What Man Defies

The Frost Arcana #2

by Clara Coulson

“It was all fun and games until a vengeful ghost threw a washing machine at your head.”

Three weeks after his disastrous showdown with Abarta, Vincent Whelan is well on his way to recovering from the fight and putting the whole nightmare behind him. But when a standard stretch recovery job comes to an end with an angry ghost slinging heavy objects, Vince discovers a thread he left hanging has frayed beyond repair.

For almost two months, random people in Kinsale have been mysteriously vanishing. Now their shades, damaged by terrible deaths, have begun to plague the city. Vince, spurred by the growing list of victims, goes on the hunt for the person or creature responsible for the kidnappings. Only to get more than he bargained for when one of his own friends gets snatched before his very eyes.

In a race against time, Vince puts together a ragtag team to venture into the Otherworld and rescue the remaining victims before they all succumb to a horrible fate. But the path to victory is fraught with peril, and the mastermind at the end of the road may just be unbeatable.

A vault protecting a powerful relic. Merciless enemies at every turn. And countless lives at risk.

All Vince wanted was a little peace and quiet. Now he’s got the fate of the world resting in his hands. Again.

What Man Defies is the second novel of The Frost Arcana, an action-packed urban fantasy series set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Audiobook, Dystopia, Magic

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2018

About the author

Clara Coulson is an author of action-packed urban fantasy and paranormal thriller novels with sarcastic main characters and supernaturally empowered villains.

Currently living in the Middle of Nowhere, Virginia, Clara spends most of her time dreaming up bizarre paranormal scenarios and adapting them into novels and reading through the enormous backlog of books on her shelves.

Clara likes silly cats, pepperoni pizza, and collecting an absurd number of notebooks and BIC pens that she has no real use for.

Reviews

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the author. This has not influenced my review.*

This was another great book in this post-apoc urban fantasy series. It had a fast-pace, page-turning action, likeable characters, lots of kick-butt women, deadly fae, and great writing that sucked me in.

One small issue I had though was that the plot was very linear, no subplots or extra complications. Even the initial mystery was fairly simple for Vince to solve. It's not something that made the book bad, just an area where I think it could've been spiced up more. I admittedly got a little tired of fight scenes.

But on the bright side, I felt like Vince was more developed this time. I'm happy that I got more of a connection with him and got to know him a bit better. He's a tough, take-no-shit, badass faerie when it comes to jerks who deserve it, but he cares about innocent victims and civilians and the people who fight beside him, which suits his cop background. He's a bit hard-boiled and definitely not a pushover, but he's not a total misanthrope. And every so often he cracks me up with his matter-of-fact-ness (like when he asked for his payment after that first angry ghost attack) and his particular brand of snark/banter (like in the quote below---which is from an ARC and may be different in the final copy).

“Oh, you’d be surprised at the things you can do if you put your mind to it.”

“Fuck you,” she muttered.

“And you also.”

I'm not connecting to this series quite as much as I do with Clara Coulson's City of Crows series for some reason (normally I wouldn't make a comparison like that, but they share so many similarities that I can't help it), but this is still turning out to be a well-written, action-packed, and enjoyable urban fantasy series, and it's got me gripped enough that I want to continue and see what happens to Vince next, especially since there seems to be some interesting stuff yet to come!

Recommended For:
Fans of Book 1 in Clara Coulson's The Frost Arcana series. Anyone who likes urban fantasy, post-apoc settings, and fae.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Meep · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was Harry Potter with added Dr Who, a generous heaping of gore with a few random fae words thrown in and plenty of moralising. Not helped by naming a character Granger and having them quote Harry Potter.

It had potential. Started interesting then turned all action with no let up, which quickly got boring. Victims are anonymous; featureless cowering humans not real enough to have impact. I didn't care about anyone, not even the main character Vincent, there's nothing to connect the reader to him. We don't get a clear idea of his motivation.

The story logic is often flawed with action and gore thrown in to distract. Characters are cardboard. Maybe it helps if you like video games? Dropping glamour one, dropping glamour two might mean more to you; it left me scrabbling to remember how many damn glamours he had, and what they signified, and I still don't get the big issue of it. But then there's no real explanation of how his appearance changes, just a lot of hinting of childhood trauma.

