Arcadia Bell, Book 1

Synopsis : Meet Arcadia Bell: bartender, renegade magician, fugitive from the law. . . .

Being the spawn of two infamous occultists (and alleged murderers) isn’t easy, but freewheeling magician Arcadia “Cady” Bell knows how to make the best of a crummy situation. After hiding out for seven years, she’s carved an incognito niche for herself slinging drinks at the demon-friendly Tambuku Tiki Lounge.

But she receives an ultimatum when unexpected surveillance footage of her notorious parents surfaces: either prove their innocence or surrender herself. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crimes was an elusive Æthyric demon, and Cady has no idea how to find it. She teams up with Lon Butler, an enigmatic demonologist with a special talent for sexual spells and an arcane library of priceless stolen grimoires. Their research soon escalates into a storm of conflict involving missing police evidence, the decadent Hellfire Club, a ruthless bounty hunter, and a powerful occult society that operates way outside the law. If Cady can’t clear her family name soon, she’ll be forced to sacrifice her own life . . . and no amount of running will save her this time.

Review : I was very curious about the synopsis, which mixes magicians and demons. No fairies, neither vampires but a lot of demons and It was really interesting. Indeed, they are a lot of species, some, the Æthyric just lives in another reality, others, the Earth-bounds live with humans and magicians. They have, each, a different power : the “knack”, which appears during the adolescence. It’s really intriguing to see them evolve in the daily life. The magicians are distributed in different societies which, of course, hate each others. Every person who possesses a paranormal power, can see the persons halo to know what they are.

It’s in this world where we can find Arcadia Bell, a young woman who runs away from her past. But she had to find the demon responsible of old murders to save herself and her family. She is really strong and faithful with her relatives, and she will do anything to help them. She will team up with Lon, an interesting demon. We wonder when he first meets Cady, what he really wants and who he is. After, we are very curious about his ex, the Hellfire Club or even his origins. I think the relationship between him and Cady was a little too easy, despite of the fact that he was all along very cautious and protective.

I love Lon’s son, I think it’s a character we can only love ! He is appealing, enthusiastic, chatty and very curious. We can easily identify ourselves to him and I was waiting his appearances in the story. It was funny that the Arcadia parents were french, it always makes me smile to have some french references.

About the framework story, it was really interesting and I was intriguing about her quest. I didn’t expect this end which finally was a good idea.