The Veil (A Devil's Isle Novel Book 1)

First Date: Okay, this could be a really hot date! I enjoyed the introduction to this new world of Chloe Neill’s, filled with fae and plenty of other paranormal critters, and set in the sultry city of New Orleans. While it wasn’t the fastest-paced beginning (hey, not a bad thing when it goes slow at the beginning. Anticipation is all part of the tease.), I really got into Claire’s life in a post-apocalyptic New Orleans. It wasn’t as hard-hitting a beginning as the Chicagoland Vamp series (hard to top an attack and being turned into a vamp right off the bat) but Neill’s writing talent shines and whispers sweet promises in my ears.

Second Date: I’m a sucker for a Southern story, especially one filled with magic (or, in this case, hidden magic, as anything magic-related is illegal in this post-fae-invasion world). And Claire, I really liked her, too. She’s just a girl, doing her thing the best she can with what she’s got. Except she’s got more than she reveals. There are layers to her, man. Magical layers. Magical layers she doesn’t want anyone to know about or she’ll wind up incarcerated on Devil’s Isle with the rest of the paranormals and people with even a hint of magic. It’s not a pretty place. Hard to whisper sweet promises when you don’t have enough to eat.

Third Date: Yeah, I had a couple of quibbles but, you know what? I had a good enough time with this book that I’m not even going to fuss about it. This book bought me drinks and showed me a good time. I’m not bitchin’. Not even Claire’s exponentially fast learning of her powers. (Hey, she’s a protégée. It happens.) Or all the super-hot guys (I mean, who in their right mind complains when surrounded by such brawn and abs? Not I.). I am hoping that there’s a smidge more romance in the next story but yay for a new urban fantasy series! (I’ve heard rumblings that publishers think there’s too much UF out there or not enough demand but I say, “No! Bring it on!”)

I have read and enjoyed Neill’s Chicagoland Vampire series so I was excited to hear about her new Devil’s Isle series. It sounded like an interesting premise and I always enjoy storylines involving fey. It ended up being an okay book but not great. For some reason the story just seemed a little tired and boring to me.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was okay. Some of the male voices were stiff and cold sounding, especially Liam’s voice. I had a hard time telling if it was the speech patterns and/or writing that made Liam sound stiff and cold, or if it was the narration. Either way this wasn’t my favorite audiobook but it was okay.

I thought the idea of the Veil was incredibly interesting. Claire is okay as a character, but I wasn’t totally engaged with her...she was just a bit too vanilla even with her Sensitive abilities. Liam was also an okay character but I never engaged with him all that well either; he was just so distant and cold.

The world is intriguing. Basically the people in this book have decided to stay in New Orleans despite the post-apocalyptic lifestyle to the area. While I found this interesting I also had a lot of trouble finding it believable and viable. I mean if the rest of the country had food, supplies, and technology why would sequester yourself in this little pocket of poverty and sparsity? I didn’t get it and thought it was weird how isolated the story was; we really don’t have a good idea what’s happening in the world outside New Orleans. Additionally I am not a huge fan of New Orleans personally, so I wasn’t crazy about the story being set there. I do understand that this is probably meant to echo New Orleans post-Katrina struggles, but I just didn’t dig it.

Overall this was an okay book but not great. I liked the idea of the Veil but didn’t find the world or characters all that engaging or interesting. There is quite a bit of action in this book but somehow it still felt tired and boring to me. I won’t be reading future books in this series and wouldn’t recommend it. I think Neill’s Chicagoland series has also taken a turn for the worse in the last couple books; I am not sure if Neill’s writing style is shifting or if I am just growing out of it.

Claire Connolly is the last survivng member of her human family, but recently she has started exhibiting signs of having magic, which is illegal after the supernatural war. She has gotten good at hiding her magic, but when she see’s a woman being attacked by wraiths she comes to her defense and the only way to come out of it alive is to use her gifts. Unfortunately she is spotted by Liam, a bounty hunter whose job is to catch the wraiths and take them to confinement in Devil’s Isle. Liam does not turn Claire in, instead he works with her and finds her a tutor to teach her how to control her magic to keep her from turning into a wraith. He also agrees to teach her how to become a bounty hunter, like him, and as they hunt they discover that there are forces at work that are trying to open the veil between worlds, and they can’t allow that to happen.

Claire is torn between the human world and the magical. Her friends are completely human but she can’t ignore the help Liam is giving her, and she can’t ignore the connection she feels to him. Liam, who is human is also drawn to Clair, and is torn between wanting to get closer and wanting to hold her at a distance because if she loses control, he will have to turn her in.

The setting for this novel is New Orleans and added to the characters torn feelings about magic. After all, New Orleans pre-war capitalized upon its magical elements to draw tourists and make money. Now post war, all of those elements are illegal, making the city feel dead and decayed giving it a post apocalyptic mood.

I enjoyed this book as it was different and interesting. It’s the first in the series and made me curious to see how Claire’s character was going to evolve and also see if she and Liam could resolve their differences. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

The Veil is one of the biggest disappointments of the year. I was looking forward to getting a fresh start with Ms. Neill since I tired of the Chicagoland Vampire Series after that ridiculous nonsense with Ethan. I really loved her YA series, but for some reason the publishers and author decided not to complete it. I was hoping that this book would be as intriguing as the early Chicagoland Vampire books, but it was not. There was so much description that I was bored to tears. I actually fell asleep once while reading this book, and it was the middle of the day! I read until the end, hoping that something amazing would happen, but I was let down again. This book had a lot of potential. Unfortunately almost none of it was realized.

Claire was a pretty dull leading lady. Of course we had a grad student (linguistics instead of English this time), but Tadji was Claire's best friend. Claire didn't stand out much. She could supposedly fix things, but I didn't see her put a single thing back together successfully. Gunnar was the token gay friend, and Liam was a really boring love interest. Sure he's a bounty hunter and that should make him bad ass, but he was just meh. I liked Tadji the best, to be honest, but we didn't get to see a ton of her.

There was so much description that the pacing was thrown completely off. For some ungodly reason, Neill felt the need to describe every speck of dirt on every single block. And if we happened to return to the same block, she'd describe every speck of dirt AGAIN, like we hadn't just been there 5 pages ago. I get it. New Orleans looks like crap because of what happened. I didn't need it beat into my head by 2-3 page long descriptions every scene. I started skimming over the insanely long descriptions after the first 75% of the book. I just couldn't take it anymore. Not much really happened. Basically boring Claire and dull Liam ran around in circles looking for wraiths and having no chemistry. What happened to the steaming hot sexual tension between Merit and Ethan? Did Neill use all of that up in her other series? There was absolutely nothing between Claire and Liam. Maybe if Claire had quit gawking at her surroundings like some redneck tourist and paid attention to Liam instead of analyzing specks of dirt, things could have been different, but that didn't happen. The ending was so uneventful that I don't even remember it, and I finished the book last night.

Overall I did not enjoy this book. I know that a lot of people seemed to like it, and I'm sure that those of you who like tons of description and world-building will love it, but the novel just wasn't for me. I think I'll be skipping this series.

