19) The Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty

The Blurb :

Could you find a museum for a monster?
Or a jazz bar for a jabberwock?

Zoe Norris writes travel guides for the undead. And she's good at it too—her new-found ability to talk to cities seems to help. After the success of The Shambling Guide to New York City, Zoe and her team are sent to New Orleans to write the sequel.

Work isn't all that brings Zoe to the Big Easy. The only person who can save her boyfriend from zombism is rumored to live in the city's swamps, but Zoe's out of her element in the wilderness. With her supernatural colleagues waiting to see her fail, and rumors of a new threat hunting city talkers, can Zoe stay alive long enough to finish her next book?

My Thoughts :

I really enjoyed the Shambling Guide to New York and have been eagerly awaiting the release of this sequel.  Recently I haven't been able to pick up my Kindle as often as I would like but this is the book I have been grasping at every time I got the chance to.  As soon as it arrived on my Kindle I started it and couldn't wait to see what happened to Zöe this time around and how the author would continue the crazy but amazing paranormal tale she started in the first book.

If you are fed up of the usual vampire, werewolf and ghost Paranormal Urban Fantasy thing then you really need to try the Shambling Guides series.  The first book already showed how unique it was but this second book only builds and enforces the originality of the series.  Totally different to anything else I have been reading this is a sight for sore eyes.  Fresh and fabulous the general story, characters and concept are just wonderful.

This time around the Shambling Guides crew of writers are, as the title of the book promises, off to New Orleans on a Ghost Train.  There are some interesting revelations in this book and there are some very cool developments regarding to Zöe's abilities.  I have to say that I wasn't really impressed with Zöe's relationship with Arthur and welcomed all the decisions the author made about this aspect of the story.  I enjoyed the trip to New Orleans and finding out more about the Supernatural elements and found the new bits and pieces to be fun and intriguing.

Want something new and different then look no further.  The Shambling Guides, courtesy of Mur Lafferty, show that there is still some pretty cool ideas out there and they are being offered up to us, the lovers of everything paranormal.   Make sure you start with the first Shambling Guide to know what is what, who is who and why everything is happening.  Otherwise just curl up and enjoy the trip!





 

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67) The Shambling Guide to New York by Mur Lafferty

The Blurb :

A travel writer takes a job with a shady publishing company in New York, only to find that she must write a guide to the city - for the undead!

Because of the disaster that was her last job, Zoe is searching for a fresh start as a travel book editor in the tourist-centric New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her resume --- human.

Not to be put off by anything -- especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker -- Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble -- with Zoe right in the middle.


My Thoughts :

Just looking at the cover for this book made me want to read it.  The dragon on top of the Empire State building and that guy with a tail are just some of the little clues to what lies inside the pages of this debut in the Shambling Guides series.  If you read the blurb there is no going back because the promise of a monster world in New York is just too good of a thing to pass up on.

The world the author builds in this book is just amazing and on many occasions I found myself thinking of Shanna Swendson's Enchanted Inc Series which is also set in New York and has some cool fantasy aspects and creatures.  However this book isn't as romantic and doesn't have a chick-lit feel to it.  The Shambling Guide has a sophisticated fantasy feel with a 'it could be me' leading lady being swallowed up by a world she knew nothing about.  Zöe falls into a "rabbit hole" and finds out that vampires, golems, dragons and much much more exsist among normal human beings.  Finding out everything with her is exciting and gripping.  I couldn't put the book down.

I loved so much about this book!  From the interesting characters, strange and wonderful supernaturals and the location, it just had a bit of everything that I like and crave in a book.  The well thought out plot kept me reading and the small snippets from the Shambling guide at the end of each chapter sometimes made me giggle (NYC visitors will get the refrences better than others) and often made me go 'Ahhh' because it just all fit together so nicely with the story.

While the story developed I found myself getting pulled further into the world.  The idea of a monster world hiding among us is plausible and could just be real.  The author did a great job of making it realistic by adding details of the city and paying attention to how everything would fit together.

Now I will patiently wait for the next installment.  The ending promises a next Shambling Guide and I hope there will be one.  The author has created a very special place within New York and it would be great to see what she does with other cities.  It will also be good to see what Zöe gets up to next and how her relationships with both the coterie and her fellow humans develop.

If you haven't been to NYC yet then you certainly will want to pay it a visit after reading the Shambling Guide.  However I don't suggest using this guide when you go there, unless you are in fact coterie.  The Guide releases later this month and is a fantastic read that I can only highly recommend you give a go!