My Life With Books: Early Review - Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson

Royal Street By Suzanne Johnson

From Tor/Forge publishing

April 10, 212

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.

My Thoughts:

Be warned; start reading Royal Street when you know you can spend the entire day reading it. You will be enthralled by Suzanne Johnson’s debut novel and won’t be able to stop reading until the last page.

Suzanne Johnson’s rich imagery enveloped me into the historical New Orleans landscape both pre and post Hurricane Katrina. Throughout Royal Street she introduces us to an impulsive and attractive undead pirate as well as an assortment of other preternatural beings and mythological creatures. Most importantly, there is magic.

DJ is not a traditional kick butt heroine. She can take the hits that seem to come at her in all directions without complaint and never request a rescue. DJ fights in ways only she knows how - with magic -which she wields cunningly and proficiently. Having been trained by the sentinel Gerald St. Simon, DJ follows strict rules of magic set forth by the elders. She has a strong desire to do what is right and when Gerry disappears, she discovers that doing what is right is sometimes wrong and not always easy.

Her new unwanted weapon wielding partner Alex, seems to wear on her like sandpaper underpants. Together with witty retort, they resourcefully try to solve the disappearance of Gerry and the serial killings that the already devastated town of New Orleans is enduring. Alex and DJ’s chemistry is spirited; together they make a great duo of preternatural crime fighters.

I never knew what to expect and where the twist and turns of this thrilling roller coaster read would lead me. I found myself laughing out loud; white knuckle gripping my kindle and enduring the edge of my seat intensity that only a seasoned writer can give me.

Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson is the best book I’ve read this year.

Would I buy this book? Yes, Royal Street is worthy of my top shelf, reserved only for the elite books I love to re read. One of my favorite aspects of Royal Street is that there are no drugs, sex and minimal (if any) swearing; all while captivating me with literary magic.

Who would I recommend Royal Street to? Lovers of Rachel Caine and Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series would enjoy it. Royal Street would make a great introductory book to the world of the paranormal and urban fantasy genre.

Any negatives about Royal Street? The only negative thing I felt while reading it was that it was over too quick. I wanted more. I hope that Tor/Forge has lined up The Sentinels of New Orleans as a long series. All of the characters are strong and begging for more to be written about them. I have grown to love them, crazy pirates and all.

I give Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson 5 skullies which means- pre order this title now. You can order Royal Street on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or your favorite Indie Bookstore. Learn more about Suzanne Johnson on her author webpage, blog, Facebook and Twitter.