I love Chloe Neill's Chicagoland vampire series and while reading The Veil I kept comparing Claire to Merit. I enjoyed The Veil, it kept my attention and had me guessing about what would happen next, but I think if I had read this book before the Chicagoland series I would have enjoyed it even more.

Chloe Neill is a fabulous writer. She does a fabulous job with world building, at creating unique storylines and well rounded, multi faceted characters, even the supporting characters. I liked Claire's strength, her will to survive and carry on when she could have chosen an easier route in life. I also liked Liam, the bits and pieces he allows us to see of him, but I wasn't a big fan of his hot and cold feelings towards Claire. I understood his reluctance, given what Claire is, but there was too much waffling for me to really respect him.

I enjoyed the story and look forward to see what happens next in the world of Devil's Isle.

Disclosure: eARC provided in exchange for an honest review

*I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*

The Veil is the first book in the Devil’s Isle series by Chloe Neill.

POV: first

Tense: past

Setting: New Orleans, LA

Sexual Content: kissing

my review image

The Veil, despite its stereotypical New Orleans setting, is a great book about Claire, a human with telekinetic abilities, who teams up with a bounty hunter to figure out why wraiths are attacking more frequently with more intelligence. Devil’s Isle is the prison where paranormals are kept. Claire fears she will get sent there if anyone finds out she is a ‘sensitive.’

The first two chapters are a little slow, containing mostly world-building information and backstory. Once you get to chapter three, it gets more interesting. It takes a while for the goal of the story to become apparent. However, I wasn’t bored. By page 74, it had become apparent that there was going to be a mystery about the wraith’s behavior.

There isn’t a lot of romance in this book, but there’s enough to keep readers who like that engaged. Liam and Claire have feelings for one another, but Liam won’t act on them because he’s afraid he might have to take Claire to Devil’s Isle.

Both Liam and Claire are likable characters. Claire is hard-headed and impulsive, but she’s also brave and responsible. I liked her better than Merit from the Chicagoland series by Chloe Neill, because Claire seemed more mature.

Neill does a good job of wrapping up the main plot points, while leaving a few things unresolved to set up for future books. I would definitely read another book in this series.

Probably the best aspect, in my opinion, of The Veil is the world and history the author created. I thought it was very well-developed.

If you haven’t read The Veil yet, I suggest checking it out. For me, it was a 5 star read. Although it started out a little slow, it was worth reading.

The Veil by Chloe Neill
Urban Fantasy -August 4th, 2015
4 stars

Seven years ago a gate was opened into the world and devastated the city of New Orleans when mythical paranormal beings entered earth bent on taking control. It was only with the help from Sensitives (humans with magical powers) that the gate was closed. Now humans try to live with the devastation left behind. And the human population lives in fear any being human or otherwise that has supernatural powers. So any being, even the Sensitives are locked away on Devil’s Isle by the military in control called the Containment.

Claire Connolly inherited her father’s antique store which became a converted supply depot and was living a tolerable life with her friends. But disaster struck when she discovered that she was actually a Sensitive that can move objects. Living in fear, lest she be taken to Devil’s Isle she keeps her secret hidden until she saves a defenseless woman from a pair of wraiths (human Sensitives that are over powered by their magic and become mindless being of destruction). Unfortunately, her actions are caught on tape. But a surprising hero named Liam Quinn comes to her rescue he helps her doctor the video and keep her powers hidden with the catch that she must learn to control them. Liam is a bounty hunter of the dangerous wraiths and although the general population fears anyone with powers he tries to protect Sensitives that have done no harm. But there is a force that is creating more wraiths. A danger that Claire and Liam find themselves pulled into. Can they save New Orleans from further destruction?

As the first in the author’s Devil’s Isle series, this book will fascinating urban fantasy and futuristic fans. Claire is a woman of rare talent and a heart of gold. She is caught up in circumstances that push her to develop and question the black and white truths she has been told all her life. Now that she is a Sensitive she realizes that not all Sensitives can be evil. As she hides her abilities, the reader can feel her fear and paranoia of being caught. Thankfully, the confident and sexy Liam comes in to aid her. As Liam introduces her to supernatural beings she discovers that there are good and bad paranormal beings just like humans. She also finds out secrets about her store and her dead father. I liked how Claire’s friends also play a part in the story and make it a richer plot. Despite her father being dead Claire has a good support system and help from unlikely places that drive the story and make it more complex. I can’t wait to read more of this series and find out about the characters that I have grown to care for.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

New Orleans after a great battle between our world and a magical realm. New Orleans was ground zero and is now littered with the ugly residue from an unfinished battle. It is ruled by a kind of Marshal Law with a prison Devil’s Isle, for magical beings in the middle. Corruption and greed never far from the heart of man play dangerous games of life, death and possibly the end of humanity. A small group of magical and human residents stand and fight for what is left of this world. Two very different people are at the center of this movement without even knowing it.
Claire is a young woman left alone with her memories and general store filled with ghosts of past generations. She has had moments of magic, unwanted and untrained that if used or discovered would send her to Devils Isle. She is a smart mechanically gifted woman, who only wants to maintain her family’s heritage and honor their memory. She doesn’t want the future predicted by her magical status. Her world starts to unravel when a hunk of man walks into her world.
Liam, scared inside and out, a bounty hunter has one goal, centered and focused he works all avenues to reach that goal. He circulates the city, networks and fights for his right to live and search for answers. Answers to his sisters death, the increased attacks and the evolution happening. He is the thunder to Claire’s lightening and together they make one wreck of a storm.
There was a plethora of interesting side characters with magical abilities just lightly touched on books and a few friends. The villains were double sided evilness with a side of stinky. One guy, oh boy, I wanted to rip him into pieces when he searched and destroyed. He had way to little of a part. I think this first book built a strong future for the series with a large cast to pull from.
I thought the beginning was very slow, it was difficult to stay focused with the lack of action. It was a slow easy build with pieces of the puzzle slowly falling into place. I was frustrated and had to restart it several times when I just drifted from the story into a day dream. I am not a fan of a slow daily grind type of story and that was how it started. As I got move into the book I grew more interested, started to see a picture of possibilities. Oh there could be some serious fun with the bits she threw in. Here was part of the problem she threw out the interesting bits but centered 95% on one matter. She had these interesting “paras” magical ones that just kind of came out of the woods with little explanation. It was a wonderful moment but baffling. The history was was too brief, the others motivations too brief, the betrayals to obvious. I wanted some of the magical bits to bite me where it would hurt and I only got a little nibble and no love bites. Love, no romance, no it is more of an unhealthy teasing and I was cheering for any other match. I didn’t love it, wouldn’t re-read it, but I would read book 2 in hope that this was just a case of first book in a series meh.

Summary: 2 stars. Too much info dumping and not enough character development. There’s some plot if you manage to make it through the whole book.

I had high hopes going into The Veil since I liked the author’s other series. Unfortunately, this book did not deliver for me.

