Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.
Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.
Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.
But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…
My Thoughts :
Chloe Neill is one of the good Paranormal Urban Fantasy writers that you always want more from. So despite being behind on the Chicagoland Vampire series I couldn't resist requesting a copy of this 'first in a new series' when I saw it. The blurb sounded good and the cover was of the usual quality. I just hoped that I hadn't made the wrong choice by taking on another series.
The good news is that The Veil was definitely worth reading. It wasn't a mind blowing wow read but it was unique and exciting. There are no resemblances to Merit so don't even go looking and there isn't even a mention of vampires so make sure you aren't going to be all upset when this isn't what you expected. The Veil is something completely new and once you get into Devil's Isle it is pretty hard to leave again.
As plots go this was very good. A nice story with enough happening to keep me interested and some great world building got me hooked within a few chapters. I was eager to find out where the author was taking things and what other cool new surprises she had up her sleeve. As it turned out things continued to get even better as the story progressed with the magic and paranormal elements shining through and impressing me.
The characters were a different matter though. It seems the author used all her energy on the great world building and didn't put enough into the people living in it. Claire was open enough but I didn't really feel like I got to know her that well. Also I couldn't accept the fact that she was twenty-four years old. I think the author had a problem with this too because it was mentioned every now and again like a reminder.
Liam and the others were ok but they didn't feel like they were going to be staying till the end of the book. I could have said goodbye to them at any time and wouldn't have cared if a completely new bunch of people appeared and took their place.
The world that Chloe has created in this new series is very special but I felt like I was still missing some pieces of the puzzle. I got the impression that the characters weren't telling me everything I needed to know and I yearned for the Veil to open and more paranormals to appear. Also I was completely confused about how the rest of the world was doing. Why are these people suffering? Why can't they get better goods etc. Surely the rest of the world is ok? Maybe I didn't take this information in properly?
Teething problems aside this was a strong series debut and a great concept. I am looking forward to reading more about Claire, the Veil and Devil's Isle. The seed has been planted and I am going to watch it grow.
