Creative and fun, author Katie Epstein develops memorable characters and builds worlds that live on in readers’ minds long after the book’s end. This is the first in a series with a protagonist that delights in many ways, both conventional and unusual. My ARC had a fair number of typos but the story was really a lot of fun. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Kate Epstein for this arc.

Color me SURPRISED! I'm usually pretty leery of self-published books as I've found the majority of them beyond disappointing....but I was in the mood for something different.

This was FUN. I liked the hunt and chase. The urban fantasy / paranormal was a bit more than confusing for me in the beginning but that quickly cleared up for me (even though I'm still not 100% certain I understand it all). Also, I really liked the various characters and for the most part they felt really genuine. There were some twists, but isn't getting all dizzy part of the urban fantasy? The romance was a minor element of this book, but enhanced rather than encumber the hunt and chase so the pacing never really slowed down.

Oh, another neat thing....this is just the beginning of a series! Sign me up.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

This book took me a little while to get into but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a great urban fantasy with plenty of action and adventure. The plot is good, the characters are fleshed out and there's plenty of like.

The story revolves around Terra Vane, a human psychic, working with the Portside City Agency. She's stubborn and impulsive at times, but the author does a great job of making her feel real. Kaleb is her partner, a werewolf shifter and together they must uncover who is behind the attacks that are taking place.

This book is filled with magical elements and is a great start to a new series that I'm sure I'll enjoy. This book is perfect for those who enjoy urban fantasy with a strong female lead character. There's a little bit of romance thrown in there too, so something for everyone.

Great characters. Witty dialogue. Good world building. I thoroughly enjoyed
reading this book and recommend it

L

This book has a little bit of everything. A little urban fantasy, a little dystopian, a little romance. The story wasn't as involved as I generally prefer, but it was still a good, easy story.

A new author to me but what a fabulous introduction to her work. Essentially we have a world accessible from Earth by portal and it’s inhabitants are a mixture of supernaturals and humans but I’d say it’s the supernaturals who most definitely seem to be on top. Into this mix the author adds Terra, a human who has always suffered from visions and her desire for justice and equality for all has led her to become an enforcer. I’d like to say she’s been made welcome but those with paranormal abilities who she works with are not exactly her best friends but luckily her partner Kaleb, a wolf shifter always has her back.
There’s a good range of characters here and the supporting cast whilst still a little distant did help round out the interesting world building. We meet Shifters, Witches and Fae but also learn of Vampires and I must say that the range of Shifters is very interesting. Obviously the case that Terra and Kaleb are on is dangerous and keeps everyone on their toes ( or should that be paws ?) but I fear there will be far reaching consequences that the author has barely touched upon.
So a strong lead heroine with a story that has enough action and twists to hold my attention. I’d say this is urban fantasy but don’t think there isn’t an element of romance because it’s there but you the reader have to question how you want things to proceed because although there’s no obvious triangle here I cannot help but think the author might just decide to surprise her readers and I’m certainly up for that !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

(posted to Goodreads separately)

Thanks to NetGalley and Katie Epstein for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is the first book I ever requested on NetGalley and I am finally getting to review it (three months later). I prioritize based on future publication date.

The thing that drew me to this book was the description; it sounded very similar to a book series a good friend of mine enjoys reading. And to the gorgeous cover. The cover makes it very easy to picture the main character, Terra Vane, and the color scheme is gorgeous and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I like how the character has purple in her hair, adding a more unique quality to Terra that makes her even more interesting than she already is.

Terra is an Enforcer Field Agent (EFA) in Portiside. Basically, a job similar to an officer or detective. She works alongside a wold shifter named Kaleb, and his brother is the head of the Agency. There is quite a bit of tension with Terra being a Sapphire Citizen (basically a witch or psychic), human in comparison to other citizens of Portiside, an alternate place to live for paranormal creatures as opposed to Earth. That's right: Terra gets visions. She can see the past, present, and future, but isn't sure why or how she gets the visions. When she does get them, she aims to use them to change possible outcomes to something positive, utilizing her gift to help her with various cases at the agency.

When a wendigo attacks and kills numerous young women, Terra puts herself on the case. When a rogue shifter attacks yet another woman, she soon finds a connection between the two crimes. She and her partner must go undercover to solve the case, and they cannot let the higher ups know of their meddling or they might just lose their jobs!

I really liked the writing style of this novel. For an adult paranormal novel, the writing was smooth and easy to follow, as apposed to some more dense counterparts of the same genre. I was a bit confused by the prologue and didn't find it really that necessary. While the beginning was pretty fast-paced, I also felt that there were too many slow chapters set in between the action that made the book drag a bit longer than it should. One of the other things I liked was the element of mystery to the novel. I like the whole "who's behind this" plot line, but I also felt that the mystery wasn't exciting enough, and just slightly too easy to figure out.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and wouldn't mind checking out the next book in the series to see if it's going to be similar to The Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse), where each book has it's own enclosed mystery. That would make this series very fun to follow. Once again, definitely a series that a good friend of mine would highly enjoy, and I will be recommending this one to her for sure. Good for fans of Sookie Stackhouse or paranormal mystery in general.

