Trouble. That’s what wolf-shifter Mick Guidry thinks when a beautiful woman appears in his New Orleans bar with a hurricane at her back. His first impression is confirmed when Sophie starts asking questions about his missing waitress, Liza. Mick will do anything to rescue a member of the pack he’s made for himself, including forming an unlikely alliance with a woman with a badge.
Kait Nolan is a RITA® Award-winning Mississippi author who calls everyone sugar, honey, or darlin', and can wield a 'Bless your heart' like a Snuggie or a saber, depending on requirements. She believes in love, laughter, and that tacos are the world's most perfect food. When she's not writing, reading, working the evil day job, or wrangling family (both the two-legged and the four-), you can find her obsessively watching The Great British Bake Off.
Set in Kait Nolan’s Mirus universe, Devil’s Eye is a fast-paced urban fantasy detective novella which expands upon the intriguing world-building first seen in Forsaken By Shadow. This bite-sized tale is just long enough to whet your appetite and introduce some interesting new characters, but also works well as a stand-alone for those unfamiliar with Nolan’s work.
Trouble. That’s what wolf-shifter Mick thinks when a beautiful woman appears in his New Orleans bar with a hurricane at her back. His first impression is confirmed when Sophie starts asking questions about his missing waitress, Liza. Mick will do anything to rescue a member of the pack he’s made for himself, including forming an unlikely alliance with a woman with a badge.
The entire plot of Devil’s Eye takes place over a few scant, action-packed hours, in which Mick and Sophie team up despite their reservations in order to save a missing waitress. What follows is a fast-paced Indiana Jones-esque adventure through a cemetery and a mysterious crypt, escaping from bear shifters, zombies, and much, much worse.
As usual, Nolan writes kick ass characters. Sophie is a demi-goddess and a tough cop to boot; Mick (who had a cameo in Forsaken By Shadow) is a gruff werewolf who is very protective of his employees. While there is some building romantic tension between the two leads, their relationship is not the focus of Devil’s Eye, although I have to say the sparks between them do add a little extra tingle to the story, leaving you hungry for more.
To top it off, Nolan writes with great skill. Her prose is clean, simple, engaging and well-edited; she is a credit to the indie author community. On a side note, I think it was very clever of her to use the same cover composition as she did in Forsaken By Shadow, but if I compare the two I actually prefer the texture and blue detail in Devil’s Eye. (Not that you should judge by the cover….)
In sum, among the many urban fantasy novels being published, the Mirus universe stands out. If you’re a fan of the genre, you should be reading it.
I love New Orleans. It's like no other city in the world. There's a rhythm and a spirit there that I've never encountered anywhere else. It's easy to break it down into its component parts and celebrate those: the food, the music, the architecture, the festivals. It's far more difficult to capture some aspect of the essence of the whole.
When I heard Kait Nolan had set her latest Mirus release in New Orleans, I knew I had to read it. The city is so often the subject of paranormal fiction that rarely manages to capture part of its greatest charm: that of a tightly knit southern community that cares tremendously about its members. Ms. Nolan manages this quite nicely by depicting a wolf-shifter who's had to create his own version of pack and family of all Mirus races, and even a human or two, and the flesh and blood sister of one of his missing pack members. Along the way, Ms. Nolan offers us wonderfully accurate renditions of the city I know and love so well: the tense camraderie of a hurricane watch party; the edgy awe of the St. Louis' cemeteries after dark; a mixture of modern and colonial architecture; a lilting Cajun patois.
In fact, it was the Cajun accent that got me. Mick, the wolf-shifter, hands a soaking wet protagonist a towel and says: "Here. This'll help a l'il bit."
Oh, the rolling Cajun 'l, perfectly and casually captured. I fell in love with Mick right away. And stayed that way for the rest of the novel. Some demi-goddesses have all the luck.
Nolan's writing is, as always, well-paced and deeply plotted. Her world building is meticulous. Her Mirus world is consistent, continuing some of the same tensions from Forsaken by Shadow, even though the characters are different. If anything, the story is a little too short. The novel ended with me wanting to know more. There are certainly interesting possibilities open for the lead characters as the novel ends, but perhaps we won't have to wait long for the next installment.
First, a caveat: I read paranormal romance for the paranormal, not the romance. I find that entire "Love at first sight" and "I don't know you but I love you anyway" stuff silly. That is, however, a matter of personal taste and is something I try to ignore. This story has that "Love at first sight" stuff in it, so if you can't stand it, move along.
Otherwise, "Devil's Eye" offers an enjoyable read with some lovely turns of phrase. I love how the hurricane tied into things. There were still a few sluggish descriptions, but that's standard when you have an entire world involved that nobody knows about. Worth buying, and I look forward to reading more by this author.
This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.
Expected Release Date: Available Now! Publisher: Self Published Author’s Website: http://kaitnolan.com My Source for This Book: Amazon.com Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1.5 Mirus Series Best Read In Order: Yes, but would work well as a standalone Steam Level: Warm
I hate myself a little right now. You see, I bought this short story in December, when it was a new release, and somehow it got shoved to the back of my TBR pile on my Kindle and I just now realized I hadn’t read it.
