Jill Kismet is a dealer in dark things and demon slayer, and it’s her job to patrol the nightside.In the cold pre-dawn, Jill is called in to assess...
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reviews
Apr 15, 2009
Kati
rated it: 
The first book in Saintcrow's "Jill Kismet" series. I liked it well enough to try out book two, but I did have some major issues with Jill - I like my heroines strong and capable, not bitchy and condescending. And her "woe is me" attitude to her pact with Perry - well, nobody forced her to sell her soul to a demon in exchange for super powers. Tough, girl, live with it. Also, her moaning about Mikhail's death on every single page got old pretty fast too. "Mikhail, oh, Mi
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Aug 08, 2010
Kate (Nomalicious Reads)
rated it: 
I love Lilith's Strange Angels series, and saw this and decided to give it a go, so i start reading and my first thoughts after the prologue is W..T..F?
It feels as if I'm reading a second or third book in a series when the author is sure that her/his readers know the concept of their world and doesn't need to explain everything...
THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK... NOT THE SECOND OR THIRD!!!
Then I went to read some reviews and found out that to understand it better you More...
It feels as if I'm reading a second or third book in a series when the author is sure that her/his readers know the concept of their world and doesn't need to explain everything...
THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK... NOT THE SECOND OR THIRD!!!
Then I went to read some reviews and found out that to understand it better you More...
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Jun 21, 2008
Joshua
rated it: 
Jill Kismet is a hunter. She belongs to a small group of humans that have trained in the art of killing and hunt the things that go bump in the night. Sound familiar? Yeah, it should, since it's the plot of countless other urban fantasy novels!! Still, I have to hand it to Mrs. Saintcrow for trying to inject some new facets into this tired genre. Like her heroine sold her body to a demon which gives her supernatural powers. That's new right? No... yeah you're right.
What made this one More...
What made this one More...
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Nov 27, 2008
Felicia
rated it: 
I read this BEFORE the Dante Valentine series, and I think it would have helped a lot to read the other series first, understand the world better. I still enjoyed it. On book 2 now.
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Nov 22, 2011
Leah
rated it:
Jill Kismet is a Hunter trained to fight hellbreed. Her mentor and lover recently died leaving her to fight the monsters alone. As a former prostitute, Jill knows the city well and has the survival instincts of a veteran. She also has a demon mark which gives her more power but not without paying a nasty price to the city’s head hellbreed. When the worst murders she has ever seen happen to 5 cops, Jill is called in to team up with a couple of FBI weres and a were tracker. At the scene, Jill scen
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Feb 13, 2011
Kat
rated it:
Basic plot: demon-hunter-badass chick kills demons. 'Nuff said.
General impression: not particularly original, but not uninteresting. Our hero here is a hunter- apparently part of some loose affiliation with the church and the police. I say apparently because the book lacks exposition. There is never an actual job description for her, or of what she went through to become a hunter. There are snippets, but I kept feeling as if I'd missed something important. Like a whole book givin More...
General impression: not particularly original, but not uninteresting. Our hero here is a hunter- apparently part of some loose affiliation with the church and the police. I say apparently because the book lacks exposition. There is never an actual job description for her, or of what she went through to become a hunter. There are snippets, but I kept feeling as if I'd missed something important. Like a whole book givin More...
Feb 03, 2011
Andrea
rated it:
Darker than that Dante Valentine series (huh. go figure) and great.
I just realized that this series is classified as Fantasy/Horror by Orbit but stocked in the fantasy section of the bookstore. I giggled for quite a while, since Hamilton's Anita Blake series is still stocked next in Horror. Ha. As if.
Jill is a complex, dark character. Big warnings. She's not a happy, cheerful type, but she does what she must. I feel for her. The mystery is tight, the characters are compellin More...
I just realized that this series is classified as Fantasy/Horror by Orbit but stocked in the fantasy section of the bookstore. I giggled for quite a while, since Hamilton's Anita Blake series is still stocked next in Horror. Ha. As if.
Jill is a complex, dark character. Big warnings. She's not a happy, cheerful type, but she does what she must. I feel for her. The mystery is tight, the characters are compellin More...
Jan 26, 2011
Kt from A Book Obsession..
rated it:
Jill Kismet, a kick-ass but seriously flawed heroine, is the resident Hunter for Santa Luz. It is her job to hunt down hellbreed and traders who prey on the innocent people in her city. In order to be strong enough she made deal with the city's top hellbreed. This deal made her not quite human, but stronger and faster, necessary skills to stop the things that go bump in the night. Things get a little hairy when four cops are savaged to death by what appears to be a rogue Were. She knows this is
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Jan 11, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
Night Shift is Urban Fantasy gone hardcore. Protagonist Jill Kismet runs and guns her way through so many of Hell’s denizens you wonder why the Hellbreed ever stick their heads above the ground at all.
