The Dead Wolves by Lee Dignam and Katerina Martinez

Title: The Dead Wolves: An Ashwood Novel (Cursed and Damned #1)

Author: Lee Dignam, Katerina Martinez

Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy

Length: 296 pages

Publisher: Supernal Publishing

Release Date: May 30, 2017

Source: Purchased

Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Someone is abducting women from the streets of Ashwood. Tonight, vampires will fight vampires.
Cyanide doesn't consider herself a mercenary, but when you get hired to run potentially dangerous missions usually concerning undesirable characters, that's what you are. What she wants is to get the hell out of Ashwood - a rotting, lost cause of a city - but travelling across the country isn't easy when you're one of the undead. She needs money to make that happen, and if she wants to make enough of it to leave, she needs to run one last mission for her organization's benefactor; she has to find out who's abducting women from the streets, and why.

In order to do that, Cyanide needs to work with Neo - an at times frustrating, but alluring vampire - chasing down leads and finding clues in an attempt at figuring out how deep the well goes. But this whole thing runs deep and black, and at the bottom of it are secrets, treacheries, and dangers she couldn't have imagined.

She has to find it within herself to persevere, because one of the girls who went missing is vitally important to her benefactor, and if she doesn't find this lost lamb, she may be stuck in Ashwood for a long time.

This is a thrilling, dark book, which deals with very real themes and issues. If you're ready to get sucked in and lose yourself in Cyanide's journey, discovering with her not only the many secret truths about the city she lives in, but also things about herself she never would have believed, then this is the book for you. 

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I have totally fallen in love with Ashwood. The first trilogy (Half-Lich) sucked me in fast, and The Dead Wolves has me hopping in my seat waiting for more. I love that the city is being brought to life in several shorter series that give me a chance to glimpse into different parts of the world. 

The Dead Wolves are vampires - I know - I thought they would be werewolves at first too. But they are vampires working against the system of archaic rules of the vampire court. Cyanide is our leading lady here, and she has some deep secrets. Ones that she even keeps from herself. It's quite interesting how it all comes out into the open finally.

The Dead Wolves are set on finding out what is happening to the women disappearing from all over the city. But Cyanide may not have her full heart in it - she just wants out. Away from the city, away from the court, away from everything wrong. There was a surprising depth to her character that was revealed and morphed throughout the story. By the end of the story, she's like a different person, but still familiar and somehow not changed at all. I can't wait to see where the mystery takes her in the next book.

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Ashwood Novels

Half-Lich Series

Dark Siren #1

The Void Weaver #2
Night and Chaos #3

Night and Chaos by Lee Dignam and Katerina Martinez ~ Review

Title: Night and Chaos (Half-Lich #3)
Author: Lee Dignam and Katerina Martinez
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 226 pages
Publisher: Supernal Publishing
Release Date: October 31, 2016
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

As night gathers, chaos rains down on the city of Ashwood like acid. The New Order of Void Weavers led by Isaac Moreau are gaining strength, but the shield separating the world of humans from the things hungrily waiting for their turn at the batting plate is fractured and weak, and repairing it is no small task. Meanwhile Alice Werner, the supernatural Bounty Hunter, has her hands full with an increasing number of contracts, and as Ashwood starts simmering toward a boiling point, it's only a matter of time until something gives and all hell breaks loose.

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The conclusion to the Half-Lich series was a good one. Everything has been leading up to this moment, the moment where Chaos wins or loses, and of course, it's up to Alice and the newly found Order of Void Weavers to stop all the bad stuff from happening.

Once again, the authors have made the city of Ashwood and its residents come to life on the pages. From the random people on the street to the crazy ghosties and other various bad guys that have come through from the other side to the good guys that Alice has somehow managed to gather to fight them. Everything leads up to one epic battle that really didn't go the way I thought it would at all.

There's plenty of magic and special powers. I got to find out more about some of the bigger side characters and what they were and what they could do. But in this big epic battle, it wasn't all about who was the strongest. It came down to outthinking and just flat out refusing to back down.

