I have really come to enjoy the work of Kevin Hearne. The stories always have fun and interesting characters involved in precarious situations. We follow Al and a hobgoblin named Buck, on an adventure to Australia to come to the aid of a fellow Sigil agent. Lots of fun and adventure follow. I enjoyed this book as I have all of the books I have read by Kevin Hearne. Highly recommended!

I really liked book 1, but this one not so much. The prominent characters were interesting and fun, The Iron Druid makes an appearance, story was good as was the side characters getting to shine. What I disliked to the point of less stars was the "campfire stories". They did not progress the storyline, absolutely looked like they were added as filler to make the book longer. By the time I got to Oberon's disjointed story, I was done. I'm over the sausage repartee. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from Netgalley.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly I must admit the review will be delayed. I was so excited to see Keven Herne and anything to do with Iron Druid that I requested this book before even reading the summary. The book is the second in a series. I tried reading it but clearly it is going to be intense and I missed a lot by skipping the first book. So I have to go out and read Ink and Sigil before I tackle this one. Looking forward to it!

I read the first one, not really expecting to like it. But I ended up enjoying it immensely. This one is even better! It's well-written, creative and HILARIOUS. I love the crazy group of people, their names and they way they interact with one another.

This book is second in a series, it can be a standalone but would make more sense with more depth if read after the first book [which I haven't read yet] in series. I would also recommend the original series Iron Druid this is a parallel off shoot of. Kevin has come up with a light fun enjoyable easy to read & smile book once again & would recommend it. The is intrigue, mystery, magic & drama to keep you going. Centered around one of the Sigel masters that draws up contracts with the Fae & hunts down malefic forces & dispenses them it's fun. I will add, I allow, as should others, especially in fantasy jantra, the authors the ability to create their own worlds & stories without the weird ass claims or questions. Maybe if really needed add some positive reinforcement & words. I might not agree or like the way Deities are portrayed but that i all part of the fantasy theme & would probably be a more bent if they were trying to hold true to form & screwing up worse. This was an unexpected surprise to see in my NetGalley inbox. I have been behind on reviewing because everything has been in overdrive & it is hard for me to sit down & read when I feel like I am being pelted by soft & hard balls from every direction. Kevin is one of the exception authors like a few others that I can dive into. I will say with ID books the main protagonist while amusing was/is a flawed butthole that has made some epic bad decisions along the way. That said, this is a fun romp

Much like the first book in this series, I really had a struggle to fully connect with the characters and storylines in this book. There are some really interesting fantasy storylines which were very cool though, and the writing is fun. But for me it was just hard to get into the story because the characters, Atticus and Oberon, were so much more prominent in this book. But there was something I just couldn't put my finger on that made it hard to connect again.

I was excited to see that I had been approved to receive an ARC and be given the opportunity to read the second book in Kevin Hearne's new series. Being a huge fan of the Iron Druid Chronicles, I was thrilled to see a mention of Atticus (and Oberon) in the first book. I enjoyed the beginnings of the world building in this new series and thought that the entire concept of the sigils and sigil magic was interesting and unique.

I'm not sure though, why I had such a problem with this book. Yes, there is even more of Atticus and Oberon and even Starbuck (though Atticus is now going by Connor). To me that was one of the best things about this book, but even Atticus seemed "off" and not the character that I have come to know and adore. His interactions with his dogs were also different as they were "told" to us instead of letting us experience it. I'm not sure if that will make any sense to readers who have not witnessed their wonderful relationship - and love of sausage.....

The thought that ran through my mind as I was reading this was that it reminded me of a very long Monty Python skit. The attempt at humor was over the top, at times childish and seemed forced, and not in any way natural. I still liked the characters - Al seems like a nice MC, Buck can be funny, Nadia seemed consistent with the first book. Then there was Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite - that was also a bit over the top.

Without going into spoilers, there wasn't really any progression on the main story arc (or at least I'm assuming it is the main story arc) of finding out who placed the curses on Al. This book takes us on a different journey after Al finds out that a couple of other Sigil Agents have gone missing. He and Buck take off for Australia to see if they can find them.

I usually read a book in a day and this book took me 3 days. I kept putting it down and moving on to something else, that is never a good sign. It was really a challenge for me to finish it. And, that really surprised me because I was really expecting to like it...a lot.

So, it could have been me - maybe this book just hit me at the wrong time, it's possible. It wasn't awful and I DID finish it so there is that. Everyone can have an off book, so I'm going to chalk this up as an experience and see what I think after the third book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. The opinions expressed are completely my own.

