I love Lisa Shearin's Raine Benares books, but I was off-put by The Grendel Affair "The first in a new series." I stopped reading it because to me, this book seems like an early writing attempt, unearthed and brought forth, on the success of the Benares books. I don't know if that's the case, but there are a couple of annoying shortcuts employed in this book, that I've encountered with newbie novelist before.

First, The character introduction feels truncated... We're brought in to the story after that protagonist has made The Big Life Change. We're quickly told how the protagonist came to be in the new life circumstance that drives the plot, rather than reading through the change with her. I prefer to read boos in order, so whenever I run in to this it leaves that bothersome itch in my brain- "Hey you've accidentally started reading the second book in the series. Put it down! All the backstory you're missing is in the first book!"

Then there's the "baldly state that your character looks like actor X " approach to character description. One example, "Kinda like Mr. T without the bling." supports the theory that this book wasn't written in this decade. I don't mind that an author has an actor in mind for the character and intimates the resemblance to the reader. But I found the approach to be clumsy and a bit of a jarring shortcut in this book.

Basically, I think Lisa Shearin is a talented story teller and has done better work. I'm actually rather hoping that The Grendel Affair IS a revamp of an early manuscript, published now that she's established a following. In that case, the next book will be much better than this first in the series.
Perhaps, I'll fight my sequential book preference and give it a try. ( )

Meh. Typical smart-mouthed, plucky heroine with a magical talent that aspires to kicking monster ass in the city. Plus a hint of will-they-won't-they romantic tension with her partner. I'm tired of this story.

There was one particularly memorable scene when they came upon the missing informant tied up & suspended over the about-to-hatch clutch of human-eating monsters, but since it was an icky scene, the fact that it made me shudder made me appreciate the writing without actually increasing my enjoyment of the book. Oh, and I did like the scene in which our heroine uses the skills of her decidedly rural upbringing by driving a tractor hell for leather across a cemetery and smashing it into a Buick to catch a bad guy.

But I'm not interested in the rest of the series. ( )

Actually 3.5 stars. Liked the idea of the book, didn't really engage with the characters. ( )

This was fun and interesting, fresh and exciting, with cool twists on a lot of the urban fantasy tropes. I liked the mystery at the heart of the story, and the side plots, and the characters I was supposed to like. (Villains were good, but I can’t like villains, really.) Honestly, I read urban fantasies for the world-building at least as much as for the mystery, and the world here was pretty darn solid and rounded. (And like I said, a fresh take on a lot of the same-old.) I wasn’t so addicted that I’m rushing out to get book two, but that rarely happens these days anyway. I’ll likely pick it up if it crosses my path at the right time, though.

7/10 ( )

A good beginning to what could be an excellent series.

The action was fast paced when there was action. All the characters are likable, and the world building was well done while avoiding gigantic info dumps.

The fact that the main character has flaws and isn't a Mary Sue who can kick ass without training is another thing the author did right.

My biggest complaint about the book is you have this horrible smelling monster in the middle of Time Square on New Year's Eve, and no one notices it. Sure, it's using a device that hides it from sight and hearing, but the author takes pains to make sure you can still smell it. I'm talking an odor so great that it is distinctive even over the smells of a NYC sewer. But no one in the crowd noticed it.

That and a couple of instances of Dues Ex Machina kept this from being a 4 or 5 star book. That said, I can't wait until I read the next book. ( )