren and vampire status not being the most traditional of partnerships. All of that changed when a transient woman walked into their office, begging them for help to find some missing children.
Suddenly, their boring jobs finding stolen artifacts and rescuing cats out of trees seem rather appealing. When Min realizes that one of the missing children is an illegal, half-siren, she starts to feel responsible for protecting her. Afraid that the little girl is involved in a larger conflict, Min risks everything to make sure that the child finds her way home, even if it means putting all that Min has worked for in danger.
Stolen City is a first-in series fast-faced urban fantasy novel with a fiery siren and an earthy vampire that test the boundaries of friendship and loyalty.
My Review of Stolen City
This was a really fun, fast-paced read. I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of a vampire and a siren having an odd-jobs business that tends to wax supernatural. It also takes place in Hawaii, which made it ten times better (to me, anyway) because it’s such a fresh location and the last place you would expect an urban fantasy to be set. It allowed for some unique locations and world-building, all couched within the culture of the islands. I’ve personally never been to Hawaii, but it sure felt like the author knew her stuff, and that really helped place me within the world of the story.
Also, I thought it was interesting that in this world, paranormal beings are integrated into modern society, which I think leaves a lot of room to explore the social and cultural implications. As it is, I think this book only touched on the possibilities, but as the first book in a series I can see how it was laying a lot of the groundwork for future books.
With that said, there were some plot threads that were set up and not really carried through by the end, but I’m hoping this means these will get explored later. I also wished that the antagonist and his motivations had been a little more fleshed out before the end, or that he had been more connected to the protagonists–it was sort of a “Who the heck are you?” encounter.
I also wanted to see more inside the vampire covens, which we usually observed from a third-party perspective. I was left with some questions about how their society worked and there were some scenes left out that I felt could’ve really given me some insight (like the blood ceremony). But again, future books could fill in the gaps.
Overall, however, this book was fresh and quirky and totally renewed my love for urban fantasy. The relationship between Min and Owen felt really genuine, and there were some really neat little character moments throughout. It’s a great “found family” dynamic that takes it beyond just a paranormal mystery. It reminded me at points of both Supernatural and Vampire Academy, so if you’re a fan of urban fantasy, I recommend this book to you!
Check it out here on Amazon…
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