What a fool I was.
Devil’s Eye is book 1.5 in the Mirus series, which started with Forsaken By Shadow (which was a 4-star book by itself, actually), and continues to flesh out the world of the Mirus. That said, it has been quite a while since I’ve read Forsaken by Shadow, and I still felt that I had all of the pertinent information without having to review the previous book.
Mick is the wolf-shifter owner of Le Loup Garou (literally, “The Werewolf”), a bar in New Orleans where both humans and Mirus mix without the humans ever being aware of the Mirus’ existence. In the middle of a “Hurricane Party”, with the storm raging outside, he realizes that one of his waitresses, Liza, never showed up for work.
Before Mick can further investigate Liza’s whereabouts, he’s interrupted by the lovely Sophie, a gorgeous stranger who not only emanates a sense of power, but who is also asking questions about Liza. When he discovers that she’s a member of the IED — the Investigation and Enforcement Division whose job it is to make sure that humans never become aware of the Mirus’ existence — he immediately goes on the defensive, because human or not, Liza is Pack.
I had (ashamedly) forgotten just how much I enjoy Kait Nolan’s writing. She has a way of taking “the same old same old” of paranormal romance and completely setting it on its head, and I adore her for it.
While I would suggest reading Forsaken By Shadow first (and c’mon, it’s only $2.99 at Amazon, and free on her website if you want to read the serialization there) simply because the Mirus world is so entertaining, I do think that Devil’s Eye works beautifully as a standalone.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. While I wish that it had been a full-length novel, simply so that I would know what was to become of Nick and Sophie, it ended at a good stopping point and didn’t feel like a complete cliff-hanger which I liked. Given the space constraint of a $0.99 novella, however, I think Ms. Nolan did an absolutely fantastic job of keeping the action going, of creating characters that a reader could care about, and the beginnings of what I would imagine will be a beautiful relationship. I sincerely hope any PNR fans reading this will pick this one up in support of a fantastic indie author; a very solid 4/5 Stars
Frickin’ Sweet. That’s what I think any time Kait Nolan’s work is involved. Sure, this is only my second Nolan read, Forsaken by Shadow being the first, but I’ve learned to trust my gut when it comes to certain authors. And the Mirus books are turning into one hell of an awesome series. Devil’s Eye is just as good as it’s predecessor.
Though-since the author saw fit to mention it herself-Devil’s Eye is more of an Urban Fantasy with Romantic elements than ParaRom (which FBS definitely was). Given the constraints of the novella (Devil’s Eye takes place in little over a few hours) I didn’t think twice about it, but then I’m not fussy about Romance. I thought the development between Mick (whom I absolutely LOVE, not that it has anything to do with him being a wolf-shifter, of course not) and Sophie was sufficient and while I’d definitely love to read the rest of their story, I don’t feel let down by the lack of an HEA.
I did not want to stop reading Devil’s Eye. Kait has a great skill for fast-paced action and a well-thought out plot. She doesn’t seem to mind getting a little gore-ie in her fight scenes too, not a bad thing in my book. I was often floored by her ability to use as few words as possible to create the greatest impact on the reader (well, this reader anyway).
I’m fascinated by the Mirus world and my curiosity was just that much more piqued with Devil’s Eye. After a long long time of reading a lot of UF and ParaRom, I don’t expect to be surprised much.Yet, I found myself surprised by some of the turns Kait seems to be taking the Mirus series down, and very excited to see further possibilities.
First a disclaimer, today I was sick, I was so sick I don't even want to tell you how sick I was. Let's just leave it at be wary of "fresh" on fresh food and we'll move on.
Considering I had to completely stop a few times while reading this novella I was totally hyped about I was surprised to see how clearly it all stayed in my head. I love how Nolan spins a tale. There's none of the extra nonsense and fat that I've come accustomed to ignoring to continue reading a book, it's all meat and I love it.
We're back in NOLA with some more Mirus for that I'm eternally grateful. Mick is back and we're brought in during a tropical storm. While I'll admit I've never been through one it seemed a little weird how much happened during a category 4 storm but frankly I didn't care enough to be bothered with details like this. After my last book based on Greek mythology I was thankful for the Nolan's no bullshit storytelling when demigods came up. It just is, deal with it.
I struggle with reviews for these novellas cause they're so short, once you start before you know it you're done. After you've read the blurb if you're not intrigued (of which I don't know what is wrong with you :-) then I don't know how else to get your on board. These are good. Hand to heart good. Give it a chance and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
This is the second novella in the Mirus series by Kait Nolan, and equally as great as the first. I have been looking forward to this story since the moment I finished the last. One of things I love most about this writer is her ability to fully flesh out and conclude a full story in the shorter length of a novella without making the reader feel rushed or that anything was left out. Her use of descriptive language is extraordinary, drawing you into the story and causing you to feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. There is a scene in this story, no spoilers (I promise!), involving zombies, darkness, and a demon and I could feel my heart quickening as I read it. I love that! Personally, my favorite supporting character was Olaf, a biker dwarf about whom I will say no more lest I spoil it! Definately pick this up to read! At $.99, it is worth so much more with it's paranormal theme, quirky characters and its unexpected humor!
