{Review} Pirate's Alley (Sentinels of New Orleans #4) by Suzanne Johnson

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: April 21s, 2015
Finished Date: July 18th, 2015

Publishers: Tor
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: For Review
Format: Hardcover

Pages: 352
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Wizard sentinel DJ Jaco thought she had gotten used to the chaos of her life in post-Katrina New Orleans, but a new threat is looming, one that will test every relationship she holds dear.

Caught in the middle of a rising struggle between the major powers in the supernatural world—the Wizards, Elves, Vampires and the Fae—DJ finds her loyalties torn and her mettle tested in matters both professional and personal.

Her relationship with enforcer Alex Warin is shaky, her non-husband, Quince Randolph, is growing more powerful, and her best friend, Eugenie, has a bombshell that could blow everything to Elfheim and back. And that's before the French pirate, Jean Lafitte, newly revived from his latest "death," returns to New Orleans with vengeance on his mind. DJ's assignment? Keep the sexy leader of the historical undead out of trouble. Good luck with that.

Duty clashes with love, loyalty with deception, and friendship with responsibility as DJ navigates passion and politics in the murky waters of a New Orleans caught in the grips of a brutal winter that might have nothing to do with Mother Nature.

War could be brewing, and DJ will be forced to take a stand. But choosing sides won't be that easy.

The Review: Pirate's Alley is the fourth book in the Sentinels of New Orleans series and it was great to be back with this cast of characters. Things are about to get all political for DJ as her personal and professional lives are about to clash and force her to re-evaluate every relationship she has with various people. We begin with the fallout from book three, those responsible are to face a trial and DJ is required to be there but there’s a twist straight away when they try to pin the blame on her and when she responds….she opens up a whole can of worms that leads to a power struggle between the council of elders. Not only that but she is forced to officially babysit Jean Lafitte to be sure he can’t exact revenge on those who betrayed him and her best friend Eugenie makes things more complicated when she shares her news – leaving DJ stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I thought this was a turning point for DJ, she has many issues in her life that she didn’t have before she let people in and now she has to make a stand and sort out who and what she can be to these people. Her relationship with Alex is in a weird state,  Alex is all about rules whereas DJ likes to bend them and where he is a black and white, kinda guy – she totally sees all of those shades of grey… and that is becoming a problem between them which will reach critical here. I still love these two together, I hate the drama between them because it seems like the author is letting us down gently, so that we can see it isn’t going to work and I’m actually a little nervous that these two might not survive what’s coming which would be such a shame considering how long it took them to get together.
Then we have Eugenie her BFF and her little drama is about to cause all sorts of problems for DJ, not only is she forced to be a mediator for her but she could also be forced to end the problem in a way that wouldn’t be good for anyone involved. When she lets one person in on the secret, she gets betrayal in return and puts her in a spot she doesn’t want to be in, making her make yet another choice.
Jean Lafitte is next in line for DJ when she is made to babysit him so that he doesn’t go after vengeance – which he feels is his right. DJ understands where he is coming from and the Elders don’t understand how the Historical Undead do things, so her relationship with Lafitte comes to a turning point also. DJ owes him her life, she shares a bond with him and also a friendship and before she makes any sacrifices for him – they need to know where they stand with each other. I really like the relationship these two have, it’s a weird part of a love square that hasn’t been acted on but gives DJ options. TBH I wouldn’t mind seeing where these two go but Alex is the best for her without a doubt. It was good that they finally clear the air between them and he makes her see things in a different light. He’s a dark horse is Jean Lafitte and I really want to see where his story goes.
Then we have Rand, DJ’s husband/not husband/pain in the ass! We get to see a couple of sides to him throughout this and poor DJ is forced to deal with him a lot. I don’t trust him as a character, he is part of the love square but has no chance other than the fact that he tricked her into bonding with him. He’s sly and manipulative and I could have throttled him by the end of the book but there were times when we saw a vulnerable side to him – just not enough for me to like him.
Now, all of that relationship drama is weaved into the story of a power struggle. Following the revelations of the trial, the accused and some others are fugitives and that has left the council leaderless and the alliances with each magic sect in ruins. There is a lot of manipulation going on and more than one person will be left wondering whether to do what they know is right or what they have been ordered to do. There are multiple assassination attempts on multiple characters that will definitely rock their world and send the powers that be into a tail spin. Jean Lafitte tells DJ that war is coming and you can believe it with all of the strife caused in this book and whilst it may seem that DJ is the one to come to a turning point on where she stands with people, there are a lot of people who make themselves and their agendas known. Things are going to totally change for DJ from this moment on and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her. 