<i>Paper & Blood</i> is the second book in Kevin Hearne's new Ink & Sigil series. If you're a fan of the Iron Druid Chronicles, then this book is definitely going to be one to put your list. I would also highly recommend reading the first book before jumping into this one just to get a bit more information on the world-building Hearne has continued to do in this book.

So, this book starts when Al receives a phone call from one of the other Sigil Agent's proteges letting him know that two different Sigil Agents have disappeared in the outback of Australia. From here, Al runs off to Australia with Buck Foi (his trusted hobgoblin assistant) to investigate the matter. And here's what things start to get interesting (especially for Iron Druid fans) because Atticus O’Sullivan (now going by Connor) is also on the case. And as always when the Iron Druid gets involved, things will not be easy-not that things would be easy for Al either.

As a whole, you get to see all of the different characters created in the first Ink & Sigil book on a new caper - this time in Australia. And there are definitely a few surprises that pop-up now and then. As the old saying goes, you can't keep a good God or Goddess dead.

Overall, I found the book fun and the pacing was good, which is one of the Hallmarks of a good Hearne book in my opinion. Is the book perfect? Not necessarily. There are a couple of odd short stories that occur in the middle of the book that awkward. Can you argue that the short stories are relevant to the plot? Somewhat. But the short stories could have been put in a Hearne short story collection just as easily and taken completely out of the book. It just seemed awkward for me to have the plot moving along at a click and then suddenly it's let's sit around in a circle and share stories. I will say that one is from Oberon and the other is from Buck, so they're even more jarring because suddenly the point-of-view in the novel also shifts because of these two stories.

I did enjoy the book and read it pretty quickly, so with the exception of the two short stories in the middle of the novel, I thought the book moved along really well.

For clarity purposes, I was provided with an advanced reading copy of this book prior to publication for the purposes of review. Although I am continuously grateful for the opportunity to read Hearne ARCs from the publisher, the review is completely my own.

When I first heard of the Iron Druid chronicles I thought to my myself "this is dumb". I then forgot about the series for 5 years or so. I do not remember why, but I randomly picked up the first book in the series on a whim one day. I read it in one sitting. The series was read in the next month. To say that I'm a Atticus fanboy is an understatement. So I'm not the most impartial reader but ATTICUS IS IN THIS BOOK! He's a pretty big character as well! It sucks that they kill him off though... Like jeesh. No I'm kidding...right? I have to be kidding.. Only one way to know for SURE.. READ THIS BOOK! Seriously though, you already know if you are a fan of Kevin Hearne or not, this is the second book in a new series. If you are you will love this. 5 out of 5.

This was a great second book in Hearne's new Ink and Sigil series. Aloysius “Al” MacBharrais and Buck Foi go to Australia search for a missing sigil agent. Along the way they pickup help from Nadia the Battle Seer and the Iron Druid himself. The story develops nicely and we learn more about the curses weighing in Al. The stories within the stories told by Buck and Oberon did fill a little out of place and took me out of the very action packed conclusion of the book. That being said, I love Buck and Oberon as characters and it's always nice to "hear" from a different voice. All in all a great read.

Thank you so much to Del Rey and NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I'm a fan of Kevin Hearne. If you follow me on YouTube, I talk about his books ALL THE TIME. Ink & Sigil was one of my favorite reads of last year. While I didn't love Paper & Blood QUITE as much as I loved the first book, I still enjoyed it immensely.

Since Paper & Blood is the second book in the series, I won't go too in depth about what happens in this book. Essentially, you follow Al MacBharrais, a Sigil Agent for the Fae. Al is in his 60s, and would greatly like to retire, but so far he's had 7 apprentices and they've all managed to die before completing their training. This books almost immediately follows the events of the first, but Al is called to rescue a fellow sigil agent in Australia that has gone missing.

The murder mystery aspect of the first book is what really made me adore it, and while in this second book there is still a mystery to be solved, it didn't pull me in quite as much. I felt like the story slowed down quite a bit once they started hiking, although the end was a pretty great battle scene against a massive (and gross) foe. I loved that characters from the Iron Druid Chronicles had huge roles to play in this story, and honestly they kept me going through the slower middle section.

