Evil Ways by Justin Gustainis
Title: Evil Ways
Author: Justin Gustainis
Series: Chastaine and Morris, #2
Genre: Sexy pentacle tattoo. The first one was more of a dark fantasy. I wonder what created the change.
Setting: Mostly the northern US. This also has a pastiche quality because the main character, we are told, is descended from the Quincey Morris of Dracula fame.
Reason for Reading: I enjoyed the first one a lot so I kept a lookout for this one.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 448
Copyright Date: 2009
Cover: A woman in white, a man in black, a lot of bats, and a full moon.
First line: "Quincey Morris stood alone in the shadows of a decaying eucalyptus tree and wondered if this was the night he was going to die."
Themes: Black magic, child sacrifice, witches of all kinds, espionage. Also, anyone who has past sexual trauma should be careful, there is a part of this book that could be incredibly triggering.
Best part: I kind of liked that the sex and violence were stepped up, though the manner in which this was accomplished was somewhat disturbing in parts.
Worst part: I had a poor reaction to the difference in description between the Sisterhood and the Satanists.
Here's how the good witches are introduced:
"Their ages, at a rough guess, went from late twenties to mid-fifties, and their attire ranged from blue jeans to business suits." (p 272)
And the bad witches:
"Their ages ranged from twenties to fifities, and their garments spanned the gamut from goth, to biker chick, to hippy, to punk, to almost nothing at all." (p 287)
Anyone see how I might have a problem with this?*
Imaginary Theme Song: "Evil Ways" by Santana
Grade: C
Recommended for: Anybody who is wondering why there aren't more guys in the SPT genre.
Related Reads: Black Magic Woman, the first book. Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey.
*I'll admit I feel a little guilty even bringing this up when Gustainis was kind enough to respond to a previous review of mine. I am also very impressed with how he handled the naming convention challenge, with titling the next book in the series Sympathy for the Devil.
Author: Justin Gustainis
Series: Chastaine and Morris, #2
Genre: Sexy pentacle tattoo. The first one was more of a dark fantasy. I wonder what created the change.
Setting: Mostly the northern US. This also has a pastiche quality because the main character, we are told, is descended from the Quincey Morris of Dracula fame.
Reason for Reading: I enjoyed the first one a lot so I kept a lookout for this one.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 448
Copyright Date: 2009
Cover: A woman in white, a man in black, a lot of bats, and a full moon.
First line: "Quincey Morris stood alone in the shadows of a decaying eucalyptus tree and wondered if this was the night he was going to die."
Themes: Black magic, child sacrifice, witches of all kinds, espionage. Also, anyone who has past sexual trauma should be careful, there is a part of this book that could be incredibly triggering.
Best part: I kind of liked that the sex and violence were stepped up, though the manner in which this was accomplished was somewhat disturbing in parts.
Worst part: I had a poor reaction to the difference in description between the Sisterhood and the Satanists.
Here's how the good witches are introduced:
"Their ages, at a rough guess, went from late twenties to mid-fifties, and their attire ranged from blue jeans to business suits." (p 272)
And the bad witches:
"Their ages ranged from twenties to fifities, and their garments spanned the gamut from goth, to biker chick, to hippy, to punk, to almost nothing at all." (p 287)
Anyone see how I might have a problem with this?*
Imaginary Theme Song: "Evil Ways" by Santana
Grade: C
Recommended for: Anybody who is wondering why there aren't more guys in the SPT genre.
Related Reads: Black Magic Woman, the first book. Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey.
*I'll admit I feel a little guilty even bringing this up when Gustainis was kind enough to respond to a previous review of mine. I am also very impressed with how he handled the naming convention challenge, with titling the next book in the series Sympathy for the Devil.