What's happening should have been interesting, this has potential if only there was some emotion, some reason to be invested in the outcome. Not interested enough to reading on.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars rounded up

Still full choc of action ... Vince recruits a team that consists of: Saoirse (his cop/mentor), Odette Chao (a witch), Mallory and Granger (two other cop, Saoirse's team), and Nolan Kennedy (Vince's nemesis, NOT invited, but he insists) to help getting kidnapped humans out of the Divide.

I admit I have yet feel emotionally care much towards Vince -- unlike how I love Cal, Cooper, the rest of the DSI team in Coulson's other series -- but so far I'm curious enough with the plan that Abarta is cooking right now.

[Kari Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book directly on the heels of book 1. It didn't do as well as the first book though. I think this was partially due to the fact that we switched from mystery to action/adventure about a third of the way through. So most of the book was fighting bad guys. Which is fun occasionally, but when that's pretty much all that's going on it gets tiresome after a while. Closing in on the end we find our main character in a life or death situation and I found I just didn't care. This was pretty sad, given how interesting the world is.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I just finished this book, and the first thing I have to say is I must get my hands on the next book! What an ending! Before I say much about that, though, I will say this book is as good as the first: well-written, interesting plot, and wonderful characters. I am intrigued by Odette, especially with what happens to her in this book. Well, OK, I’m actually intrigued by just about everything plot-wise in this book, especially as the end just made me go “hmmm!” I can’t really say too much as I don’t want to give away anything, but with the end I’m wondering how Vincent is going to go forward. However, if you’ve read the first book, you know he’ll find a way. After all, he’s a lot more than he seems. If you really enjoy a great urban fantasy series, you need to pick up this series. Highly recommend! I was provided a complimentary copy of the e-book which I reviewed voluntarily.

[Sarah Leenart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vince is beginning to have people around him, I love this stage in a series wold building process and the cast begins to take shape and the characters start to pop from the page. I loved the quest nature of this story, one of my absolutely favourite tropes. Vince must gather people and rescue those who cannot help themselves. His past as a police officer is well and truly ingrained and it's in his very nature to protect and save. I loved the group dynamic and learning more about the world. Vince's nature is a great supernatural take and I can't wait to learn more and see what he is truly capable of, especially with darker forces gathering! Of course we have the usual manipulative fae queens in play and Vince is sure to find himself their constant saviour. I am looking froward to that :-)

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great second book! A continuing storyline that is action packed and gripping and fantastic characters that continue to grow and develop and I am enjoying taking the journey with them!

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laid up by his iron wound, Vincent missed the news about people disappearing. It’s clearly something to do with magic; they are just gone in the time it takes for someone to turn around. And they are returning as very angry slaugh ghosts which means they died, and died in horrible ways. When his friend who runs the tea shop is snatched, all bets are off, and regardless of the fact that the Fae should be doing something about this [it’s clearly Abarta trying to get some other incredibly powerful magic artifact after Vincent messed with the magic harp caper in book 1] he’s going to scrape together some friends, and perhaps an enemy, and go in with all guns / magic charms blazing.
888
Shit just got real dark.
Think the Harry Potter chess game with actual death, gore and dismemberment, but there are another FIVE puzzles after the murderous chess game and someone is pushing the kidnapped people into them like meat into a grinder. Vince only knows one of the victims and the rest are just sentences he remembers from the missing persons reports; mother of three, lawyer, etc. But they are Human and regardless of what people have done to him over the years, Vincent cares about Humans.
Nolan Kennedy the cop and son of influential rich people has been given charge of the magical division, which is a mistake as he knows nothing about magic. But he insists on coming with Saoirse on the rescue mission. They don’t have time to argue with him.
Odette was awesome!
[oops Kennedy fell into the well of knowledge and nearly drowned. Vincent pulled him out but his mind is blown with ALL the knowledge - plus he’s wet through. The ‘thought she was dead last book’ antagonist Agatha Bismark takes him away after Vincent manages to reset the puzzle wards
I worry that some water could be squeezed out of his clothes - does it work like that? If it does Vincent should have sucked on his own sleeves.]

More hints of Vincent’s past and just how does he know what all these super secret and really really old items look like, eh? Especially when young elves don’t even know about them.
4 stars

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

We get to the action so quick in this series - other urban fantasy tend to draw it out more to add to the tension, but here we go from 0-100 immediately and it stays that way until the end.

