Heart of Malice (Alice Worth Book 1)
Reviews (197)
Taking a risk has its rewards.
***4.5 Stars*** I received a friend request on Goodreads the other day, and while I was checking out her profile I came across a book that caught my eye. Now the cover, while not perfect, was very eye-catching. A strong woman with determination in her eyes has a flash of green fire wrapped around her. The background looks a little dark and gloomy which makes the green fire POP. Now, I won’t say that a cover will make or break a book, but if my attention is grabbed and the blurb is interesting, I’m more than willing to look a little closer. Hmmm…a new author? Hmmm…it’s on NetGalley? Hmmm…a strong heroine, an Alpha shapeshifting werewolf hero, a ghost for a sidekick and a mission that is a race against time? SOLD TO THE SASSY READER, who can’t resist stepping into a world full of magic, lust and adventure. So, I took a risk on a new author and I’m so bloody glad I did. There is NOTHING better than finding a fantastic new paranormal series. Lisa Edmonds has started a series that grabbed and held my attention. What made it even more amazing is that I didn’t suffer the dreaded boring, dull, snooze-worthy, introduction to a new world. I have been known to struggle with stories that tell me all about the magic, rules, characters and world. Heart of Malice successfully shows me the new world as it’s experienced. With a little info here…and a little info there, I wasn’t bombarded all at once and I got to see it all live and in action. SUCCESS!! Now, it turns out our new author happens to be a brainiac (in the best possible way). She actually teaches both writing and literature courses. I hope she teaches as she writes because it gives me hope for authors of the future. Alice is not one to take risks when it comes to her privacy and letting people in. We meet Alice as she hunts down a demon. Things don’t exactly go to plan but at least she’s alive and ready to fight another day. Alice is a private investigator who also happens to be a mage. She uses her powers to help people, while also trying to avoid run-ins with SPEMA (Supernatural and Paranormal Entity Management Agency). Unfortunately, her altercation with the demon brought her face to face with two agents of SPEMA, and that is NOT what Alice wants or needs. We are lead to understand pretty quickly that Alice likes to keep on the down low and bring as little attention to herself as she can. With a little sweet talking…of the abrupt and straightforward kind, Alice manages to avoid being taken in. From the introduction, we work out that Alice has strong abilities that she seems to want to hide. What follows is learning more about Alice, why she is keeping secrets and how she comes to meet her partner in crime, Malcolm the ghost. We also meet Charles the manipulative vampire who wants to suck her blood, and her new client Natalie, who I really hope to see in future stories as well. Alice has a few more ‘friends’ but I think they’re more acquaintances. Their dedication to Charles (their boss), makes any loyalty to Alice non-existent. My favourite additional character is Sean. Oh, my lordy. I loved meeting the strong, sexy, Alpha Werewolf who started out as a one-night thing, that turned into something more. Seriously, this guy won my heart from the very start. He is growly, possessive, understanding and sweet…just the way I like them. There is a time in the story where his loyalty and feelings for Alice are questioned but I never doubted him. Well, paranormal romance lovers, I can confirm that I have found a WINNER! Alice Worth is one cool character and I can’t wait to see what adventure she’s up to next. My fingers are crossed that Sean stays in her life, Charles backs the hell off and Malcolm gets to hang around a bit more before he heads to the afterlife.
Good
Alice Worth is a Paranormal PI, and a mage of talent, one whose past is behind her, right where she wants it to be. When she gets a new client, she finds herself dealing with a ghost, an untrained magic wielded, and both the vampires and werewolves in town… and her past isn’t staying precisely where she would like it to be! This is a great Urban Fantasy. Alice is a character of mystery, with a past that makes the reader sympathise with the choices she makes. The side characters are almost as interesting as she is, and make for a much more intriguing book. There’s plenty of action, a mystery or two, as well as magical mayhem… and while the book did clear the case by the end, there are a few loose ends that might just make their way into subsequent books. Though it does feature a mystery, I will qualify that with the point that this is quite a bit grittier than your average cosy paranormal mystery, so be warned. And enjoyable and magical read for urban fantasy and paranormal mystery fans.
