The Curse Servant

4 out of 5 stars.

I wish to thank Curiosity Quills Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book via Netgalley.

I loved this book. A refreshingly wonderful new urban fantasy series that breaks the cookie cutter format that’s engulfed this genre in recent years.

This is the second in a series, and I didn’t actually know that when I first began reading it. Quickly caught up on this fact and so went and bought the first book to read it first. Yes, this series is that good. Rather than mooch myself free books I bought it! Well worth it too.

I won’t go into the plotline as that’s what reading the book is all about. Instead I will say this is an excellent follow on from the first book in the series The Curse Merchant and I feel actually improves on the first book, which is why it got a higher score. The first book was a little shaky as if Mr Sloan was still finding his footing in this world of his. By the second book he had it all sorted and this book is a much firmer, confident book. Not that the first book was bad, as it is a great read too, but I found the writing in the second book stronger.

Being the sort of person who gets frustrated if I suss a book’s plotline out too early I really enjoyed the red herrings thrown at you in this book. Especially as, by the time I’d come to my conclusion as to what was going on, I was doubting myself… thanks to said crimson fish! Well done.

It also got my ‘one more chapter’ mantra going into the wee hours, which is always the sign of a highly enjoyable read.

Would I recommend this book to others? Yes. Very big yes. Though will suggest they read The Curse Merchant first, just so you know what it’s all about.

I really look forward to reading the next in this series and have already been suggesting it to people who are looking for a new urban fantasy series to get hook on.

The only downside is, again, the swearing. Not a biggie, but a tad annoying at times. I guess I swear less than I thought I did. I blame my kids. ;-)

Love this book, encourage you to get the first book in the series too. If you like good urban fantasy that doesn’t require sex scenes, love triangles/ romance, sparkly vampires of the usual cookie cutter rubbish to sell it – you will love this series!

"Instead of the usual political organ-grinders at the campaign headquarters, I found a soccer mom duct taped to a chair, foaming at the mouth."
The events of Curse Merchant may have landed Dorian Lake with a steady job providing hexes and charms for a mayoral campaign, but they also left him too distracted to actually get his work done. Battles over political slogans and housing zones pale a little in light of Dorian’s hunt for a way to restore a stolen soul. However, when Julian summons Dorian to exorcise a demon from one of the campaign volunteers, he realizes that the campaign’s political demons may not be metaphorical after all. The demon doesn’t stop there: all too soon, the magical and political battles start hitting closer and closer to home. With the help of a west-coast necromancer, his magical crisis can be solved in one swoop. The price? Just one little death curse.

As with The Curse Merchant, I gobbled up The Curse Servant and can’t wait for more. J.P. Sloan has a way of writing that just gets me hooked, and it’s all the more impressive given the personality of Dorian himself. Dorian is the type of guy you love to hate: he’s a silver-spoon trust-fund kid who often seems unaware of his deep disconnect from reality. At one point, he has to decide between betraying those who depend upon him and “poverty”--where “poverty” is defined as possibly needing to get his next Audi pre-owned. (Poor baby.) And then there’s his way of wooing women. As his prospective girlfriend says when he brings her to his club on their first date:
"Your ex. She worked here, didn't she? You said she was a high-priced call girl. They have girls who work here, don't they?
I stiffened and simply nodded.
She sucked in a breath. "And you thought this would be a good idea?"
"It's weird, isn't it?"
"You brought me on our first official date to a bordello where you met your ex-girlfriend. Why would that be weird?"
Dorian has an impressive way of talking himself into absolutely gutless, nasty actions while still managing to convince himself of his own righteousness.

Even though I spent about half the book detesting Dorian, I still liked him. It’s hard to explain. Part of it is the wry narrative voice, but I think a lot of the rest is the sheer novelty. Dorian definitely isn’t your cookie-cutter noir hero. He may think he suffers in silence, but that’s mostly because his definition of “silence” doesn’t match the dictionary’s. I suspect that the secret to the story’s captivating charm is the unpredictability. Unlike most urban fantasy protagonists, there’s always a real and measurable chance that Dorian won’t do the right thing. It not only adds suspense to the narrative, but also heightens the relief and enjoyment of the moments when he steps forward to do what should be done.

My biggest complaint with the series remains the worldbuilding, specifically the magic. Dorian’s magic emanates from karmic payouts from the ill-defined Cosmos, which apparently can be manipulated by incantations and arcane drawings. Given the clear religiosity of the magical setup, it’s amazing how idiosyncratic the Cosmos’s idea of “right” and “wrong” actually is. Killing people with magic may be naughty, but killing people in any other way or handing them over for someone else to do the dirty work is just fine. While every person has a soul which can be stolen, traded, and eaten by the demonic beings that Dorian calls the Dark Choir, it’s not really clear what the soul actually is. It clearly doesn’t store personality or agency, and its main utility seems to be protection against the shadowy Dark Choir’s attempt to devour the body as well as the soul. I’m losing hope that the series will clean up its magical setup, but despite this and some rather hackneyed elements of the plot, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the book.

Despite my general contention that every series should be readable in order of library availability, I'd strongly advise reading The Curse Merchant first. Almost all of the characters and plot elements of The Curse Servant were set up in the first book, to the point that I wished I still had my copy to refresh my memory on the various political machinations. If you're looking for a new urban fantasy series with a truly unpredictable protagonist, look no further. As for me, I've definitely got the next book on my to-read list.

**Note: quotes are taken from an uncorrected advanced reader copy and may not reflect the final wording. However, I believe they speak to the character of the novel as a whole.**

BookLikes: http://pagefault.booklikes.com/post/1140338 GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1233009325

Main characters: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Dorian Lake was a putz in the first book, but this time around he's really getting things together. His life was totally out of control in the first book, which made me feel out of control. I realize that that's the whole world building concept but it still made me uncomfortable. Ok, enough hashing of the first book. Dorian is really a good guy even though he was taught in a craft by a not so good guy. It seems like everyone is watching this poor guy. He makes mistakes, but he tries really hard.

