This is the first book I have read from this author (who has an impressive back catalogue), and it caught my attention as it looked quirky, fun urban fantasy with a hint of darkness. To be honest it didn't disappoint and from the outset I was glued to the book and rooting for the main characters, Cassie and Melanie.
Cassie lives in the town of Lake Argen in the Canadian boonies, though reasonably close to Toronto (if you are Canadian). Her family have been in residence since the founding of the town and also one of the leading families who made an agreement with a power of Darkness that ensures the prosperity of all (a silver mine that never runs out of silver), excellent mobile/cell service and WiFi, a train connection, doctors, schools - oh and ensure that supernatural nasties do not conquer the world. The Agreement also ensures the privacy of the town as once someone leaves they forget they were ever there.
However the balance of power at Lake Argen is upset when Travis Brayden sacrifices himself to the Darkness. His grandmother dispatches out of work school teacher Melanie to trace what Travis did in his final week, with the lure of $10,000 as a fee. When she arrives at Lake Argen there is an immediate connection between her and Cass, with some flirtation whilst delving into the deeper mystery of what happened to Travis. The story has a host of great characters, including the ravens and I thoroughly enjoyed the story, which comfortably fits into the cozy category.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC, all views are my own.

I give this 3.5 stars.

I find this more like Molly Harper than T. Kingfisher or Grady Hendrix. Not that it’s bad or pales in comparison, the humor and setting is more aligned with MH’s books than the latter two. I also found the banter and attempts at humor to be forced, like scripted v improv.

The plot, town, lore, and myth are entertaining. Though it’s marketing itself as cozy horror, there’s depth to the story and the problem-resolution was well constructed. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Lake Argen with its Hallmark-like vibe full of interesting residents and weird happenings. The romance between Cassie and Melanie was cute however the ending was a little weird. Is the author hinting at a sequel? I wouldn’t mind, but I also think things are good where it stands.

Fable review: https://fable.co/review/523b94bf-7a5c-4eac-9276-e9a8168c9fe5/share

🌟 4

I never knew something as cosy horror theme existed.

🐙 Cosy horror
🐙 Queer writing
🐙 Horror themes
🐙 Small town
🐙 Funny & humorous
🐙 Supernatural themes
🐙 Romance

Queer romance between a small town baker (and part time servant of darkness) and a witty-flirty PI 🙌 Charming town of supernaturals with ancient evil and building of dark forces feeding on the elite of town with a “touch of eldritch horror” 🙌 I’m sold! And so satisfied! Such and interesting story and now I have another genre I’m on the look out for.

If I were going to categorize this book at all, I'd call it cozy paranormal rather than horror, but I'm guessing the casualness of death (and the prevalence of tentacles) in the story is what pushes it to the horror side. Either way, I loved it and it's definitely not scary horror.

I think the plot synopsis does a great job of summarizing and giving a sense for the feel of the book - humorous, kind of snarky, and pretty matter-of-fact about all of the strange goings on in the little town of Lake Argen. The various and assorted deaths are mainly off page and not described in detail. I like being dropped into a story without a lot of "as you know Bob" exposition, so the way the book started, without much background for the current events, was a plus for me.

I'd agree with others that the romance between Cassie and Melanie felt rushed, but I'm also a reader of the fated mated trope, so I looked at their romance through that lens and rolled with it. I also loved all of the eldritch creatures that made appearances, especially the hellhounds, Dexter and Daffodil, and T'geyer, the who knows what eldritch creature. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope there are more books set in Lake Argen. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

While i always love Tanya's writing, this felt rushed and yet not well pulled together. It's definitely a strange combination.
I felt behind the 8 ball for 75% of the book...like there was a book 1 that I was supposed to read so I'd understand what was going on in this one. (there isn't)
Everything comes to a head in the last 25% and it was interesting and fun...and surprisingly emotional (hi Jeremy!) with Melanie really coming into her own to help the town and Cassie.
I loved that it was set in the Canadian North and Toronto (where I grew up) so it was very relatable in that sense. It's described as a cozy horror and while I think elements of cozy were there, it missed the mark in the end. The best thing about cozy is normally the community aspects but in this case every one seemed mad or irritated with each other all the time.
The characters were the best part but i was left wanting MORE...perhaps in a second book to the series? we will see!
My rating is 3.75
Thank you to #NetGalley and #Daw for the E-ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. My thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Where do i even start.

