Saturday, November 30, 2013

Review: Realm Walker by Kathleen Collins

Realm Walker
Release Date: October 28, 2013
Publisher: Carina Press
Realm Walker Book #1
ISBN:  1299865488
ISBN13: 9781299865488
Genre:Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Author

An estranged mate, a mangled body and a powerful demon who calls her by name…

As a Realm Walker for the Agency, Juliana Norris tracks deadly paranormal quarry using her unique ability to see magical signatures. She excels at her job, but her friends worry about her mysterious habit of dying in the line of duty without staying dead. That’s only the first of her secrets.

Most people don’t know Juliana became the mate of master vampire Thomas Kendrick before he abandoned her seven years ago. Most people don’t know the horrors she endured at the hands of the vampire he left in command. Most people don’t know her true parentage, or why a demon on a world-threatening rampage has taken a personal interest in her…

Even as Juliana pursues the demon, it goes after all she holds dear—including Thomas, who is back to claim her for his own. But if she can’t reconcile her past and learn to trust herself again, she will lose him forever.
As a realm walker, Juliana is able to see the magical signatures of every other creature but demons. When a demon starts going after her and everyone she cares about she has to work double to try and catch them before she looses everything.

Although I enjoyed REALM WALKER there were a few issues that jump out. The story was slow on the start. I did not connect with the characters or the storyline right away. There was a lot of background and build up throughout the story and when the story actually peaked it felt like there wasn't much left to the book. I sometimes felt like I was missing something. Having said that at least all the background is out-of-the-way for book 2!

Now for the good stuff. There was a ton of action. When things got interesting they stayed interesting. I enjoyed learning about Juliana and her background with Thomas. Juliana's job is interesting and I liked seeing her in action. There really isn't a romance, there is Juliana avoiding and Thomas pursuing but they don't actually meet in the middle until the end (which is part of the build up and end thing I talked about). BUT What we did get of these two and the part of the story that dealt with Michael was entertaining to follow.

REALM WALKER ended with me happy I read it. It has a lot of promise and I want to know what happens now for Thomas and Juliana.

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.