Other characters: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Wren, Edgar and the kids are awesome. You can't help but like Ches. Ches is a barista that Dorian just met and likes. It's kind of confusing at first because there was no explanation, just a mention of "Ches" and I had to text Ivana and ask her "Who the hell is Ches?!" She indulged my "need to know" so I could move on with the story. Gillette was a tough as leather practitioner that has obviously been burned by others so much that she prefers to not get involved. Carmody is a conniving, self serving, double crossing jerk face of a practitioner. He so fits the profile of a bad guy that it was hard to keep from jumping to the conclusion that he had a part in the crap storm in which Dorian got stuck. Julian Bright was back again. I tried to not like the guy, but I just couldn’t. He’s got a charm about him that will endure through future books, I’m sure.
World: ♥ ♥ ♥ The world is a little sticky yet. It’s not as developed as I would like. It feels like I’m missing part of the scene when something magical occurs and then later I read it was a huge mistake. The Dark Choir could use a little more explaining, and so could the Presidium. I can’t decide if they are good guys or just idiotic politicians that turn the other way if something bad happens in order to cultivate benefits.

Story: ♥ ♥ ♥ .5 I really liked the story. It had a really good plot that a couple of good twists.

Overall: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ I know I will put author J.P. Sloan on my top series list of this year. I am looking forward to the next book. The author does a very good job of describing the scenes and the Druid Hill club really brought the images of old money and dirty politicians. It was fun!

To start with I think I should have looked this up a little more before requesting it because I did not know it was a sequel! That being said the book was pretty easy to get into even not having known any of the background. While it got to the point where I figured I should put it down until I can get my hands on the first book I will say that I really appreciate the fact that the book can stand on it's own. You don't lose any of the development that author's usually leave out in their follow ups and I loved that about this.

The characters weren't dependent on previous knowledge. They were still fresh and vibrant and I could really get to the bones of who they were and what they wanted.

The plot and background were obviously a bit confusing to me as someone jumping in in the middle but I feel like I could get the meat of it just from the way that Sloan paid attention to the development of the world and the characters. When motivation and setting are obvious you get those atmospheric hints about which plot elements are obviously more important.

While my review and opinion are obviously complete I will be recommending the series to my students and others who are interested in YA mystery/fantasy books and I can't wait to catch up and dig in again!

Life for Dorian Lake is finally looking up. While his charm business took quite a hit from his mental absence, he's finally managed to snag a job with a steady paycheck. On paper he's a grassroots campaigner for Mayor Sullivan, working under Julian Bright, but his paycheck comes solely because of his hermetic powers and what that can do to help the Mayor to stay in office. As is the way for Dorian, his new job attracts his fair share of enemies, mostly from Sullivan's opponent in the mayoral race. Sooner is still gunning for the position of Mayor and he's got quite a few unsavory, ruthless people in his pocket -- people that are willing to make Dorian's life a living hell.

Aside from the political drama, Dorian still has his little problem of not having his soul. Because of that, he's starting to see the shadows. The Dark Choir wants Dorian and are making their presence known more than ever. With known and unknown enemies at play, Dorian has his hands full. Unfortunately, he has to take on one more responsibility before he can figure out his soul problem -- his best friend's daughter is in need of some serious help. Help that only Dorian seems qualified to handle.

In the previous book of this series, Dorian made one heck of a deal that resulted in his soul being taken from him. The Curse Servant continues that particular plot thread, only with a much more sinister tone. The Dark Choir comes out to play a bit more in this installment and I'm hoping the next book has much more from the dark side. I also liked that despite things looking up for Dorian where it concerns his business and even his love life, he can't seem to escape betrayal. There is always someone lying to him it seems, always someone out there trying to take advantage of poor D-Lake, and I like how that doesn't necessarily jade him. Deep down, Dorian is a do-gooder, he's quite caring and wants to do the right thing, even if his attitude doesn't always convey that. He's also still struggling with the Netherwork side to magic and it's starting to become a constant battle.

The Curse Servant was a great second installment in the Dark Choir series that really left me wanting the next installment now. I am very intrigued with Dorian's struggle with the dark side of magic and his choice of not venturing into it, despite his lack of a soul. I will certainly be waiting most impatiently for the third book in this series, which I do hope is coming soon.

**eARC received on behalf of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really liked this book. It was a really good mix of magic and mystery. It had me hooked from the first page!

Dorian Lake is back in the sophomore installment of the Curse series. He still is looking for a way to reinstate his soul, but in the meantime, he still has bills to pay, hexes to make, a candidate to help win, and a land developer to defeat. When he finds out of a Netherworker who might help him reclaim his soul, he is optimistic until all she wants in return is a curse. Can he really do it? What is going on with the recent rash of demon possessions? Or is that what it really is? Dorian Lake is more than up to all his tasks…except maybe for the girl trouble.

I haven’t been as excited for a new series since the Dresden Files as I have with this series. A friend’s review led me to the first one, The Curse Merchant, and I read it in one setting. Her second review clued me in to the fact that the second one was out and I was really excited to see the series continued. Again, I read it in one setting. Mr. Sloan’s books have it all: nice world-building, characters that are fully fleshed out, wonderful plots, and great writing. There is humor, battle scenes, character development. Everything. Please, please get this book and the first one. Love it!

Copy provided by netgalley.

This book was absolutely brilliant. I'm happy that you can easily read this book as a stand-alone, because I just recently realized that it's part of a series. Looking forward to read The Curse Merchant and the last two books of the series.