Jill is a hunter, a human trained to lay the smackdown whenever the supernatural starts messing with the normal world. She’s also chock full of demonic power thanks to a pact she made with a demon called Perry.
The entire book could have gone wrong at that point as a super st More...
Jill is a hunter, a human trained to lay the smackdown whenever the supernatural starts messing with the normal world. She’s also chock full of demonic power thanks to a pact she made with a demon called Perry.
The entire book could have gone wrong at that point as a super st More...
Apr 29, 2010
Brenda
rated it:
I loved Night Shift. It's a gritty, dark urban fantasy with demons, weres, and things that go crash in the night. The humor in the book alternates between black humor and dry wit, at least that is how I read it. It reminds me of the humor nurses and doctors that work in an emergency room develop. They do it because if they don't, the things they see overwhelm them, and they burn out. My husband has this sense of humor, so I know it well. The dry wit comes mostly from Saul, the were that sort of
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Feb 26, 2010
Morgan
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 16, 2010
Alison
rated it:
Night Shift is the first in a new urban fantasy series from Lilith Saintcrow and was my first introduction to her as an adult writer. All I can say is, the sun doesn’t just rise in her worlds - it explodes in a rainbow of blinding light.
Jill Kismet is our heroine and in true urban fantasy style is hard, gritty and very very kick arse, but of course we get to see her cry (behind stylish sunglasses, like all tough chicks do). She’s likeable, and fans of Kim Harrison and Karen Chance hero More...
Jill Kismet is our heroine and in true urban fantasy style is hard, gritty and very very kick arse, but of course we get to see her cry (behind stylish sunglasses, like all tough chicks do). She’s likeable, and fans of Kim Harrison and Karen Chance hero More...
Dec 27, 2009
Grace
rated it:
This is one of those books that makes you stare unblinkingly, jaw slightly open, when you reach the end, and then quickly go back and read it again.
It is, of course, all a matter of perspective. But that's how it worked for me, anyway.
This book was pretty realistic - something that, I know (trust me, I do, I have a headache from trying to find a better word then 'realistic' but it's not coming), sounds totally insane when you read the description and think about it too ha More...
It is, of course, all a matter of perspective. But that's how it worked for me, anyway.
This book was pretty realistic - something that, I know (trust me, I do, I have a headache from trying to find a better word then 'realistic' but it's not coming), sounds totally insane when you read the description and think about it too ha More...
Dec 08, 2009
Jaci
rated it:
Holy crap, is this book amazing. Lilith Saintcrow took the urban fantasy genre and created the most badass heroine since the early Anita Blake books. Jill Kismet is a lone demon slayer in a desert city, mourning the death of the teacher that pulled her from the gutter and made her the woman she is today. Jill struggles with a terrible burden, one that isn't revealed until the last few chapters, and rightly so. She struggles to solve a string of bloody, violent murders while trying to learn that
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Oct 28, 2009
Darcy
rated it:
While this book started out slow for me, it really picked up quickly. I liked learning more about Jill's background and what turned her into a hunter in the first place. For someone who had such a crappy start I was impressed with how she was able to change and do something with her life.
I am not sure how I feel about the relationship between Jill and Mikhal. I think it was great that he "saved" her, but wonder at how things progressed between them and I think that he pu More...
I am not sure how I feel about the relationship between Jill and Mikhal. I think it was great that he "saved" her, but wonder at how things progressed between them and I think that he pu More...
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Feb 07, 2009
Rhianna
rated it:
Take the basics of Anita Blake circa books 4-10, sprinkle in a tiny dash of early Rachel Morgan (The Hollows), a pinch of Joanna Archer (Signs of the Zodiac) and bake it in an Underworld crust and you'd get Jill Kismet.
Marked by a Hellbreed, Jill Kismet has something the other Hunters don't: an edge. The only trouble is that being tied to Perry through his mark also means she owes him. Once a month she gets to spend some quality time with the sort of bad guys she goes out to kill ev More...
Marked by a Hellbreed, Jill Kismet has something the other Hunters don't: an edge. The only trouble is that being tied to Perry through his mark also means she owes him. Once a month she gets to spend some quality time with the sort of bad guys she goes out to kill ev More...
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Feb 18, 2011
Renee
rated it:
GREAT read!
I had a very passionate relationship with Saintcrow's Danny Valentine series (read: I loved it, I was furious with it, I loved it again, I was furious with it again, etc.) and had put off reading the Jill Kismet series because I was afraid it would encroach on Valentine territory. Strong, damaged heroine? Check. Dealing with demons? Check. Dark and gritty? Check.