This book started out pretty well; it was a little confusing, being introduced to so many characters to quickly, but once I figured out what was going on it was pretty fun! I loved exploring this quirky small town and meeting its various residents, not to mention the introduction to the Dark was hilarious.

That's about it. Unfortunately, I found the plot uncompelling, but not as uncompelling as the romance. What can I even say. The second they see each other it's love at first sight. I'm not even joking, they immediately start dreaming about spending their lives together. We are told that they have good chemistry, but it would have been nice if we could have been shown that instead.

There is also some discussion about trans rights, as one of the MCs was a high school teacher who quit to protest the mistreatment of trans kids, which is very cool, but this book also makes a Harry Potter reference, which is not cool. How can your book talk about supporting trans kids, and then reference the works of the most notorious transphobe?

Another thing, it is stated that the town is built on the traditional land of the Mattagami, but they are cool with this and do not want this land back as it's cursed or whatever. I know it's fictional, but can we not make up narratives about indigenous people not wanting their land back? That part was so unnecessary and did not need to be explained.

I've been a Tanya Huff fan since the early nineties. This book was no exception. It's a blend of cozy and eldritch horror. These two genres shouldn't work together, yet they do. There are even laugh-outloud scenes. The horror, when it occurs, is described spine-tingling well. I hope to see more cozy horror books in the future. 5 stars.

I love the idea of this book, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I love the dark lore and the idea that an ancient Eldritch evil is buffing the town to keep it booming and prosperous, without strangers lurking.

What I had a hard time with was connecting with the characters. I struggle with instalove. The chemistry between Melanie and Cassie was 0-100 in a second. Planning the future after two dates?!

I feel like this one could’ve been a great book, but for me it just felt flat compared to the expectation I had for a cozy horror, especially with an Ancient One involved.

Thank you DAW Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read Direct Descendants.

Ok, I had to look and see when I read the Keeper’s Chronicles and Enchantment Emporium because I’m pretty sure this is in the same universe only just slightly on the horror side of the urban fantasy genre. But it’s a cozy horror novel if such a description makes sense. Not really scary at all. Fun read and I’ll have to reread the older two trilogies to revisit the world.

I was excited by the description, but the book left me confused. It felt like I needed to have read another book in a series before this one, even though there isn’t one. I couldn’t figure out who the characters were or what was going on, so I just couldn’t get into it.

A charming, funny, and very Ontario-centered novel, Direct Descendent is a cozy Canadian love story with a demonic twist.

I love Tanya Huff. Her Confederation novels are one of my favourite sci-fi series and inspired me heavily in how to craft detailed alien species. So, when I saw this book pop up on NetGalley, I let out a very dramatic gasp. This sounded right up my alley, and it was, for the most part.

To get this out of the way, it’s not perfect. The story is a tad predictable, and the stakes weren’t high enough; I think more focus on the worldbuilding, perhaps before Melanie showed up, would have made that stronger.

The main thing that I didn't love about it was the love story. This is a preference thing, but it is insta-love, which I’m not a fan of. It’s very much a “they see each other across the room and they are in love” thing; the small amount of tension between them arises due to not so much a miscommunication trope but an “omission of the truth, and one gets mad” sort of thing, which wasn’t the most interesting romance plot to me.

Yet, I thought they were a cute couple, and I liked them both individually enough to want them to “get the girl,” so to speak, if only for their own happiness. I didn't dislike their love story, I just wasn't enthusiastic about how fast they fell for one another (I'm more into enemies-to-lovers).

The characters are very fun. We have Cass, having recently come into her role as one of the conduits for the eldritch entity living under the town, and Melanie, a school teacher laid off for speaking up for trans kids. Melanie needs money and accepts a weird job from an older lady to investigate the disappearance of a young guy named Travis. That’s the reason she goes to the town. Cass is trying to figure out why the young man sacrificed himself and what that means for the town.

The story moves at a languid pace, but that fits with the cozy theme. And the rest of the town is full of fun characters who aren’t deep but are quirky (a witch bookstore owner, a 40-year-old man-child who antagonizes Cass like a brother, “Alice” whom I won’t spoil, a cute little demon creature, a grouchy hotel owner), and there are a bunch of queer characters. This is a very queer-focused and inclusive book, which I loved too.

