Killian's Dead and May Day (Seekers Series, books 0.5 and 1)
By Josie Jaffrey
Killian's Dead Blurb:
Love is for losers.
Jack doesn't care about anything except music. All she wants to do is find a decent gig, stand by the speakers and let the bass roll through her. It's the only reason she gets out of bed.
Until she meets Winta. In the space of a second, everything is different. Winta knows what she wants and for one night, what she wants is Jack. It feels like the start of forever.
Then Winta disappears and Jack faces a choice: should she go back to her life, or track down the only girl who can change it beyond recognition?
One things' certain: Jack has no idea what she's getting herself into.
If the murderer you’re tracking is a vampire, then you want a vampire detective. Just maybe not this one.
It’s not that Jack Valentine is bad at her job. The youngest member of Oxford’s Seekers has an impressive track record, but she also has an impressive grudge against the local baron, Killian Drake.
When a human turns up dead on May Morning, she’s determined to pin the murder on Drake. The problem is that none of the evidence points to him. Instead, it leads Jack into a web of conspiracy involving the most powerful people in the country, people to whom Jack has no access. But she knows someone who does.
To get to the truth, Jack will have to partner up with her worst enemy. As long as she can keep her cool, Drake will point her to the ringleaders, she’ll find the murderer and no one else will have to die.
Body bags on standby.
May Day is the first book in Josie Jaffrey’s Seekers series, an urban fantasy series set in Oxford, England.
Review:
I received both of these books as ARC’s for an honest review. I was really happy to receive it as a physical book rather than an ebook and they both came signed which I just really appreciate. I will try to keep the review as spoiler free as possible but it will be hard to not spoil the short story when discussing May Day but I will try. If you don’t want it spoiled, skip the May Day review.
Killian's Dead Review:
This is a short story that accompanies May Day. I would recommend reading it because it makes some of May Day make more sense. It’s only about 23 pages long so it’s really quick but with vital background information.
This short story is about Jack Valentine who is the main character in the Seekers Series. It’s set in Oxford UK. Which is quite a unique setting for a book, for me anyway. It’s about her time clubbing and having a good time. She meets a girl and falls in love with her, then things take a turn.
At first, I was worried it was going to be a romance heavy book but that’s not how it was at all. Yes there are romance elements in both books but I would say they are the B plot especially for May Day.
As I was reading the short story, I wasn’t a big fan of the main character but this changed as I read more of her in May Day. So if you don’t like her at first then you should hopefully like her in the next book.
The ending of the book was perfect and the final sentence was beautifully done. I would say overall this short story is 4 stars and that’s just because I didn’t enjoy Jack too much in this one.
May Day Review:
Now onto the main book of the series. This book is about vampires that are known as Silvers due to the colours in the eyes. This isn’t really made clear in the short story until near the end of the short story. It takes place 20 years later as Jack is now a fully fledged vampire working for an organisation known as Seekers. They help make sure the Silvers don’t leak out their secret by not killing humans discreetly. So this adds an interesting detective element to a untypical vampire story.
The main plot is that Jack needs to find out who killed a human that was found publicly dead. Silvers can smell when a silver has hurt a human which is how they can decipher when a crime is by humans or by silvers. Jack needs to solve the case but their is conspiracy complications but she also to deal with difficulties with some love interests.
The vampires in this story had some unique traits compared to other series I have read. They need to drink blood for energy but they still get hungry and eat regular food. Day time doesn’t affect them at all. They still live forever but I think they need to be burned or beheaded to actually die. They have a strong sense of smell, extra strength, hearing etc. The thing I found most interesting was the ‘mark’. This was a scent left on someone you claimed as property essentially. Someone you would kiss but with enough love that they are yours but both people need to reciprocate the feelings for it to work.