One of my favorite parts of the UF genre is how so often the main characters are completely and utterly outclassed by their enemies (not to be confused by antagonists/annoyances they can overpower with a look) - it makes the story and the struggle a lot more engaging.

I feel like Vince is a lot smarter than people give him credit for - or perhaps just more in touch with his manipulative fae side than expected for someone who prefers to interact with humans. Though he "fell for" Mab's plans for him, he certainly put together the pieces real quick when given a moment to think on it with new information.

Character defining quote:

"Us being hurt is not your fault, and it’s not a weight you can just drop on your shoulders to create an illusion that this bad situation was under your control. You have to learn to accept the unpredictable nature of other people’s agency, and the reality of other people’s personal responsibility.”

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC edition of this book from the author.

You need to read the first book, What Fate Portends, to understand the background for this book.

Once again Vince is caught up in the drama of fae manipulations. With ghosts (or Sluagh) appearing in Kinsale, Vince is drawn into a search for a list of people kidnapped under mysterious circumstances. In a race against time, Vince and his companions must discover the reason for the kidnappings and how to rescue them while staying alive themselves.

There is a lot of drama and adventure in this story. The pacing is smooth, no points that lag for too long. There are also just enough twists to keep the story from becoming too predictable. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see how Vince (and the others) will deal with the next challenge they face.

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who read my review of What Fate Portends, the first novel of Clara Coulson’s the Frost Arcana series, could tell that I loved that story. Now, in What Man Defies (The Frost Arcana Book 2), Vincent Whelan is back. Once again he is out-classing my previous fave Harry Dresden, something if never expected would happen. So here you have it. A superb story that, just like book 1, is perfect, and perfectly suspenseful, action-packed urban fantasy / post-apocalyptic (with a twist) of a tale. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises - the book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Mark Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always know that I’m in for a treat when I get a new Clara Coulson book. Urban Fantasy protagonists just have the worst luck, and Vince is no different. Unlike other Urban Fantasy books, Coulson actually explains why Vince seems to be a magnet for strange happenings. This allows for more world-building and history without being a giant information dump.

As with the first book, the characters are believable – they behave in ways that I’d expect the denizens of this post-apocalyptic world to behave. The villainous faction and their leader seem plausible rather than being evil for the sake of being evil. Events and interactions hint that there are bigger machinations afoot, and Vince and the rest of the humans may not have much time left.

I’m definitely in for the next book in the series, and What Man Defies is another solid read from Coulson. Five stars!

[Susan Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action-Packed Urban Fantasy

A few weeks after Vince Whelan's tangle with the ancient trickster God, Abarta, angry ghosts begin popping up in Kinsale wrecking havoc. These ghosts died violent deaths and raises the question why are humans are disappearing, who or what is torturing them to death, and for what purpose? When Vince's friend, Christine, is snatched into another realm in front of him, he takes on the task of rescuing her and the other missing people before they are killed. Vince assembles a rag-tag team: Saoirse, his cop mentor; a fight-club witch; two additional cops, and Nolan Kennedy, an arrogant, incompetent cop who got his position only because of his rich family. Can half-fae Vince and his team win against seemingly insurmountable odds? Let the fight begin.

[Timothy VanderWall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in the Frost Arcana series. If you'll remember from the first book, Mab (Winter Queen of the Faeries) has taken over the Earth after humans continued to bombard each other with nuclear bombs. Humans are now huddling in sanctuary cities guarded by the fae. Our intrepid half-sidhe, former cop hero, Vincent Whelan, makes his living retrieving articles for folks from outside the cities. But he also helps out the police when he can. Now something strange is going on. People are just disappearing from the streets. Is this a sign of another try by the old gods? If so, what are they doing? Whelan foiled a first attempt (in the first book). Can he figure out this new threat and head it off before it's too late? Find out in the quick-reading, attention-riveting episode. Lots of excitement and even a bit of mystery. Don't miss it!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tired from his recent battles with Abarta and his minions, Whelan and his cohorts try to stop the next efforts to steal a charmed object, and prevent more awful deaths of kidnapped humans, the key to opening the wards protecting the object.

Is he missing out on a bigger picture? What else might be afoot that Mab has not yet turned her attention to Abarta?