As it turns out? Not the case at all. Yes, there are some similarities, even beyond the broadbrush ones More...
I had a very passionate relationship with Saintcrow's Danny Valentine series (read: I loved it, I was furious with it, I loved it again, I was furious with it again, etc.) and had put off reading the Jill Kismet series because I was afraid it would encroach on Valentine territory. Strong, damaged heroine? Check. Dealing with demons? Check. Dark and gritty? Check.
As it turns out? Not the case at all. Yes, there are some similarities, even beyond the broadbrush ones More...
Jan 28, 2011
~Jessica~I'm a Hoodie Ninja~
rated it:
ok...
I did not feel like I was reading the first book to this series. I felt like I was reading the second book of this series. Things that needed to be explained were not explained in depth. and the things that were explained...well who cared? Every other paragraph was about her charms tinkling in her hair and her scar burning.
I didn't even know who her teacher was until I was pages into it. She just kept referencing to Mickael or however you spell it and I had no idea who More...
I did not feel like I was reading the first book to this series. I felt like I was reading the second book of this series. Things that needed to be explained were not explained in depth. and the things that were explained...well who cared? Every other paragraph was about her charms tinkling in her hair and her scar burning.
I didn't even know who her teacher was until I was pages into it. She just kept referencing to Mickael or however you spell it and I had no idea who More...
Oct 02, 2011
Sara
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 28, 2012
Traci
rated it:
A solid three. This is the sort of book I like to read on a quiet weekend when I have nothing else to read, or I can't make up my mind.
Completely predictable. If you've read any urban fantasy with a female lead you'll recognize everything here. Badass warrior chick. Check. Sexy bad boy vampire who owns a night club. Check. Good guy were (here a cat were) who represents warmth, home, and humanity. Check. Cops without a clue. Check. A nice implausible love story. Check.
If you l More...
Completely predictable. If you've read any urban fantasy with a female lead you'll recognize everything here. Badass warrior chick. Check. Sexy bad boy vampire who owns a night club. Check. Good guy were (here a cat were) who represents warmth, home, and humanity. Check. Cops without a clue. Check. A nice implausible love story. Check.
If you l More...
Sep 06, 2011
Kristin
rated it:
3.5 stars.
Jill Kismet is a hunter of all things evil, on the trail of a hellbreed and something she can’t quite place that’s tearing up the cops and other citizens of Santa Luz. Pulled into the investigation are her friends, a Were couple working for the FBI’s Martindale Squad, a group of hunters and Weres who work nightside cases. Along for the ride with them is a tracker who’s also a Were, Saul Dustcircle, who has a big stake in finding the killer since his sister was murdered whil More...
Jill Kismet is a hunter of all things evil, on the trail of a hellbreed and something she can’t quite place that’s tearing up the cops and other citizens of Santa Luz. Pulled into the investigation are her friends, a Were couple working for the FBI’s Martindale Squad, a group of hunters and Weres who work nightside cases. Along for the ride with them is a tracker who’s also a Were, Saul Dustcircle, who has a big stake in finding the killer since his sister was murdered whil More...
Dec 06, 2010
Jessica(Spinecracker)
rated it:
Originally Posted at http://thespinecracker.blogspot.com/
3.5 stars
The book starts right off with our heroine strapped in a chair trembling in fear, being terrorized by one of hell's spawn. Jill Kismet leaves with a mark capable of lending her demon strength but that comes with a very big price. She's now forever attached to Pericles, one of the scariest demons Jill has ever come across; and she should know. See Jill is a hunter. She was trained by her mentor Mikhail to fight ag More...
3.5 stars
The book starts right off with our heroine strapped in a chair trembling in fear, being terrorized by one of hell's spawn. Jill Kismet leaves with a mark capable of lending her demon strength but that comes with a very big price. She's now forever attached to Pericles, one of the scariest demons Jill has ever come across; and she should know. See Jill is a hunter. She was trained by her mentor Mikhail to fight ag More...
Jan 25, 2010
Nichole (Dirty H)
rated it:
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book quite a bit but it took me forever to read for some reason. I'm hoping it suffered a little from "1st in a series" syndrome and the rest will pick up a little bit.
Jill is a Hunter - she keeps her city safe from demons, aka hellbreed. But in order to be the best Hunter she can be, she has made a deal with the numero uno demon in town. He lends her extra strength, power and uber fast healing ability in exchange for a couple hours a mon More...
I enjoyed this book quite a bit but it took me forever to read for some reason. I'm hoping it suffered a little from "1st in a series" syndrome and the rest will pick up a little bit.
Jill is a Hunter - she keeps her city safe from demons, aka hellbreed. But in order to be the best Hunter she can be, she has made a deal with the numero uno demon in town. He lends her extra strength, power and uber fast healing ability in exchange for a couple hours a mon More...
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Jan 19, 2010
Mary
rated it:
I read this out of order, having started with #3. I kind of liked it, but it bothers me because the main character --Jill Kismet, aka Kiss, aka kitten--uses f**k in nearly every sentence spoken aloud, and in most of her unspoken thoughts. I get that she was a street child/teenaged prostitute before she became a hunter, but sheesh!
I have always felt that f**k is a word that shows an absence of creative thought, and I know, I know, it displays her rough background, but it would be More...
I have always felt that f**k is a word that shows an absence of creative thought, and I know, I know, it displays her rough background, but it would be More...
Dec 30, 2008
Jess
rated it:
This was an interesting story. Jill Kismet is a hunter, which is bascially a exorcist/demon killer/protector of innocent/sorceress. She has traded with a hell breed (demon) for some extra powers, and once a month she has to go to him for an hour, and beat him up. (Not sure why he wants that, I think he wants Jill to become evil or something). Anyway, there is a hellbreed that is on the loose and killed 5 cops. Tore them to pieces and left those pieces on a major highway. Jill has been called in
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Jun 14, 2011
Cyp
rated it:
Hmm, im going to keep this review short cause im gonna start the sequel of this book soon, and i want to try and keep the feelings fresh when i continue.
I think Saintcrow has this habit in all the books that she writes(mainly referring to the Strange Angels series), which is she focuses too much on internal commentating on the protagonist's part,which in this case is Jill Kismet's. I mean it's good to know what she thinks and that she has a sarcastic sense of humor(which is good), More...
I think Saintcrow has this habit in all the books that she writes(mainly referring to the Strange Angels series), which is she focuses too much on internal commentating on the protagonist's part,which in this case is Jill Kismet's. I mean it's good to know what she thinks and that she has a sarcastic sense of humor(which is good), More...
Jun 30, 2009
Alice
rated it:
This was my second attempt to read this book- it went a lot better than the first! I am a huge fan of her Dante Valentine series and was wary of getting into something new.
That being said I think Jill Kismet, while sharing traits with Danny, is a great character. She's had a really hard life and feels that she's lost that last piece of innocence. By the end of the book, though, she's found some measure of peace. Or at least the potential for peace.
I must say, however, tha More...
That being said I think Jill Kismet, while sharing traits with Danny, is a great character. She's had a really hard life and feels that she's lost that last piece of innocence. By the end of the book, though, she's found some measure of peace. Or at least the potential for peace.
I must say, however, tha More...
Jan 27, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
If not for the pesky middle part, I'd have rated Night Shift at least a three, possibly 3.5 star read. The first third of the book showed potential, and the final couple of chapters were OK, but the bulk of the story was only mildly entertaining.
Jill Kismet isn't a character who I want to know more about, based on what I know now. There was nothing extraordinarily endearing about her flawed character. The constant use of italicized inner monologues - "I want to say 'this', but I More...
Jill Kismet isn't a character who I want to know more about, based on what I know now. There was nothing extraordinarily endearing about her flawed character. The constant use of italicized inner monologues - "I want to say 'this', but I More...
Aug 12, 2011
Jenn
rated it:
I couldn't take it anymore. I really couldn't.
Between the heroine whining about voluntarily making a deal with a demon to give her more speed/strength/powers to do her job and whining about her deceased lover/boss, I couldn't take it anymore.
It would be one thing if the deal with the demon had been against her will but she knew going into it so stop apologizing/whining/pouting about a decision SHE made.
It felt like she was whining about something on every page, even when the hero (who I don't More...
Between the heroine whining about voluntarily making a deal with a demon to give her more speed/strength/powers to do her job and whining about her deceased lover/boss, I couldn't take it anymore.
It would be one thing if the deal with the demon had been against her will but she knew going into it so stop apologizing/whining/pouting about a decision SHE made.
It felt like she was whining about something on every page, even when the hero (who I don't More...
May 26, 2009
Gabe
rated it:
So I had some problems with this book. That being said they didn't stop me from finishing it and starting book 2. Jill was just too whiny about her situations. Boo-hoo! my teacher is dead and I made a deal with a bad guy. At the same time I didn't like the fact that the normal cops were made out to be a big bunch of babies that haven't seen just how depraved normal humans can be without supposed demonic interference.
Now what I did like about the book where the Were's. I got More...
Now what I did like about the book where the Were's. I got More...
