Katie Epstein

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

When you’re a dedicated reader like me, you develop a list of authors you can count on to match a specific book mood. Katie Epstein quickly earned a spot on that list, and with the third book in The Terra Vane Series, she did not disappoint. Technically portal fantasy, the books have an urban fantasy feel and offer a mix of people, many dismissed as mythical in our world, with distinct cultures and powers.

Terra is the Portiside equivalent of the police or FBI. These are police procedurals in part where all the normal rules are different to a small or large degree to accommodate the world. However, along with the dead bodies and investigations, there are strong personal threads, concerns about Terra’s unknown powers, tender moments, and bright spots of humor. The dialogue is sharp and multi-layered as are the relationships, which carry history and unresolved feelings as much as true bonds of family and friendship.

These are not standalone titles and Death Be Raven continues the romantic developments between Terra and Cole, her boss and her partner’s brother. That’s only one of the complicated relationships, though, as Terra’s connection to her partner Kaleb seems to be developing its own twists. She’s torn between all these feelings that she has trouble expressing, and the political and job consequences don’t make it any easier than the personal ones. The love triangle plays a stronger part in the third book for all Terra wants to pretend it doesn’t. Terra’s denials plus Cole’s attempts to balance a secret relationship with their work puts both of them in an awkward position. Neither is good at managing their feelings while Terra thinks Kaleb isn’t serious. Maybe she’s right, but I suspect not.

I enjoyed how Terra and Kaleb’s relationship deepens even without considering a romantic connection, though I fear the consequences of the last. She is starting to see more to him than she has before, looking below the surface. Terra has a habit of accepting her assumptions as fact where feelings, and other things, are concerned, something that has bitten her before. Perhaps it comes from not wanting others to delve too deeply into her past.

But don’t believe the relationships overwhelm the other events. There’s a lot going on as Terra, Bernard (a vampire friend we met in book two), and Kaleb attempt to find the prisoners who escaped in the first book. There is a thin trail of breadcrumbs to follow, and extrapolations don’t always lead them in the right direction. I was inspired to concoct several theories, which says good things about the book, and while some were right, others were not. Then there are the cases where I had a reasonable idea of the answer, but a twist made it even better. A villain monologue at one point expands on seeds we already know and helps the main characters organize a jumble of pieces. It doesn’t come across as an info dump, though, especially not with Terra teasing it out of the character.

I’m struggling with what to reveal as it’s all interwoven, but I certainly enjoyed the read. This book has a self-contained story that resolves if not necessarily happily then well. It also sets up the rest of the series in another, related direction, shifting things before this framework can become stale. The Terra Vale Series is best read in order as everything builds on the previous books, but for those who have enjoyed the first two books, the third is worth staying on course. And if you’re intrigued, I’d suggest checking out Death Be Blue, the starting point in what is an inventive and fun series.… (more)

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Everything I mentioned in my review of the first book holds true for Book 2 of the Terra Vane Series as well, with the focus on fun characters with complicated (very complicated) relationships. The world continues to be full of greater depths and conflicts while what we, and Terra, learn about her powers remains intriguing. Her abilities are a secret kept from everyone, readers and characters alike.

Once again there is a tendency to spill background information in clumps, but at least the information is interesting. While we discover a lot about the interim conflict through a villain monologue, not only do the discoveries build on existing groundwork, but the sheer gumption of Terra in how she gets the information is wonderful. She is the mouse that roared…if in fact she is a mouse at all despite appearances.

The formatting in my copy is a little odd, and there are some areas with rough writing, but nothing significant enough to draw me out of the story. It’s a testament to the strength of the tale, especially since this is a middle book. There is an overarching plot for the series, involving the recovery of the fugitives discovered in Book 1, but Death Be Charmed also offers at least two smaller plots with satisfying conclusions. The smaller plots (though smaller is a matter of perspective) are both intertwined in the major and largely separate, making the action and risk hold strong even when the Enforcers find themselves searching for the next thread to pull.