4.5 Flowers

Thank you to Tor for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

A Review for Elysian Fields (Sentinels of New Orleans #3) by Suzanne Johnson

Posted by Melanie 
Release Date: August 13th, 2013
Finished Date: July 17th, 2013

Publishers: Tor Books 
Source: For Review

Format: ARC 
Pages: 352

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

An undead serial killer comes for DJ in this thrilling third installment of Suzanne Johnson’s Sentinels of New Orleans series

The mer feud has been settled, but life in South Louisiana still has more twists and turns than the muddy Mississippi. 

New Orleanians are under attack from a copycat killer mimicking the crimes of a 1918 serial murderer known as the Axeman of New Orleans. Thanks to a tip from the undead pirate Jean Lafitte, DJ Jaco knows the attacks aren’t random—an unknown necromancer has resurrected the original Axeman of New Orleans, and his ultimate target is a certain blonde wizard. Namely, DJ.

Combatting an undead serial killer as troubles pile up around her isn’t easy. Jake Warin’s loup-garou nature is spiraling downward, enigmatic neighbor Quince Randolph is acting weirder than ever, the Elders are insisting on lessons in elven magic from the world’s most annoying wizard, and former partner Alex Warin just turned up on DJ’s to-do list. Not to mention big maneuvers are afoot in the halls of preternatural power.

Suddenly, moving to the Beyond as Jean Lafitte’s pirate wench could be DJ’s best option.

The Review: Wow! This was AWESOME! I think this book blew the other two out of the water and this series has definitely become a firm favourite of mine.

I can’t add anything to the synopsis because it outlines the story perfectly as we join DJ for her third and most dangerous adventure yet. I think DJ is a great character that has grown so much over the course of 3 books, really coming into her own as a Sentinel & wizard but with room to grow & progress more. I like that there was an attempt to bring her Elven powers to the forefront in this and feel like there is a lot of untapped potential there so I’m hoping for more along those lines. I loved where her love life went in this, but, felt like it was 2 steps forward and one step back and yet another complication was added to the mix which I have mixed feelings about, I’ve always liked the banter between DJ and the men in her life but I need to state that I’m definitely team Alex!

The storyline was just great, there was SO much going on that I just couldn’t put the book down – it was action all the way and seriously took my breath away. I read the first 75% of the book in one go and only didn’t finish it in one sitting because I fell asleep with kindle in hand – so yeah, it’s that good! In this series there always seems to be two threads going on at once in each book and this felt like it had even more but not in a complicated way, everything blended together seamlessly for one hell of a ride. I have always enjoyed the idea of the border between the two realms that is policed by Sentinels like DJ & I love how New Orleans & Old Orleans come together, how our world exists with the supernatural world and of course, collide, which has tons of possibilities for future books. I really liked the undead serial killer angle and that got even better when he started to target our MC which is a good enough plot by itself but then when everything else starts to pile up for DJ – she ends up with a loup-garou scare, gets herself kidnapped, becomes part of a power play, gets knocked around (a lot!) and as always finds herself in some precarious situations – it makes me wonder just how much can our favourite wizard take? But what I do know is that this book is an amazing, exciting, action packed adventure filled with lots of supernatural goodness, with many life threatening situations for most of its characters & a smidge of romance that always leaves me wanting more and I loved every second of it!! I think that the world that the author has created is just brilliant, the characters, the setting, the supernatural element & even the pacing are everything I could want it a book and that’s what I get  - Now, I WANT MORE!! 

A Review for River Road (Sentinels of New Orleans #2) by Suzanne Johnson

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: November 22nd, 2012

Finished Date: January 29th, 2013

Publishers: Headline
Source: For Review

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 387
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.

The Review: 4.5 Stars! 

River Road is a great follow up to Royal Street. It was nice to catch up with these characters and their world, I really haven’t been reading enough of this genre lately and this reminded me of how I’m missing out.

It’s set a couple of years after book one and not much has changed – DJ is now the regions Sentinel, working alongside Alex to keep the preternaturals in order because now that the borders are down, they’re busier than ever. This time it’s the Merpeople acting up and they get brought into a dispute by two rival clans, each claiming the other poisoned the water trying to kill the other side and when they head out there to resolve it, they’re in for more than they bargained for as they begin to find dead wizards in what looks like ritual killings. Suspicion turns to the merpeople because of their hatred of the wizards, so it’s down to DJ & Alex to work it all out before the contaminated water starts affecting the humans and exposing the pretes. If things weren’t complicated enough, DJ has found herself back in favour with the men in her life – in particular one troublesome pirate to whom she owes a debt – how is she ever going to repay him?

