Right Hand Magic (Golgotham, #1)

Aug 19, 2011 Blodeuedd Finland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

review posted at Alternative read.com

More like a 3,75

It was just something about the style of this book that made me fall for it. It is urban fantasy, but different than the rest because the heroine is not kick-ass. Instead the whole tone feels real as she explores a world she has not entered before.

Tate as she calls herself is an artist, who welds things together and her blue blood family is not too happy about it. But she loves art and to find a new place to live she heads to Golgatham. She is...more

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Dec 21, 2010 Catherine rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-vixen-reviews, first-reads-arcs-won-a-copy, boring, contemporary, dnf, fantasy-paranormal-sci-fi, magic-mystical-ability, read-2010, series, sucked, were-shifter

Once again I have encountered a book that I just cannot work up the energy to finish. I was going to struggle through it, but after thinking about it I just couldn’t make myself. I can (usually) overlook thin characters and crappy worldbuilding by focusing on the good features of the book, but I just cannot overlook a writing style that I find, frankly, horrible. There’s no looking past that. It’s everywhere.

I made it to page 100 before giving up. By page 15 I was already doing a status update (...more Once again I have encountered a book that I just cannot work up the energy to finish. I was going to struggle through it, but after thinking about it I just couldn’t make myself. I can (usually) overlook thin characters and crappy worldbuilding by focusing on the good features of the book, but I just cannot overlook a writing style that I find, frankly, horrible. There’s no looking past that. It’s everywhere.

I made it to page 100 before giving up. By page 15 I was already doing a status update (on Goodreads) complaining about the rushed feel of the pacing and the way the writing felt like it was skimming the surface of everything without any real depth. By page 36 I was cringing over the awkward, forced feeling of the dialogue. Things still seemed skimmed over on the whole, but the author also over explained things that really should have been cut.

Pg. 1 - 2

The flyer on the bulletin board at Strega Nona's Pizza Oven read "Room for Rent: $750 per Month." At the bottom of the page was a line of tear-away slips bearing a handwritten phone number, several of which were already taken.

I happened to be at Strega Nona's that particular day because I was looking at a loft in Tribeca. Since I was nearby, I decided to grab a slice. Located at Broadway and Perdition, on the border of Golgotham, it's one of the best pizza joints in the city.

Sounds too good to be true, I thought to myself as I tore off the next tab in line.

Housing at that price, just for a single room in a larger apartment, was hard to come by. I knew this because I'd been hunting for a new place for several weeks, without any luck. Even though I had a tidy quarterly income, courtesy of robber baron ancestors, I still had to watch my budget. The materials used in my work were far from cheap, and the last thing I wanted was to have to go to my parents, hat in hand, halfway through a project and beg for an advance on my next trust fund payment.

The reason behind my need to relocate was that the management of my so-called artist's loft in SoHo, where I both worked and lived, had recently informed me that the amount of noise I generated creating my metal sculptures was in violation of their most recent tenancy rules and that I was to cease immediately or face the termination of my lease. Apparently, the investment bankers and junior-level stockbrokers who lived on my floor didn't appreciate the sound of twenty-gauge steel being hammered into twenty-first-century art.

I decided it was far easier to move in toto than to either argue the point with the condo board or find separate studio space elsewhere in the city. As it was, there were some unpleasant memories associated with my current digs, all of them involving a certain ex-boyfriend, that made relocating attractive to me.

I checked the time on my cell phone as I shoveled a slice of pepperoni-and-andouille-sausage into my mouth. I had a meeting at three with Derrick Templeton, a Chelsea gallery owner interested in showing my sculptures. Since there were no subway stops in Golgotham, I had to walk either to Chambers or Wall Street if I wanted to catch a train uptown.

After all, time and gallery owners wait for no woman.

I thought that this must have been a first book for the author so I looked at her booklist on Goodreads to check—because I’m inclined to be a bit more understanding to first time authors--but it’s actually not. That really makes me feel that appreciating the author’s style must just be a matter of taste. Obviously there’s a market for it out there. I’m just not part of it.

By page 100 nothing had really happened. Tate had moved into Golgotham and hung out constantly with her new landlord, Hexe. She marvels at his colorful hair and his sixth finger for each hand. She makes a lot of “nump” (equivalent to a Muggle) comments that have her blushing and apologizing constantly, but that’s about it. I was still waiting to stumble upon a plot.

Also, who rents a room and then spends every waking hour with the landlord that they just met? And what landlord lets them? It just seemed really bizarre. I eventually checked to make sure I hadn’t accidentally chosen a YA book. It wasn’t, but the characters really felt young. Especially Tate.

One other thing I need to point out—dialog tags are really, really irritating when they are used constantly. Everything was said ‘sheepishly’ or ‘heatedly.’ It was quite annoying. Also, the author had Tate do huge info dumps in her dialogue. See the quote below. The initial question is posed by Hexe, but the next couple paragraphs of dialogue are all Tate. Until the next question, of course.

Pg. 42 - 43

"What made you decide to become an artist?"

We were walking back to the house when he asked me that. I paused in midstep, forcing Hexe to turn and look back at me as I spoke.

"I've always had a creative bent, even as a toddler. At least that's what my nanny claimed. The first time I realized I wanted to be an artist was in middle school. My school took a day trip to the Guggenheim. I was fascinated by the exhibits--enough that I went back on my own every weekend for nearly three months. When we studied sculpting in art class, I tried to re-create this statue I'd seen there called The Dying Gaul, in modeling clay, no less. It was awful, of course, but there was something about creating something from nothing, using only my hands and will, which was very--gratifying. After that, I was hooked.

"As you may have guess, I grew up rich. Filthy, stinking rich. All that was expected of me was to grow up, marry someone else who grew up filthy, stinking rich and have a couple of filthy, stinking rich kids to inherit the family fortune. I knew so many brats with Roman numerals behind their names who had no reason or desire to make anything of themselves besides what they were the minute they were born, it was disgusting. The last thing I want to do is add to that 'tradition.'

"The trouble with that lifestyle is this: Hanging around doing nothing while waiting for an inheritance is boring. So many of my old schoolmates got fucked up on drugs and alcohol, mainly out of boredom. I swear, half of the girls in my graduating class in high school developed eating disorders simply to have something to do! The sick thing is, my mother wouldn't have any problems with my being anorexic--after all, that's expected from someone of my background."

"I take it your parents don't approve of your career choice?"

"They like to call it a 'phase.' I'm going through, like I'm the moon. I guess they think I'll eventually grow out of it--kind of like baby teeth. They keep saying they don't want to see me get my hopes up and end up hurt, which is another way of saying they're expecting me to fail--at least, that's what they're hoping for."

So, read over the quoted pieces. If they didn’t bother you then chances are this book might be more to your taste.

Review originally posted at Fiction Vixen.(less)

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Jan 07, 2011 Monica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I really enjoyed this book. It had a fresh new taste to it, for an urban fantasy. Also, the girl on the cover is modestly dressed for the genre's covers. I think the world is something new and the characters are well written and people (and beings) that I would be happy to know and be friends with, well most of them.

I like the oddities of the characters in this story. They each have their own thing and it makes them more real to the reader's eyes. I enjoyed traveling through NYC and Golgotham....more

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Apr 30, 2013 Emma rated it 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars.
This book felt heavily influenced by Harry Potter, but where the sense of ridiculousness worked in the latter (specifically the earlier books), it worked less so in this. Much of this is because in the early Harry Potter books, where both Harry is learning about the magical world around him, he's experiencing it from the perspective of an 11 year old, so chocolate frogs and fart flavoured jelly beans are fun and charming. Not so much when the main character is supposed to be jaded mid-...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Tate is an artist who works in metal and is still trying to make it big. When she's asked to leave the condo she currently lives in because of the "noise" she makes while creating her art, she calls a number she finds advertising a room for rent. She goes to the house to see the room and finds out it's in Golgotham, where humans are outnumbered and the world works differently. Tate finds herself wanting to know more about the world of her landlord, Hexe, but she just might be in over her head......more

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Nov 25, 2011 Turtles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-modern

Tate is a metal sculpture artist who is asked to leave her apartment due the noise her welding etc makes. Glad to leave there and her cheating boyfriend she is tempted by cheap rent at an room for rent in Golgotham, the lost borough of NYC where all the mystical races and people live.

Things are going well in her new place, she learns a lot about the people of Golgotham. One night she is chased into the garden by a were-cougar, her landlord (Hexe) decides to save him. Evidently he has been drugge...more

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Nov 02, 2011 Madame X rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy, superior-worldbuilding

I bought RIGHT-HAND MAGIC, started it, decided I didn’t like it, and abandoned it for a few months. It would have stayed in my DNF pile, but I’m currently stuck in a foreign country where it’s cold and rainy outside and my kindle can’t connect to 3G, so I can’t download something I actually want to read. I dredged up RIGHT-HAND MAGIC out of sheer desperation, and, having finished it, I guess the best thing I can say is: given the circumstances, it was better than nothing.

It’s one of those books...more I bought RIGHT-HAND MAGIC, started it, decided I didn’t like it, and abandoned it for a few months. It would have stayed in my DNF pile, but I’m currently stuck in a foreign country where it’s cold and rainy outside and my kindle can’t connect to 3G, so I can’t download something I actually want to read. I dredged up RIGHT-HAND MAGIC out of sheer desperation, and, having finished it, I guess the best thing I can say is: given the circumstances, it was better than nothing.

It’s one of those books – and I’ve read a few lately – where the worldbuilding outshines the characters and the story. Golgotham, a magical neighborhood tucked into Manhattan, is fantastic. It’s got centaurs pulling hansom cabs, crazy food (including candied sea horses!), Irish bars full of leprechauns, its own organized crime syndicate, a whole culture that’s been worked out from the street touts on up to the elite.

And Tate, the protagonist, could have been cool. She’s an heiress estranged from her family, a trust-fund baby trying to make it as an artist. She produces life-size sculptures made from industrial parts that sound, from Collins’ descriptions, seriously awesome. If the writing had been a little better, if Collins had been able to give Tate a stronger voice, she’d have sold me on the book.

On the other hand, the love interest, Hexe, is so perfect that he’s a snooze. He’s a healing hedgewitch, royalty to the supernatural community, super hot, super nice, the kind of guy who never says an unkind word to anyone. As a result, his relationship with Tate is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Nice girl meets nice boy, they get along, eventually they hook up, yawn.

The story is predictable, which doesn’t help. Tate and Hexe rescue Lucas, a were-cougar who’s escaped from an illegal cage-fighting operation. They hide Lucas until he’s captured, at which point Tate and Hexe have to save him.

As some other reviewers have noted, Tate is at a serious disadvantage as a human in a world full of magical beings. She contributes what she can when problems arise, but Hexe and Lucas do all the heavy lifting…which is realistic but unsatisfying. Tate does have one opportunity to shine, at the opening night reception to her gallery show, when the racist gallery owner won’t let Hexe and Lucas into the party. I think that if Tate had managed to work some diplomatic magic at the reception, I wouldn’t care about her helplessness elsewhere…but she doesn’t even try, really.

RIGHT-HAND MAGIC isn’t awful, but I’d say give it a pass. If you’re really curious, find it from a library.
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Aug 01, 2011 Theresa rated it 2 of 5 stars

The Good: The world of Golgotham is great. It's interesting, inventive and has a culture that's entirely believable. It seems very natural to ride in a hansom cab pulled by a centaur or walk into an Irish pub with real leprechauns.

Needs Work: The problem with most paranormal fiction is, in my opinion, the tendency to rely too heavily on the flashier elements of action and magic rather than character and plot development-- and "Right Hand Magic" falls squarely into that category. The city of Gol...more The Good: The world of Golgotham is great. It's interesting, inventive and has a culture that's entirely believable. It seems very natural to ride in a hansom cab pulled by a centaur or walk into an Irish pub with real leprechauns.

Needs Work: The problem with most paranormal fiction is, in my opinion, the tendency to rely too heavily on the flashier elements of action and magic rather than character and plot development-- and "Right Hand Magic" falls squarely into that category. The city of Golgotham is basically a character in an of itself; and the best developed one at that. But everyone else kind of falls flat. Tate is hard to get a handle on because we're told she's the kind of girl who'll punch a guy (in his most sensitive parts) if he crosses her, but when the actual confrontations appear she'll flee the scene as often as she'll fight and verbal confrontations leave her mortified. Toward the end she grows a spine, but it's hard to know what inherently goes with the character.
Hexe-- the love interest-- is so perfect he's blandness personified. Not once do these characters bicker or disagree and Tate is welcomed into his world so seamlessly that there's never a sense of tension. Hexe isn't given any moral ambiguousness despite the fact that Golgotham is a world that doesn't seem to have any objections to "left hand" magic-- or spells that curse rather than cure. We're also told that "right hand" magic is supposed to be much more difficult than "left hand" magic, but Hexe doesn't seem to have any undue difficulties when faced with any problem. Basically, everything fits too neatly into place.

Bottom Line: Like most paranormal fiction there is a definite likability to "Right Hand Magic" and fans of the genre will appreciate the setting and the light romance. But there are too many flaws to take this above a middling effort in my opinion. The characters are uneven and though there is some effort to broach the subject of racism, the dialog runs toward hackneyed monologues and never develops a natural flow. I liked the setting and the inventiveness of the world-building but I doubt I'll be picking up any sequels.(less)

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Jul 29, 2011 Book Binge Blog rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, roc-publishing, for-review

Tate, "Just call me Tate", needs a change of scenery after a bad break up and too many noise complaints from her neighbors. She needs something she can afford on the monthly allowance she gets from her trust fund while still purchasing the expensive supplies for her metal-working. So she braves Golgotham and winds up renting a room from hot landlord Hexe. While she feels instant attraction to him, she's too caught up in learning her way around this odd part of the city and trying to get settled....more Tate, "Just call me Tate", needs a change of scenery after a bad break up and too many noise complaints from her neighbors. She needs something she can afford on the monthly allowance she gets from her trust fund while still purchasing the expensive supplies for her metal-working. So she braves Golgotham and winds up renting a room from hot landlord Hexe. While she feels instant attraction to him, she's too caught up in learning her way around this odd part of the city and trying to get settled. But there's something there—a little spark perhaps.

Collins is an absolute expert at building worlds (one of the reasons I was excited about this book), and the world of Golgotham is no exception. I loved the hansom cabs pulled by centaurs, the Irish pub filled with Leprechauns, and the motorcycle club composed of Amazons and Valkyries. The way the magic was used in this world was fascinating: right hand magic was good, "white" magic, left hand magic was bad, "black" magic, and then there were the "jugglers" who used a little of both.

While the world building was amazing, the plot didn't live up to my expectations. Sure there was an underground animal-shapeshifter fight club; a big, bad mafia boss; and racism on both sides of the Gate that divides New York from Golgotham but it kind of fell flat for me due a combination of little things. For example, the descriptions and action scenes could be a bit repetitive. And the action, which did build to an exciting climax, had several long lulls that could have been spiced up a bit.

The chemistry between Tate and Hexe wasn't very apparent at the beginning, except for her thinking he was cute. But I liked the way it developed. Many times, in paranormals or fantasies, the hero and heroine have an instant attraction or are soul mates (not that I'm complaining; I like those, too!). In RIGHT HAND MAGIC, however, the chemistry evolved a bit more realistically. She liked him, he did sweet things for her and for others, they talked, they revealed secrets, they kissed. It was nice. Plus, this was the first book in a new series so it really was just the beginning of their relationship. I'm thinking the heat index will turn up in the next books.

While this wasn't a homerun for me, I will definitely be picking up the other books in the series to see what happens between Tate and Hexe and to see what happens next in Golgotham.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Mary.(less)

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Jul 25, 2011 Buffi BeCraft-Woodall rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(May contain spoilers)
Cover: Photo style cover with some graphic novel leanings. VERY nice. The sepia old world city backdrop with the urban chick in the front totally rocks. I’m not much for the color yellow in general, but this is VERY appealing. I will admit, the name drew me the most.

First off, I need to mention that this is the first book in this series. I couldn’t find an actual website for the author, Nancy Collins save for one with Harper Collins. She appears to have a MySpace page thou...more (May contain spoilers)
Cover: Photo style cover with some graphic novel leanings. VERY nice. The sepia old world city backdrop with the urban chick in the front totally rocks. I’m not much for the color yellow in general, but this is VERY appealing. I will admit, the name drew me the most.

First off, I need to mention that this is the first book in this series. I couldn’t find an actual website for the author, Nancy Collins save for one with Harper Collins. She appears to have a MySpace page though. Anyway, I found the characters of this book very well thought out. The story is done in first person, which seems to be the going thing now. (shrugs) It’s easier following only one person anyway.

The world in this book is simply AMAZING. (I will admit to never actually going to NY, so all my knowledge is TV and movie based.) I had no problems ‘following’ where the characters went. Golgotham itself is a fantasy marvel. I loved the very well researched and thought-out fantasy species that she populated her world with. Centaur taxi-drivers! Haha! I laughed at the leprechaun pub and had to tell my one friend from Ireland about the scene. I won’t give any spoilers here but I Loved it! Her pubs and markets had history that she developed with a wonderful richness. My inner gamer was panting with excitement.

My love of stories that put our own society in the spotlight through fantasy or sci-fi was enamored from the first chapter. Ms Collins did a wonderful of social parallels whether she meant to or not.
Ms Collins plot is very fluid and I didn’t have to go back to understand what was going on. THANK YOU! Books that make me hunt for a dictionary drive me nuts. So do vague colloquialisms and slang. Hers were all explained AND she has a glossary in the back of the book. THANK YOU again! Her grammar and sentence structure made for a very easy read. (Could not put it down.)

Since this isn’t a mystery, she tells us straight up who the bad and good guys are. Her good guys are endearing and quirky. Her bad guys are evil as all get-out.
Two thumbs up. Overall, I’d say that Nancy Collins has hooked another fan in me.
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Jun 03, 2011 Jana Stocks Brown rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy

I finished Right Hand Magic a couple of weeks ago, and I have to admit I found it charming. It it the best, most dramatic urban fantasy I’ve ever read? Nope. But it was engaging and really fun, and sometimes fun is exactly what I’m in the mood for.

In Right Hand Magic we meet Tate, who is a trust fund baby defying her socialite parents by choosing the path of an artist, in her case an artist who builds sculptures out of metal. When the book begins Tate has recently broken up with her boyfriend an...more I finished Right Hand Magic a couple of weeks ago, and I have to admit I found it charming. It it the best, most dramatic urban fantasy I’ve ever read? Nope. But it was engaging and really fun, and sometimes fun is exactly what I’m in the mood for.

In Right Hand Magic we meet Tate, who is a trust fund baby defying her socialite parents by choosing the path of an artist, in her case an artist who builds sculptures out of metal. When the book begins Tate has recently broken up with her boyfriend and is looking for someplace new to live, particularly if the rent price is right and she finds the right rent in the area of the city known as Golgatham. We’re not given a LOT of background about how magic came into the world, but it’s enough to know that the supernatural exists and that it is untrusted and generally confined within Golgatham. Usually humans aren’t welcome there, but Tate is desperate for change and at $750 a month she figures it’s worth trying something a little weird.

From this beginning Tate meets her witch born landlord, his obnoxious winged cat familiar, a cellar dwelling seer and a new housemate in the form of a were cougar escaped from the underground fighting pits. The plot is fairly predictable, but I didn’t mind going on the journey to see just how it’d be achieved. Tate is a really fun heroine with a spunky attitude, that never crossed over to being mean. She is not a ‘kick ass’ heroine in the traditional UF sense of killing everything that gets in her way. More she’s just confident in herself and works hard to achieve her goals and to take care of the people around her. At one point she’s captured by the protagonist and even though she can’t do much, she does take the opportunity to stomp his foot and kick him in the shins, which is pretty much what I think most people would do.

Likewise the romance is cute and sweet. You can tell it’s coming, but Tate and Hexe are cute together and it’s satisfying. I appreciate Hexe’s characterization and his strength of person as well. In fact the majority of the secondary characters are well done, which really rounds out the world and makes the bits that would be less believable something I’m willing to suspect disbelief for.

