So, back in the previous book, Rune had pledged a favor to Carling in exchange for saving Tiago's life. Now, it's time for him to pay up.
Rune was an intriguing character from the previous books and I was looking forward to his story. Man, was it disappointing. I didn't particularly care for either character. Carling, the vampire (oops I mean vampyre!) was eh and Rune was pushy, bossy. The whole not trusting Dragos was stupid, weird, and didn't make any sense what-so-ever. This is someone that has been in Rune's life for centuries. Someone, that before all this, he trusted completely, and was partt of his family (for all intent and purpose). It didn't wash. Stupid Rune.
I also found this a bit boring and hard to really get into. The 1st book was good, the 2nd less so, and this one even less so. Not feeling #4 per the synopsis (although both characters (Grace and Khalil) were in this one and look to be interesting- but the last 2 were disappointing and were about characters I previously found interesting). I have too many books I *want* to read, and to read one I'm lukewarm about? Nah. I'm done.

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn. Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned. Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony. The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made. And love makes fools of us all.

I heard many great things about his book but I was a bit worried that is it over hyped like many books, so I went in skeptical. But I’m to report that I actually really liked it. Way more than I thought I would. I liked the snark and humor but also the twist and turns it threw at us. Some I saw coming, some and the final was a surprise to me. I loved that the roles were almost reversed here. We have, Lou who is the cocky and dirty minded one and then we have Reid, the innocent Chasseur. Which made it often really comical. Lou just knew how to get to him, and push hos buttons but once warmed up he was so much fun as well. I did enjoy the slow-burn romance between the two a lot. But I also liked the friendships in this book, between her and Coco and her and Ansel as well. We get a bit of everything in this book, snark, romance, action and being on the run all the time. Overall it was rather fast paced, some parts felt a bit slower but overall it went by way to fast. The end leaves us with a cliffhanger and I cannot believe I have to wait soo long to find out what happens next.

I rate it 4★ and looking forward to book two very much.

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What a story, if I could give this book 10 star rating I would. Once again Mr. Miller confirms why he is one of my favourite authors.

New Orleans, 1926

August Chevalier, a ruthless businessman with questionable morals is found murdered, investigative reporters Justice Harper and Remy Moral are determined to flush out the killer. Working alongside the police, they narrowed down the list of suspects to three:

The Sinner, Blaze Barbeau, a real estate magnate with a checkered past

The Saint, Lucinda Boyd, a pillar of New Orleans society

The Serpent, Belladonna Dede, a well-known voodoo queen

One potential suspect:

A mafia gangster: Nicky the Knife

This is a story rich in content written with a cinematic perspective approach. It is vividly told through rich dialogue. The narrative is incredibly fast-paced and the prose sails smoothly throughout making this one of those stories next to impossible to put down. It is so filled with tension I was trying so hard to figure who may be the killer. Justice and Remy did such a good job interrogating each one of the suspect that it was hard to pin point the guilty. They all had a reason to do the deed. Mr. Miller is definitely a master of plot twists and he threw some doozies to surprise us. I was on the edge of my seat from page one and so captivated trying hard to figure where the author was going with his story. Would we finally have the killer identified….or would we be kept guessing. By the epilogue Mr. Miller give us the most mammoth twists of all and what an ending….I never saw it coming.

The author created sub-plots for the other characters what essentially happens in their life when they are not part of the main plot. Serenity Dupree, a sultry jazz singer is one of the secondary players along with Barbeau, Boyd, DeDe and Knife’s contribution all make a delightful reading adventure. Of course we also have the police investigators trying to solve the case.

A special note as for the main characters:

Justice is a man of deep morals, very diplomatic hard not to like him. Remy is a complete darling, she is one to speak her mind with absolutely no filter whatsoever. At times Justice wanted to strangling her….Their interaction makes an excellent read.

I love this mystery it provided all the entertainment one can wish for. What a page turner you provided Mr. Miller, well-done.

I received a ARC from Lume Books via Netgalleys for my thoughts

Derry frowned. ‘Why is everything so complicated?’

 

Bruce thought about that. He shrugged. ‘‘ Cos we’re not dead?’

This is a mystery novel that's hard to talk about—because for the longest time, it's not a mystery novel at all it's a novel about a couple of under-employed actors, their rising TV star friend, and an insecure pop star. I want to stress that this isn't a complaint, it's a description. By the point that it becomes a mystery novel*, you're already invested in all the characters and the situations so everything becomes heightened.