More challenges lie ahead. Does he have the strength of skills, body and spirit to face them? What will happen to humanity if he does not?

If his own various resources are stretched, what consequences might there be?

Action packed dystopia where even mercy has consequences.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good continuation to the series. Poor Vince has a good guy superhero complex that could rival Harry Dresden's from The Dresden Files (by Jim Butcher). I think honestly that's why I like this series so much -- that and the stellar writing of the author!

Vince, ex-cop, tries very hard to do the right thing and by doing so is continuously playing in the hands of higher beings. That said though, even knowing he has been strung along like a puppet (referencing the end of the first book), he keeps trucking.

I look forward to indulging in the next book in the series.

** Please note at the time of writing this review that this book is available to read for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription! If you do have Kindle Unlimited, I highly recommend this series. **

[Curly's Ramblings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook review: What Man Defies is book 2 in TheFrost Arcana series and picks up with the same backstory but with a new mystery/plot. Vince and team are back as they work to save people. Plenty of action right from the start. Some new characters are introduced along with some interesting developments. Good world building and strong characters. This book can be enjoyed without having finished book 1, but I recommend completing in the series order so that you have the history. The narrator did a good job! I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Sonja Bjerga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from the author.
This is even better than the first and I thought What Fate Portends was really good, Vince Whelan doesn't shy away from what needs to be done and there is serious stuff that needs doing. The story is full of action and furthers the world building of both Kinsale and the Otherworld, there is more about the purge and how that shaped where life is now.
I really liked the relationships between the characters introduced in book one and how the new ones added to the whole. Just a great read and I can't wait for book 2.

[Sheila Gabler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as much as the first one! Vincent is like the energizer bunny takes a licking and keeps on kicking ass! The world building is first class and the mixture of human and fae elements is complicated and interesting. While the main mystery was fairly straightforward the underlying twisty plot continues to engage and draw you in. I can barely wait for the 3rd book to come out! I received a complimentary copy of the book and am leaving my honest review.

[Jenette · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book and getting to explore the world further, the excessive whump is starting to get on my nerves. It serves no purpose, especially when magic just fixes it and I’d rather spend more time focused on the mystery surrounding what’s happening in the other realms and in getting answers about Vince than watching him get torn to pieces (literally) just because he keeps fighting with one hand tied behind his back (figuratively).

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

He is recovering from having a heavy object thrown at him when he learns others are disappearing. A thread which he left hanging has frayed beyond repair. So what must he do to sort it all out. What must he do? What will happen? Follow him and see what he must do

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Man Defies by Clara Coulson is book number two in this series. I am so in love with this story from the very beginign to the very ending. It has strong characters and a wonderful story line and I can not wait to till book three comes out. I loved this story and highly recommend this story to everyone.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better & Better

This was outstanding. It just keeps getting better and better. The story becomes more intricate and the Fae are playing for the very long game. There are forces at work here that are a mystery. Old Gods, new Gods, and everything in between. Off to get book 3. This author writes so well and the story is so tightly written, it's FANTABULOUS!!!

[Jimbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I was a bit harsh on the first book in the series, this book was much more entertaining. I think I had time to process the characters and Coulson added a few more interesting ones into the mix and the battle continues to rage between the old god and the fae and earth of course stuck in the middle.

Fun, fast and bloody. Who can ask for more?

[Silver Surfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cracking fantasy series. These books get better and better. That Vince Whelan is one mean dude. If you like urban fantasy you will love this. This is why I love urban fantasy. Highly recommended.

[Steve Isenhower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

A really fantastic second book in the series. Additional characters and some interesting developments. I really like Odette znd Bridgid could be very interesting. Excellent series!

[ProbityDefence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid continuation

Overall this book was well written with no real flaws. The Characters, descriptions, plot and interactions were all well written and the the ending was satisfying and left a good opening for the next book without having a cliffhanger.

Worth a read.

[John Colley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah I like these

In fairness, not my usual type of UF but I enjoy these. They might get a little tedious if Vincent is up against the same foe each time. Nice that Vincent is forming his own little posse around him. Enough here for me to get the next book.

[Donamarie Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in this series. So many plots and sub-plots. Who is pulling the strings exactly? This book again left me waiting for more, so much more.

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I found this book to be just as great as the first; fast-paced, and riveting. Definitely worth investing the time for this series.