The magic system is fun consisting of natural abilities that come with race and then the witches, who practice Right Hand Magic, Left Hand Magic or some combination of the two. Right Hand Magic is gentle magic, usually used for healing and blessing and undoing dark magic, where Left Hand Magic would be the a fore mentioned dark magic. Most witches tend towards Left Hand Magic or the middle ground, but Hexe has chosen a path of only Right Hand Magic, no matter how hard it is to hold that road.

This book read fast and I’m looking forward to the next installment.(less)

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Apr 16, 2011 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've long been a fan of Nancy Collins, ever since I grudgingly picked up a copy of "Sunglasses at Night" with the thought of "Great, another vampire book." That book blew me away, and the subsequent Sonja Blue book kept getting better and better. Now, if "Right Hand Magic" had been the first book by a new author, this would have gotten a much better score, but unfortunately with her history I knew that Collins was capable of so much better than this story (which now comes off as a bit hackneyed...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Ratkin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Okay...more likely a 4.5 rating, but so many other reviewers being moderately vicious makes me happy to give it the extra half a star!

I'll spare you yet another attempt at a plot synopsis; you can already find more than enough of 'em here. The plot itself is neither the best nor the worst part of the book. It takes a decent premise and moves it along at an equally decent pace. The main characters are well-defined, and some members of the supporting cast are excellent. Hexe's snarky familiar, in...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Fiendishly Bookish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: witches, wolves-and-more-wolves, urbanfantasy, urban-gangstas-cabals, supernatural, noirish

4.5 Stars

Nancy Collin’s inventive urban fantasy is amazing wrought as her characters both mundane and magically-inclined, intertwine in the most notorious and guarded suburb of New York, Golgotham. When trust fund baby and industrial artist Tate Eresby ventures to find an apartment in the largely magically populated Golgotham, she has no idea that she will embark on an adventure that will change her entire world, put her at death’s door, and perhaps find her true calling. And maybe….just maybe…l...more 4.5 Stars

Nancy Collin’s inventive urban fantasy is amazing wrought as her characters both mundane and magically-inclined, intertwine in the most notorious and guarded suburb of New York, Golgotham. When trust fund baby and industrial artist Tate Eresby ventures to find an apartment in the largely magically populated Golgotham, she has no idea that she will embark on an adventure that will change her entire world, put her at death’s door, and perhaps find her true calling. And maybe….just maybe…love.

Collin’s Golgotham is rich, fetid, humming with environment, and my only comparison on the level of atmosphere is Downside, my favorite series by Stacia Kane. Collin’s imagery invokes similar edgy themes, a press of races diverging on a portion of a city rife with crime, magic both benign and malicious, where you can get fried gator-on-a-stick as well as essentials to replenish your magical arsenal. Flavor reigns heavily in The Right Hand of Magic, and of course, the simmering attraction between its two leads: Tate and Hexe.

When Tate moves into Hexe’s family mansion (aka the Boardinghouse), she’s overjoyed by the space she’s rented, a place where she can create her art in peace. But peace is in short supply. With Scratch, Hexe’s familiar that shapeshifts into a diminutive hairless cat with wings, a shadowy oracle bunkered down in the basement, and an Uncle who despises humans…Hexe and Tate have a lot of nonsense to deal with in the beginning-least of all his being a Kymeran prince who only uses right-hand magic to heal and heir to the realm, and her rather annoying human status.

Life in the otherworldly borough hits critical mass when they rescue Lukas a were-couger, whose plucky escape from the fighting pits of the Malandanti overlord Boss Marz forces them to engage the magical cabal head on as he tries to retrieve his property. Despite Tate’s lack of magical ability, Collin’s manages still to pull off a coup de grace full of action by allowing Tate’s creations to be imbued by Hexe’s magic with the foreshadowing of a cryptic prophecy, half of which is yet to be fulfilled. Now that has whetted my appetite for the sequel.
I was in a perpetual state of amazement reading The Right Hand of Magic, it was engrossing, fueled by Collins’ storytelling verve, pitch perfect, and with all the elements that urban fantasy buffs hunger for. Loved it!

A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat)
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Jan 26, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Right Hand Magic is the first book in the Golgotham series by Nancy A Collins and a ROC Fantasy.

Book Blurb:

Meet the new girl on the paranormal block...

Like most Manhattanites, aspiring artist Tate can’t resist a good rental deal - even if it’s in the city’s strangest neighborhood, Golgotham. For centuries werewolves, Valkyries, centaurs, and countless other creatures have crowded these streets, where no cab will venture.

