Audiobook Review - Sacrificial Magic (Downside Ghosts, Book 4) by Stacia Kane (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: March 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-0345527509
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Downside Ghosts series
Source: Gift
Rating: 3/5 stars

This was the fourth book in the Downside Ghosts series by Kane. I haven’t been a huge fan of this series, but I got books 4 and 5 as eGalleys to review through NetGalley(dot)com so I keep reading the series. If you liked books one and two this book is very similar to those ones.

Chess is given a case from the Church of Truth to investigate a haunting at a school in Downside..which just happens to be in enemy gang territory. Around the same time Bump, Chess’s drug dealer, wants Chess to check out a grisly murder that seems to be some sort of ritual killing. Chess will need all her wits (and drugs) to figure who are doing the black summonings and why.

I didn’t think this book was as good as the third book, City of Ghosts. This book returns to the story structure used in books 1 and 2: Chess gets a case from the Church and Bump wants something looked into; it just so happens that the two things are related. Maybe it’s because I am reading these so close together, but the stories seem a bit formulaic to me with no storyline (outside of the Chess/Terrible romance) that really flows from novel to novel. I really wish that this story had dealt more with the Church again because I find that a lot more interesting than these miscellaneous Downside disasters.

Chess does grow a little as a character, but she still keeps making a lot of the same mistakes. There are so many times she does incredibly stupid things, I was kind of hoping at points that Terrible would dump her.

If there is anything that does flow well and change from book to book it is the relationship between Terrible and Chess. There are some incredibly intense emotional scenes between the two that are very gripping. Although I do get tired of how flawed these characters are and at how they keep making the same mistakes over and over.

The world continues to be the same gritty post-apocalyptic world we’ve had in previous book. Chess continues to pill pop like crazy and somehow manages to not get killed.

Honestly I am just tired of these books right now. I don’t like that characters and the stories from book to book are very similar. I am going to take a break for a while and then decide if I will read Chasing Magic or no at a later date.

Overall an okay book in this series. If you loved the first two books in this series I think you will love this one; they are structured very much the same way. Chess is the same pill-popping somewhat functioning church witch she’s been in previous books, she makes a lot of the same stupid mistakes. There are some excellent scenes between her and Terrible, but aside from that there wasn’t a ton here I loved. Recommended to those who have really been enjoying this series. I would also recommend giving the first book a read if you are a fan of gritty urban fantasy; the first book is a very good example of the rest of the series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Dystopia Reading Challenge
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - City of Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, Book 3) by Stacia Kane (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: July 27, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0345515599
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Downside Ghosts series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the third book in the Downside Ghosts series by Kane. I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. This was the strongest book in the series so far; I loved how we got to delve deeper into the workings of the Church of Truth.

When piles of body parts start showing up on street corners the Church wants Chess on the case. They pair Chess with a member of the Black Squad for the investigation and bind Chess to not talk about the investigation on penalty of death. The binding gets cumbersome when Chess’s drug dealer Bump wants to be kept informed of what’s going on. As secrets are revealed Chess doesn’t know who to trust; the one man she could trust wants her dead making things even more complex.

This was by far my favorite book in the series. The Church of Truth is finally facing off with the Lamaru in a more direct way. Chess is forced to deal with some truly nasty magic. The story focused more on Chess and her investigation with the Church than on her drug habits. Bump is present in the story, but played a very minor role. I enjoyed that there was less focus on Chess’s drug habits and dealer and more focus on her job with the Church.

Chess grows a lot as a character and is forced to finally face her feelings for Terrible. Chess is also working closely with a member of the Black Squad named Lauren. It was fascinating to watch Chess work in close proximity to another member of the Church. We usually see her working alone or with other Downsiders.

Lauren is an excellent new character. She definitely gives Chess a run for her money, she is strong, obnoxious, and really shakes things up. She was an excellent counterbalance to Chess and really added a lot of interest to the story.

Things come to a climax between Chess and Terrible (no pun intended....kind of). Both are forced to face their feelings towards each other. The scenes between these two are heartbreaking and tense, Kane really does a good job of jerking around the readers’ emotions. I was on the edge of my seat for these scenes and loved it.

There is quite a bit of action in this book as well. We get to see Chess doing magic under high stress and in combat situations. We also learn a lot more about how sending ghosts to the City works and how the Church works. We see a lot more magic then in previous books. This is a fascinating world and a unique and I still enjoy the settings.

I still have some problems with the characters. I just don’t like Chess and, while I understand why her live is so screwed up, I find her frustrating to read about. Terrible remains my favorite character of the bunch. I did enjoy that this book dealt more with Chess’s job than her addiction and hope future books keep that focus.

Overall the best book yet in this series. While I am not a fan of Chess as a character I have to admit that the scenes between her and Terrible are masterfully done. I do love this world and was excited to see that this book focused on the Church of Truth and Chess’s job there. We learn oodles more about the Church and also get to see some pretty sweet magic performed. I recommend this series to urban fantasy fans who like flawed characters and dark settings.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Dystopia Reading Challenge
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - Unholy Magic (Downside Ghosts, Book 2) by Stacia Kane (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: July 6, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0345515582
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Downside Ghost series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Downside Ghost series by Kane. It was a decent book and I enjoyed listening to it. It expands some on the world we were introduced to in the first series.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was well done. I am still not crazy about the narrator, but she is growing on me. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing between the different characters voices and of conveying the mood or feeling of the dialogue.