The characters, the humor, and the plot were all still fantastic, though, and I definitely want to continue on with the series. The end felt rather abrupt to me however, because I really feel like Al didn't get any of his personal questions answered in this book. Overall, I did really love revisiting these characters and this world, and I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I was skeptical when I received a copy of this book. Book 1 was very good but was touted to be written in the Iron Druids universe, however he did not make an appearance, but there was a hobgoblin, and he was exceptional!
But this is about book 2, Paper & Blood. It was well written with equal measures of wit and humor. As Mr Hearne further fleshed out his eclectic cast of characters it made me anxious to read book 3!
I read this book in little bits and snippets because I didn't want to get to the end.
I highly recommend this book to everyone!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three words that can describe this book and this series. Pure. Unadulterated. Fun.

WARNING: SPOILERS!

Al MacBharrais is back. The witty, intelligent, aging Sigil Agent, his Hobgoblin apprentice Buck Foi, DemiGoddess and Battle Seer Nadia and the enigmatic Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite embark upon a remarkable adventure to rescue fellow Sigil Agents.

Aided by a Young Apprentice, a human police officer who has no idea what the hell is going on, and a familiar red-headed hero and his two "good dugs", Al and his associates travel to Australia to do battle with forces well beyond human comprehension.

Kevin Hearne, with his razor sharp wit and decidedly uncouth sense of humor, has released another piece of visual and mental art with this new book. A little dark at times, but mostly uproariously funny and decidedly irreverent, the book will reel you in from the first few lines and leave you breathless until the adventurous climax. Most of that breathlessness will be from laughter. And I'm not going to lie, most of that laughter comes from Buck.

At the same time as being exceedingly funny and absolutely inappropriate at times, there is also a great depth of character in Al, Buck and many of the other characters that you would not expect.

I hope that this is an ongoing series, as it seems to be. I will continue to read about the adventures of Al and his companions. Can't wait for the next one!

Thank you to Netgalley, Kevin Hearne and Del Rey/Random House for allowing me the privilege of reading this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Trigger Warnings: bloody violence, swearing/cursing, comical sexual references

Kevin Hearne builds an amazing amount of realism in his books, despite the fantastic nature of the characters and plots. The visuals of traveling through the Australian wilderness and trekking through the hiking trails are vivid and paint a clear vision of the environment. The descriptions of the hobgoblin fight, make you feel like you’re truly traveling through the den with every turn. Kevin often uses stories and recollections of the characters in his writing to help frame why the current events are occurring or as a light foreshadowing of events about to come, and even when it is clear, it’s always exciting to see how it ties into the current timelines. MacBharrais’ struggles to save Buck from his impending fate, the exploration of Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite, even the reappearance of Connor and The Morrigan, pardon, Roxanne are woven into the current focus, but in such away as to prepare the reader for what’s more to come, this is what draws the reader into desperately awaiting the next release in the series. I was quite sad when the Iron Druid’s story ended, the Seven Kennings opened up a new world, but I was missing the world that had been painted in over a dozen books of the Iron Druid and related books, but when the Ink and Sigil series was announced, I was over joyed and eagerly awaited to see what was next in the world of the Iron Druid, these books have continued the story and show that there’s more than just Siodhachan/Atticus/Connor and his coterie have revealed.

This is a pleasant, entertaining addition to the adventures of Sigil Agent Al MacBharrais and his cohort. In this book we learn more about Gladys, and get some hints about Al's curses. One of the curses has caused Al to be cut off from his son and grandchild, which he is unhappy about but not yet to the point where it's become his main focus to resolve it. The Iron Druid, now going by Connor, is also a main character in this book, and though it's not required, I felt I might have appreciated him a lot more if I had read the nine books about him! It seems a terrible thing to lose an arm, and the story is loosely centered around how he handles that. This is a very weighty issue, but told very lightly, leaving you to ponder how that all might work off the page. Another one of the main characters seems to have a romantic past with Connor, and that reunion probably would be more meaningful knowing the backstory. We do get to know Ya-Ping, an apprentice Sigil Agent in Australia, as she tackles a daring rescue of her beloved master and guardian. No kangaroos make an appearance, but there is much discussion of foot-high spiders, which I was not aware were something one might encounter in Australia! Buck Foi, the obnoxious but also sincere hobgoblin keeps up a running, vaguely inappropriate commentary, and we learn a version of the story of the first truck-nuts, which I never heard of or noticed before but according to Google are an actual thing!

Thanks go out to NetGalley.com and the author for a free copy of this work in exchange for a review!