The biggest problem was all the info dumping. The early chapters are full of it. Not much action really happens. It’s a very long history lesson into the events leading up to the book. Even later on not much happens. The book wanders from one stream of consciousness info dump to another.

For example there’s this bridge the characters have to go over. First, there are these signs next to the bridge from before the war and the characters wonder about what the people back then were thinking, then there’s a nearby bear with its cubs, then there’s some wondering about whether the bridge is stable . . . and so on for pages and pages. I like descriptions and world building, but this was far too long and very boring.

On the other hand there’s a scene where the main character’s friend is supposed to be freaking out, and it’s all over in just a few lines with no insight or struggle of her character. I would have liked to see more about the characters and a whole lot less about the random bits of scenery.

Welcome to post war French Louisiana also known as that grand old Dame NOLA! Yep here we are in an almost apocalyptic New Orleans after the Veil that separates the paranormal world from the human one finally broke down . Following on from a violent war with numerous casualties the humans have prevailed and the breach is closed but those paranormals who remain are imprisoned and magic is illegal . Our heroine is Claire and she's a Sensitive which means she has a gift for magic and can move things with her mind. She's alone now running the shop her father left her and determined to follow his mandate " stay quiet , work hard" but hiding in plain sight is getting harder each day. When Claire saves a young girl from vicious Wraiths her magic is exposed but Liam a bounty hunter from Devils Isle shows up and offers to help her hide the evidence . Liam's sister was killed by the monsters and he is determined to get justice but how can Claire trust him when there's a chance she might become one of the monsters herself!
Oo such a good premise and well written too. If honest I never really got into this authors previous vampire series as I didn't like the characters but I found these new ones to be quite intriguing. Claire is a lonely sort with just two friends but even then she can't reveal her abilities and what she's capable of. It's almost liberating in many ways to be honest with Liam and not have to hide who she really is but that opens up a whole new world of hurt. There's undoubted attraction between them but so much is up in the air and I liked that it wasn't instant love. Those who believe that the war is over are in for a huge surprise and there's treachery in very high places. This the first book sets up the world and the characters who might become important to Claire but I had visions of Scoobies! Still every story has to start somewhere and I will definitely read more as I'd like to find out just where Claire's journey leads her. I'm not a fan of books set in New Orleans usually as it's done far to often but I do think the setting worked very well in this storyline so that's a plus. I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy urban fantasy.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley

Oh man, this book was very interesting for me. Living in New Orleans, I love to read books that are set here - but I hate it when they don't get things right. Chloe Neill did a good job with the world-building in her version of New Orleans. As depressing as the city was in this story, I was definitely able to picture everything she described.

The setting is post-war New Orleans. Magical war, that is. Now magic is outlawed and so many New Orleans traditions have been banished. No voodoo, no ghost tours, Marie Laveau or literary vampires. No beads or bright colors! Mardi Gras has been replaced with War Night, with a commemorative parade and paper throws. The power grid is spotty, and the Marigny has been turned into Devil's Isle - a containment area for paranormals and sensitives. It was very sad to think of New Orleans this way. However one thing that has remained constant is the sense of community. Residents of the Quarter still look out for one another, despite the magic monitors and containment agents roaming the city.

While we do have a main "couple" in this book, there was not enough romance in this installment to speak of. This is likely to be a slow burn relationship where the couple grows closer together into a comfortable relationship a few books in. I would like to see more chemistry and sexual tension between them, but in this first book Claire and Liam are just meeting and feeling each other out in the midst of a magical crisis. I loved Claire's store and the detail about the antiques and other treasures you can find on Royal Street. I liked that Liam elected to live within Devil's Isle, and I loved his grandmother. The family histories of all the characters was intriguing and very much southern. I liked all of the secondary characters thus far, particularly Malachi, the stoic angel.

I think the city in this series is going to be a character in itself. I was really more focused on it than I was our main characters. I think that people who live in New Orleans, or are familiar with the city and its history, will like this book. It's apparent that Chloe spent a lot of time here (or maybe she lived here at some point) because she was spot on with the layout of the city and surrounding areas. If you are less familiar with the City, you may not understand the significance of some of the areas, monuments and buildings, so that may affect your reading enjoyment.

4 stars / 1 flame.

The Veil is the first installment in Chloe Neill's urban fantasy series titled: Devil's Isle. This was a promising first book to a series that will surely grow in popularity. Overall, I liked it. The premise was complicated enough to keep me thinking, the characters were interesting enough to keep me reading, and for the most part, the story was pretty fast paced. Although, I liked it, I didn't love it and I'm sad to have to admit that. There was a portion of this story that had me zoning out a bit and I even considered skipping over whole chapters. The thing is, I can't identify what it was that kept me from feeling completely engaged and invested. I also want to note that while there may be some romantic tension, any actual romance in this book is understated to the point of being almost nonexistent. On the plus side, the potential for romance is enough to keep me interested in reading the next book. I think the characters have some pretty good chemistry.

Ms. Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series completely sold me on her as a writer, and I was very excited to read The Veil. While Chicagoland Vampires is Ms. Neill's love letter to the city of Chicago, The Veil looks to be the start of a love letter to the city of New Orleans. One of Ms. Neill's many talents include drawing the reader into the setting and giving you a reason to want to stay there. The smells, the tastes, the sounds, the visuals...let's just say I want to visit New Orleans now :) Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres so I for sure will be continuing the series. I have faith in Ms. Neill, and I'm interested to see what she does with this story.

My favorite quote:
"You could take the people out of New Orleans, but you’d never get all the crazy."

Though Chloe Neill is best known for her best-selling PNR Chicagoland Vampire series, I see potential for this newest UF endeavor. Set in modern day New Orleans, Neill starts this series off by building a strong foundation, mixing fact and fiction to create a new world to explore and an engaging character ensemble. Steady pacing engages the reader through the beginning is a little slow moving as Neill gives us the necessary facts needed to understand the past in order to go forward in the story. Bigotry, deception, fear, and betrayal play a large part in helping to amp up the action as it increases and the story picks up speed, racing to the finale. Even with the multiple story lines; you never feel overwhelmed or confusion.

Claire is a likable mixture of vulnerability, loyalty, and bravery. Scared of what she is and could eventually become, she doesn’t hide herself away. Raised by her father, she continues to run their family store after his death during the war. Her love for New Orleans and it’s inhabitants remains steadfast as even she struggles to find her place in a world that doesn’t want her kind. She goes into enemy territory multiple times, knowing if caught it could mean the end of her freedom, to try to save lives and discover the truth about what is happening. She is the perfect affordable UF heroine-one you know will continue to evolve and grow as time goes by.

Liam is one of my favorite types of heroes. Gorgeous and built, this alpha/beta mix has a sweet and considerate nature that mixes well with the reluctant heroic vibe that generates from him. Some low key angst and internal baggage explains his general weariness towards Claire without making him come off as a jerk. Not one to keep things hidden, he is as honest as he can be with Claire from the start, wanting to gain her trust without promising her all will be fine because he knows he may eventually fail in that promise.