I'm very excited that the Ashwood world is going to continue with a new series - not one revolving around Alice and friends - but I'm hoping it's just as good.

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More from the Half-Lich series

Dark Siren #1

The Void Weaver #2

The Void Weaver by Lee Dignam and Katerina Martinez ~ Review

Title: The Void Weaver (Half-Lich #2)
Author: Lee Dignam and Katerina Martinez
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Length: 242 pages
Publisher: Supernal Publishing
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Source: Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Their enemy is getting away. Their danger is just getting started… 

Alice is in hiding. Holed up in a magically-protected house without her main weapon, the supernatural bounty hunter wants nothing more than to hunt Nyx down. But her enemy is in hiding too, and without her powers the dangerous Pain Children are more than a match for her. 

When Alice learns that Isaac Moreau remains in Magistrate custody, she has no choice but to follow Nyx’s trail without backup. Her only chance to catch the villain may lie in Isaac’s attempt to learn the dark, deadly secret of the Void. His failure could get them all killed in the process.

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With Nyx on the loose, Alice has gone into hiding after losing her powers and is holed up in a magical safe-house. At the safe-house, we get to meet Cameron, who is one heck of a character. He's a gentle giant that quickly becomes part of Alice's close-knit group.

The Pain Children are some really nasty creatures. They each have their own crazy aspect that makes them quite deadly - and when they gather together - they are a near unstoppable force. No one knows what Nyx's goal is other than to cause havoc and pain. And that's just what she's doing.

Alice struggles to find her powers and learn how to harness them in new ways. Isaac is forced into an otherworldly battle that may cost him his soul. But if he wins, then he will emerge with a new power from a plane no one really knew how to access before. This battle was quite intense, but not in a physical way. Isaac is put to a moral and emotional test that really gives the reader a look into his past and what makes him tick deep inside.

All these events will come together in quite a fantastic way. New powers, new factions, and show-down with some really nasty baddies make this book a great read.

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Half-Lich

Dark Siren #1

Dark Siren by Lee Dignam and Katerina Martinez

Title: Dark Siren (Half-Lich #1)

Author: Lee Dignam and Katerina Martinez

Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy

Length: 322 pages

Publisher: Supernal Publishing

Release Date: July 18, 2016

Source: Purchased

Reviewed by: Jasmyn

A nightmarish realm. A city of monsters. One girl’s soul caught in the middle. 

Supernatural bounty hunter Alice Werner loves her job. She gets paid the big bucks to take down her targets and doesn’t ask her clients too many questions as long as the money’s good. But when a girl goes missing and the case feels all too familiar, Alice can’t help but act.

Concern for the girl’s safety draws her into a risky case. Compassion keeps her involved when the stakes begin to rise. Desperation forces her to call on an old flame for help. Despite their unfinished past, Alice and Isaac Moreau, a prominent Mage, must work together to save the girl.

When clues reveal more than meets the eye, Alice must face her deepest fears and confront demons from her past to protect the victim, and herself, from a fate worse than death.

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This was an amazing story! Alice is a hunter of bothersome otherworldly creatures - think poltergiests and other ghosty types. And they way she goes about it was really unique. The tool of her trade is an old-school camera named Trapper. As the story goes on, Trapper almost seems like a character unto itself, and I really loved the whole concept behind how it worked.

When a young girl is dragged into another realm by one of the worst haunts out there, Alice and Trapper won't be enough to get her back. Enter the very distinguished Isaac Moreau. I really like Isaac. As a mage and museum coordinator, he's just stuffy enough to be cute without getting overbearing. And Alice is going to need his magic to help get the girl back.

The measures they will have to take are extreme and dangerous. And the adventure that unfolds on the pages was amazing. Wrapping up with quite an epic battle scene that will really get your heart racing. There's a bit of a cliffhanger. You'll want to jump right into the second book in the series and see what they are going to next!

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