I have read The Iron Druid series and completely loved them! Actually book one of this new(er) series by Hearne had me from before I even got my hands on a copy, as it is related to the Iron Druid world. And to have Atticus be in this book, too? SQUEE! Anyways, I cannot share more of the story than above, as it would spoil it for you. I did enjoy reading through the story, and even kept it in my library for a possible second read-through before the protected-date is up.

Hearne does a good job of writing a story based in the same world as his popular Iron Druid tales. The style is easy to read, and pretty fit for older teens and adults. I enjoyed some of the stories that were told by the characters, reminding me of a couple other Oberon stories Hearne had put out. Definitely would suggest for friends to read! Anxiously awaiting possibly more books for this series to come out!

#PaperBlood #NetGalley

In <i>Paper & Blood</i> readers will once again meet up with sigil agent Al MacBharrais and his hobgoblin Buck. The pair's first outing, <i>Ink & Sigil<i>, introduced readers to the sigil agents, a group of talented folks who help bring order to visitors from other realms when they wish to come to the everyday world here on Earth. With the use of magical sigils created with special inks, the agents can outfox security cameras, heal wounds, and write binding contracts with the Fae and other beings. But each agent is responsible for a large territory and when one goes missing, it is a very big deal.

That is where this story begins - with the mysterious disappearance of a sigil agent on the other side of the world from Al's office in Glasgow. He packs up his supplies and heads off with Buck to investigate after receiving a distress call from the missing agent's apprentice. Imagine a middle-aged suburbanite suddenly traipsing through the wilderness in the middle of the Dandenong Ranges in Australia. Now throw in Atticus (yes, the Iron Druid himself), along with his dogs Oberon and Starbuck, and a few allies they pick up along the way.

If you enjoy the world of the Iron Druid or have already jumped into the Ink & Sigil series, then this new installment should be on your TBR list. For those who have not tried the books from either series yet, go ahead and pick up <i>Paper & Blood</i> for a murder mystery with kidnappings, mythical beasts, magical and druidic powers, beings from alternate realms, and plenty of humor to leaven the death and destruction. (You can't have a hobgoblin around without humorous happenings.)

If you read my review of Ink & Sigil, the first book in this series, you’ll know I loved this series and book 2 did not disappoint.

In Paper& Blood, Al MacBharrais is back along with Buck Foi (a whiskey obsessed hobgoblin), Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite, and the rest of the gang. This time 2 out of the world’s 5 Sigil agents have gone missing in the Australian bush and the team is determined to find out what could have made them go AWOL. Filled with plenty of witty banter, interesting characters, and plenty of magical world building, this book is perfect for fantasy series fans. Oh always if you love good dugs, than you’ll probably enjoy this book because there are some good dugs (dogs) in this book.

This story takes us deeper into the world of Sigil agents, with Sigil’s being the form of magic within the series. We learn a bit more about what it takes to become a Sigil agent, and while we only scrape the surface of the bigger story at large, ie the curse on Al and who the heck Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite really is. We do learn quite a bit more around how Sigil magic came to be and get a deeper look into our main characters, which I quite enjoyed because really showcases the amount of world building that Hearne provides for us.

The characters themselves all have very distinct personalities and voices. They balance each other out and Hearne has done a great job of giving multiple layers to all the characters not just our series lead. The realistic traits that Hearne gives the characters also makes it’s easy to picture them out in the real world. There are even some brief mentions to the current world wide pandemic, but it’s not overdone, because I don’t know about the rest of ya’ll but I’m over it.

I’m very invested into this series now, and may even pick up the Iron Druid series, once I finish my current big fantasy series that is. While this is a light and fun read, it also has plenty of substance within it’s pages. If you love Fantasy series such as The Dresden Files or even like your fantasy with a bit of humor, than you’ll absolutely love this series!

Last thought, do Canadians really put maple syrup in their tea?? Is that a thing?? Someone DM me or comment with the answer to this please!

Paper & Blood comes out August 10, 2021. Huge thank you to Del Rey Books and Penguin Random House for my advanced copy for my honest review. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof_books.

Not bad. Really enjoyed this book and the series so far.
Continues after the first and really draws you in deeper into the world. A good series to suggest for patrons and anyone who enjoys this genre.

Stellar book was five stars until Hearne's real world politics smashed into the world he so wonderfully crafted over the years. The politics were minor and did NOT affect the story or I would have set the book aside and given it a one star. Real world politics belong in the real world and not in fiction, author can spew their leftist crap all they like on social media but there is simply no need to try and indoctrinate readers. If the trend continues Hearne will be off my must read list.