Terra is such a fascinating character. She has the background for a perfect villain or victim, but though her past influences her present, she is neither consumed with hatred nor afraid to let herself make true ties. People are drawn to her, and when she forms a bond, parental, friendship, or more, it’s strong and unyielding. She will risk everything for her friends if only they would stand aside and let her. They, on the other hand, would like nothing more than to keep her safe. Terra is a disaster magnet not because it comes to her, but because she throws herself into danger at every turn, taking on causes wherever she finds someone in need. This characteristic means only her unknown talents keep her from dying but also endears her to all kinds of people who find her interesting, attractive, and frustrating in various measures.

Which brings me to Cole. There is no easy answer there, but neither can she, nor the chief and shifter heir, find it possible to walk away. It’s a situation rife with troubles between his birthplace, his position as her boss, and her skill at her job. It doesn’t help that she’s partnered to his randy little brother, or that the bonds she effortlessly forms mean old boyfriends become true friends and so are still around. Bernard, who falls into that final category and would happily rekindle the fire, certainly made the situation tenser as he joins Kaleb and Terra in their investigation.

The sharp dialogue, strong relationships, and interesting mysteries to solve have me bought in even without considering the Portiside world with its blend of many cultures and peoples. Both friendships and hostilities predating the original portal crossing are still thriving today. I remembered my place in the second book even without the quick catch-up offered by the text despite almost a year passing between reads, which speaks to the strengths.… (more)

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Urban fantasy is all about premise. I signed up to win this title on Goodreads because the premise sounded intriguing, and it holds up. The prologue voice is awkwardly formal and led to some confusion, but once the story starts, it’s a lovely mix of bad-talking cops with a noir paranormal caseload. I learned more about the world from the periodic asides than I did from the prologue itself. While Terra had a tendency to data dump, most times I can see the trigger, and they never last so long as to lose me. They help solidify the world. Her history is also interesting, and the data dumps inform what happens in the book as well as her reaction to things around her.

Terra is the main character and focus without question, but she certainly doesn’t stand alone. Her shifter partner Kaleb is very protective for reasons stretching beyond her frail nature as a human in a police force, called Enforcers, who are otherwise shifters. It takes a certain level of stubbornness to survive the training, and for a human to have succeeded (even with the advantage of intermittent foreseeing) pisses off a lot of her fellow officers. This leads to claims that Kaleb and his brother Cole (who is the head of the force) inappropriately protected and assisted her through training. There’s a smidge of truth to the contention, but only a little, which is an ample demonstration both of how far Terra will go to succeed and the complexity of the bonds she makes after escaping Earth. She was a psychotic’s medical test dummy there because she had a gift in a place where gifts do not exists by official lore.

Terra is a crusader, possibly as a result of her own experiences, something that often gets her in trouble. She can’t stop helping, she can’t turn it off, and she isn’t great at calculating the risk before diving into a situation. We learn that much from the beginning, along with how her recklessness affects both her partner and his brother. At the same time, she’s much more than a mindless juggernaut or suicidal. She acts out of care, something shown in how she worries about her friends and family, but even better in how she purchases from a failing store just because she recognizes the sorrow and fear in the proprietor.

The personalities and relationships in Death Be Blue are vibrant and persuasive. I’ll admit to sensing the frustration in her connection to her boss, Cole, more than their romantic tension at times, but I knew it was there. Kaleb will lay his life down for her in a blink and her stepfather is more of a parent to Terra than her blood relations, both good examples of the ties she makes. I want to see how that all works out, especially with the nicely seeded reveal about Terra and her true powers at the end of this book.

Fair warning, it gets quite dark and gruesome toward the end while the beginning held more to the “near miss” theory of law enforcement risk. The stakes continue to rise, but so do the other aspects of connection and tension, so I wouldn’t want to scare anyone off.

This is not a simple world with a simple conflict. You take all the magical beings on Earth, transport them into a pocket world (Portiside) at the time of the great flood, leave these very different cultures to stew for generations, then give us the viewpoint of a police force mired in shifter rules, vampire guidelines, fae, and other rule sets. In terms of cultural clash and conspiracy, this is a world ripe with possibility and has a storyteller capable of making both the people and the crises tangible. I definitely enjoyed the read and look forward to seeing where this all is headed.… (more)