Huff has a certain style to her writing that might not appear to everyone - she’s more about describing situations than getting deep into characters’ heads (though it's not like there aren't internal struggles). The Confederation books are like this, too, and given she tends to write action-heavy stories, that might be where this comes from. I personally like it.

I also really liked the setting/concept of a town making a deal with an eldritch entity and all that it entailed. I don’t want to get into it, as it's more fun to experience as you go, but the plot is fun. There’s a bit of mystery, and there was a twist I sort of suspected (but not in the way it unravelled), which made sense, and how everything tied together was well done. It just takes time to get there.

Huff is also an expert at action sequences, and while there really only is one at the climax, it is a doozy and very fun.

Lastly, the thing I loved most was all the references to where I live. Now, I’m not as far north as the book is set, but I vacation up north and I love northern Ontario. And the book is just peppered with jokes and references about Ontario, our culture, the traffic in Toronto, and Tim Hortons. I found it so fun, as normally books are set in Toronto (as if nowhere else in Ontario exists), so I loved that we barely saw the city, and most of the book is set outside of it. I have done the drive Melanie does many times. I was just recently stuck on the 400 at Barrie. All of these things were so incredibly fun they overshadowed the lacklustre love story.

While not my favourite Huff novel, I enjoyed reading it and would love another set Lake Argen. But more banter and less insta-love, please. More of a Craig and Torin, if you will.

Direct Descendant is a fun, quick romp with lots of laughs, quirky characters, and unapologetic queerness. The magic system is fun, and I really enjoyed the relationship between Cassie and Melanie. The stakes didn’t feel very high, but to be fair, that’s to be expected in any cozy story. The magical creatures — the guardians and T’geyer — were especially fun. I was really glad to see that everything wrapped up quite nicely in the end. It was very predictable, but it definitely delivered on all of its promises. All in all, it was a cute book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

"This cozy horror novel set in modern-day Toronto includes phenomenal characters, fantastic writing, and a queer romance - the perfect balance of dark and delightful.

This stand-alone novel from the bestselling author of the Peacekeeper novels mixes the creepy with the charming for plenty of snarky, queer fun - for fans of T. Kingfisher, Grady Hendrix, Sangu Mandanna, and Erin Sterling.

Generations ago, the founders of the idyllic town of Lake Argen made a deal with a dark force. In exchange for their service, the town will stay prosperous and successful, and keep outsiders out. And for generations, it's worked out great. Until a visitor goes missing, and his wealthy family sends a private investigator to find him, and everything abruptly goes sideways.

Now, Cassidy Prewitt, town baker and part-time servant of the dark force (it's a family business) has to contend with a rising army of darkness, a very frustrated town, and a very cute PI who she might just be falling for…and who might just be falling for her. And if they can survive their own home-grown apocalypse, they might even just find happiness together.

Queer, cozy, and with a touch of eldritch horror mixed in just for fun, this is a charming love story about a small-town baker, a quick-witted PI, and, yes, an ancient evil."

A love just a touch of eldritch horror!

DNF'd.... readers are just dropped into a plot already in action without any clues as to who anyone is, or what is happening. I'm ok with some vagueness at the start of a book but you need to give readers something more than just the synopsis. For a book being promoted as a cozy horror, there was nothing cozy about this. The characters are unlikeable, and the humor doesn't hit. Saying readers of T. Kingfisher will enjoy this is setting them up for disappointment.

This book was really weird. Normally I don’t mind that kind of thing, but apparently there is a limit to how much I can take. The writing didn’t jive with me also.

4.5 stars, rounded up

This was absolutely delightful. I adored the small town setting and all the characters and the world. If you were a fan of Welcome to Night Vale this is absolutely the book for you.

My only complaint is the romance - they meet at about the halfway mark of the book, and then the entire romantic subplot, complete with third-act break-up is crammed in that space. I did like the characters together, I just wish we had been given more space to see them interact as a couple before the drama starts. Kind of a shame, because the other book I read by this author, The Fire's Stone had an absolutely lovely slow-born romance.

All in all, though, I absolutely recommend this, just come for the cozy, Gilmore-Girls-meets-Chtulu vibes (never thought I would have found Eldritch abominations adorable).

