Review: Unhuman Light

Unhuman Light by Chris Stoneheart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A vegan human who fights demons, defies vampires, god-like beings yet cries after killing the bad guys... how exactly does this work? Quite well! This new series is intriguing and contains all the elements of rich and meaty urban fantasy.

Recommendation

Recommend this urban fantasy to readers who enjoy strong female leads who are not afraid to buck the system. Fans of Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews will enjoy this new series by new author, Ms. Stoneheart.

Characters

The characters in this book are intense and stand out. Each supporting cast to Kaitlin is unique and demands their own attention and adoration. Powerful men working together to teach, protect and support a female is a heady fantasy. When said female can take care of herself and return the favor, it is even better. What is also interesting is that there are other females in this story who are friends of Kaitlin and support her. One of them, Cora is a strong werewolf and her relationship with Kaitlin is of genuine friendship. This is key because so many books have lead female characters who horde all the males and have catty backstabbing frenemies. It is a pleasure to read a book where it flies contrary to the current drivel peddled to women.

Things I liked
✓ Alpha males
✓ Complex lead character
✓ Demons
✓ Shifters
✓ Strong friendship with other women
✓ Strong protagonist
✓ Strong supporting characters
✓ Vampires

World building

Set in the Tennessee, by day, Kaitlin O'Malley is a therapist helping people work through their problems. By night and as a "hobby" she fights demons kidnapping women. She freelances as a demon fighter for her friend Aaron Drake who happens to be a dragon shifter. With her toes dangling into the supernatural waters, it is to be expected the monsters will grab her toes and drag her in their world.

This first book seems to be setting up the world and characters. There are vampires, demons, shifters and other beings. Coming from Kaitlin's point of view, it is a bit overwhelming because she is only human. Well, a human with a little extra kick. This supernatural world is vast with many different alliances that are unknown to Kaitlin. The reader follows along with Kaitlin trying to figure out who is allied with whom and what kind of other supernatural groups exist. It's exciting and daunting at the same time. Seeing a little glimpse of the Fae world promises more fun to come.

Action/Plot

The amount of action and reveals in this book is surprising. Usually, authors give a little taste of their world to hook a read in. The books usually cover only a few days events or less. In this one, it feels like weeks have been condensed into days. And yet years are explained as past history or flash backs to decades or centuries are distilled in just a few pages. It is impressive how fluid the time is in this story and how much group is covered. Just as the reader expects the book to end, it continues on. Then when the book ends, it feels as if the length is not enough. The book concludes well and creates a desire to see what will happen next.

I received this book as an advance read copy