A werewolf, a demon, and a demi-goddess all walk into a bar... It sounds like a joke, but they all really do, at one point in this story.
I wish I could give half-stars, because I'd add another half a star to this rating. I love Nolan's strong heroines, and her stories are always action-packed. I'm breathless when I'm done, because I hold it without realizing it; there literally is no down-time, no time to regroup, no time to take stock.
Devil's Eye--and its predecessor Forsaken by Shadow--strongly appeal to me because while both involve supernatural beings, Nolan doesn't overwhelm the reader with their supernaturalness. It's not constantly shoved in the reader's face.
This novella was fast, slick, full of dry humor--which I love. I'd only dock it half a star from a full five stars for the time-frame in which the romance developed, but that's just because I move rather slowly myself.
If you're looking for a short piece to read this weekend, you can't do better than Kait Nolan's latest paranormal novella, Devil's Eye, the second story in the Mirus series. Devil's Eye features wolf-shifter Mick and demi-goddess Sophie, set against the backdrop of New Orleans - with a hurricane coming in.
The story is tightly woven, with rising tension throughout, and the romance between Mick and Sophie had me hoping for more stories about them.
Kait does a great job of wrapping up the action but leaving larger questions open at the end, and there's so much to explore in the Mirus world. I just hope to get another glimpse of Mick and Sophie soon!
I really like Nolan's short-stories, but they're a total teaser for her full-length books (unfortunately not out yet). You can get this one for free if you sign up for her newsletter, and 'Blindsight' is free on BN.com or Goodreads. It was fun reading about Mick and Sophia because we were introduced to them very briefly at the end of 'Blinsight', and we also get to learn a little more about Isla's story. Although it doesn't matter if you read this or that first, their both enjoyable short stories, and as I said Nolan's writing is great and I can't wait for the full-lengths!
A really fun read! It's was my first paranormal romance, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story follows Sophie, a demi-goddess, and Mick, a werewolf, as they try to save Sophie's sister by stealing the Devil's Eye, an ancient stone with extraordinary powers. The world building was really well done and the characters very real and memorable. It wasn't too heavy on the romance, not a bodice ripping type of book, but did have a very strong action/mystery component. It was a quick read for me and I definitely plan on reading more of Kait Nolan after this.
This was a great story of adventure, romance, and peril. Kait Nolan always does a wonderful job writing action as well as developing characters in such a way that we feel as if we know them. This was an awesome novella, and even though it's just a taste of what's in store for Mick and Sophie, I feel like it can also be read as a stand alone story and still be entertaining with enough closure at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!
Although this was just a glimpse into the beginning of the relationship for Sophie & Mick I just loved this! I think of this story as more of a teaser to a greater story to come.
The action was fast paced and kept me turning the pages to get to the end. I read this in just half a day. Would have been quicker because I didn't want to put it down but I had to do real work. :( So I had to read during my lunch break and after work.
This is the second book in the Mirus series. The love story between Sophie, a demi-goddess, and Mick, a wolf-shifter, is just beginning when the novel finishes, so I'm interested in seeing how that develops. One of the more interesting secondary characters in this novella is the demon who inhabits the Devil's Eye. I have a feeling, based on what I've read, that he may become more important as the series develops. At least I hope so! A good read. I'm looking forward to the full-length novels. :)
I fell in love with the character Mick when I read Forsaken By Shadow, the first book in Kait Nolan's Mirus series. Yes, I admit it, I fell in love with a character. He funny and tough and has that cool factor going for himself. In this second book, I loved him even more.
This is a great story, with suspense and mystery, romance and fantasy. It's a short book but packed with intensity from beginning to end.
Urban fantasy that's written in a professional as hell style. Good plot, good characters, use of a mix of typical and atypical mythologies without being jarring, good romantic leads...is there ANYTHING wrong with this book? I don't know, maybe there's a comma missing somewhere.
Good story although a bit too short for my liking. Love the suspense and the way everything falls back into place. Would be better though if the book was a longer read, maybe draged on slightly longer so the imagination could let loose a little. Loved it though.
My personal favourite of the Mirus series thus far. Mick and Sophie are two of my favourite characters in any genre of fiction. The scene in the catacombs is fantastic and who doesn't love a demon with a sense of humour?
Another great book in the series. The Mirus world is creative, the characters are loveable, the story keeps you on your toes with no chance to guess. I am looking forwards to the others!
Again, I loved it. Each book brings in some new aspect of the Mirus culture, so you never feel like it's all being dumped on you at once. Kait is a seriously skilled writer.
Have I said how much I like this universe and its characters? Well, I do. Read this! You won't be disappointed. I hear a novel-length Mirus novel is in the works from Kait.