Chemistry wise, Liam and Claire click almost instantaneously. Neill chooses to build a friendship between them with a ‘possibility’ but no assurances as neither is in any position to pursue anything remotely romantic at this time.The storyline and subplots take up the majority, leaving the potential for romance a nice side dish to complement the story.

Heavy characterization is what gives this story the push it needs to keep from becoming run of the mill. A multitude of personable characters add depth, cohesiveness, and some light moments to the story; allowing readers to view what has happened from different viewpoints. I enjoyed meeting the various paranormals; learning that brought them through the Veil and why. Neill makes a heavy point in that there is a gray area to the war and subsequent imprisonment and these people hold the answers. There is a youthful feel to the characters and their actions. For most of them, the war started when they were in their late teens and their dialogue and attitudes in the face of opposition reflects that.

Overall I enjoyed Neill’s newest release overall though I wasn’t blown away by it. There was a curious lack of excitement, anticipation, and tension. Our hero and heroine are perfect…almost too perfect. Liam is nice. Claire is nice. Almost everyone we meet is in essence…nice. There isn’t much antagonism between anyone and any that appears is quickly dealt with. Same with the conflicts. There was never any doubt in my mind that Claire could and would handle anything thrown her way because the story foreshadows that using Claire’s personality and willingness to help and learn. I think I would have enjoyed more if we had seen any of the characters face true adversity with the possibility of losing.

Regardless of my issues, I will read book two as I am curious to learn more about Claire, Liam, and this new brave world.

Rating: C+

First in the Devil's Isle urban fantasy series and revolving around Claire Connolly, a Sensitive in New Orleans.

My Take
It's no Chicagoland Vampires. In fact, there are no vampires at all. I had been expecting it to be similar, but in fact, it's more like Suzanne Johnson's Sentinels of New Orleans in that there is a Beyond and paranormal types who have come to the city.

That's where the similarity ends, for this is no benign invasion. Rather it's a rogue group (a really big one!) that wants license to horrify and destroy humans. It's resulted in a horror of magic and a concentration camp imprisoning magic users. Magic users who include Sensitive humans. It doesn't matter that these Sensitives have never done anything wrong, they may. Oh yeah, and magic and electricity don't mix. Sound anything like Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series?

What's worse is that Containment knows there are ways to manage the problem and chooses to ignore it. I suspect they prefer the power and money of controlling all of Louisiana. Nor are they the only ones.

The Veil revolves around Claire, and it's her fears that introduce us to the problem on a personal level as well as the more general one. She has a small circle of close friends with a larger circle of people for whom she cares.

Naturally, there are rogue elements on both sides of the law — you know which ones I prefer, lol. Yep, those hardy, stalwart rebels trying to prevent a massive betrayal. There is a good lesson in here, reminding us that there is good and bad in every group of beings. That it's too easy to demonize a group making it easier to kill them all. It's what we're doing today to Muslims, what we've done and still do to blacks and anyone else who threatens the insecure among us. Sure, we all want to be able to blame someone and pinning our "hopes" on a group makes it so much easier.

Romance-wise. Not there. I think Neill is trying to create one, that or she's playing it very subtle and will develop it over the stories to come. Claire's stance on protecting her Quarter is nice, very inspiring, but Neill misses on this one as well. It's yet more tell without the show that would pull the reader in. And what's with native New Orleanians not knowing basic French? Gunnar is learning to say bonjour? Claire needs a translation of allons? Gimme a break.

The ending is satisfying as it does solve one particular problem even as it introduces future issues. Neill, unfortunately, doesn't create that sense of NEED, that desperate hope that she'll quickly churn out the next so I can find out what does happen next.

Still, it is a story that pulls you in, and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

"Laissez les bon temps rouler."

The Story
Magic and the Sensitives who absorb it, are under siege, threatened with imprisonment for what they may become, and Claire Connolly is terrified of Containment discovering what she has become.

The Characters
Claire Bridget Connolly owns and operate the Royal Mercantile, an antique shop that has been in her family ever since her great-grandfather, Michael Connolly, started it up, and a fixture in the French Quarter for the past 100 years. Antiques may not be the hot ticket they used to be, but the MREs and other basic supplies Claire also stocks do bring the coin in. Her dad, Mark Connolly, died as a result of friendly fire.

Antoine Lafayette Gunnar Landreau is one of Claire's best friends along with Tadji. Gunnar is the Devil's Isle commandant's senior civilian advisor. His late Aunt Reenie had adored War Night. Emme is Gunnar's younger sister. Zach is a younger brother. Their father is Dr. Cantrell Landreau and their mother is Stella. Campbell is Gunnar's cousin and is married to Sloane.

Tadji Dupre comes from a family of voodoo practitioners, and she fled them, their magic. Now she's a graduate student (and a terrible cook) studying the evolution of language, how the war is causing a change. Phaedra and Zana Dupre are her family and Sensitives, mother and aunt respectively.

Liam Quinn, a Cajun, is a bounty hunter from an old and respected Creole family. He's particularly motivated to go after wraiths because they killed his little sister, Gracie, seven months ago. He lives in Devil's Isle, actually, he never left as it's where his family lived, and he wants to protect his grandmother, Eleanor Arsenault. She's only blind in one sense. Foster is his grandmother's dog. Victoria and Maria are Eleanor's nurses. Gavin is his brother, a tracker who is conflictedly in love with Nix. His mother was Juliet Aresenault, the eldest, who hooked up with the wrong guy, Buddy Quinn, a jazz-playin', hard-drinkin' Cajun.

Containment is…
…the military unit that managed the war and now tasked with guarding the Paranormals. Their headquarters in front of Lafayette Square is the Cabildo. They also enforce the MIGECC Act (the Magic Act), which is the Measure for the Illegality of Glamour and Enchantment in Conflict Communities, a law passed by Congress banning magic. Agents include Phelps, Thomas, and Jack Broussard, an offensive agent with a grudge. Hawkins is one of the guards on the gate.

Some of the Containment contractors include SecuriCrew and ComTac whose CEO is Richard Rutledge. Trey is Claire's usual delivery guy of supplies from Containment. Ida is his wife. Sandra Guest is a soldier who helped Claire in the past. Lizzie is a Para with medical training who works at the clinic.

The PCC is…
…Paranormal Combat Command and was formed 47 years ago by the government which needed Sensitives to close the Veil and promised them immunity. The same ones who disappeared and formed Delta. Will Burke is with PCC Materiel…and a Sensitive.

The Sensitives are…
…humans who attract magic, but they aren't physically equipped to handle it. The magic causes them to evolve (or devolve). Wraiths are Sensitives who have devolved, becoming mindless beings preying on anyone. Other Sensitives include Marla Salas whose surviving mother is Lorene, and Tom, who was one of the seven.

Devil's Isle is…
…officially the District, in the former Fabourg Marigny, a neighborhood in New Orleans that was destroyed during the war and turned into a prison for Paras. Moses Mech is one of those good Paras and Liam's mechanic inside Devil's Isle. Solomon is your friendly neighborhood crime lord who likes people and Paras owing him. Some of the Para types are Seelie, a peskie which is a small flying Para that likes to bite, a Nephele which is a cloud nymph, Valkyries, and angels. Nix is a dryad living in hiding.

