I've decided to combine my reviews of the first four books in this series because I've just blazed through them all in a few short days. This is the first half of the series and offers a cohesive grouping, while the final three books are a grouping of their own that I'll share a review for once I've finished it.
Glimmer of the Other:
This is a fantastic, fast-paced, action-packed contemporary fantasy adventure set in the UK (in and around Liverpool). I particularly liked the unusual setting, as most fantasy set in our world is either in the US or in London or Oxford or something. Having a less common real location added a lot to the feel of the story.
I absolutely adore the magic system and the worldbuilding. This is a great "discovery of magic's existence" story, and Jinx is a fantastic character. I loved her bouncy personality and the way most things simply don't faze her, but then random small magical things completely freak her out (both in negative and positive ways). That's fab characterisation and the nuance to worldbuilding added so much! Then there's Gato, Jinx's "Great Dane" who is not. Just the jokes around the name were hilarious, but what this "dog" turns out to be is even more hilarious, and interesting how it slots into the world and magic. Very fun and adds another fabulous layer.
The plot was incredible and just kept me going. I'm likely to binge this series if the rest of the books are equally good. Definitely a fantastic and unusual first course, and I'm so looking forward to the whole gourmet meal.
Glimmer of Hope:
Oh, my! The murder mystery is so good! I absolutely loved every minute of this guessing game built up in a fun contemporary fantasy world where magical creatures and humans live side-by-side and the humans, as ever, are oblivious. I adore the magic system. Jinx is an awesome character, and I think I'm in love with Emory--but who wouldn't be? And of course, Gato is the best!
I really like how the hints of the overarching storyline, the investigation into Jinx's parent's murder, has wonderful tidbits worked into the main plot of the story, and helps to keep driving things forwards without distracting from the main plotline of this particular book. That takes real skills, and Harris does a fab job of weaving it all together into a cohesive picture.
If you don't like cliffhangers, be warned. This novel has a completed ending, but gives a wonderfully intense teaser for the next book, so you might want to buy books 2 and 3 as a cohesive unit and just get straight to the next in series as I'm doing. Phew, I'm grateful I went for getting the whole lot in a go.
Highly recommend! If you like more adult contemporary fantasy without the spice, with exceptional worldbuilding, fun sleuthing, and a great party of heroes, you'll definitely want to check this out.
Glimmer of Death:
Oh, no, no, no! What a shocker! This one has so many emotional moments and twists I just didn't see coming. I'm going to need a moment to get over the reveals in this third book of the series. They were definitely intense.
PI Jinx has her work cut out for her when in the aftermath of the drug gang incident of the previous book she's hired to look into the unexplained illness that's affected non-human, sentient magical creatures. The storyline weaves together elements of the overarching plotline that spans all the books so far, as well as elements from the previous book. From a reader's perspective, I definitely see books 2 and 3 as a holistic, tighly knit duet, as a lot of the plot elements and characters feature in both books.
This fast-paced, action-packed contemporary fantasy adventure has it all (except for spice). It's a perfect fade-to-black New Adult romance by this book. Fabulous read and I cannot wait to get stuck into the fourth book in this awesome series.
Glimmer of Deception:
The twists and turns, the unexpected heartbreaking moments, the warm and fuzzies... This series has it all and things really ramp up in this volume with Jinx facing murder attempts and having to figure out who's behind them. Of course, she's got her posse of awesomeness to help her work through all the clues. I adore the sleuthing in these books, and this one is no less intriguing, of course it's more personal since Jinx is the target.
The big reveal about Gato was so awesome and then shattered me towards the end. I'm definitely super attached to the characters in this book and unexpected tragedy, though well done and very believable, hits hard because of it. I absolutely love how this author brings out all the emotions so wonderfully.
There's also a great lot of food for thought in this one. The worldbuilding is pretty solid now, with very few big reveals about how it all works, but that means the author is starting to play around with the internal world politics and belief systems, which allows for lots of cross-referencing to our world, and she does it brilliantly. Harris has important things to say about tolerance of difference, and I really admire how well it comes across throughout the series, each new book building on the previous one and adding another layer about the dangers of prejudice, no matter how "innocuous". And I'm super excited that Jinx and Emory are probably going to be working on this particular problem more directly in future books in the series. I'm excited to find out what they decide to do to help cross the divide.
I am definitely obsessed with this series and highly recommend anyone who enjoys contemporary fantasy ought to pick this up. It's truly fabulous.
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