Title: Unseen Author: Rachel Caine Series: Outcast Season #3 Cover Art: N/A Genre: urban fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Julia Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Roc; Original edition (February 1, 2011) ISBN-10: 0451463838 ISBN-13: 978-0451463838 Sexual Content: Mildly explicit sex scenes. My Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.

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Description

After Cassiel and Warden Luis Rocha rescue an adept child from a maniacal Djinn, they realize two things: the girl is already manifesting an incredible amount of power, and her kidnapping was not an isolated incident.

This Djinn-aided by her devoted followers-is capturing children all over the world, and indoctrinating them so she can use their strength for herself. With no other options, Cassiel infiltrates the Djinn's organization-because if Cassiel cannot stop the Djinn's apocalyptic designs, all of humanity may be destroyed.

 

Review

Sometimes an author can do their work all too well when creating a villain for protagonists to overcome.  As in the Jane True series (where I felt I would never be truly satisfied until Jarl was dead), my dislike for the rogue djinn Pearl has now reached fever pitch.  Her cult-like followers, cultivated through a combination of magical manipulation and murder, are heartbreaking enough on their own.  Add an army of children being trained as holy warriors and cannon fodder, and I’m out for blood. 

Outcast Season book 2, UNKNOWN, revealed a lot of Pearl’s evil without much by way of victory for Cassiel and her allies, circumstances that drove me up the wall with frustration to get my hands on the next in book in the series.  UNSEEN did not disappoint.  It’s a fast, exciting story that moved the plot forward in several satisfying ways.  Normally I dislike books where the love interests are separated for much of the story, but Cassiel and Luis seem to grow deeper in their relationship through the trials they face.  In this book more than any other, Cassiel faces how much she has changed since being cast out of the djinn, and her personal growth amidst all of the action and danger was both well written and believable.

UNSEEN includes even more revelations regarding Pearl, and sets the stage for a very satisfying resolution to the series in book four, UNBROKEN. The reality of Pearl's fanatics and child soldiers is chilling, to the point where Pearl is definitely in the top five of my list of Villains Who Should Die. I've got my fingers crossed and high hopes for UNBROKEN, here’s hoping Pearl gets what’s coming to her.

 

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
Undone Unknown	Jessica at A GREAT Read Catherine at Fiction Vixen Michael at The Green Man Review

*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of Sonya Bateman

Book Description

Gavyn Donatti is the world’s unluckiest thief...

Just ask all the partners he’s lost over the years. And when he loses an irreplaceable item that he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor’s thugs have Donatti cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.

Unfortunately, this genie—who goes by the very non-magical name of “Ian”—is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn’t interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life’s purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.

At first Donatti’s too concerned with his own survival to look a gift genie in the mouth, but when his ex-girlfriend Jazz and her young son get drawn into the crossfire, the stakes skyrocket. And when Ian reveals that he has an agenda of his own—with both Donatti and the murderous Trevor at the center of it—Donatti will have to become the man he never knew he could be—or the entire world could pay the price…

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Book 1 in The Gavyn Donatti Series

Review:
MASTER OF NONE is a wickedly funny, darkly twisted take on the Aladdin story. Walt Disney may not approve, but I certainly do.

Male protagonists in the urban fantasy genre are about as common as tan lines on a vampire. As women are the main readers of this genre that makes sense. Typically, that's how I prefer it, but after spending a few hours inside Donatti's head, I'm ready to bring on the boys. He is endearingly self-deprecating, a bit of a loser, and he knows it. Basically everything about his life generally sucks, and when it doesn't, he's leery.

The relationship between Donatti and the djinn Ian is somewhat reminiscent to the relationship between the horse Bree and his boy Shasta from C.S. Lewis' The Horse and His Boy. Well, with a bunch more swearing of course.  Ian gives new meaning to the word arrogant and he treats Donatti pretty much the same I would treat a mosquito that I couldn't reach to swat.

I loved how the details of this world unfolded slowly. By the end of the book, most everything was explained, but I never really had to endure any info dumps.

The back cover description of MASTER OF NONE really doesn't do a great job of conveying the irreverent tone of this book. I like the brief description Sonya gave me in her guest blog better (which you should check out because its basically the scene that occurs right before the book starts): “It’s like Aladdin, only set in modern times, and the thief is a professional with chronic bad luck, and the genie doesn’t grant wishes – actually, he’s more like Jafar than the genie in Aladdin – and there’s a Jasmine, but everybody calls her Jazz, and she’s not a princess, but there is a princess, and...”

I think MASTER OF NONE is a great book for newbies to the genre, or friends you're hoping to convert, as it doesn't initially slam you over the head with supernatural elements. As a longtime lover of the genre, I found it to be a surprisingly fun read. Donatti's narrative voice kept me smiling (and laughing out loud several times) from beginning to end.  The next book in this series, Djinn’s Apprentice, “features a cult, a curse, a kidnapping, and some serious blurring of clan lines among the djinn on Earth. Donatti discovers he’s more powerful than he thinks, and Ian learns a thing or two about trust, and why blind revenge isn’t always the answer.” –Sonya Bateman on Debuts & Reviews. No release date yet, but I’m looking forward to it already.

Sexual Content: References to sex. References to homosexuality.

My Rating (out of 5):
Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.

Click HERE to read Chapter 1 of MASTER OF NONE

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; 1 edition (March 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439160848
• ISBN-13: 978-1439160848

Disagree with my review?  Contact me your review for this or any other book I’ve reviewed and I might use it for 2nd Opinion Review