solid, tropey, steamy UF with magic user PI hiding away from powerful magic family
I did not have high expectations of this one based on the over-preponderance of magic hands women on the cover of UF and PR these days, and also because I am sometimes prejudiced against small publishers (despite being published by a small press myself) but someone on a reader group recommended it-- and so I am now hooked. Magic user in hiding from evil magic people? Triangle-ish love interests with vampire and shifter? Spurns help and must do everything by herself? Can withstand extensive trauma and still keep chugging along? All males seem to love her? Check, check, and check with all these standard tropes....but.....Alice Worth the seemingly mid-level air/earth magic PI takes those well worn tropes and doesn't do anything crazy like spin them around in twisty ways, just does a gosh darn good old-fashioned job of creating a readable story with them. It's solid. No surprises, yet the journey along that well-trod path is fun. Alice is running away from a horrific past wherein she was forced to use her powers for ill. All of a sudden she has a ghost friend and is hit on by a shifter....just as she is caught up in a seemingly simple case brought to her by a young woman in regards to stolen books from a dead grandmother's library that ends up being about hidden blood mages and suppressed powers. Alice investigates, and stubbornly is pulled along into friendship by her two new friends: the helpful ghost and the hot shifter. Alot of the romantic tension is brought along (and there is absolutely some steam here folks) by Alice resisting getting close to anyone or allowing them to help her and the sexy shifter trying to negotiate his overwhelming urge to protect without stepping on her free will. Good, solid emotional stuff. I went ahead and bought the next in the series instantly at the end, and not because of cliffhangers, folks, the story wraps up nicely in the first book, but because the story also introduced all kinds of potential conflicts and other baddies. Excellent UF/PR for folks who like magic, shifters, and ye olde vampire high courts.
Great start to a new Urban Fantasy series
I've been searching for a new series to read. Something that can hold my attention but I swear, my kindle is filled with so many samples of books that are just lacking in quality and depth. Then came this novel! Lisa Edmonds series starts off in a pretty modern world mixed in with your typical supernatural beings. The catch that locks you in is how she describes magic in this world. Our main character, Alice, is a mage with an affinity of two types of elements. This is not uncommon for mages. But as the story goes on we realize there is so much more to Alice than meets the eye. Alice is a sort of mystical P.I. She helps solve cases for people that need a bit of unusual help. She is thoroughly skilled with her spells which hints from time to time about her sordid and dark past. Alice finds a ghost thrust upon her in which she makes the best situation possible out of it: a mutual friendship. A type of companion that can help her with her cases and magic. Malcolm is an interesting character who also has a past and perhaps some connection to Alice. Ghosts don't get assigned to humans willy-nilly. There's usually a reason behind it. This tidbit is not uncovered in the first novel which leaves some speculation for the future. Our m/c and her ghostly companion take on a case for a young lady and soon find themselves buried in intrigue, mystery, and maybe a little in over their heads! It was a great plot, a typical recipe that spells success for most urban fantasy novels. Along the way Alice uncovers more mysteries about herself, a particularly cold and determined Agent by the name of Agent Lake, a werewolf who tends to be a little overprotective and attached to Alice even though he's only recently met her. Not to mention a vampire leader with whom she treads carefully with as vampires are not ones to be crossed with! Alice, Malcolm, and Sean work on this case that seemed almost simple but you soon learn that nothing is simple with Alice. I am looking forward to more adventures and finding out more about all of these distinct characters. What I did not particularly like was how Alice had her guard up for a reason. She's on the run and for very good reasons. Her grandfather would rather kill her than set her free. But when it came to Sean, she was almost TOO trusting. But Lisa Edmonds tries to justify this by expressing through Alice how alone she has been for so long. So the moment she lets her guard down... If you are looking for a fun and mysterious novel packed with urban fantasy elements, and lots of danger, you will want to read this. If you are a fan of the Alex Craft novels or Kate Daniel novels then I think you may like this.