Golgotham’s most prominent citizens, though, are the Kymerans, a race of wi...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Kris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Tate, a young New York artist, needs a new apartment right away. She makes metal sculptures out of car parts and other odds and ends, and it seems her landlord isn't too happy with the noise level. Tate discovers an available room at a reasonable price and jumps at the chance, even though the building is in Golgotham, New York's magical neighborhood. For centuries werewolves, Valkyries, centaurs, and countless other creatures have crowded these streets, where no cab will venture. Golgotham's mos...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Gail rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. We have a love story between two beautiful young overprivileged folks who are slumming it and playing at trying to make a living on their own instead of living on their parents' wealth and fame. Not that I'm sure one could even classify living off trust fund payments while making sculpture to be an honest attempt at earning a living. Honestly, neither one of them have any real problems. Their lives are pretty easy compared to most everyone else on the planet, and even when the conflict finally a...more We have a love story between two beautiful young overprivileged folks who are slumming it and playing at trying to make a living on their own instead of living on their parents' wealth and fame. Not that I'm sure one could even classify living off trust fund payments while making sculpture to be an honest attempt at earning a living. Honestly, neither one of them have any real problems. Their lives are pretty easy compared to most everyone else on the planet, and even when the conflict finally arrives right at the end, they aren't the ones in any real trouble, they are just trying to save an acquaintance, who does have real trouble.

Tate's father is one of the wealthiest men in the country, and she has a comfortable income from her trust fund. She lives in Manhattan and likes making metal sculptures, but her neighbors don't like the noise of her metalwork, so she decides to find a new place. She sees an ad for a room for rent in Golgotham, the neighborhood where all the magical folks live, and decides to go look at it. The landlord, Hexe, is a Kymeran, a sort of elf-like creature who is exotic in ways that human women find extremely attractive. He works as a right-hand sorcerer, practicing white magic and unravelling curses placed by those who do left-hand magic. The house belongs to his family, and was given to him to help him support himself. Though it is supposedly a boarding house, and the place is very large, Tate is the only tenant except for a fellow who lives in the basement in a self-contained apartment and is never seen. The room she rents at a ridiculously good price is much bigger than her old place, and ideal for her metalwork. Odd that she saw the place and decided to move in without ever mentioning to the landlord that she's going to be welding and hammering metal in his spare bedroom ... One would think it's the sort of thing a reasonable person would make clear in advance, so there are no nasty surprises later.

Anyway, she moves to Golgotham and Hexe invites her to spend a lot of time with him and shows her around and introduces her to people and takes her out to dinner and helps her solve all her problems. Oddly enough, she doesn't figure out that he's attracted to her until someone tells her, near the end. Does she think that is normal behavior for a landlord? Tate keeps making stupid assumptions that are awkward and embarrassing. One might hope that she would learn to keep her eyes open and her mouth shut, but she never does. That, and her obnoxious ex-boyfriend who seems to have a lot more power over her than she should allow him to have, are the only real problems in her otherwise idyllic life.

It seems that the entire novel is just going to be a travelogue of what a cool place Golgotham is, until finally near the end a friend of theirs is abducted and they need to rescue him. This was extremely predictable, and I figured out that was going to be the problem the plot centered around about 80 or 100 pages in. It was just a matter of waiting for it to happen, since it was obvious it would. And then it was obvious they would succeed, so it was just a matter of skimming through to find out what happened afterward.

Right Hand Magic was oddly paced, predictable, and shallow. Nothing much happens until the last couple of chapters, and then it's a rush to solve the problem. Tate is not a character I can really care about, because her life is so artificial and easy there's nothing to sympathize with. Was I supposed to feel sorry for her that she didn't have the balls to kick free of the smarmy ex? Was I supposed to be pleased that she found a man so perfect he wasn't any more believable than she was? Mostly I was just rolling my eyes at how everything aligns so perfectly for the two of them in their perfect little lives. Right Hand Magic isn't terrible, the writing is fine at a sentence level, but the pacing is wrong and the characters not at all compelling. It was like a soft serve vanilla cone--sort of smooth and fake and sweet but also dull and not good enough to be worth the calories. I prefer something rich and interesting. (less)

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Dec 29, 2011 Judi rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book off the library shelf, unknown author but a new series and had lots of promise of paranormal subjects. I didn't have any expectations and was pleasantly surprised when I zipped thru the first few chapters. Nancy Collins' alternate reality of a NY City borough with shape shifters, witches, warlocks as well as the expected gangster types is an entertaining quick read. Before I was finished I ordered up the 2d book which just came out this month. Unfortunately, by the end of the...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Tori smexys_sidekick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally posted at http://www.smexybooks.com/2011/01/rev...

Favorite Quote: “If I hadn’t known he was a were-cougar, my only thought upon seeing him was that he was in desperate need of a brow wax...”

When Timothea Alda Talmadge Eresby aka Tate needs more space in order to create her sculptures she finds a deal to good to be true. The problem? It’s located in Golgotham. A magical section of New York, Golgotham is home to all supernatural creatures. Tate takes a chance and arranges to see the apa...more Originally posted at http://www.smexybooks.com/2011/01/rev...

Favorite Quote: “If I hadn’t known he was a were-cougar, my only thought upon seeing him was that he was in desperate need of a brow wax...”

When Timothea Alda Talmadge Eresby aka Tate needs more space in order to create her sculptures she finds a deal to good to be true. The problem? It’s located in Golgotham. A magical section of New York, Golgotham is home to all supernatural creatures. Tate takes a chance and arranges to see the apartment for rent. There she meets the landlord-super sexy Hexe. A true blood Kymeran, Hexe is a witch and a healer who wants to build his own reputation by practicing only right hand magic (clean magic). As Tate is drawn deeper into Hexe’s world, they are dragged into supernatural fight that will take everything they have to survive.

