Grade: Adult - UF
Rating: 4/5 stars
The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah. (Description from Goodreads)
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The world of Unholy Ghosts is gritty and dangerous. Set in a time where the Church of Real Truth runs the world, it states that there is no religion, only magic and the power to banish the ghosts that threaten mankind.
Chess is a Church employee and as a “witch” or “debunker”, it is her job to investigate claims of haunted house and if it proves to be haunted, then banish the ghost. The Church compensates those whose house is found to be haunted, however with every false claim, the debunker receives a bonus from the Church and the claimant a jail term.
It has been a while since Chess has received a bonus, which normally would be fine as she still gets paid from the Church. However, Chess has a serious drug problem and it’s this drug problem that lands her in some dangerous situations as she owes her drug dealer, Bump, money. Instead of paying Bump back, he has requested her to do a job for him. He also sends his enforcer, Terrible, with her in order to make sure that the job gets done.
Stacia Kane has painted a perfect picture of Chess’s two lives. You have her job with the Church that takes you through a typical suburban town. Chess is seen as an upstanding citizen; a professional to be admired because of her work with the Church. And then there’s Downside, with its sex and drugs; a dangerous place where drug lords rule the streets, and a place Chess considers home. The Downside slang took a while for me to get used to e.g. “You don’t, you come playing here”. At first I had to reread certain lines before things clicked into place. And as she spends majority of her time Downside and with Downside residents, you pick up the slang quite quickly.
I really enjoyed the storyline- the magic, dark magic, ghosts, sacrifices- it was all very interesting. My one issue was the constant drug use. Most protagonist have some sort of innocence to them that I think makes it easier for people to relate to. Chess has had all her innocence stripped from her and the constant (and I do mean constant) snorting and pill popping was disconcerting. I found myself wishing she was real so I could grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. However, I also find myself wanting her to beat her demons, stop the drugs and succeed in life. And what I really want is for her to end up with Terrible. Yes, the drug dealer’s enforcer. The big, scary looking guy, who if you saw in real life, you’d probably run away from as fast as possible. But you soon learn about the real Terrible, and he’s this amazing guy who tries to do the right thing, and is always there for Chess. I want more Terrible!
I’ve given Unholy Ghosts 4 out of 5, and I’m really looking forward to the next book.
The world of Unholy Ghosts is gritty and dangerous. Set in a time where the Church of Real Truth runs the world, it states that there is no religion, only magic and the power to banish the ghosts that threaten mankind.
Chess is a Church employee and as a “witch” or “debunker”, it is her job to investigate claims of haunted house and if it proves to be haunted, then banish the ghost. The Church compensates those whose house is found to be haunted, however with every false claim, the debunker receives a bonus from the Church and the claimant a jail term.
It has been a while since Chess has received a bonus, which normally would be fine as she still gets paid from the Church. However, Chess has a serious drug problem and it’s this drug problem that lands her in some dangerous situations as she owes her drug dealer, Bump, money. Instead of paying Bump back, he has requested her to do a job for him. He also sends his enforcer, Terrible, with her in order to make sure that the job gets done.
Stacia Kane has painted a perfect picture of Chess’s two lives. You have her job with the Church that takes you through a typical suburban town. Chess is seen as an upstanding citizen; a professional to be admired because of her work with the Church. And then there’s Downside, with its sex and drugs; a dangerous place where drug lords rule the streets, and a place Chess considers home. The Downside slang took a while for me to get used to e.g. “You don’t, you come playing here”. At first I had to reread certain lines before things clicked into place. And as she spends majority of her time Downside and with Downside residents, you pick up the slang quite quickly.
I really enjoyed the storyline- the magic, dark magic, ghosts, sacrifices- it was all very interesting. My one issue was the constant drug use. Most protagonist have some sort of innocence to them that I think makes it easier for people to relate to. Chess has had all her innocence stripped from her and the constant (and I do mean constant) snorting and pill popping was disconcerting. I found myself wishing she was real so I could grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. However, I also find myself wanting her to beat her demons, stop the drugs and succeed in life. And what I really want is for her to end up with Terrible. Yes, the drug dealer’s enforcer. The big, scary looking guy, who if you saw in real life, you’d probably run away from as fast as possible. But you soon learn about the real Terrible, and he’s this amazing guy who tries to do the right thing, and is always there for Chess. I want more Terrible!
I’ve given Unholy Ghosts 4 out of 5, and I’m really looking forward to the next book.
Kerrie
I first read about this on Catie's blog and I added it to my to-read list then but I still haven't done anything about getting a copy! Glad you loved it too, Kez!
ReplyDeleteMandee buy it! It's sooo good & it gets better & better. Finished book 2 and I'm officially hooked. Now I need others to read it so we can discuss :)
DeleteKerrie
Wooooow... Kerrie, this sounds amazing... I never would've guessed it was so dark and gritty... err.. maybe if I'd read the blurb properly? This is an AMAZING review, and the story sounds incredible... so glad you liked it, and THANK YOU for sharing this one! Seriously... it sounds AMAZING! ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Sarah! I had no idea what this series was about before I started reading it so I was kind of shocked by how dark it really was. I was not prepared for the constant drug use but I just couldn't stop reading it. It was so interesting, I couldn't put it down. I'm itching to get my hands on book 3.
DeleteKerrie