An interesting fantasy, I'd recommend to older readers and hard-core fantasy.

3,5 stars

I loved the authenticity of the main character and the self-deprecating humour. I struggled with the action scenes, though, they were sometimes confusing and I couldn't always follow what was happening.

But I still enjoyed the heck out of this book.

Urban fantasy, good world building, fast paced, good read. I didn't really connect with the MC. I mean, it was good and all that, but I found it a bit too gritty, too much fighting, and not much else.

Aside from that, I got slightly ticked off by this being a man protecting the pretty damsel in distress kind of story. She only got to redeem herself in the end, but pretty much throughout the book, she was a useless damsel. The other women characters might've made up for it, but even tho they were ultra powerful, they were too busy being neutral to be interesting. Most of the time.

It was still an enjoyable book. I like the idea of artificing. Janzen was a good quick on his feet thinking character, and the action was great too, if you go for that.

Disclaimer: I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book - the protagonist and his weird humor in particular - reminded me a lot of Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles.

This story follows twenty-something Janzen Robinson, former monster hunting squad member turned package courier, on his mission to save a pretty young witch who's inadvertently caught the attention of an evil, blood-thirsty and basically invincably creature. Not being the bad-ass he wants to be, Janzen struggles to stay alive himself while desperately trying to keep Maria safe, but unlikely allies start gathering around him - including a deaf ex-soldier and a motherly fae.
Will Janzen and his new crew be able to stop what- or whoever is after them?

Kudos to the author for creating such an intriguing yet completely approachable male lead. I loved that Janzen wasn't one of those almighty, infallible, top-of-the-class super heroes. He was an artificer, but not a very good one. He was just mediocre in most anything he did - working his magic, fighting, interacting with women, his job. But, and that's what made him so interesting to read about, he was incredibly resourceful and had one hell of a big trap.

While his smart-ass quips had me laughing out loud repeatedly, and his on-the-fly decision making made me cheer him on, it was that adorable bromance between him and Grove that really got me.

There was a great story, too, along with some interesting world building, and lots and lots of dark, dry humor.

The only, but rather big issue I had with this book was the pacing. The slow pace and, in my opinion, slightly botched arc of suspense made it seem so much longer than its actual two-hundred something pages, and while overall, this was a very enjoyable read, I did find myself struggling with it quite a few times.
Considering that this was Lawrence Davis's debut, though: totally forgivable.

Amazing start to a new Urban Fantasy series. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.

I really enjoyed Blunt Force Magic!! For me, it was very reminiscent of Karen Marie Moning. Lots of mystical creatures living in our present time with only a few folks being aware and always fighting to save the sad "Muggles" who have no clue. Our main character Janzen was a breath of fresh air. I appreciated his cynicism and ability to use humor in all situations, especially when fighting for his life or protecting his friends.

The story is well paced with lots of action. The writing is very descriptive without being overly wordy. You do need to pay attention to understand the relationship pieces but that didn't distract me from the story at all.

I definitely recommend this book to all fantasy readers and I will be anxiously waiting to read more of this trilogy! Many thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent protagonist. There often seems to be either the naive innocent, or the hero who is cynical, world weary, and INCREDIBLY talented. Its either Belgarion or Sparhawk, Ben Aaronovich's Peter Grant or Dresden/ Alex Verus.
I like that this hero admit's that he's not best in field. He has given up in many ways, and it's only when his old life literally appears in his face that he is willing to go back.
Strong urban fantasy, strong protagonist. I'd be interested in more

ARC/ebook/Fantasy: I want to thank NetGalley for this ARC in lieu of a honest review. When I saw the cover, which I do judge by, I thought it was a pseudoscience book. I was surprised when reading the summary that it was urban fantasy. This book came out about a month ago, so no spoilers here.

Here is how I felt about the book: I really love the Dresden series and this one is similar. I like the hero Jenzen and his partner Grove. While I understand the necessity of making a "book 1" short & simple to make the reader want more, this book was too simple on character development. Jenzen was not explained enough considering the novel is written in first person, I felt like the narrator should have told me more and made me care more.

Grove was explained even less and the fact he was only deaf several years, not decades, and an apparent loner, he was extremely proficient at reading lips. Then there were several sub-characters that confused me and I couldn't figure out if Kaycee the elf was good or bad. I also had a problem with the world logic. I've read books with the supernaturals in hiding and in the open. I like both realms in my fantasy books. All-in-all, I felt it was an average book. I did like it, but I didn't love it.