Nancy Collins’ Right-Hand Magic is the first in a series a delightful Paranormal Fantasy who’s strength lies in its world building. Golgotham is a fascinatingly rich world set in New York City. Rather like an adult version of Diagon’s Alley from the Harry Potter books, we are shown an elaborate set up featuring cab driving Centaurs, wise cracking pixies, and bar owning leprechauns. We follow Tate as she is introduced to all the sights the city has to offer and I found myself enchanted with this city within a city.

The story reads smoothly but the plot and characters are weak. They didn’t evolve much beyond the introductions. More background was needed.

Tate and Hexe are astonishing alike in that they are from wealthy families, last in line, and are doing jobs their families don’t approve of. When they first meet, you get a young adult feeling from the inner monologue that Tate gives us. When she is thinking about Hexe - He’s good looking. He’s hunky. As they spend more time together, the more YA it gets (on Tate’s side) when she is discussing him with two friends and the conversation revolves around kissing and, “You think he likes me? Really likes me?” The inevitable romance between Hexe and Tate is slow and sweet as it evolves through the entire book-only becoming verbally apparent at the end.

One concern I have is the innate differences between Tate and Hexe. She is human and therefore weak in Golgotham. In paranormal romance, the hero and heroine may not be equal but they can each hold their own. We don’t see Tate holding her own beyond a mental level. But her heart is in the right place and no matter what, she will do anything for her friends. I am very curious to see how Ms. Collins equates these two characters.

The plot was interesting and some areas were fast paced with action while others dragged causing a breakdown in the presentation of the events. Scenes could have exploded off the page were weighed down by repetitive dialog and actions. Again, Tate’s humanity works against her here. Not a lot of conflict or angst and sometimes I felt like I was reading a synopsis of the book. The dialogue is humorous at times and dry others. As I said earlier, there is a young adult feel to it that doesn’t quite fit in the general make up of the story.

All in all, while the characters and arc left me feeling a bit ambiguous, the city of Golgotham is significantly fascinating enough to sell me on reading the next one in the series-Left-Hand Magic-which is set to release next year sometime.

Rating: C(less)

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Dec 30, 2010 Melliane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tate fille d'un grand milliardaire decide de faire carrière dans l'art au grand desespoir de ses parents et déménage dans un quartier de la ville où aucun humain n'habite mais où vit tous les êtres magiques de ce monde. Ne connaissant vraiment rien à ce monde on voit comment Tate essaie de s'intégrer bien que de multiples personnes ne veuillent pas d'elle ici. Elle emmenage chez un sorcier Hexe qui n'utilise ses dons que pour faire le bien et guérir les gens ce qui est vraiment exeptionnel. Lors...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Tammy ~NovelOpinion rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ddlf-challenges, uf

I felt that this series had great possibilities and perhaps it still does but with all the awesome books I have waiting for me on my TBR shelf, I doubt I will find out.
Tate is an artist who's specializes in metal sculpture. She decides to move to Golgotham which is in New York and has been home to many kinds of supernatural beings for hundreds of years. Her landlord is a hunky wizard. She struggles with being the only human living in Golgotham but feels at home there.
One of the big problems I h...more

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Nov 29, 2010 Yan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Tate is a trust fund baby, but wants to make her own life as a metal sculptor instead of killing time with drugs and partying. After being kicked out of her old apartment, Tate moves to Golgotham because of its cheap rent and large space for her sculptures. But life in Golgotham is definitely different than what she's used to.
When I first began Right Hand Magic the thought of the race card being dealt came across my mind. Here was the race card disguised as a fantastical community (rainbow color...more Tate is a trust fund baby, but wants to make her own life as a metal sculptor instead of killing time with drugs and partying. After being kicked out of her old apartment, Tate moves to Golgotham because of its cheap rent and large space for her sculptures. But life in Golgotham is definitely different than what she's used to.
When I first began Right Hand Magic the thought of the race card being dealt came across my mind. Here was the race card disguised as a fantastical community (rainbow colored hair anyone?). This community is perceived to the rest of the city as a dangerous because of the people, culture, and generally the unknown. But there’s the possibly of me thinking too much of it having spent the semester learning about race in a class.

Watching Collins build the world of Golgotham was an enjoyment to read because here was a community that fascinated with every turn of the page. Black bird pie, 6 fingered hands (the extra finger is the magic finger), terms such as a right hand magic and left hand magic, witches, warlocks, etc. It is more than what meets the eye as the world expands underground, through alleyways, behind closed doors. There are the good people and the evil people and Boss Marz falls into the latter category. I mean, the name speaks EVIL and MAFIA.

