Downside Ghosts
Series, Book 4
Del
Ray/Ballantine Books
March
27th, 2012
978-0-345-52750-9
Urban
Fantasy
Mass
Market Paperback
Reviewed
by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained
by Publisher
For
Chess Putman, living a life and falling in love have never been easy for her.
She has a drug habit and is also a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth.
Needless to say, Chess hasn’t had an easy time of it. When a crime boss orders
her to use her witch powers to solve a grisly murder, Chess knows she has no
choice but to do it. Added on top of the pressure on her is her boyfriend just
doesn’t trust her anymore and there is a rival for her heart in the son of a
rival crime boss. Chess is torn in so many ways she can’t see the forest from
the trees. But when she is drawn in the world of shadows, secrets and more,
Chess realizes that in order to survive what is coming, she must make the
ultimate sacrifice.
I
have had trouble in the past trying to really like Chess as a character. From
the moment I picked up the first book in the series (Unholy Ghosts), it has
been a struggle to sympathize with her and enjoy the story. But in SACRIFICAL MAGIC, Chess finds herself
drawn into a world of shadows, secrets and must make an ultimate sacrifice in
order to come out of it alive. In this installment, the reader is thrust into a
world of black magic, rival gangs and murder. I really thought Chess was going
to grow more as a character, maybe redeem herself in my eyes by making some not
so bad choices but we get the same old thing in this latest addition in the
Downside Ghosts series. I am not too thrilled with a pill-popping witch with
major issues and it was really hard for me to identify with her as a character.
The author tries her best to give the readers something to enjoy but misses the
mark a little with very little character growth in Chess and the romance
triangle between Terrible, Chess and Lex, well let’s just say it made me want
to just toss the book down and walk away. The writing is okay with some
emotional scenes between Chess and Terrible that were really gripping but it
gets lost in the same old thing time and again.
SACRIFICAL MAGIC is one of those
books that you can either take it or leave it. If you enjoyed the first three
books then you will enjoy this one as well. But if you are like me and wonder
what happened to redeemable characters well let’s just say this isn’t the book
to read. If you enjoy a gritty urban fantasy you might enjoy this series. I
just wish I did as well. I just wish the author would give Chess some growth so
she isn’t making the same stupid mistakes book after book after book. It gets
old really quick and I find myself bored with the characters. Here is hoping
the next book is a bit better.
This is an objective review
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