A tough, intelligent heroine who can self-rescue but is smart enough to have backup when necessary
It's not often I give a 5-star rating to a book, but this one is stellar for its genre, especially for being on the Kindle Unlimited shelf. I always like a tough, intelligent heroine who can self-rescue but is smart enough to have backup when necessary, and we have that here with Alice. She gets knocked down, but she gets up again. While she does end up with a romantic interest, he does not take over her position as the lead or cause her to suddenly become a moron because of hormones. The mystery itself is a good one, keeps your interest throughout, and is resolved in the single book. There is foreshadowing of the continuing story and challenges to come, but no gotcha cliffhanger. Editing is good, nothing to interrupt the flow. worldbuilding and character development is also very good. All in all a very good story that keeps you engaged and caring for what's going to happen next. I look forward to reading the next book(s) in the series.
A debut novel that stuns with its imagination and craft
Because I read and review many books, I receive many unsolicited requests from new writers to review their first novels. I decline such requests as a matter of policy – if word were to get around that I respond positively to such requests, I’d be buried in them -- but even if it weren’t my policy, in the usual case first novels from indie writers have quite a lot wrong with them, and I can’t bring myself to write an insincere favorable review. (I can’t bring myself to hurt a fledgling novelist with a strongly negative one. I’m a writer too. We were all virgins once.) So it’s better for all concerned if I pass them by. Lisa Edmonds DID NOT request this review. “Heart of Malice” simply bowled me over. It’s been a very long time since a first novel in the urban-fantasy subgenre impressed me as this one did. Urban fantasy is a field badly marred by repetition. Everyone makes use of the same motifs: vampires, werewolves, magic, ghosts, the occasional demon or zombie. Very few bring anything new to those old ideas. “Heart of Malice” is exceptional in that regard...but not in that one alone. Yes, we have the all-too-familiar “tough chick / loner” protagonist who dislikes to be helped and distrusts by default. Yes, we have the obligatory romantic thread. But Miss Edmonds’s handling of those seemingly mandatory elements – at least, they appear to be mandatory in books from FEMALE urban-fantasy novelists – was surprisingly fresh, well founded, and not overdone. Indeed, the backstory – the injection of which I must also compliment; it’s seldom done as well as I’ve seen it here – was among the brightest of the novel’s gems. It gave me a sense that Miss Edmonds had put serious imaginative work into her world, its institutions, and the tensions among them. The fundamental elements of a good story were present: a strong, adequately complex plot, excellent characterization, and a clean narrative style, There was no obvious theme, though as this is undoubtedly the first book of a series, that element might yet develop as we follow Alice Worth through her adventures. A word of warning: The story arc must have Alice facing down her murderous grandfather at some point. Moreover, as that aspect of the character is her formative primary, the series must end after that showdown is over. The world can be reused, but the Alice Worth-as-protagonist story arc should come to an unambiguous end. Too many urban-fantasy novelists can’t seem to grasp that critical point when the story arc is COMPLETE and must be put to rest. If Miss Edmonds avoids that pitfall, she’ll have impressed me an order of magnitude more. Five well-earned stars, and I hope the sequel is available soon.
well
This book was awesome and fast paced. Action and more action. Poor Alice gets caught over and over in the foibles of others as she’s untangles a mystery. Love the mystery. Subtle foreshadowing and I didn’t guess the bad guy(s?). Don’t want to put any spoilers bc who likes that before they read the book. Just poor manners that. Anyways an epic read and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Fantastic!
Absolutely adore the characters, fully fleshed out and kick butt. Finished in less than a day, can't wait to move onto the next.
great read
I have given many reviews but most of them have not been favorable. Except for a slight disjointed hiccup (seemed to skip ahead in the plot without any buildup) at the beginning this was an enjoyable read. The rest of the book’s plot was great and flowed nicely. I really liked the characters and thought the storyline was great. I have already moved on to book 2. If you know me, if I don’t like the first book I do not read the second. I hope this review helps anyone who might be thinking about reading this book. I would recommend the first one at least
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I am really happy about stumbling across this delightful book. The world building is really good and the cast of characters are well thought out and well written. This is definitely a series I plan to dive into.
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