As I said, it’s a great sequel which actually was better than the first for me. Royal Street was very much tied to Hurricane Katrina and its immediate aftermath, which I loved but with this set around 5 years later and things have calmed down some. We still get the backdrop, descriptions of the rebuilding and the changes in the way of life being spoken about but that isn’t the main focus although the author does use the BP oil spill in a slightly different way as she starts to open up the preternatural world by introducing new species, who in turn bring their own histories & feuds.

The characters are just as good, DJ has come into her own a lot and is doing a good job with her elven staff. The love quadrangle seemed to just drop of a cliff only to be restarted in this because we find out that DJ & Alex had a ‘discussion’ and decided to remain as friends especially seen as they now work together permanently, Jake blaming DJ for his predicament – takes off – only to return in this along with his interest in her and Jean Lafitte also went about his business and rekindled his interest in her five years later which is a bit confusing. I LOVE the banter, the posturing, the staking claims and the sexual tension this brings but I think the time lapse between books was not a good thing for the continuity and made the progression seem a little off, it would have been better with a year gap, maximum.

I really enjoyed the developments throughout, it had the same action, humour, romance etc as the first, even the pacing was great and I like it a lot. As I said, the author is introducing us to the wider world and I like that development, it gives a lot of space for the author to go in future books. I like that we get to know Alex a little better through the introduction of his family and that there are things DJ is just discovering about herself which is bringing interest from unexpected places too. Is her life in danger?
 I loved everything about it to be honest, even the love square – for the fun factor – I have a favourite Jand am already counting down the months until the next book which will be going on my must read list. 

Blog Tour for River Road (Sentinels of New Orleans #2) by Suzanne Johnson; Character Interview with DJ

River Road (Sentinels of New Orleans #2) 
by Suzanne Johnson
Release Date: November 22nd, 2012

Publishers: Headline

Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.

Drusilla Jaco took a break from chasing down pretes (preternaturals) who’ve crossed the borders from the Beyond into modern New Orleans to chat about life and love as a wizard, and what it’s like to be one of the very few female wizards to hold the job of sentinel.

 

What’s the hardest part of your job as sentinel?

Well, since Hurricane Katrina tore down the borders between New Orleans and the Beyond, all the rules have changed. Before, if a prete like a vampire or a member of the historical undead came across into the city, I could just pack their happy asses back to the Beyond. Now, they’re negotiating treaties with the wizards and as long as they can mainstream with humans and don’t kill anybody, I have to do things like compromise and negotiate. (Sighs.) I hate that.

 

Do you feel like a trail-blazer? You’re one of only a very few female wizards to ever hold the job of sentinel.

Not really. I mean, most days I’m just trying to stay alive—or out of the wizards’ Elders’ doghouse. They seem to feel I’m a little, shall we say, entrepreneurial in my methods. Which is patently ridiculous, of course.

 

What are you most afraid of?

Losing someone else that I care about. The years since Katrina have been rough, and it has been hard for me to trust anyone and learn to care about someone again. Oh, and elves. I’m afraid of elves. And zombies. 

 

Have you ever met an elf or a zombie?

I met an elf recently and he scared the crap out of me. One minute he’s this nice, middle-aged, suburban-looking dude, and the next his mind is burrowing into mine like a ground squirrel hiding an acorn. I haven’t met a zombie. I don’t want to. Although my partner Alex gave me a grenade just in case one shows up at my house. He swears grenades are the best things to use against zombies. I bet an elf wouldn’t fare well with a grenade either. 

 

You know that the elven staff you found after the hurricane, the one you call Charlie, is attracting the elves’ attention, don’t you?

Uh, you think? I know I should quit using Charlie but that staff gives my physical magic a big boost—it’s like being a nerdy ritual-magic wizard and a kickass physical-magic wizard at the same time. The best of both worlds. As long as the elves don’t bother me, I won’t bother them.

 

How kickass can you be if you can’t aim the staff? I mean, so far you’ve burned part of your coffee table, zapped your ceiling fan into oblivion, and…let’s see…oh yeah, you set fire to the Louisiana wetlands. You shoot like a girl.

 

I could try it on you. Bet I wouldn’t miss.

 

Okay, changing the subject. Jean Lafitte.

 

Is that a question?

 

What’s between you and the undead French pirate?

We’re friends. Well, not exactly….We’re colleagues in…well, no. I have no idea what we are.

You went on a dinner date with him.

 

Yes, and it turned out so well. (Rolls eyes.)

Will there be more dates? 

(Sighs.) I’d like to say no, but somehow my common sense seems to fly out the window when the pirate walks in the door. I mean, you’ve seen the pirate, right? And heard that sexy accent?

 

Who’s your least favorite person?