The Consularis are…
…the good Paras who have ruled the Beyond and want to stay there.
Those trapped on this side of the Veil include Darby Craig, a biologist formerly with PCC Research. Malachai (he has wings!) is a general. The Court are the bad who want to overthrow the Consularis — or take over our world.

Mrs. Proctor is one of Claire's regulars. A cheeky old lady, lol. She thinks that seventy-eight-year-old Clark from the ice house is a boy! Mrs. Rosenberg is another customer. Rainier Beaulieu had been a cheating boyfriend of Claire's. Dolores Johnson is one of the women Tadji interviews for her thesis.

War Night is a holiday that celebrates the end of the war. The Zone encompasses Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and the eastern half of Texas. The Vanguard were the New Orleanians who'd served in the war and organized the first War Night parade. Tony Mercier is the Big Chief of the Mardi Gras Indians, the feathered performers. A tête dure is a hardhead. Magic has "salted" the soil of the Zone, its power causing a chemical reaction in the earth.

The Beyond is on the other side of the Veil, a barrier that prevents either world from mixing. The government knew about it 47 years ago. Paranormals (Paras) are supernatural beings who live in the Beyond.

The Cover and Title
The cover is blues and browns. The stormy dark blues of a building storm and a collage of the tilted browns of an old brick building and the ruined arch at Talisheek form the background. Claire herself is standing in profile with her head turned to us, her long red hair flowing down her back and front, and wearing a browner version of the grays that New Orleans has adopted. A pale blue scroll wraps itself around the white title while the author's name is in a deep orange.

The title is all about the barrier keeping Paras on their side with humans on the other. It's The Veil that is weakening again.

[NOTE: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

I’ve only read the beginning of Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires series, so I’m far from beginning an expert when it comes to her writing. Nevertheless, I definitely wanted to lay my hand on the beginning of this new series, as the premise clearly looked interesting.

And it is, both when it comes to what’s going on in New Orleans itself as to what’s happening behind, let’s say, other scenes as well. On the one side, the humans, trying to eke out a living in a city they don’t want to give up on and leave because, well, it’s *their* city, Veil or not. Containment as well as a couple of private contractors and other bounty hunters do their best to keep in check the resident Paranormals, stranded here after the Veil between their respective worlds closed during the war a few years ago. But are the “Paras”, as they’re nicknamed, so evil and threatening, or simply beings who mourn the loss of their own home?

I liked that things weren’t so black and white as they seemed at first. The Devil’s Isle is both a prison and a refuge, a temporary (or maybe not so much temporary) home, where angels, demons, fae and other creatures have to remain, cut from their magic and forbidden to use what’s left of it. As for Containment, it’s a very ambiguous organisation in its own rights: protecting humans, sure, but perhaps not doing as much as they could and should do regarding certain things. These things being notably the wraiths, humans sensitive to magic, whose powers were awakened by the ripping of the Veil, and who turn into mindless killing monsters after a while because of that very energy they were never supposed to touch in the first place. So once captured, they get locked up in Devil’s Isle… just as normal, still-human Sensitives are as well. And since they’re not allowed to do magic, they can’t expel what’s in them, and so they turn to wraiths, and… Not good, not good.

Pretty interesting for me, with the promise of hidden agendas, potential turncoats, unveiling of secrets, more knowledge about what’s going on behind the Veil, and so on.

However, what didn’t make this a better read for me were the characters: they’re merely “OK”, with a budding romance between Liam and Claire that felt somehow… typical of a lot of urban fantasy novels, without the added chemistry that would make it more palatable. These characters in general aren’t bad, just mostly sketched out rather than filled in, and as a result, I didn’t care that much about them. No special repartee and witty dialogue, no one particularly rising above the lot, so to speak.

The novel also felt more like an introduction than a real story, with a lot of it devoted to setting up the backdrop. It was good for world-building, but less good when it came to the plot itself, whose resolution came too fast after a few chapters I generally found less interesting.

I rate this book between “it’s OK” and “I like it”. I’d kind of like to know what happens next, yet more because of what briefly appeared behind the Veil, of what’s going to happen with Containment, than because of the characters themselves.

Being a fan of Chloe Neill and her Chicagoland Vampire series, I was excited to see a new Urban Fantasy series by her. Neill always writes an interesting world with entertaining characters. The Veil is no different, in that regard.

Claire lives in the remnants of a war zone. New Orleans was at the heart of a battle between humans and supernaturals after the Veil that separated both worlds, ripped. She has stayed in New Orleans, her home, to try and salvage what life is left in the city she loves. But she isn’t the same girl she was before the war and her developing abilities threaten her tentative freedom.

Liam Quinn could be her savior or her ultimate downfall.

There was quite a bit I liked about Claire. Her raw determination, for one. She lets little stop her and is always looking out for others, even strangers and even if it puts her life in danger. I do wish a little more of her personality would have shined through. There were brief moments when it came through and made me smile, made me connect with her, I wish they would not have been so few and far between though.

Liam didn’t give me quite the same grief. We don’t know much about him, he’s mysterious. That all felt purposeful with him. I think, as readers, we are supposed to wonder about him. He’s written with just enough tease and suspense to have me really looking forward to the next book. As is his brother, mmm – two somewhat mysterious hotties!

As for the post war world that Neill created; I loved it. It had a desperate feel to it but still had so much life and hope.

The real thorn in my side was the flow. At times it was a tad slow and others it felt too rushed. I’m keeping an open mind because it’s the first of the series and it’s a world that requires substantial build. I’ll definitely be reading the next book, I just wasn’t over the top in love with The Veil. I had hoped to be, but hey, can’t win them all.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A bit slow to start but overall it was an entertaining read.

Opening Sentence: The French Quarter was thinking about war again.

The Review:

The Veil is the newest title by Chloe Neill. It is set in a world where a dimensional tear brought magic and paranormal creatures through a veil into our world. The Veil is a great start to a new and different urban fantasy world. I am looking forward to all the things this world could bring in the coming books. (Side note: This is my first Chloe Neill book.)

Seven years have passed since the Veil was officially opened between our world and the magical one. When it ripped apart, the war to fight off the supernatural creatures tore the southern states apart leaving them as disaster areas. New Orleans is in bad shape but the remaining residents have done what they can to survive and help restore New Orleans. Magic has really done a toll on the land making it hard to grow crops and magic also knocks out electricity on a daily basis. The one new fixture in New Orleans is Devil’s Isle, the prison which hold supernatural prisoners of war and Sensitives, humans who have gained magical abilities because of the Veil.

Claire Connelly is a Sensitive. She withholds the information from her friends because it could get her sent to Devil’s Isle. In the meantime, she operates her father’s general store that passed to her when he died during the war. Claire is afraid of anyone finding out about her abilities because Devil’s Isle frightens her. There are camera’s mounted everywhere that are activated whenever magical abilities are manifested so chances are that she could be found out. When a girl is attacked by wraiths (sensitives who have basically turned into zombie-like creatures by magical drain or too much magic, I’m still a little confused by that one) Claire steps in to help save her. Only Claire uses her telepathy and it is caught on tape and witnessed by Liam.

