The Veil by Chloe Neill

I read a lot, as you all know. Every once in a while a book comes along that makes me excited. Reminds me what the difference is between great books and awesome books. There are a lot of great books with great stories and great characters. There are not so many awesome books, books where every element is believable and you are immersed in the fictional world. The Veil by Chloe Neill is an awesome book.

From the back of the book:

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…

My thoughts:

It hasn't been too long since my husband and I walked a fun vibrant city of New Orleans on vacation. I thought that would be the only image I could ever hold of the city in my mind. Not the case. I can now fully picture it as a burned-out mess of a left-behind war zone. A place that is still alive with things creeping around in the night. Things that used to be human until magic made them otherwise. The masterful painting of realistic characters made everything they faced seem so intense. Even the secondary characters were real, as if they were my friends; my neighbors. The people I met for the first time, along with Claire, I was able to see just she had as if I were there.

In addition to having characters I grew to care about deeply, or despise if that were the intent or role they played, there was a wonderful story. Unique in concept and tight in execution. There is every indication this was just the start of a new series, which is fabulous because I must know more about these fascinating people and I need to know how things play out in the zone!

If you like your heroines strong and your heroes complex, your world rich and unexpected, then you need to read this book. Read it now. You won't be sorry and you will never think of magical creatures the same again.

Make sure you visit Chloe Neill's Website to stay up to date on new releases and news. You can purchase this great title as well as many others in all genres at Penguin. You can also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: I may receive products in exchange for an honest review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I personally believe will be good for my readers.