Dead Drop

My Immortals #6

by Carolyn Jewel

Palla is a demon warlord’s deadly assassin who has no idea how to behave around humans. Wallace Jackson is a pacifist street witch with power she can’t access. He’s desperate to unlock her magic because only she can help him rescue his former lover from unending suffering. Their unlikely, volatile partnership transforms their lives and their hearts.

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Magic, Demons

185 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2014

About the author

Carolyn Jewel was born on a moonless night. That darkness was seared into her soul and she became an award winning and USA Today bestselling author of historical and paranormal romance. She has a very dusty car and a Master’s degree in English that proves useful at the oddest times. An avid fan of fine chocolate, finer heroines, Bollywood films, and heroism in all forms, she has two cats and a dog. Also a son. One of the cats is his.

Reviews

[RachelW (BamaGal) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I can't wait for Maddie and Kynan's book to be finished and released !!!!

Okay, finally did the standalone reread. It was as good as I remembered, and I didn't notice any typos or writing gaffes.

One thing I love about Jewel's demons. They are real Demons who take human form, with all the scary, requisite demon traits. Not humans with a few indistinct demon characteristics that are brought out on occasion just to remind the reader. With Jewel you get the real deal, and you never forget for one minute that these are some badass Demons.

_______________________


I bought this novella thinking it was a new story from Carolyn Jewel. It's not. I had not realized it was a story previously published in an anthology. (I gotta start checking these ss closer).

I didn't return it because it is self-pubbed by a favorite author, and I want to support her work. Plus, I'm hoping this will be a better edited version of the story; as the anthology version wasn't edited very well.

Very good read, though; as are all the books in Jewel's My Immortals series...this is one of my top favorite series...




A big Squeeeee from this fangirl...

[Lizzielvr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series! Thank you Carolyn!!

[Linds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carolyn is such a talent. She can definitely weave an interesting tale and I've loved this series from the start. I only wish we could have seen more of the relationship between Wallace and Palla. Alas, this was only a novella so we get what we get. But, for what we got, I genuinely really liked it and I especially can't wait for the most anticipated My Immortals book ever....KYNAN AND MADDY!!!!

I won't annoy you with my fangirling over those two...la la la, off to fangirl over Kynan Aijan all by myself ;)

[TinaNoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Not the best place to start in the series. The romance part is fine as standalone, but the world build is a bit confusing so I probably would have benefited from reading the earlier books to really understand the world and the relationship between the Witches and the Demons and all the personalities of the different players. But the story itself was good and the romance was affecting.

[Anna (Bobs Her Hair) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

This novella sucked me back in to the series! I gobbled it up in one sitting. Terrific heroine, sexy hero (a jerk yet compelling), and fast-paced plot. Goodie!

Kindle loan from RachelW

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2
Love this author's brilliance. A great series for PNR fans.

[Michelle the Romance Witch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the series, way too choppy and jumpy but a good story in all

[MrsJoseph *grouchy* · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://bookslifewine.com/r-dead-drop/



I met Dead Drop via reading a free anthology I grabbed about a year ago: Alphas Unleashed . Most of that anthology I truly disliked but then I was introduced to Carolyn Jewel's My Immortals series and everything was all better.

Dead Drop was a welcome surprise. I have been wallowing in book indecision - which is what made me start reading my plethora of anthologies - and I decided I'd flick through Alphas Unleashed. Thank Goodness cause I LOVED Dead Drop. I ate that novella up and went looking for more.

That was when I learned that Ms Jewel updated and expanded Dead Drop...which then dead dropped my intentions of reading the first book in the My Immortals series. I had to know what changed!

What changed? It feels like the answer is everything and nothing all at once. (I feel like an apple commercial, lol). There is much more character development as well as additional information given for character motivation. This seems to have been done by the movement of entire scenes but the new space the scenes occupy just work. I loved the increased character development - especially for Palla. It really made all the difference as far as his behavior and actions. I felt like I understood Palla and his situation a lot better. Wallace didn't get quite as much additional character motivation - there were some added thoughts about the differences between human and demon as well as between races (Wallace is Black while Palla appears White). I do have to say that the racial thoughts/comments in Dead Drop felt very authentic - Ms Jewel really captured that feeling of being made into "Other" that often happens to minorities.

One of the things I appreciate most is that Ms Jewel did not remove the antagonism between Wallace and Palla. Wallace and Palla do NOT like each other. Palla doesn't like magekind (witches) for very good personal reasons plus he's emotionally damaged, making him prone to lashing out. Wallace doesn't like Palla because Palla is a total asshole, especially to her. It makes perfect sense that Wallace doesn't care for him - even when though she thinks he's sexy. I really enjoyed the additional relationship development and how it was made clear that the two are attracted to each other while still disliking each other.

The only problem I had was the ending. Ms Jewel changed a lot but she changed the ending hardly at all. Wallace and Palla get into a pretty serious argument near the end - and I really feel like this argument is out of place. The origins of the argument seem to be a combination of Wallace's insecurity in the relationship as well as guilt regarding an event that just occurred. The argument made sense in the "relationship adjustment" kind of way...but the timing of the argument was just wrong (character wise). Wallace as characterized would never have started that kind of argument at that moment in time.

The final part of Dead Drop from the anthology was a weird mixture of spirituality and HFN/HEA and WTF just happened. The ending (in the anthology) bothered me but it worked due to the origins of Wallace & Palla's relationship and the shortness of the story. The expanded version of Dead Drop contains so much more - especially in the relationship development department - that the ending didn't really work for me at all. It felt like Wallace got the short end of the stick in the love department - either that or the ending was incomplete. Wallace nor Palla actually say "I love you" although it's pretty obvious Wallace loves Palla. I couldn't 100% tell if Palla loved Wallace or if he was "settling" in some kind of way. So while I loved the expansion, the ending rang hollow and a little sad for me.

[Tory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to have more time with Palla and Wallace. Palla and Wallace really dislike each other, and I liked how the don't immediately change their attitudes towards each other. I liked how Wallace stood up to Palla and called him on his crap. This is a novella, and while the first part where they initially hate each other is detailed, it then skims over several weeks where Wallace is learning and working with Palla and I was disappointed with that, as I wanted to see more of her figuring out and understanding her skills. There was also part of the plot where I didnt get why a character from a previous book wasn't brought in. Or at least referenced. part of the story being that Palla talks and does put his life at risk in order to absorb the soul of Avitas. But it seemed that Paisley (from book 4) could have done that without risking Palla. Or maybe Palla was determined to do it on his own to make amends of some sort. I just kept thinking why not get Paisley to help. another reviewer noted that this was previously published in an anthology, which could explain why Paisley did not come up, if this was originally written before book 4, but it is showing up as book 6 in the series, rather than as a re-published book.

[Llaph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the power Wallace ended up having. I bet it was a big change to go from thinking you had nothing to having something more powerful than anyone thought. This had another insight into magekind and more of the assholishness they get up to.
I honestly can't fathom how someone can act as they do....
Having her be non-violent should make things interesting, but then again look at who she got paired up wit? He'll take care of everything....

[Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a novel with can't-touch-me-men! This one has turned into my favorite! At first, Wallace came across weak and nonmagical, but as the story progressed she has a strong will to help others not harm. I liked the twist to her being magical and how she uses it. Palla is such an overpowering demon, will he take out Wallace? Can he survive her? Worth the money!!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was my favorite of the series mostly because of the female lead. I loved the character of Wallace Jackson and watching her find her power and with it her confidence--or maybe it was the other way around. She was a great female character and well-written.

[Katie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Carolyn Jewel, I read it in one sitting. she has a new fan!

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series, and I wish this book had been longer! I thought these new characters were very interesting and I would have liked to spend more time with them.

[Piper · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
An enjoyable read.