Chess has been promoted in the Church for her work in the first book and in this book she is given her first really high profile case. She is supposed to debunk a haunting of a celebrity. As with the last book her drug habit gets in the way when she is coerced into working another case for her dealer Bump; hookers have been gruesomely killed and Bump wants Chess to figure out if a ghost is involved.

As with the first book in this series I enjoy the dark, gritty, and creative world that these stories take place in. We learn a bit more about ghosts and how they are summoned, we learn a bit more about the history of the Church of Truth as well. This book wasn’t as gruesome as the first one, but it still didn’t gloss over any of the yucky details.

I still have some trouble with these characters. I just don’t like any of them, they are all pretty much train-wrecks. That doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting to read about; reading about Chess as she tries to work and use her drugs is kind of like watching a train on the verge of crashing. It is kind of fascinating how she can balance all these things and mostly have it work out.

Things come to a head between Chess, Terrible, and Lex in this book. Terrible is still by far my favorite character in this series and I am interesting to see what happens between him and Chess. We get to learn a lot more about Terrible’s background and history in this book and it was very interesting.

This book was similar in structure to the first book in the series. Events that happen with Bump and seemingly unconnected events that happened with Chess’s job at the Church end up being closely related. I found this to be a bit formulaic and hope that future books don’t continue to repeat this pattern. It made the story somewhat predictable.

These books have all been fairly self-contained and I am hoping future books introduce some broader story that ties the books together.

Overall a decent addition to this series. I love this world, it is interesting and creative. I am not totally sold on the characters though. I thought this book was a bit too similar to the previous one in structure and hope future books are different. I am planning on reading book 3, City of Ghosts, then I will decide if I will continue on with this series. I would recommend this book to those who like gritty urban fantasy with flawed characters.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Dystopia Reading Challenge
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, Book 1) by Stacia Kane (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Del ReyRelease
Date: May 25, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0345515575
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Downside Ghosts series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in Kane’s Downside Ghosts series. The fifth book in this series, Chasing Magic, comes out the end of June 2012. This was a gritty urban fantasy and a creative idea featuring some very flawed characters. I enjoyed it for its creativity. I listened to this on audiobook.

The audiobook was decently done. I wasn’t crazy about the narrator; her voice bothered me a little. The narrator did distinguish between characters fairly well; although a few of the male characters sounded very similar and were hard to tell apart. I wouldn’t strongly recommend listening to this on audiobook, but it was okay.

Chess is a Church witch in a world where the Church of Real Truth runs everything. Some time ago the ghosts rose up and murdered two-thirds of humanity. The third that is left is beholden to the Church of Real Truth for keeping the viscous spirits locked up. Chess is a debunker for the Church and checks out hauntings to see whether they are real or not. Chess has a secret though; she is also a drug addict heavily in debt to a dealer named Bump. Bump forces her to check out a haunting at an airport for him in order to clear her debt. Little does Chess know that Bump’s job for her will collide with some other dark happenings that involve the Church.

The concept behind this world is intriguing. It is an urban fantasy with a post-apocalyptic feel to it. Two thirds of the population was murdered by ghosts during Haunted Week. Now the rest of society ekes out what living it can while supporting the Church of Real Truth. The Church of Real Truth keeps ghosts trapped in the City of Eternal Life and grants large rewards to anyone who has a haunting (since it means the Church failed in its duty to contain ghosts).

Pretty interesting world but also very dark. It follows that the characters are incredibly dark as well. The story also has a number of parts that make you think “Yuck!” Kane doesn’t pull her punches on gory descriptions.

Chess is an interesting character. She is a drug addict so a big portion of her life is driven by her need to feed her habit. This gets her into some trouble and sucks her money. Interestingly enough though she functions okay for her job and manages to hide her addiction from her co-workers. What also makes her interesting is her dedication to do what needs to be done. At one point she has to choose between a day of oblivion sucking on the pipes and hunting down some info; she chooses to do her job despite her yearnings. She also occasionally uses drugs to aid her in her work; speed to keep her awake during a curse that makes her want to sleep...stuff like that. So she functions remarkably well considering.

Chess has a very dark background; she bounced through foster homes, many of which she suffered numerous kinds of abuse as a child at. This is occasionally discussed but never in great detail. I just wanted to mention it because it is one more level of darkness added to the story.

The characters surrounding Chess are just as flawed and just as hard to like; but they still have a lot of depth and are well done. Even though these characters are all hard to like, that doesn’t mean they don’t engage the reader well. Of the surrounding characters my favorite was Terrible; he is basically the hitman for Bump and gets assigned to protect Chess on her investigation. Terrible is a wonderful mix of contradictions; he is loyal yet vicious, he is quick to injure and kill yet gentle with Chess. Really he is just a wonderfully interesting character.

The mystery in the book is very well done and the plot never slows down. There are many seemingly separate story arcs that tie in well together. There were a couple times in the story where Chess made logical mental jumps that didn’t make sense to me as the reader; I suppose you could blame the drugs but hopefully in future books the reasoning will be better done.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book. I didn’t like the characters a ton, but they were interesting. I loved the idea behind the world, the mystery, and the magic. I am curious to learn more about this world. Just a warning that this is a pretty dark and gritty urban fantasy; so if you don’t like gross, gory or gritty I wouldn’t recommend reading this book. Recommended to fans of dark and gritty urban fantasy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Dystopia Reading Challenge
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge