Riveting Read

Love it, so many twists and turns. The narrator brings the characters to life. It was not an ending I was expecting and I'm just about to order the second book to see what happens next to Jonathan, Kelly and the ghost. As for Sharon her story has only just begun to unfold I think.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com

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1 person found this helpful

Nothing like you'd expect

Reincarnated bad guys, a ghostly assistant and a look in from Hades' ferryman; everything bounces along from one scene of death and destruction to another via a decent plot. I enjoyed this

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"I figured that was a d... good start"

What did you like most about Modern Sorcery?

A thrill filled story in the world of wizards.
Jonathan Shade is the son of two powerful wizards but has no magic himself, unless being able to see ghosts and being totally impervious to magic counts. He runs a P.I.agency. He is still hopelessly besotted with his ex girlfriend, so when her father murders her mother then kills himself, she goes to Jonathan for help. But she is not being completely honest with him: there is an ancient and powerful sorcerer re-entering the scene. Lucky, then, that Shade has Esther, a helpful ghost and devoted receptionist secretary, and friend sword wielding warrior, Kelly, who feels no pain, to help him. Pity about Naomi, the ex.

Written with wit and quick repartee dialogue, this is a book to savour and enjoy, filled with colourful characters, surreal but also very human (even the ghost - perhaps especially the ghost),.caught up in a power struggle which threatens to kill them all. There are fight scenes and funny chases, twists and turns, and always the delightful interaction. Never a dull moment.

Joe Hempel, the narrator, captures it all. His performance matches the pace of the story throughout and everyone has their own distinct voice but, more than anything, he is Jonathan, whether wise cracking, afraid or recalling the past and longing for his girlfriend. A masterly reading.

This audio has everything for a light-hearted, enjoyable listen: thrills and action, murder and mayhem, delightful and despicable protagonists, a rompingly fun mystery, all deliciously delivered by an excellent narrator. What's not to like? Highly recommended, especially to Dresden File fans.

My thanks to the rights holder of Modern Sorcery, from whom I received a complementary copy, via Audiobook Boom, in exchange for an honest review. This I have given. Now, what is the title of Book II...?

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1 person found this helpful

Brilliant

Really enjoyed this story , I like the characters and was surprised by some of the things that happened , really good.

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In a world of magic, it's good to be immune!!

PI Jonathan Shade is drawn into a case by his ex girlfriend, as her father kills her mother. All is not as it seams, as dark magic is involved. Nice start to the series, Shade and his team look to he an interesting team.

Well narrated by Joe Hemel, he does a good job moving the story along at a nice pace.

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Casts a spell on you

I really enjoyed this book. I was a little bit reluctant about listening to this book because the blurb sounded a bit gruesome - a husband armed with a sword hacks apart his wife - but I fancied a change from my normal type of book and the reviews made it sound interesting so I gave it ago. So glad I did, even though there is a high body count in this book its not gone into detail and they occurred during battle so straight into the next fight, again of which there is a lot, best yet no tears from me the cry baby. I really liked the characters, especially the strong take no prisoners females Ester the ghost and Kelly the engineered assassin. The story flows nicely from one mess or fight to the next and keeps you hooked wondering what is going to happen next. I have downloaded the next book to continue the adventure.
Jonathan shade is hired by the girl who got away, when her father kills her mother in a busy grocery store. Jonathan doesn't want to take the case or knows what she wants him to prove with it all captured on the security camera but Jonathan can't say no to Naomi, he never could. Just when he is about to explain it is an open and shut case they are attacked and things get a lot more complicated. Fearing for her life Jonathan takes Naomi to his best friend and partner in the detective agency, Kelly for protection. Joined by there ghostly secretary Ester the three of them must keep Naomi alive if they stand any chance of working out what is going on. Ester hates Naomi for breaking his heart and Kelly hates wizards so this is going to be no picnic. Then throw in assassins that feel no pain and a ghost that can possess anyone he likes and is help bent on coming back from the dead more.powerful than before and Jonathan's world is about to get very complicated.
I liked the narrator, he did some really good voices for the characters.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Head Turner

Of course when you start following a narrator, you begin to see all the books they've done. this came on my newsfeed, and I thought okay why not. So I started to listen to it... I didn't take much notice of the title, just more the 'jonathan shade-novel' and knew it was part of a series, I mean come on guys, the more series I listen to the more complicated my listening life is.

However, in all seriousness, I had no idea it was paranormal and no idea what this book entailed. So from the very first 'Ester poked her head through the wall' I was laughing at her, Jonathan and my own stupidity for not even realising this was paranormal. I presumed it was a normal PI kinda book. And I was very pleasantly surprised.

Joe does a great narration, and that's one of the reasons why I picked this up. His characters stand out a mile, but I've gotta say that fact is marred by the 'I said, she said' you know when each character is speaking, and it got in the way a few times through this book. Of course not Joe's fault, more down to the author. I could after listening to some of Joe's other books tell this was an earlier version of him as a narrator, so I've still rated it according to all my thoughts.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the characters of course, Jonathan is a great guy, he's his personal issues, and his life is plodding along, all until an old flame walks in and wants him to investigate the murder of her mother by her father. The murder itself is brutal and horrid to listen to, but it adds in some great tension. Naomi isn't however letting Jonathan and his team in on all the facts and she's quite the secret keeper. Of course only his team keep warning him that there's something off with her and because he's still got love blinkers on, he doesn't listen till it's too late.

I admit here, one of my fav characters, is Kelly, she's the total kick ass woman we all love in these books, strong, not afraid to give an opinion and really not afraid to get stuck in and use what she's got to get the information they need.

Ester comes pretty close as a great lovable character too. :)

I admit, Joe you've got me wanting the rest in this series, it's action packed the characters are awesome, so much alive that you'd think they were real people. Goes all fangirl at the great storytelling and narrator acting. Haha now I gotta go pick up the others.

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2 people found this helpful

Quite good really

I was not at all keen on this story to start with but now, having listened to books 2 through to book 5 I am starting to really enjoy this series, I do feel that this first book is not quite as good as the others, it is lacking humour and the characters are not particularly well drawn, this I now believe, is because they grow over the series.

The narration is still a little dull in this first book, Joe Hempel is usually much more entertaining, and is definitely more entertaining in book 3, 4 and 5.

I do recommened this book and I recommend the series (as far as book 5 - might update if I get further).

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