Review: "Isis, Vampires and Ghosts - Oh My!" (The Other World) by Janis Hill

Synopsis:

When Stephanie Anders discovers her estranged, wild-child little sister has died and she must attend her funeral, she discovers that Estella’s death is not necessarily as terminal as she had been lead to believe and that, rather than dead, her sister is more of the undead variety. Too late to save her sister’s life, Stephanie Anders must now try to save her soul from the vampire who has possessed her, Branwyre, eighteenth vampire Lord of the Aegean.

With only the aid of the ghost of a pissed-off Buddhist monk with a potty mouth, and the modern day Priestess of Isis, Stephanie must battle demons and other denizens of a world she knows nothing about. Even her first task, to recover Branwyre’s crucible if she is to succeed in banishing the vampire before he has regained his full strength, is not what it seems.

But dealing with a demon, or double-binding a vampire in a sunbed pales in comparison to learning how to forgive her sister for what she did, especially if she is to have even half a chance of saving her soul.

Welcome to a world within our own, the Other World. A place of Darkness and Light; where gods, vampires, demons, and ghosts wage a constant struggle for survival.

*(summary courtesy of Goodreads)

My Review:

I am under the impression that this is a stand alone novel, or at the very least the only book in a series. Which, coincidentally, is kind of a bummer since I actually want to read more of this story. There were a few grammar mistakes that I caught, but it didn't really take away from the story, in my opinion. This book is most definitely a melting pot of what you would see in today's paranormal series. The whole Isis/vampire thing did sound interesting, yet unconventional.

 

The protagonist, Stephanie, is your everyday funny and sarcastic older sister. Except she is not one to be trifled with. I loved her humor and overall caustic reactions to everything; it's just how I would react if it were me. She totally owned the demons she went up against- I mean some serious butt kicking! Trishna, the ghostly not-so-Buddhist monk, was also a riot but he had a serious potty mouth; I feel like I need to scrub both his mouth and my ears with soap. Stephanie's sister, Estella, wasn't so bad wasn't so bad once you got to meet her, and I'm pleased that she redeemed herself in the reader's eyes. The High Priestess was, thankfully, not as uptight as I would have imagined, and was, eerily, like a mind reader.

 

The best part of this book was probably the characters. The setting just didn't really draw my attention as much. There is no romantic love interest, so don't expect one. The only focal relationship you read about, is that of Stephanie and Estella. Admittedly, I cried tears of joy when Stephanie finally forgave Estella for her past mistakes years ago. Be warned that this book contains a whole new level of swear words and phrases than your average everyday cuss words. I just might say these one day...

 

Favorite Quote:

 

"What did she want me to say? That, yes, Santa really was real and if she was a good little High Priestess this year she was going to get a new shiny red bike?" - Stephanie

 

Expected publication: August 30th 2014 by Hague Publishing

 

Rating:  🔔🔔🔔

 

Recommend?   I liked it, but it may not be other people's cup of tea

 

 

(ARC courtesy of Net Galley and Hague Publishing)