Musings and Ramblings

The Veil

Devil's Isle, #1

Chloe Neill

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Group
Date of Publication: August 4, 2015
Number of pages: 352

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…

I took a look at this book because I have enjoyed the author's Chicagoland Vampires series and - let's be honest here - if the author is going to interrupt writing that series with another, there are less withdrawal pains if you read that series as well to offset the symptoms. But do not go in expecting this to just be Merit in New Orleans, because you will be seriously disappointed.

Merit and Claire couldn't be more different. Merit was a grad student, well versed in research and academia. Claire barely finished high school and is much more street savvy.  Merit is self assured and has no problem being front and center at any gathering. Claire lives a beige life, trying her hardest to fly under the radar and not attract any attention. Plus, this isn't a big time, big lights, big city setting; this is a post-apocalyptic, war ravaged city under martial law. In other words, definitely not just a New Orleans remake and remix.

Our girl Claire came of age during a time of war. Something called The Veil, a barrier between us and a world of magic and Paranormals, was broken. The Paranormals came to take over. Of course, we fought back with severe prejudice. In the space of a year, it left her orphaned and alone, struggling to make her way in a world where having any magical ability earned you a one way trip to Devil's Isle. And if you were a human "Sensitive", your future included turning into a Wraith, a dangerous shadow of a yourself, interested only in sucking in more magic.

As this is the first book in the series, there is a lot of world building and set up that has to be done, and it was skillfully accomplished. Basically, we learn about this new world as Claire finds out that what she thought she knew was either just the tip of the iceberg or complete fabrication. This was an excellent start to the series and I look forward to the next installment. I am giving this book 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review the book.