Death by Blue is the first in the new urban fantasy series by Katie Epstein. Terra Vane is a human living alongside supernaturals in Portside. Her job as an Enforcer Field Agent that upholds the law in Portside puts her in danger most off the time. Or maybe she’s a magnet for danger? Terra is the snarky underdog that you’ll immediately root for. To top that she’s got a sexy, wolf shifter as a partner. Great start to a new series that makes me want more!

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I have just finished this book and I have to say I absolutely loved it. I don't read many urban fantasy books simply because the world -building is often too complex which distracts from the story. Not so in this case. The plot line was very good with a wonderful group of characters. The tidbit of romance was perfect, and I can't wait to read the next in this series. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review. Thank you NetGalley.

My initial thoughts on Death be Blue were mixed.  I thought it would be your run of the mill urban fantasy mystery.  Once I got past the introduction, however, the novel improved immensely.  The plot became more complex and the characters had more depth. Portiside City exists on a plane adjacent to earth.  Here the fae, shifters, gifted humans and other beings live in harmony. Crime is policed by Enforcer Field Agents of the Portiside City Agency, such as Terra Vane and her partner Kaleb.  The pursuit of a serial killer leads to the discovery of a dangerous drug and a conspiracy that may reach the highest level.


Terra Vane is a human psychic working for the Portiside City Agency.  Like many human / female leads in urban fantasy novels she can be extremely stubborn, impulsive and reluctant to accept help.  Terra doesn’t have a chip on her shoulder, she has an entire boulder. Kaleb and her other friends, on the other hand, show a bit more variety.  The case on the other hand is an intriguing one, and despite it being “solved” at the end, leaves enough loose ends and questions to fuel several more novels.  Death be Blue has potential, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Katie Epstein’s series progresses and Terra Vane develops as a character.


4 / 5


I received a copy of Death be Blue from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

Terra Vane is a human with psychic abilities, she see visions. She works for the Enforcer Field Agent for the Portiside City Agency. Her partner is Kaleb who is a wolf shifter. Together they work to keep the city of Portiside and its surrounding borders safe. I wanted to like this book, but I had a difficult time with it. The heroine has a major chip on her shoulder that gets in the way of my liking her. She's angry about everything and feels everyone looks down on her because she's human and they don't feel she can do her job. It got a little aggravating after a while. I found I couldn't relate to the secondary characters very well, they didn't seem to be developed much. They were more fodder for the main character to react against and complain about.

I liked the premise of the book although the prologue didn't really get incorporated into the main story much. It felt like an after thought added on to explain why Portiside exists. The plot was a bit convoluted and I was never sure what was supposed to be going on other than the main character feeling put upon all the time.

I found myself just not being real happy about this book and found it difficult to finish. Others may find it much more enjoyable than I did.

Ancient creatures came through a portal, vampires and the like, and now they live amongst us and have their own cops to patrol them.

If you are looking to fill a void in that area, read this. If you don't have that void - honestly - I don't know if I would recommend this.

This novel is written the way so many are - quick witted characters leaving them with little depth and real personality. Action scenes not always making sense. And lots of sass.

This isn't the worst book I have read that is written like this, but it isn't memorable. When I opened up this book to finish it, honestly, I stared and had to go back and do some skimming to remember what happened. Oh yeah, she has a werewolf partner. And then there is that Cole guy. You know, the big love interest. 

The problem is that everything felt forced. Nothing was natural, and it felt like someone's manipulated dream. The action just... I don't know. A lot of indecision in this review, which describes what reading this was like.

If you want a beach read that will occupy your time, or something to do on the train, this is a decent choice. I just couldn't get into it.

If you want depth of writing, I recommend you keep going. Urban fantasy fans? If you want to, give this one a shot. You might surprise yourself.

First, sorry for the mistakes i can do, I'm French and not so good in english.
Death Be Blue was an amazing discover. I've loved the world - Portiside is a great city in which I would like to live - and the species presented in this first book make me curious to explore more each one. Accompanied Terra all along the book was a pleasure, I like her very much with her determination and her gift ! She is very courageous and I think she can always suprised me with her decisions. I've also like Kaleb even if his relationship with Terra is really ambiguous during the book. I hope it will stay as friendship, I will prefer and Cole is so interesting !
I recommande this book and I'm looking forward to reading the second book.

First book of a new series always has a lot to say. Loved the world building and characters were quirky. Terra was pretty cool. Really enjoyed this book and looking forward to the next instalment

*I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

Death Be Blue by Katie Epstein

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book. I might be able to come back one day and finish it but anytime soon, I think. Death Be Blue is a mosh pit of elements from different genres. I got the feeling of sci fi, futuristic, steam punk, and urban fantasy from the 24% that I read.

