Suzanne Johnson's Belle Chasse was published by Tor Books (US|UK|Tor.com) in November 2016.
Information about Suzanne Johnson:
Suzanne Johnson lives in Auburn, Alabama. A veteran journalist with more than fifty national awards for writing and editing nonfiction, she is also Susannah Sandlin. As Sandlin, Johnson has won two Holt Awards (for paranormal romance and romantic suspense) and been a two-time finalist for the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award. She is the author of the urban fantasy novels Royal Street and River Road.
Click here to visit her official website.
Information about Belle Chasse:
Suzanne Johnson's "strong and intriguing" (Publishers Weekly) urban fantasy series continues with Belle Chasse. The Sentinels of New Orleans series has earned starred reviews from Library Journal ("a resourceful heroine who relies on her magical ingenuity") and PW ("vivid... a lively tale jam-packed with action, magic, and intriguing plot twists").
With the wizard-elven treaty on the verge of collapse, the preternatural world stands on the brink of war. Unless former wizard sentinel DJ Jaco manages to keep the elven leader, Quince Randolph, focused on peace and not personal matters.
With no one on the throne, Faerie is in chaos, with rival princes battling for power. The still-undead pirate, Jean Lafitte, is building his own army of misfits, and DJ - stripped of her job and hiding in the Beyond to avoid the death sentence handed down by the wizard Council of Elders - can’t get anywhere near her beloved New Orleans or her significant something-or-other, Alex.
It's time to choose sides. Friends will become enemies, enemies will become allies, and not everyone will survive. DJ and her friends will learn a hard lesson: sometimes, even the ultimate sacrifice isn’t enough.
A REVIEW OF SUZANNE JOHNSON'S BELLE CHASSE
Before I begin to analyse and review Suzanne Johnson's Belle Chasse, I'll mention that The Sentinels of New Orleans series was an almost totally unknown series to me when I began to read this novel. I had heard good things about it, but I hadn't read any of the previous novels prior to reading this novel. I'm glad I had an opportunity read Belle Chasse, because it turned out to be a real page turner.
Belle Chasse is the fifth novel in The Sentinels of New Orleans series of urban fantasy novels aimed at adult readers. It took me a while to get into this novel, because the characters and their backgrounds were new to me, but I soon found myself enjoying the happenings, because the story was satisfyingly complex. In my opinion, this novel works surprisingly well as a standalone novel, but I intend to take a look at the previous novels as soon as possible, because I want to find out more about the characters and the past happenings.
I think that readers who have read novels by Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs and Chloe Neill will find a lot to love in this novel, because it is similar to their novels and has all the necessary elements and spices to keep up readers' interest in the story. If you're a fan of entertaining urban fantasy novels, this novel will please you.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- The story picks up from where the previous novel, Pirate's Alley, ended.
- DJ and his merman friend, Rene, have fled New Orleans and are hiding in the Beyond. DJ has been shot by one of the Elven Synod while escaping from what amounted to a death sentence from her own elders. She has lost her freedom and her job. She had to leave without her lover, Alex. The leader of at least three powerful species wanted her dead or under their control, which means that she's temporarily stuck in the Beyond. DJ's best friend, a human, is pregnant and the father of her child is DJ's bond-mate Quince Randolf (Rand), who is chief of elven fire clan and newly self-appointed head of the Elven Synod.
- DJ's pirate friend, Jean Lafitte, who lives in the preternatural world most of the time on a dilapidated estate from the early 1800s, removes the bullet from her leg. When DJ begins to recover, she and her friends talk about their situation and about the possibility of war in the preternatural world. Soon DJ finds out that Eugenie's sister has been killed by vampires. She understands that it is a trap to lure Eugenie out of the Beyond...
This is the beginning of an intriguing and fast-paced story. I was positively surprised by the complexity of the story, because it had much more going on than the simple cookie-cutter storylines that plague many urban fantasy novels.
I found the worldbuilding exceptionally good and interesting. Suzanne Johnson has imagined a rich world full of details. She writes excellently about New Orleans, the Beyond, Faerie and other places (the other planes of existence bring fascination to the story).
In this series, the post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans is the barrier between our world and the preternatural. The barrier has worn increasingly thin during the recent years. The wizard council keeps the peace and maintains the borders between the worlds. Many kinds of preternatural creatures - the vampires, the loup-garou, the elves, the fae and the undead - have representatives on the wizard council, but these alliances have been frayed to the point of dissolution, which results in a volatile situation.
The cast of characters is satisfyingly versatile. Each of the characters has their own characteristics and traits, and some of them are not explicitly good or evil. The cast of characters includes such intriguing characters as a wizard who has been turned into a vampire, an undead pirate, the Faery Prince of Winter and many others.
Drusilla Jaco, aka DJ, is the courageous protagonist who has a lot on her mind. She's the former wizard-sentinel who has been thrown out of the council by disobeying the immoral command given by the leader of her order. She has friends and allies among the preternatural groups, except among the wizards because of what she has done. Her boyfriend, Alex, is a canine shapeshifter.
I like the author's stylistic way of writing about DJ's life and feelings, because she manages to make her an interesting character whose life is anything but easy. She gives DJ a strong voice and writes convincingly about how stubborn and determined she is. I enjoyed reading about how DJ wanted peace and yearned to meet Alex.
The minor characters are also interesting, because the author easily fleshes out their characteristics and makes them come alive. For example, Jean Lafitte is a well-created character with a fine touch of eccentricity and quirkiness that makes him a memorable character. It was enjoyable to read about him, because he's a pirate who's obsessed with DJ. Christof, the Faery Prince of Winter, is also a fascinating character and it was fun to read about him and his abilities, because he could change the weather conditions.
It's nice that the author infuses her story with politics and power play among the preternatural creatures. I liked her way of writing about these issues, because it didn't feel heavy. She also succeeds in creating tensions between the characters.
The power struggle between the faery princes, the brothers Christof and Florian, is handled exceptionally well, because the author sheds light on what they do and what's happening in Faerie. Florian seems to be capable of doing almost anything in order to get what he wants and doesn't care much about the consequences of his actions.
It was great that there was humour in this novel. The dialogues between the characters were often delightfully sharp and stinging. I especially enjoyed reading about what DJ thought of the happenings and other persons, because her thoughts were amusing.
Suzanne Johnson's Belle Chasse has everything that a fan of entertaining adult urban fantasy expects to find in urban fantasy. It has paranormal elements, magic, preternatural creatures, intrigue, danger, love and romance. It's a delightful blend of different elements that together form an enjoyable story that keeps readers turning pages long into the night. If you're in need of new urban fantasy to read, you can't go wrong by reading this novel, because it's a great read.
My final words are:
Suzanne Johnson's Belle Chasse is worth reading, because it's gripping urban fantasy entertainment! It is sure to please fans of urban fantasy novels.