Cover Image: Death Be Blue

Death Be Blue

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*ARC kindly given by @netgalley for my honest opinion.*

"Death Be Blue" by Katie Epstein is a compelling urban fantasy novel that seamlessly blends elements of mystery, magic, and romance. Epstein's engaging storytelling and dynamic characters keep the reader hooked from start to finish. With its intriguing premise and fast-paced plot, "Death Be Blue" is a thrilling read that leaves you eager for more adventures in its imaginative world.

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Terra Vane lives on the other side of a portal that separates Earth from Portiside where many paranormal entities live. Terra and her werewolf partner are cops on the Portiside side of the portal. Terra uses her visions to help apprehend the criminals. Someone is dealing in a new drug that is making the more violent creatures even more violent. To top it all off, her boss sexy Cole keeps trying to keep her out of the fight.

The world building is very good. I totally enjoyed this book. It was a bit different than the usual paranormals vs human idea. I will be looking for more of this series.

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A gritty urban fantasy set in an alternate pocket dimension parallel to earth. Join Terra and her partner Kaleb as they hunt a dangerous serial killer, but when they finally catch up with him they realize that theres more going on than they initially thought. Conspiracies, cover ups, a highly addictive drug and a dangerous underworld. Can Terra figure out what's going on before it's too late?

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Got me hooked! I'm a sucker for a good urban fantasy, and this was pretty darn great! Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

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I just couldn't get into this book at all. While the plot was okay, I just didn't really find myself being able to get through it without a struggle. It's just not for me.

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Typically urban fantasy is not my preferred genre, but this was incredibly enjoyable and easy to find yourself reading "just one more chapter" because you have to know what happens next. There are excellent supernatural elements, as well as a healthy dose of romance. Definitely an author I will be looking forward to reading more from!

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Before anything, please note that this is completely based on my personal preference and point of view, I have read a few great reviews and I do believe there will be at least a good deal of people who enjoys this book.

With a bad-ass sassy heroine and an exciting new world, I am completely surprised that I am rating it 2 stars.

There is a lot of things here. From Dystopian to PNR, it may be a struggle for some authors to describe a completely fictional universe that the readers could understand and visualise well. It took me a long while to actually finish this despite all the exciting aspects of the plot and romance, solely because of the world-building. The constant descriptions kind of distracts me from the actual plot itself and I start to subconsciously drift away and start feeling exhausted instead. I really do wish I could get more invested with the story and the characters but unfortunately it fell short for me.

Overall, it was an OK read for me, I don’t hate it and I unfortunately don’t love it either. Would I recommend it? I wouldn’t stop you. As I said previously, I still do believe some portion of you would end up loving it, so knock yourself out.

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There's an intriguing bit of world building for this series, with a realm as we know it existing next to a realm with shapeshifters, magic and all manner of fantasy. And it was interesting to make it a police procedural, with the main character being psychic and her partner being a werewolf. But because of the genre, the overarching plot points are pretty predictable. Then again, there's a reason why paranormal romance is popular.

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Death by blue is the first in a new series, and it has action and suspension. It was a interesting plot and love connection between the characters. I’m interested to see what happens next.

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The first book in a series is always tough for the writer and the reader. There has to be enough interest in the main characters and a good story or the reader will not come back for more. I've been reading the Gin Blanco, Elemental Assassin books and this one fits right in with the writing style of Kate Eslep. While our heroine in Death Be Blue is a human, she is the exception on the Portside City Agency. The interactions between the characters opens many doors that can be used for great stories in the series, while still keeping your interest in this book. Here's hoping the second book will live up to the expectations built by the first one!

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Copy edit, please! There are *so many* grammatical and typographical errors littered through this text, ranging from possessive apostrophes when a plural was intended to incorrect terms ("omitted" instead of "emitted"). I really liked Terra and the world that Epstein created; it was a lot of fun to explore. And the sexual tension between Terra and Cole was a nice bonus. But I found myself having to stop repeatedly to mentally correct an error and that kept throwing me out of the story. I'm going to try the next book in the series, but, if the editing is just as poor, I'll stop there.

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Terra Vane is a psychic, able to see the past and glimpses of the future. This had led her to be seen as a freak where she grew up, and for her mother to admit her to an asylum where she had been treated as an experiment. In contrast, coming to the alternate dimension city of Portiside with its psychics, fey, vampires, and shifters of all kind was a miracle. While she is treated as lesser than the other shifters in the Enforcer Field Agency, she pushes herself hard to live up to the ideal. Her partner Kaleb is a wolf shifter, and the two are good friends. Neither back down from a challenge, and this latest case they have to solve has the potential to rock Portiside.

Death Be Blue is the first book in the Terra Vane series, and it was recently revised. The prologue is in a completely different tone from the rest of the book but quickly makes sense as Terra goes through some of the history of the city. I enjoyed seeing the world building here, and it was developed in a more or less natural way. Because this is the first of a series, there is still a lot of info dumping at times, which can slow down the pacing. Even so, there is quite a lot of action that pushes it along; this urban fantasy novel is essentially a police procedural with supernatural creatures and the threat of political forces creeping in. Terra is stubborn and tries constantly to prove she's good enough to be on the team, which is probably her biggest flaw.