My issue with the book is Terra, the main character. Terra is a human with psychic abilities that forced her to move to Portiside, an alternate world that sits next to Earth where all supernatural or other reside. Because she is human, Terra feels the need to CONSTANTLY show that she can hang with the others. However, I personally wasn’t impressed since her outbursts didn’t show me that she could. Then she is constantly denying that she isn’t trying to prove anything then immediately complains that everyone treats her as if she’s fragile.

I did enjoy Cole and Kaleb from the little but I read of them. Cole is Terra’s boss and Kaleb is Terra’s partner. They’re brothers and shifters. Also, I’m pretty sure either both or one of them will end up being Terra’s love interest in the future.

Again, I could not finish this book but perhaps one day I’ll try again just to see what happens to Cole/Kaleb.

Death be Blue by Katie Epstein

I was highly disappointed in this one, I didn't realize that it is an already published book so that's cool if you enjoyed it you can go grabbed it and the second in the series is out too. The main chick is a human but with psychic abilities...

Terra, is living in a world with all other supernatural creatures. she is an strong character that takes no shit, with not a lot of romance which I was greatly disappointed in.

Terra and her work Partner Kaleb who is a wolf shifter, are on a mission to find a killer, of course when they find out what I happening it not what they think. I did enjoy it =but I didn't love it. There is a lot of action, and so I think everyone who likes that in there book will enjoy this a lot especially because it only has a small romance.

The world building was ok, it wasn't horrible and the writing was simple.

I don't read many urban fantasy books like I used to . This story sounded interesting and I am so happy I read it because I was so into the story that I ended up staying up late.

Very well written and I will get my hands on the next book in this series at some point.

I highly recommend this

Death Be Blue was an enjoyable urban fantasy mystery. The world building came across well, with information expanded upon as and when we needed it. Terra Vane was a likeable character, her flaws adding to her appeal, and I see plenty of opportunity for some steamy romance as the series progresses. The plot in this first story was engaging; it held my interest from start to finish. Is this a book I would re-read again and again? Probably not. But it was certainly one I had fun reading, and given the opportunity, I would read further tales in this series. Therefore, I am giving it four stars.

I loved this book. It has shifters, psychics, witches and more. The prejudices and distrust that continues to plague our world is ever present in this world too, sadly. Terra has suffered greatly to her physic abilities and now works in law enforcement, again struggling with bias of others who feel she is inferior. Her support group includes her partner, Kaleb who is a wolf shifter, her step father, her roommate and her best friend. Her boss, Cole, is Kaleb’s brother. He is often cross and frustrated with Terra for her perceived insubordination and for putting herself in danger. There are sparks definitely between Terra and Cole. But, I suspect that there are also sparks with Kaleb. I was so enamored with this first book of the series that I quickly one clicked the rest.

I used to be a huge fan of YA paranormal books until they became redundant and predictable. So it's been awhile since I ventured into this genre, but my expectations were pretty high for Death Be Blue. I was really hoping to find a new idea that hadn't been beaten to death in the last few years. And I did.

This book took about 30ish pages to really catch my attention. The prologue was pretty meh, and I never really enjoy being dropped mid-conversation at the very beginning of a book where we find the characters obviously dropping hints about what's going on makes the conversations seem unnatural and contrived. Needless to say, I wasn't super impressed from the get-go. I almost gave up on it but I'm glad I didn't. The story picked up, the characters became more intriguing, and the plot drew me in.

I liked the idea of the dual-world the characters were a part of. Although we only see the one side in this book, the author did a good job in creating and describing both Portiside and the normal world. Terra's personality and her "gift" were interesting, although at times she came across as a little cliche. One big positive was that this series started with Terra already employed at her job, as the mention of her time at the Academy brought back memories of all the YA Paranormal books I read that took place in "special training"/paranormal school settings (and I'm so over that).

I thought many of the characters were well-written, although they could have used some more development. On one hand, Kaleb was a favorite of mine because his personality really came out in the writing. However, Cole was so one-dimensional that I wasn't incredibly interested in him or his conversations/chemistry with Terra. I'm hoping the second book will delve deeper into the relationships and dynamics between the characters, as I think world-building took up a pretty hefty portion of this book and made character development a second priority.

Now let's get to the major issue I found within the book. I thought the flow of the story was negatively impacted at times by detours made to describe certain items or places in extreme detail. It killed the action of the story and many times it wasn't even necessary. For instance, I didn't need to know every specification of the seats on the Rail. Yes, the writing was pretty, but it just wasn't interesting. So there were many parts that I skipped through without losing any relevancy in the plot (Like a lot, I skipped through many, many paragraphs).

Overall, Death Be Blue was an enjoyable book that I finished within a few hours after it gained my interest. I look forward to reading the second book of the series, Death Be Charmed, as soon as I can fit it in my schedule.

*I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion/review.