Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"In a world where magic walks and demons ride, you can't always play by the rules.

Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers -- and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College."

My Thoughts:

Unclean Spirits was a satisfactory beginning to this urban fantasy series with a unique and entertaining world. And although I thought that this book was a solid read, I did have a few issues with it. Let's start off with the positive first and what I enjoyed. The storyline and world building in this book were very unique which was one of the best things about this book. The author created an unusual world where vampires and demons used human bodies to live and were called "riders". Jayne is kinda thrown into this world which makes it interesting as we get to learn about the world (and all of these supernatural things) right along with her. She gets caught up in the struggle against the riders and their leader after her beloved uncle dies.

Jayne was an interesting main character. She came across as very realistic as she struggled to come to terms with all of the changes in her life. And unfortunately she doesn't really have anyone that can give her all of the answers even though she does develop a group of allies that she works with. I really liked the different characters that made up Jayne's inner group. They were all unique and with their own stories...I hope that we get to continue to learn more about them in future books. And although I liked Jayne's character, I struggled with her indecisiveness at times as well as her lack of confidence in herself. There were times that I just wanted her to be more assertive and ready for whatever was going to thrown at her next. This could just be my preference when it comes to female urban fantasy heroines...I fully admit it. But her character did affect my enjoyment of the book at certain points. That being said, I am eager to continue on with the series. I feel like the ending of the book helped to show a stronger, more confident side to Jayne, and I'm hopeful that it will carry on as the books progress. Plus, I'm curious to see what will happen next!

Overall, this wasn't my favorite beginning to an urban fantasy series but I did enjoy it. I really enjoyed the world that the author created as it was nice and dark while still being original. I will definitely be picking up book two in this series. Recommended.

Bottom Line: An enjoyable read but with a few flaws.

Disclosure: Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. My thoughts are my own :)