Terra is a relatable character, and there are a lot of fun characters backing her up along the way. We have glimpses of the greater world as she and Kaleb move through the city and mention other areas they haven't visited yet. There are some obvious tropes for those familiar with urban fantasy novels, and the close of this novel is a clear set up for the rest of the series. Without having to explain too much about the city or Terra's background, those novels will likely flow a lot more easily.

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Full review to come.
I deeply apologize, but life is a handful lately and I'm using all my free time to read, not review. I hope everybody understands.

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Death Be Blue by Katie Epstein
Death Be Blue follows psychic Agent Terra Vane in her job as an Enforcer Field Agent (kind of like a cop) in the city of Portiside, an alternate dimension-Earth city inhabited by more than just humans. Portiside is home to shapeshifters, witches, fey and the occasional demon, along with humans like Terra. Terra’s job involves protecting the local citizens and keeping order, but her job gets a lot tougher when a new drug hit the streets and makes citizens of all kinds go on a rampage. Terra and her shapeshifter partner Kaleb investigate the source of the drug only to discover a conspiracy that goes much deeper than local drug lords.

I was not thrilled as I started reading Death Be Blue. The constant descriptions of the world of Portside got in the way of the plot and the banter between Terra and her partner seemed fake and forced. Portside is richly imagined and the author clearly thought about the mechanics of making the city work, but it was hard to handle the constant flow of information. There was too much telling and not enough showing for the first quarter of the book and it only got a little better farther in. The history of Portiside got in the way of the character development. It wasn’t until about 70% in that I actually got interested in what was happening. The potential for a romance between Terra and her boss was the only thing that kept me reading, and is the main reason I will pick up the next book. I hope that the second book in the series, having gotten most of the description out of the way, will be easier to get into than the first.

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:( This is a DNF for me. I kept stopping and starting it again and eventually had to give up. I loved the cover and the synopsis had me hooked but as I started reading it I just could not keep my focus. Terra is definitely my type a main character but I just couldn't get behind her and I just couldn't work up any enthusiasm for the story :(

I wanted to like it but I just didn't.

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This was an interesting take on split worlds where a human girl fights with the help of someone who almost killed her to graduate from Enforcer Agent Academy which has always been for shifters. So, Terra Vane does it. She graduates and not only does she deal with the "boys club" as an officer, but she also deals with prejudice that she is human. She also has visions that help her with investigations, the only problem is she never knows when they will hit and they are almost like riddles themselves. There is a murderer on the loose that Terra and her partner Kaleb are trying to find before more people are killed. I have to read the next book and hope there is more to happen between Terra and her boss. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This is the first book I've read by this author so didn't know if I would like it or not but the description sounded good so took the chance and I'm glad I did I absolutely loved it once I finished it after telling my friends they should read it I went and bought books 2-4 and I waited I to write this review until I read a few of the others I have now finished books two and three and enjoyed them as well and can't wait to start book 4

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The premise is sound, the story sounds exciting and intriguing and moves at a good pace, but try as I might, I just could not get into Death Be Blue. In fact, I set it aside and came back to it numerous times, eventually making it to around the 60% mark before finally giving in and admitting defeat. I never did warm up to the characters, Terra in particular. I usually like a snarky, independent heroine, but for whatever reason, this one just rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning, which I'm sure played a big part in my feelings about the book. There is quite a bit of action, but the scenes are simplistic and just weren't very exciting, and most of the conversations were more snark than substance. When I made it over halfway through and realized that I had no feelings one way or the other about how this one would end, it was clear that this one was not the book for me.

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I really enjoyed Death be Blue. The cover initially drew my attention and then the synopsis reeled me in. In this case, both really delivered!

Terra Vane is a human, with psychic powers and has a grim life on Earth before she begins a new life on Portiside. Here she is among varying supernatural and paranormal species and other gifted humans.

Terrra becomes an Enforcement Officer and deals with the disturbances and crimes that occur among the multi-species community. She and her wolf shifter partner, Kaleb’s find themselves chasing a danger that threatens Portiside as they know it.

I do not usually go in for heavy world building and if I had known that there is some pretty impressive world building in Death Be Blue, then I may have missed the opportunity to read what is, at it’s core, a really good fantasy crime story.

Katie Epstein really delivers with Death Be Blue. The world and character developments were both incredibly impressive, and the plot was solid, imaginative and drew me in.

I had not read any work by Katie Epstein but I am really pleased that I found this wonderfully talented author. This book is book 1 in the Terra Vane series and I look forward to reading more.
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I would like to thank Katie Epstein and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of Death Be Blue. This is my honest review.

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This book was awesome - I felt like I was a part of the action, the main character's fast paced inner dialog keeps the plot moving forward. Likable characters who develop quickly due to the author's descriptive narrative. I look forward to the next book in this series.

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