Liam Quinn is a bounty hunter. He captures Sensitives, wraiths and Paras. He is intrigued by Claire and how she used her ability to save someone. He introduces Claire into a world that she thought was only one sided and teaches her how Paras aren’t all bad. He also helps her try to get her abilities under control so that they don’t take her over one day.

The Veil does start off a little slow with setting up the world before getting into the mystery of why there are so many wraith attacks. I felt like she was setting up the nuances of the world before getting into the meat of the story. There is some action interspersed throughout the story.

I like Claire in the fact that she cared about her community and was doing what she could to keep her business going and help out the people who stayed in New Orleans. She had a bit of immaturity about her but I think that the war made her grow up faster then she may have wanted. She has adapted to her new world without too many complaints.

I thought Liam was a bit hot but incredibly frustrating. He kept giving Claire signals then shutting them down. I could sense a bit of chemistry there but I hope the fire gets burning in the next book in this series. Although, I was secretly hoping there might be something between Claire and the Angel.

Overall, The Veil could be a great new series with its dystopian like setting. I was really fascinated by something that happened in the end and I can’t wait to see if that plays out anytime soon.

Notable Scene:

“I used to walk the houses,” he said.

I glanced at him. His gaze was on a small carriage house lined against the sidewalk, its door yawning open. “Walk them?”

“The empty ones. I’d let myself in—”

“As you like to do.”

He snorted. “The store’s door was unlocked. As for the houses, I never went through a locked door. Didn’t want anyone looting be­hind me. But if I had time to kill, and a door was unlocked, I’d walk through. Take a look. See how they lived. What their lives were like.”

That was a side of Liam Quinn I wouldn’t have expected to see. “And what were they like?”

He frowned, considered. “Some of the houses were completely empty. They’d taken everything they could. In others, it was like, I don’t know, spying on someone’s life. There were still clothes in the closets. Magazines on the coffee table. Toys in the kids’ rooms. The beds were made up. Lot more mildew, sometimes mold, because of the humidity, but otherwise— they were just houses. I wondered where the people went.”

“Did you ever take anything?”

“No, but I’ve thought about it. Closest I’ve come was a house in Gentilly. I’d been tracking a wraith, lost him, but saw this house and went inside. Most of it was packed up— you could tell they’d left— but they’d left behind a few things. Big furniture. Mirrors. Some toys and sports equipment. And in one room— looked like the dad’s office— there were model airplanes hanging from the ceiling, proba­bly a dozen of them. Lot of work went into them. I thought about liberating one. Seemed a shame all that work was going to waste.”

“So why didn’t you take it?”

He shrugged. “Because maybe they’ll come back one day. Or maybe the kids will. And those memories should be there for them. Should belong to them. Not to me.”

I could practically feel my heart melting. “You know, you play the tough guy, but I think you’ve got a pretty gooey heart in there, Quinn.”

FTC Advisory: NAL/Penguin provided me with a copy of The Veil. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

Chloe Neill is one of my favorite authors, her Chicagoland Vampires series is one I devour with each new installment. When I heard she was going to be writing a new series, I knew that it was going to be good because hey, it's Chloe Neill. There was also a bit of trepidation involved; would this new one be as good as Chicagoland? Will The Veil series pale in comparison? Turns out, my fears were for naught. Neill has created an exciting, interesting new world that's not like her other series. It does, however, have the elements I expect from her -- an alternate, realistic world that she twists and bends to make her own, and a cast of characters that all have potential to grow and change.

Seven years ago, the thin barrier that separates or world from the Beyond broke, bringing war and bloodshed to the state of Louisiana. The majority of the battle took place in New Orleans with paranormals and humans fighting to either take over, or keep what's theirs. The new New Orleans is now the Zone, where things are decidedly different. What was once taken for granted is now scarce -- food, toiletries, electricity, plants and working soil, the list goes on. An organization called Containment has set up shop, becoming NOLA's own governing body, erecting a wall around part of the city to keep any Paras who weren't killed in battle contained in a makeshift prison. Anything paranormal is automatically sent to this city within a city, called Devil's Isle. Humans thought themselves safe from Devil's Isle. Until they realized that the magic brought about by the fracturing of the veil can infect a small population. Sensitives are humans that are are susceptible to magic infection and without any sort of training to regulate it, they eventually turn into wraiths. Claire Connolly is one such human and she's waging her own war to try to keep it a secret, lest she end up with the rest of the paranormals.

The world Neill created was one that immediately drew me in. I'm such a fan of post-apocalyptic urban fantasy and while this new world was certainly right up my alley, there were certain elements I didn't fully understand. Most of the residents of NOLA stayed in their homes out of a deep-rooted sense of loyalty that is a trait of true southerners. Being a Yankee, I didn't fully get why they would stay. Take away my coffee, take away my soap, I'm moving on to greener pastures. The world outside the Zone still exists and it wasn't really clear on whether or not residents could choose to leave. I want to say they could, and this just adds an extra element of strength to Neill's characters. They are willing to endure to protect what's theirs.

I also like that within this new world, humans and Para's alike are facing adversity. Both races are enemies because of the war, but that doesn't mean they have to be. The majority of both sides are now fighting for the same thing -- their home, their old lives, and their freedom. All Paras aren't bad and all humans aren't good. This leads to another sort of war, for both sides to weed out the good from the bad, compounding an already tumultuous and confusing relationship among the two.

All told, The Veil was a fairly solid first installment in Neill's new Devil's Isle series. There's plenty of room for growth, plenty of room to give the world even more depth. The only thing missing is romance, but the seeds have been planted. I like a slow progression and I'm fairly certain that the romantic relationship will be further explored in future books of this series, which I undoubtedly plan to read.

**eARC received on behalf of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have always intended to read Chloe Neill's popular Chicagoland Vampires series but never found the time, so I leapt at the chance to read The Veil, the first book her new Devil's Isle series.

It has been seven years since the Veil between New Orleans and the supernatural world was torn open permitting the egress of paranormals determined to enslave or wipe out humanity. War raged for a year, leaving thousands dead and the land scarred before the Veil was closed. Magic was banned and the Para's who survived incarcerated in a neighborhood adjoining The French Quarter, nicknamed Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly owns and runs an antique and supply store, inherited from her late father, at was what 'ground zero'. She refuses to abandon the family store and leave New Orleans even though she risks everything to stay, for after the Veil was reinstated, Claire discovered she was a 'sensitive', a human with the ability to wield magic, and discovery would mean 'containment'.

But when Claire witnesses a woman being attacked by two wraiths (sensitives that have been overwhelmed by their magic) she intervenes and to save herself must use her magic. Certain she will be arrested and imprisoned, assistance comes from an unexpected source, bounty hunter Liam Quinn, who not only helps destroy the evidence of her actions, but also finds her a mentor to teach her to harness her magic.