I really wanted to like this book. The summary, the other reviews, the genre bending mixture of cozy and horror - it all sounded like it was right up my alley. But the combination of too-little-explanation and too-slow plot combined with the hard to follow writing style just made this one so hard to get through. Everyone has different tastes in writing styles though so it would be worth it to try a sample to see if the style fits better with your preferences than mine!

This book is such a wild ride. I’m so grateful I had the chance to read it and genuinely enjoyed the storyline. The characters are funny and relatable and the world is just the right balance you want for quirky//cozy fantasy (also, loved the LGBTQIA+ representation ✨). My one complaint would be the massively long list of characters and the way they are introduced throughout the book. I counted thirteen (before I stopped keeping track of them) introduced just in the beginning of the book with no real idea of who would make a reappearance in any significant way. Otherwise, I loved it. The story easily carries you through with characters you enjoy.

I’ve been a fan of Tanya Huff since I first discovered her Vicki Nelson books back in my Forever Knight days, and her Quarters series back in my Xena: Warrior Princess days. She’s one of those authors I am always excited to see appearing on the shelves, so when I saw advance copies of Direct Descendant were available, I jumped at the chance.

I can honestly say this is one of the most unique stories I’ve come across in recent memory. The cover blurb promises cozy horror that’s creepy, charming, snarky, and queer all at once, but just how perfectly this delivers on all of that is delightful. It could have gone so wrong so easily. Seriously, coming out of the first few chapters, I found myself feeling tense, worried that the incongruous tones would become exasperating or infuriating, but Huff’s confidence, her unwavering commitment to the story, navigates any such pitfalls.

Lake Argen is a small town in Northern Ontario that’s equal parts Twin Peaks and Dog River, and to say it has its share of secrets would be an understatement. There’s something in the water (literally), a dead ground upon the hill, a mysterious basement, a remarkable silver mine, a coven of witches, and a quartet of servants of the Dark. Most everyone in town is related through the founders of the town, and visitors either find themselves keenly interested in staying . . . or finding it altogether forgettable.

The story opens with a magical sacrifice that promises dark (or should that be Dark) days ahead, but while that takes its time to develop, it shifts into a missing person’s mystery that introduces the meet-cute sapphic romance that pulls it all together. Along the way, we meet the residents of Lake Argen, including children who gleefully challenge shadows with silver-tipped skewers. It’s as bizarre as it sounds, but it all fits . . . all meshes . . . and all makes sense. By the time we meet the cute little tentacled beastie who may just hold the key to it all, we’re so committed to seeing Cassie and Melanie work out, we’ll accept anything that moves us deeper into the Dark.

Were this not cozy and cute, I’d say the pacing was a bit off, but really, it moves how it needs to, and the uneven pacing is more a result of genres mixing that any narrative weakness. More importantly, for a story to which horror and romance are so important, the relationship challenges are well-resolved and the climax – often a weak spot in the genre – more than pays off.

Direct Descendant is told in dual POVs. Cassidy is the first point-of-view we get. She's a resident of Lake Argen and someone with close ties to the town's ancient dark force. Early one morning, she witnesses someone make a ritual sacrifice and knows that something big must be coming for her strange, reclusive town.

Our second POV is Melanie, who is visiting Lake Argen to investigate the recent disappearance of a wealthy woman's grandson. That missing grandson was the ritual sacrifice that Cassidy witnessed, by the way, so things are complicated.

Further complicating this dynamic is that Cassidy and Melanie are both completely smitten with each other at first sight.

The humor in this book is great; I genuinely laughed out loud at a few lines! There is plenty of sillyness and funny references, but there's also some smart and pointed progressive humor. Melanie, in particular, has very strong opinions about the current harmful push of anti-trans policies.

While the book is being pitched as "cozy horror," it is light on horror, in my opinion. If you go in hoping for scares, you might end up disappointed; if you want something funny, dark, fantastical, and romantic, you may really like it. I'd recommend this most to fans who've enjoyed other books that blend cozy sci-fi/fantasy with light horror and gore, like Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell.

I really enjoyed Direct Descendant. It is smartly hilarious, with quirky characters in a fast-paced plot. Plus, there's an incredibly sweet and emotional Sapphic romance between the two main characters. I love books that defy genre labels, and this one blends a lot of my favorites together in a way that really worked for me.