Though the cool cover shouts otherwise – at least to me, who thought this was going to morph into epic fantasy, this story is very much within the urban fantasy genre. That said, there are some striking differences that make this one stand out. Yes, Janzen has been selected as an apprentice due to his natural talent – however, that was a while ago. In the meantime, something terrible has happened to his mentor and he has spent the last five years just getting by. Therefore, while he does have raw talent, there is relatively little skill or finesse in his workings. I really like the idea that he is only half trained and that because of his chippy, mouthy character, he is also tricky to help, as he is often his own worst enemy.

That doesn’t stop him plunging into a desperate situation against a very dangerous opponent without too much thought about the consequences. This is partly due to his own bloody-minded nature and partly due to the survivor guilt he still feels.

While I’m always wary of assuming authors necessarily shoehorn their own lives into their writing, I was interested to read that Davis is a war veteran who served in Iraq. The young soldier who befriends Janzen is very well depicted and all the action scenes are effective and realistic.

In short, this one held me throughout. I liked the dynamic and the fact that there was no romantic relationship running throughout – a refreshing change in urban fantasy, these days. I also liked the scrabbling, somewhat desperate nature of Janzen’s opposition to the nasties ranged against him. I particularly appreciated the monsters – especially the stalkers, which are truly terrifying creatures.

All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable new series and I very much look forward to reading another slice of Janzen’s adventures – I hope Davies writes quickly. While I obtained an arc of Blunt Force Magic from Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

Janzen’s life as a package courier in Cleveland, Ohio isn’t glamorous. He works, hangs out at a hole-in-the-wall bar, and goes home drunk to his dog. It’s a life, just a dull one. Five years ago, Janzen was an apprentice Artificer, living on the edge in a group of practitioners intent on fighting evil, but now he’s alone.

So, Janzen works, drinks, and sleeps. And repeats. Until the day he’s delivering a package and finds himself fighting for his life against a Stalker—a creature from the Abyss—defending a young witch against the dark predator.

Now Janzen must figure out who sent the Stalker, delving into his past for any scrap of help he can find, before the monster succeeds in killing him—and the witch. All in a day’s work, right?

This book. From the first page, I was drawn in by Janzen’s dry, self-deprecating humor and his unflinching honesty. He left the magical life behind years ago, but he doesn’t hesitate to step back into his role when danger threatens a young stranger. This character made the book—but the whole gritty urban fantasy/detective noir feeling didn’t hurt, either. A great read!

(Galley provided by WildBlue Press in exchange for an honest review.)

had a hard time getting invested in this book.

I didn't hate this book, but at the same time I can't say I loved it either. The storyline was interesting, but the characters just didn't grip me at all and I find it very difficult to find the incentive to care about them and finish the book.

I just love a urban fantasy book with a good lead character. Especially if that protagonist has a sarcastic voice that boarders humorous. I am fully satisfied with this book but I do think I wanted a little something more. It's perfect on its own but I think it's comparison to other authors is what is causing such turmoil for me. Which is why I suggest you don't. Don't try to compare it. Just let it creep in and take over your world with adventures and learn a world completely new.

A How-To Guide to Killing Demons Using Marbles

Spoiler-ific review

I was given this book for free for the purpose of an honest review. I asked to read this book because I've been hankering for some Harry Dresden. This book provided some solid Urban Fantasy shenanigans in spades.

Do you like having fun? This book was fun to read. 'Blunt Force Magic' plays some genre conventions straight and modifies others for the sake of creativity. But it's more than that. It discusses PTSD in a mature and relevant fashion, a very important topic not often discussed in our war-and-bloodshed obsessed fantasy genre.

Janzen and Grove were the two main protagonists. Janzen is a former stereotypical Urban Fantasy do-gooder... until all his friends died and now Janzen has PTSD. With the help of his dog Janzen climbs out of the bottle for long enough to get back into being a hero. Grove is a former member of the US Military who was honorably discharged after he lost his hearing in combat. While he doesn't get much dialog, I found him to be the emotional rock of the book. As the author is a former soldier, I think the depiction of PTSD was accurate.

Overall the characterization was pretty good. The book contained multiple empowered female characters, including a mother and a badass bartender. Janzen and Grove were the best characters in the book, but almost all the characters were distinct and had their own unique voices. I would have liked if Janzen had more try/fail cycles, but that's nitpicking. The setting- magical Cleveland- was simultaneously grungy and mysterious. I liked it.