The gradual buildup from tenant and landlord to friendship to something more was an ongoing thing rather than an explosive of random feelings suddenly combusting into the perfect love. That’s not to say there wasn’t some sexual tension. For some reason when they describe Hexe I pictured him with an Oriental appearance especially with those golden cat eyes. I like to imagine him that way *smiles*

However, there were at times when I was bored. The dialogue can be very dry at times and the comical relief, usually in the form of some animalesque being, wasn’t really funny…. The action and the high level of adrenaline were structured to be in three parts and in between those parts were dull.(less)

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Jun 20, 2012 Sarabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought this was a solid entry into the world of urban fantasy. The protagonist, Tate, is a well drawn character and I thought her livlihood as an artist added a nice element to the story. There was enough romance and action to keep me turning the pages. Although I did think the connection between Tate and Hexe was a little too pat for my taste. I mean how many times do you find an incredible apartment in a "different" part of town and fall head over heels for your gorgeous landlord who happen...more

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Jan 31, 2011 Cathy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, urban, mythology, magic-users, paranormal, read-in-2011, romance, shifter-not-wolf

It wasn't awful, but it wasn't good either. It was an easy read as I wasn't terribly bored, but there wasn't anything exciting either. It's very shallow. I felt no emotional connection to anything happening. And almost nothing happened, it was mosly a neighborhood tour of the area of town where the paranormal folks all live. There were some nice images, but the action was confined to a few pages beginning after page 200. I laughed when I realizes that Simon R. Green wrote the blurb on the cover...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Jess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, paranormal-romance

This is the first book in a new series called the Golgotham series. The main character is an artist named Tate. She is moving out of her old apartment and sees a notice for a really cheap apartment in an area of NYC called Golgotham. She heads to the pace to check it out and decides to take it. The catch being it's an area filled with supernatural beings. There are the satyr's, centaur's, leprechaun's, were-animals, and then there's her new landlord who is a Kymeran. A race of witches that are e...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Right Hand Magic was a great read that takes the reader away to an exciting and interesting new world that exists right beside ours called Golgotham. Golgotham is the home of all types of supernatural creatures and the reader gets to learn about this world through the eyes of Tate, a normal human living amongst the supernatural. Collins creates an intricate world with many creatures, and I enjoyed exploring this world with Tate. Collins also creates some very likeable, well developed characters...more

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Dec 04, 2010 All Things Urban Fantasy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-abigail

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Whenever a series is named after its location, I expect that location to be as much a character as the protagonist. And the new Golgotham urban fantasy series delivers. The fictitious New York city of Golgotham is a strange and wonderful place populated by centaur cabbies, Amazon bikers, and warlocks for hire. I loved everything about Golgotham, if only the rest of the book had been as good as its setting.

Most urban fantasy titles fall into two camps: o...more Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Whenever a series is named after its location, I expect that location to be as much a character as the protagonist. And the new Golgotham urban fantasy series delivers. The fictitious New York city of Golgotham is a strange and wonderful place populated by centaur cabbies, Amazon bikers, and warlocks for hire. I loved everything about Golgotham, if only the rest of the book had been as good as its setting.

Most urban fantasy titles fall into two camps: open world (the supernatural elements are common knowledge) or closed world (most of the population has no clue that supernatural creatures exist). In RIGHT HAND MAGIC we get the best of both worlds. Magic and supernatural beings are openly known to exist, but they are essentially segregated from the main population. Humans, or numps as they are derogatorily referred to, are largely ignorant of magical culture and what is and isn’t possible. When Tate moves to Golgotham she’s as clueless about her new surroundings as we are. She has to learn everything, but gets to avoid those often tedious ‘I can’t believe this is real’ passages that often drag down other books.

For a book with a gritty and immersive world as Golgotham, I found the writing, specifically the dialogue, to be lacking. I’d be reading about some very cool underground were fight club, and someone would say something so redundant or over the top maniacal that I got completely pulled out of the scene.

Weak dialogue aside, I did like the character of Tate and her romantic interest Hexe. The romance isn’t overpowering and does build credibly (none of that instant love at first sight). Even the supporting characters including a teenage werecougar and a demon/cat familiar were entertaining comic relief. The real selling point of RIGHT HAND MAGIC is Golgotham, and it’s strong enough that I’ll be checking out the sequels LEFT HAND MAGIC followed by MAGIC AND LOSS sometime next year.

Sexual Content: A brief, non graphic sex scene.(less)

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Dec 23, 2010 Stacy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blo...

I loved Golgotham it was explained and built up fantastically. I loved the characters and the different species of beings. The whole fictional world was very believable and a lot of fun to read about. Tate has to learn a whole new way of life when she moves into Hexe's boarding house and has a great landlord to help her find her way around Golgotham and to teach her about the ways of life there. Tate and Hexe's relationship built up nicely goin...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars

Meh.

I really wanted to like this book. I like the genre, and I usually like any book with a strong, sassy heroine stomping around in leather pants + hot supernatural guys. There was just no story here. Trust Fund Baby with "relationship issues" moves into the big bad ghetto to prove a point, and ends up falling for her sexy landlord.

When I put it down in the middle of the (unconvincing) Big Fight Scene I wasn't even mildly curious about what would come next. I'd say that the writing and charac...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Marci rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I really liked this book. I thought that Nancy A. Collins had quit writing. I found her first book back in 1991 in New Orleans in a bookstore. I saw that she had won the Bram Stoker award that year for her novel Sunglasses after Dark. It was dark, gritty, bloody and had a good concept about vampires. She wrote for awhile and disappeared from what I could tell after she quit writing for the comic book Swamp Thing.

I was recently in a locally owned bookstore and saw her book while browsing. I was...more

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Right Hand Magic (Golgotham #1)

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