Walking a fine line between remaining hidden and discovery, everything changes when Claire and Liam discover a dangerous plot to reopen the Veil.

Though New Orleans isn't an unique setting, Neil's worldbuilding is solid. The society has dystopian elements what with almost martial law and street level magic monitoring, and there also an apocalyptic feel given the scorched earth, ruined buildings and communication issues.

There is quite a lot of information to digest in The Veil, including the history of the war, the current status of New Orleans society, the make up of Para's, and the motives of the Beyond. I felt Neil integrated the details well for most part, maintaining a good pace and advancing the plot.

The characters are likeable, Claire is stubborn, resourceful and she has a close knit group of friends that are her substitute family. Liam is essentially a loner, especially since losing his sister. As a bounty hunter he can move quite freely between New Orleans and Devil's Isle where his grandmother is and he has, if not friends then sources, such as Moses, a computer hacker with horns. The attraction between Claire and Liam is immediate and inevitable, and a strong element of the plot.

Though I'm not irreversibly hooked, I did enjoy The Veil. It's a quick and engaging read and I will most likely pick up the next.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I thought The Veil was a fantastic start for a new Urban Fantasy series. Chloe Neill is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I just knew I'd love The Veil because I adored Chicagoland Vampires. It did take me a bit to really get into the plot but after we learn more about Claire's magical abilities I was hooked. Her magical powers as a Sensitive really puts her life in danger, and you can really get a sense of that danger since magic is not allowed at all.There were food shortages and magic is banned which makes things even more complicated.

In the beginning, I loved the mystery that surrounds Devil's Isle. I loved the fantasy/magic aspects, but even more I thought the descriptions of New Orleans was on par. I thought the world building was seriously fantastic! I think a lot of times world building can make or break a fantasy series. Chloe Neill did an excellent job at creating this dark and gritty world. What I loved most was that it read kind of like a dystopian novel mixed in with fantasy elements, which I love to bits. Another thing that was great was Claire and Liam's relationship. They shouldn't be together because of who they are but yet you want them together, so you root for them!

RATING & WHY:

I rated The Veil 4/5 Stars. I love books that standout and have a unique twist on fantasy elements, and this one didn't disappoint. I mean, sure, I had a couple problems with it but I highly recommend you picking this one up if Urban Fantasy is your thing! The magic and "world" was easy to understand, it wasn't confusing/highly complex at all!

Even though it is a great start to a new Urban Fantasy series, I just feel like it took me a bit to get into the plot. After the first quarter to half things really do pick up, and it becomes a huge page turner. There is a ton of world building, and even though that sets up for a fantastic series, I thought is was a little much. But those New Orleans descriptions were so spot on! I felt like I was in the middle of New Orleans. In the beginning the celebration reminded me a lot of Marti Gras. Also, Claire and Liam's "relationship" kind of disappointed me a bit; however, I can't wait to see where their relationship ends up going. I like how they are greatly different and so they kind of shouldn't be together. And by different I mean that Liam is a bounty hunter for Claire's type (Sensitives that end up as wraiths) which makes things quite interesting.

Overall, it is an awesome start and I can't wait to continue on to see what is in store for Claire and Liam.

FAVORITE ELEMENT(S) IN THE BOOK:

First of all, one of my all time favorite things about The Veil is how unique the plot/magic system is. Of course I also loved how normal Claire seemed. She worked hard, hung out with friends, and just seemed like a normal person. It was so easy to relate to Claire even though she has "magic abilities". I also adored the dark and grittiness when it came to the plot (huge plus!). When Claire first visits Devil's Isle you can really feel the intensity through her character!

I thought The Veil itself was quite interesting. Especially how the veil closed and the Paras was left in our world after the war. The whole war between humans and Para is fascinating. I would say my favorite top element is The Veil itself, and reading about the Paras forced into Devil's Isle by the government. Of course, the curiosity about the outside had me flipping the pages as well.
I also LOVED that Chloe Neill creates this complex world with Paras, humans, the government, Devil's Isle etc but yet it is readable and understandable for someone like me who sometimes has a hard time understanding difficult fantasy books. The writing style was easy going even though we get a plot with lots of complexities.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF CLAIRE AS A MAIN CHARACTER?:

I LOVED that Claire seems like a real person with real problems. She owns a store in the city and she just seems so normal! She inherited it after her father passed away, and so it means a lot to her. Throughout the book we see her work in the store a lot and some of her customers are so loyal. Of course she isn't completely normal when she learns she has some type of magical abilities. The thing is she must keep it hidden or risk being thrown in Devil's Isle to waste away as a wraith because the magic will just consume her. In the beginning she fights off a couple of wraiths and she uses magic to help but the problem is she has been caught on camera which causes a whole host of problems. She has to decide if she is going to try running or let Liam help her get control of her magic. After she makes her decision this is when we really see Claire go through some awesome character development.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE NEXT BOOK?:

I would like to see Claire and Liam have a bit more chemistry throughout the rest of the series/next book. Also, I know that most often the first book in a new series is about world building, so I am hoping for a ton of action in the next one. There was some suspense and fights surrounding the world building but I want more. ;) Other than those things, I'd just like to have my hundreds of questions answered!

*I received a copy of The Veil in exchange for a review.

I would like to PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet Romance, DAW for providing me with an ARC of this book via Netgalley for an open and honest review.

Move over Kim Harrison’s Hollows series, there’s a new red head in town and a new look on the paranormal scene!

Set in - what I believe is - modern day New Orleans this is a wonderfully well written urban fantasy/ supernatural book ready to entertain lovers of these genres. I’m not wrong in saying Ms Harrison has some competition for this parallel world to our own.

I also liked how it brought closer to home what living in a war zone is possibly like. I got the feeling the rest of the world was happily mostly going about its business while New Orleans barely survived within the zone – just like so many places within our big wide world right now that are rarely thought of. I don’t know if this was intentional or not… but I hope it was, as I find it rather thought provoking and touching at the same time. Maybe I just read more into it than there was meant to be?

So, yes, set in New Orleans where it has been turned into a war zone by the Veil being broken and creatures from the Beyond coming through. For more of a blurb, check out the book.

Loved this book. Yes it had the typical typos and grammatical errors an ARC can have, but I never hold that against an ARC as they’re usually sent out before the final edit is done and so can live with this minor issue.

It was fast paced, smooth flowing and rather addictive. Definitely got my ‘One more chapter’ mantra going night and day. I do admit to having to look up New Orleans a bit as I got into the story, but that wasn’t a big deal either. I’m Australian, and not one lucky enough to have visited the place in person, so needed to visualise it a bit before adding the war torn look, a couple of wraiths and the Devil’s Isle. After that it was smooth sailing and a highly enjoyable read.

Would I recommend this book to others? Absolutely! I already have done while still reading it. Many of my friends – who enjoy series like the Hollows – will enjoy this book and so I’ve already been nudging them towards grabbing a copy for a look.

Would I buy this book for myself? Yes! And the rest of the series too, judging by the quality of this first book. This series would take pride of place in my virtual bookshelves, and I’d ever stretch so far as including them in my ever decreasing space of my physical bookshelves too.