I like everyone. Hey—what’s that look for? Oh, okay. I’m currently very unhappy with Adrian Hoffman, the speaker of the Elders. He’s an insufferable jerk and… don’t get me started. I’m also keeping an eye on my new neighbor Quince Randolph. He’s dating my best friend Eugenie, but there’s something totally off about that guy and I can’t figure it out.

Is he human?

Let’s just say he bears watching.

Watching him won’t be too unpleasant—he’s hot, isn’t he? Tall, blond, built like a swimmer?

He can be hot and still be a jerk who’s up to something. 

 

A quick word-association game before we go. I’ll say a word and you say the first thing that comes to mind:

Alex: Chocolate

Jake: Honey

Jean: Cobalt

You realize you’re describing their eye color, right?

And?

Fine. New Orleans: Home

Jazz: Louis Armstrong. I miss the undead Louis—might need to call him up soon.

Elves: Sneaky bastards

Loup-Garou: (long pause) Guilt.

Love: (longer pause) Gotta go. There’s a goblin wandering the Quarter and those guys just can’t mainstream. Later, gator!

Author Bio: 

Suzanne Johnson writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance from Auburn, Alabama, after a career in educational publishing that has spanned five states and six universities. She grew up halfway between the Bear Bryant Museum and Elvis' birthplace and lived in New Orleans for fifteen years, so she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of college football and fried gator on a stick.

A Review for Royal Street (Sentinels of New Orleans #1) by Suzanne Johnson

Posted by Guest Reviewer Melanie

Release Date:  April 10th, 2012

Finished Date: August 17th, 2012

Publishers: Tor Books 

Source: For Review 

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.

Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.

While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.

To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.

The Review:  Royal Street is a great start to a new series involving Sentinels – who are Wizards in their various forms and governed by a group of Elders – they protect the borders of the real world from preternaturals who want to crossover from the Otherworld and live on earth for their own gains, they will do just about anything to stay here offering bargains and such to the Sentinels but are usually sent back to where they came from. Until Hurricane Katrina comes along and thins the veil between the worlds and lets loose a whole host of ‘pretes’ with their own agendas and to make matters worse the main New Orleans Sentinel – Gerry St. Martin - has gone missing. His apprentice – DJ- is recalled back to the devastation to lend a hand in regaining control of the area and whilst her priority is returning the escaped pretes, she has taken it upon herself to find and hopefully rescue her mentor. But, the Elders throw a spanner in the works by assigning her a partner, a very distracting partner who is an enforcer with his own mission and it may end up being in direct conflict to DJ’s for whilst he is investigating some murders that seem to be ritualistic (and DJ’s area of expertise) he also has doubts that Gerry is simply dead and word is. . . Gerry has made a deal with the other side. So, DJ  is in a quandary – can she trust her new partner? Can they help stop the serial killer? Can she solve Gerry’s disappearance and keep his good name? and keep out of the clutches of a few enemies she’s made along the way? Let’s just say she is definitely in for a few revelations. .

I was very impressed with this book, I’m a huge UF fan and I haven’t read enough of it lately so it was nice to delve back into it again and no better way than this. Drusilla Jolie aka DJ Is a cool main character, I liked everything about her – her skills are good and while she is capable with her magic, she isn’t all out ‘Kick Ass’, she’s capable of defending herself but is often out matched and her magic isn’t as reliable as it should be – until she finds something of use and does just that! She’s an interesting character and I really wanted to learn more about her, I loved what we got from this but it feels like there are a lot more discoveries to be made. Alex and Jake were great too, I love a man with a hero complex and both of these guys have it in spades and with hot bods to match plus a little something, something that you will discover in the book. Needless to say, both men have a bit of rivalry going on and not just about DJ but hey, I love it when two guys try to win a girls affection and I would certainly have trouble with these two. Another character of note is Jean Lafitte, ghost pirate and well known ladies man which equals fun times and precarious situations for DJ and an intriguing character indeed.

The storyline was really great too, the setting is New Orleans during the time of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. I loved the way that was used because not only were we getting a cool UF story but we got the story of real life events, the devastation, the loss, how the changes affected the people, the environment – everything - and then we get the historical and cultural figures and belief systems that are weaved into a story of supernatural. The story itself just screamed New Orleans, I don’t want to say too much for fear of giving something away but if you read it you will know exactly why I say this. I really liked it, the setting, the characters, the plot, the bit of romantic complications, the reveals and even the pacing and I can’t wait to see where its going to go next. I imagine there will be a lot of changes for DJ and this has left me with many questions, it’s one of those books where it’s a great set up but you know the best is yet to come so bring on the sequel!