* Sure, we all knew it was going to become a mystery novel because that's what the Madam Tulip books are. But there were at least three ways it could've become one before the murder is discovered.

For those new to this series, Derry O'Donnell is a young Irish-American actress in Dublin. Her best friend, Bella, has got a new and regular gig on TV and her career seems to be going somewhere. Meanwhile, Derry and her pal Bruce are still looking for their big break. And Madam Tulip? Well...

Madam Tulip was her fortune-teller alter ego whom Derry had created as a means of making some cash on the side. A woman of indeterminate age and exotic dress, skilled in Tarot and card reading, Madam Tulip was the perfect act for celebrity events. She wasn’t even an imposter or any kind of fraud. Derry was, after all the daughter of a seventh son of a seventh son. But too often, Madam Tulip had led Derry into situations she would rather have avoided and the company of people best left to their own devious devices.

That last sentence is a very understated way of describing the series. Like Jessica Fletcher, dead bodies have a tendency to turn up when Madam Tulip is nearby. This time, thanks to some of Bella's machinations (as well as a favor from an old friend), Derry is going to be working at the birthday party of a pop star. Before the weekend is over, Derry finds herself as a confidante to the star and (separately) another member of the band. Their manager is trying to get Derry to be his informant, if he can't get her to influence (via Madam Tulip) the singer.

Derry's torn between wanting to help everyone but the manager (but she, Bella and Bruce need the manager for something they're trying) and wanting to leave them all to their own devices. because they're all a bit too much. But she really can't get away from it all—especially when a murder is discovered.

The mystery aside, the most intriguing part of this novel to me is the way that Derry thinks of Tulip—and how it changes from the beginning of the book to the end. I don't think I can discuss it without spoiling something, so I'll just say that I didn't see it coming, and really like the way that Ahern dealt with it.

There's a sweet little romantic story that gets just the right amount of attention and space. And I now realize that I don't have much else to say about it—I liked this guy for Derry.

Since Day One, I've thought that Derry's father, Jacko, could be the stand-out character of the series with the capability of stealing every scene he's in. It'd be really easy to overuse him. Ahern hasn't done that the way that I can imagine it'd be easy to do so far. In fact, I'd argue that he underused Jacko in this volume. He's decided it's time to publish his memoirs—which will include "a tell-all exposé" of the art world—an idea that terrifies Derry's mother (and makes for fun reading). He's even hired a ghostwriter and expects to publish soon. I liked his storyline, but thought it ended a bit abruptly. But that's really just me being disappointed that we didn't get more of Jacko—because it was executed just right.

Derry's pal Bruce, struggling actor, former SEAL, jack-of-all-trades (it seems) is (again) a real highlight of the book. He continues to be Ranger to Derry's Stephanie Plum—just without the money, the team or the flirtation (and the post-flirtation stuff). I really enjoy him as a character—not just when he's pulling Derry's bacon out of the fire, but for the nice, quiet moments of friendship and support. If Ahern decides to give Tulip a break and focus on Bruce for a book or two, I'd be in the front of the line for that.

This is the best one yet in this series—yeah, I said that in my post about #3, Madam Tulip and the Bones of Chance, too—it was true then and it's true now. There's more depth to the characters, more subtlety to the story—and even some of the story beats that should be expected by now (because Ahern's used them in every book) took me by surprise. It's just a pleasure to read one of these books—Madam Tulip and the Serpent’s Tree was a little oasis of enjoyment in the midst of a stressful week for me, and I relished retreating to it.

I'd been eagerly checking Ahern's website off and on for news about this release before he emailed me about it. I like this world, I look forward to spending time with these characters, and the Serpent's Tree not only solidified these feelings it intensified them. These are fun mysteries, and the little touch of the supernatural (which takes on different nuances in each book) helps keep them fresh. Would this work as a jumping-on point? Yup. Any of them would—take the plunge, you'll be glad you did.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion, which is what you just read. The opinions expressed are my own.

4- man I hate the mother in this, really really hate her. The father isn't much better, so prepare yourself for some crappy parent figures. I had to get that out, i was that mad at them when I finished this book. This was an unexpected enjoyable read. Great characters with deep dark secrets, danger, and challenges in beliefs, it all made for a great read. Now i need book 2, there was a cliffhanger ending and I need to see one character go down !