Night Shift (Jill Kismet, #1) in Vampires, Weres and Fae!

Mar 13, 2016 Denisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: better-than-i-expected, great-female-char, relaxing, romance, uf-or-paranormal, cute, interesting

3.5 Ok, I admit, this one was a bit of a surprise.

What I expected is this:

I got something like this:

So yup, it was a pretty good book. It was fast paced, I had no time to get bored or to skim. And I liked the idea, I liked the characters. For some reason, I liked the lame male character. And the good part is that it made me curious about what's going to happen, and that doesn't happen as often as I'd like.
...more

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Feb 09, 2017 T. K. Elliott (Tiffany) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, fantasy-urban

The real question is, what took me so long to get around to reading this book?

What I Liked
I thought Jill was great. Saintcrow has managed to write an urban fantasy heroine who is confident and independent, yet human. She has also managed to avoid writing an MC who is the kind of bitch you'd never want to work with: you know the type - the kind that makes every personal interaction into some kind of pissing contest, is rude to everyone (but thinks she's funny), and still manages to twist her ank The real question is, what took me so long to get around to reading this book?

What I Liked
I thought Jill was great. Saintcrow has managed to write an urban fantasy heroine who is confident and independent, yet human. She has also managed to avoid writing an MC who is the kind of bitch you'd never want to work with: you know the type - the kind that makes every personal interaction into some kind of pissing contest, is rude to everyone (but thinks she's funny), and still manages to twist her ankle when the hot guy from Finance comes round...

Jill has friends and colleagues, which is pretty unusual for an urban fantasy heroine; she gets invited out for beer, and she is respected by co-workers. All in all, she comes across as a woman who does a dangerous job well.

Another thing I liked is that Jill gets her ass kicked several times - and she ends up in pain, pissed off, and exhausted. Even though, for magical reasons, she can take more of a kicking than most humans, she doesn't get off scot-free. You don't get the situations where she's beaten up in one scene, and then the next, you'd never know it had happened.

Perry - now, I really wanted to know more about Perry...

The plot moved along at a fair clip, keeping me swept up in events. If this hadn't been such a busy week, I would probably have read this in one or two sittings.

What I Could Have Done With More Of
I would have liked a bit more background on the worldbuilding - what are the hellbreed, where do they come from, and why are they here? That sort of thing. However, I would not regard this as a serious problem: we get enough information to figure out what's going on, and presumably we'll get more background later on in the series (this book's background details mostly dealt with Jill and her history, which is reasonable enough).

Conclusion
I've already bought the Omnibus edition of this series, and I've jumped Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series up my reading list...

This is the new (to me) urban fantasy series I've been looking for for a long time! ...more

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Oct 09, 2014 Snarktastic Sonja rated it liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I have so far only read the first book in this series although I have the omnibus edition. It really inspired not much in me - neither massive love nor massive throwing of books (or even tablets) across the room. It held some very interesting concepts . . . including (but not limited to) the whole hunter of the supernatural thing . . . By nature of being a hunter (which is still *simply* a human - albeit a trained human), she is more capable of catching supernaturals (especially the demonic (hel I have so far only read the first book in this series although I have the omnibus edition. It really inspired not much in me - neither massive love nor massive throwing of books (or even tablets) across the room. It held some very interesting concepts . . . including (but not limited to) the whole hunter of the supernatural thing . . . By nature of being a hunter (which is still *simply* a human - albeit a trained human), she is more capable of catching supernaturals (especially the demonic (hellbreed) variety) than the police. That being said, because of Jill's stature and size, her mentor had her
make a deal with a demon in order to be a *better* hunter. This is not well known because it would make her one of those she hunted. Now, if this is a little confusing - it was to me as well. And, I have NOT read the series that came before this which might make it a bit easier - at least that is what other reviews have said. But, other than being a bit confused (which isn't abnormal in a 1st book at any rate), I did not feel as though I was missing anything. At least in regards to plot and world building.

Beyond the worldview, the book is filled with non-stop action. It had the feel of an old time detective noir story to me. Not in the mystery part so much - it was the way in which it was written. Jill is constantly chasing someone some where or other. And, she doesn't always return unscathed. In fact, she rarely does. In between, she is working on her deal with the demon . . . it requires unceasing updates and nuances. In action, it was, indeed, a page turner.

What, to me, it lacked were relationships. There is Mikhail - her dead mentor - that she mourns throughout. It was hard for me to feel her pain for that loss as we never saw him as more than her dead mentor. There is the owner of the magic store (whose name escapes me . . .) where Jill shops for materials to cover her scar. Yes, that was really the most interesting relationship I found here. And, then there was Saul Dustcircle. We don't get to really see this relationship grow and blossom - it just *happens*. No rhyme or reason - though the fact that there *is* no rhyme or reason is kind of explained. I liked him - he is a nurturing shifter - what's not to like? - I just felt like there should have been more . . . oomph . . . to the relationship. There were a couple other shifters who were also entertaining . . . they just had less impact on Jill and, therefore, me. A shame, really, they seemed like they could have been intriguing if given more 'screen' time.

One aspect of the worldview that I did find intriguing was the role of the church - here in the guise of the Catholic church - which isn't really unusual in its presence as the role of Christianity. And, by that I mean that it is fairly normal for the Catholic church to be used as a representation of *all* Christianity, not that it performs this role particularly well or poorly - it just does. But, it *is* easier for authors to have this particular church as its role model - I concede that. In its role as spiritual judge, jury, and executioner, it has condemned Jill to none of the beneficial results of an afterlife. Jill, as would I, takes great exception to this, and, as such, actually spends a great deal of time (at least in relation to the amount of time typically spent) in conversations with God. I found these fascinating! They sounded very much like many of the conversations I have had. It was somewhat . . . encouraging? Heart warming? uplifting? depressing? I dunno - but I *did* enjoy them.

There was also some interesting imagery of the Christian symbol of the cross . . . She notes that it always has the poor man hanging from it. One of the things I prefer about the cross in a non-Catholic setting, is that Christ is gone from it - He is Risen. It was just an interesting note made in the text that made a real impact on me because of my own theology.

All in all - this book rates a solid 3 stars from me. I'm not sure whether or not I will move on here - it has definite possibilites - and the series *is* complete. But, I am mostly ambivalent. It didn't leave me scratching my head - but it didn't leave me wanting more either. Yep - solid 3 stars. ...more

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