The plot throws you right in feet first, and holds you with frequent combat against demons and vampires. The pacing was good. I, the reader, got the sense that at any moment the baddies could barge into a scene and begin a fight, which raised the tension consistantly. 

The prose was the best part of the book for me, but it is inconsistent- varying between excellent to average but usually closer to excellent. When it was great it pulled me in with descriptions of the world and what the characters were feeling.

Here's some constructive criticism: I didn't buy the romantic arc in this book. The female love interest did not have much agency, so the romantic arc was undermined.

Highly recommended. I fully intend to read future books by the author.

Stay Sunny!

As I clicked on Amazon before posting this review I found that most readers liked this book. I am astonished.

There are two parts to reading and reviewing. One is evaluating the concept and idea of the story and another is judging the writing and the pleasure of the reading experience. I will not fault Mr. Dixon on his concept, although I don't think it is quite as revolutionary as some Amazon reviewers make it out to be. (There really truly isn't much room for expansion in Urban Fantasy.) But on the writing score, this book is so bad it should go back to the editors for a complete rework.

Mr. Dixon's grasp of syntax is rudimentary. His subjects and objects are not related to each other and his run-on sentences are hard to follow. (In the second sentence a door has a blank, dumbstruck face. No, it's our hero's face that is blank but Mr. Dixon's text puts the face to the door.) Mr. Dixon makes tremendous plot leaps without explanation or back story – for instance, why aren't Gale and the other senior magic folks concerned enough about the emergence of a Stalker to assign a strong practitioner to the case? Allowing this guy, who admits (at great length) that he doesn't have the chops, to hunt down an abomination seems a bit – negligent shall we say?

Ideas and a really great cover are not enough. Good writing that expresses these great ideas is what moves authors into the top tier and keeps them there.

I received a review copy of "Blunt Force Magic: The Monsters and Men Trilogy-Book One" by Lawrence Davis (WildBlue Press) through NetGalley.com.

Aptly named. Not much of an introduction, fast paced action that drags you along whether you’re ready for it or not.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It was good on the one hand - definitely had a nice pace and content, but there was something that just wasn't "there" for me. Language was easy to read, and it had the feel of several other authors in the same genre (almost Laurell K. Hamilton esque if it coule make that last push). It's a first in the series, so I usually give it "first book syndrome" for shaky legs and see what book two holds, which I will read book two.

This book was not what I expected it to be. I expected it to be a simple basic fantasy novel but it turned out to be a really good fantasy book. The story line kept me engaged throughout the entire book. The fantasy was believable & though might seem farfetched at first the more you read you realize that it isn't that far fetched.

I recommend this book if you can read books that have slow parts that seem to not be needed but you will realize that at the end that those parts were needed and you are glad you pushed through them.

I received a free copy of this book for review from NetGalley**

While I did really enjoy this book it took me much longer than usual to work my way through it. First let me say, the humour of the protagonist is hilarious and extremely realistic. Quite a few times I found Jenzen saying something that I would most definitely be thinking if not saying in the same circumstances. But I did find towards the middle of the book I was over the jokes and sarcastic remarks and itching for some serious information dumps to emmerse me more in the world. I almost DNF'd it at about 65% but I wanted to push through because I seen the potential the story had and it definitely picked up and redeemed itself for me around the 85% mark. I would've liked a little bit more action and more information on a few characters and backgrounds but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Out of curiosity I will pick up other works by this author in the future.

Janzen was on the hero’s path until a tragic accident rips away his desire to be a part of that world.

Five years later he is faced with the choice of saving a young woman and her father from a beast from another dimension or continue hiding from his fated roll. Without much thought, he jumps in using magic to save the day. This act catapults him back into the world of magic and the fight of good against evil.

This is my first read from Lawrence Davis and I utterly enjoyed the heck out of it. He seamlessly blends humor, strife, action and suspense, weaving a tale that quickly hooks the reader.

Wow! Blunt Force Magic is a slow building, new urban fantasy by Lawrence Davis. It is a fabulous introduction into an amazing, well built world that sucks the reader right in and has us pondering his imagings long after you are done while leaving us wanting more.

I received this copy Blunt Force Magic from WildBlue Press. This is my honest and voluntary review.

My rating: 5 stars
Written by: Lawrence Davis
Series: The Monsters and Men Trilogy (Book 1)
Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: WildBlue Press
Publication Date: December 30, 2017
ISBN-10: 194729010X
ISBN-13: 978-1947290105
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

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Reviewed for: http://tometender.blogspot.com

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