I also want to quickly mention how this series is very LGBT+ friendly. The main character is bi-sexual. You’ve also got other representative characters which is nice.It’s also worth noting there is a fair bit of swearing but I wouldn’t say it was excessive, it suits the character and doesn’t feel forced. I don’t mind swearing in books when done like that.
One thing I loved about this book was the majority of the chapters were 10 pages long. It’s the perfect chapter length and it was so consistent. I really appreciate that.
I really enjoyed the natural flow of the book. The characters' conversations were so normal and enjoyable. Sometimes even funny. One friendship I really loved was Jack and her detective partner Cam. They just got on so well and would have really fun moments together.
One thing in the book that stood out was a vampire cocktail recipe. Involving blood and alcohol but also included alcohol drinking rules. It’s just something different for me seeing the social side of vampires, they even played ring of fire; a drinking game I never expected to appear in a book. To be honest the vampire part of the book wasn’t a huge element. It was more about solving the crime. But I didn’t mind as I was enjoying having both elements.
Something noteworthy is that there was a spelling error on page 214. It should say ‘thought’. I hope that was removed for the real book publication.
I think the element that I didn’t enjoy as much was the ending. However, I’m sure there is a book 2 eventually which will make things feel more finalised. I’ll accept the ending more based on book 2.
I decided to give it 4 stars, as I did enjoy reading it but I wouldn’t say it was necessarily 5 star level. Book 2 has that potential to rise.
Now onto the main book of the series. This book is about vampires that are known as Silvers due to the colours in the eyes. This isn’t really made clear in the short story until near the end of the short story. It takes place 20 years later as Jack is now a fully fledged vampire working for an organisation known as Seekers. They help make sure the Silvers don’t leak out their secret by not killing humans discreetly. So this adds an interesting detective element to a untypical vampire story.
The main plot is that Jack needs to find out who killed a human that was found publicly dead. Silvers can smell when a silver has hurt a human which is how they can decipher when a crime is by humans or by silvers. Jack needs to solve the case but their is conspiracy complications but she also to deal with difficulties with some love interests.
The vampires in this story had some unique traits compared to other series I have read. They need to drink blood for energy but they still get hungry and eat regular food. Day time doesn’t affect them at all. They still live forever but I think they need to be burned or beheaded to actually die. They have a strong sense of smell, extra strength, hearing etc. The thing I found most interesting was the ‘mark’. This was a scent left on someone you claimed as property essentially. Someone you would kiss but with enough love that they are yours but both people need to reciprocate the feelings for it to work.
I also want to quickly mention how this series is very LGBT+ friendly. The main character is bi-sexual. You’ve also got other representative characters which is nice.It’s also worth noting there is a fair bit of swearing but I wouldn’t say it was excessive, it suits the character and doesn’t feel forced. I don’t mind swearing in books when done like that.
One thing I loved about this book was the majority of the chapters were 10 pages long. It’s the perfect chapter length and it was so consistent. I really appreciate that.
I really enjoyed the natural flow of the book. The characters' conversations were so normal and enjoyable. Sometimes even funny. One friendship I really loved was Jack and her detective partner Cam. They just got on so well and would have really fun moments together.
One thing in the book that stood out was a vampire cocktail recipe. Involving blood and alcohol but also included alcohol drinking rules. It’s just something different for me seeing the social side of vampires, they even played ring of fire; a drinking game I never expected to appear in a book. To be honest the vampire part of the book wasn’t a huge element. It was more about solving the crime. But I didn’t mind as I was enjoying having both elements.
Something noteworthy is that there was a spelling error on page 214. It should say ‘thought’. I hope that was removed for the real book publication.
I think the element that I didn’t enjoy as much was the ending. However, I’m sure there is a book 2 eventually which will make things feel more finalised. I’ll accept the ending more based on book 2.
I decided to give it 4 stars, as I did enjoy reading it but I wouldn’t say it was necessarily 5 star level. Book 2 has that potential to rise.
Rating: 4 runes out of 5
written by Lauren
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