Book Review: Sagittarius

 

Claire speaks with the dead every day, and honestly, sometimes she prefers them to the living. But when the monstrous caretakers of the Beyond escape their otherwordly tethers, and a mysterious (and admittedly handsome) Guardian arrives in her world to re-capture them, Claire's life is turned upside-down. She never expected that the responsibility of saving the damn world would rest on her weary shoulders.

Someone pass her the whiskey, please.

Constantine meets Supernatural in this page-turning paranormal urban fantasy set in the Gaslamp of San Diego, from poet and debut fiction author Sierra Zounes.

From the cover...

The city of San Diego is filled with people just trying to make ends meet, and the dead are no different. No one knows that better than Claire Reed, gifted (or cursed) with the ability to see spirits of the departed. Struggling on the wrong side of twenty and down on her luck, Claire is stuck performing séances that barely pay the rent. Maybe if both the living and dead would leave her alone, she'd be able to catch a break.

Claire’s life is upended when there is a breach in purgatory's gates and a horde of astrological demons is set loose on the Gaslamp of San Diego. Michael, the enigmatic Guardian of The Beyond, explodes into her life in a fiery blaze that leaves her reeling, and he needs her help.

Together with their rag-tag band of reluctant heroes, Claire and Michael must capture these monstrous entities before they bring about the End of Times. The first rampaging demon they must defeat is Sagittarius, hungry for knowledge, freedom, and human prey.

Will the stars above light their way to victory, or merely shine down on the downfall of humankind?

My Review

For my first book from this author, it is a good one. Although, I will admit that I did find myself ebbing and flowing with the pacing. In the beginning I was drawn to the story with Claire. She is a very intriguing character. I can see both pros and cons to being able to talk to the dead. One you could help them to cross over or solve how they died. However, on the other hand with the latter, some ghosts can be very persistent and annoying. Example Henry.

No, Henry is not a bad person. In fact, he brought some humor to the story. In addition to the fact that he really grew on me. The other main character in this story is Michael. He rounded out this group. Together the three of them worked well together.

The further I got into the story; it did pick up the pacing. By the halfway point, the story had gained momentum. Readers looking for something new and exciting to read, should check out this book.