Fans of urban fantasy, the supernatural, the paranormal or a sassy self-reliant red head… you will enjoy this book. Go buy it, read it and thank me later.

Highly recommend.

Chloe Neil new series is set in the dystopian world with paranormal beings.

I love that the series is set in New Orleans, the veil has changed so many lives and this story is about Claire she is hiding her own secrets, and finding out new ones as the story moves along, I found that it did move in some parts slowly but in a first book of a new series it is hard to cram in so much world creating into one thing, but I think Chloe has done a great job in setting up her new series.

Liam-*Swoon* I wanted more of him, I really wanted more of Liam and Clair romantically together, there chemistry is undeniable and I am disappointed they didn’t go any further then what they did. *pouts*

I enjoyed the story though there was a lot to absorb, I think the characters were all developed well there are plenty of twist and turns to keep you invested.

I am looking forward to read the second one, overall my rating is hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars only because I am a pain in the bum and wanted more romance, and I was a little distracted and found myself putting it down a lot.

ARC supplied by NetGalley

Chloe Neill’s new Urban Fantasy series begins with THE VEIL, set in a post-apocalyptic New Orleans. The Veil which stood between the magic and human world was ripped down by paranormals seven years before igniting a war with humans that left much of the South, especially Louisiana, devastated. Claire Connolly, who lost her father during the war, stayed in New Orleans and with her store, the Royal Mercantile, is trying to help the city rebuild. The magic that came into the world woke up the power in Sensitives who are human magic users; however, the downside is those who cannot learn to control the magic become wraiths, sort of the paranormal version of zombies. Anyone caught using magic ends up in Devil’s Isle, an internment camp for those paranormals left behind and Sensitives. Claire has made a family for herself among her friends in French Quarter where as a businesswoman, she provides the rationed supplies for the Containment troops and the locals that are left. As is often the case in a war torn place, life can be hardscrabble and fraught with tension and fear; but those left behind are working to recover after so much loss. It’s always interesting to see how resilient human nature can be when the world is ripped apart.

Liam Quinn, a bounty hunter of wraiths and dangerous paranomals, sees Claire saving a woman from a wraith attack and offers to help her learn to hide, and more importantly, control her magic. While they are very attracted to each other, Liam resists getting involved with Claire because he may one day have to take her down should she become a wraith.

For those who enjoy this type of Urban Fantasy, the characters are well developed and interesting including the varied assortment of paranormals who were left or stayed behind when the Veil was closed. The government’s tight militaristic control challenges Claire and her friends to make a life despite the hardships and dangers from both sides of the Veil. Someone is trying to reopen it which will plunge the world once again into war and despair. And Claire learns that the line between friends and enemies can become quickly blurred.

THE VEIL brings a fresh and interesting world as it's an interesting blend of dystopian and urban fantasy. So, pretty much the perfect combination in my book. There's a whole lot going on between the paras, human magic users, the Veil itself, and the Containment control and oppression over everything. What really interested me was that so many chose to stay in the zoned French Quarter. It's made clear that the "outside" world wasn't affected much and yet so many chose to stay behind with limited resources and constant struggle.

Claire made for a really interesting character. At the start of THE VEIL, she knows about her own ability but is living in hiding. Despite having these unwanted abilities with magic, she's still rather prejudiced about other magical users and the paranormal world. Granted considering what magic and paranormals cost her, I don't blame her one bit. That being said, her eyes are slowly opened in this book and I really enjoyed her progression from almost naive with a huge lack of confidence, to someone decidedly stronger by the end of the book. It was interesting to watch, and I can't wait to see how she grows even more over the next few books. Speaking of interesting characters, the supporting cast was very well fleshed out. From Claire's best friends, to their enemies, the paras, and an interesting newcomer, Liam, every single character really stood out, only further serving to hook me into this new series.

I enjoyed this start of a new series from Chloe Neill. While she's most known for her Chicagoland books, I can see these books becoming every bit as popular. If you're looking for a fast paced read that you won't want to put down once you pick it up, look no further than THE VEIL.

**Reviews courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy**

I was quickly pulled into THE VEIL when Chloe Neill described the large box mounted cameras that would be triggered by magic use. The cameras carefully watching for anyone using magic or with magical abilities on most street corners instantly created a strong post-apocalyptic feel to the paranormal world that really peaked my interest. Neill created an incredibly rich world that felt very real. I’ve read many books that require a certain amount of suspension of belief, but that is not THE VEIL. THE VEIL portrays perfectly how I’d imagine a magically war torn city would look like.

Along with the amazing world, Chloe Neill populated THE VEIL with richly developed characters that I was able to really quickly connect with and care about. My only complaint about the characters was that I never felt the romance between Claire and Liam. It just seemed forced and formulaic.

Despite all the great things going for THE VEIL, the first book took a long time to get rolling. Claire gets instantly thrown into action, but that quickly fades, and we have to wait for the end of the book for things to start moving again.

I’d hoped that THE VEIL would be a stronger start to Chloe Neill’s new Devil’s Isle series. However, I’ll definitely be reading the next book when it comes out. Now that Neill’s set up the world we should be able to get thrown right into the action as things around Devil’s Isle get interesting.

Sexual Content - N/A

Review:
Points:
Plot: Some Twists
Mood: Suspenseful
Pace: Steady
Characters: Developed
Writing: Great
Level of Violence: Mild
Sexual Content: None to Mild
Thoughts:
- How did the main characters relationship work? Good or Bad?
Claire and Liam had a connection far as partners and friends. Claire wants more but Liam doesn't at this time. Far as the level of romance there was very mild or nonexistent. Overall, I thought it was good in the way they are and the way it is written.
- What would I change about the novel if I could?
I wouldn't very much about this book. I would change the presentation of the romance between Claire and Liam. I felt like there wasn't much of a building romantic relationship. It almost presented as a friendship on the verge of a romantic relationship but fizzled out. Which is a good and bad thing.
- Explain why you like/dislike the novel and why.
I like the novel because it was different. I saw a whole new world being created before my eyes. I love the adventure and mystery. Also the fantasy.
- Final Thoughts:
This was a fantastic new novel from Chloe Neill. I can't wait to see from this series and her other series.
Questions:
- Will I recommend the book? Yes.
- Will I continue on the next book? It is a maybe.

Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires novels have a prominent place on my bookshelf so when I saw that she had a new series coming out, I knew I would be reading it as soon as I could get my hands on it.

The setting was a big plus for me. I have never been to New Orleans, but have read a lot about it and I found Chloe's version of New Orleans to be very interesting and easy to follow. I enjoyed the post-apocalyptic/Dystopian feel as well as the whole Devil's Isle aspect of the city. The Fae storyline was interesting and I found myself looking forward to more details as I was reading.

For some reason I wasn't overly invested in the main characters and actually connected to a few of the secondary characters quicker, which is a bit weird to me. That's not to say I didn't LIKE the main characters, I did, I just would have liked to feel more invested in them by the end of the book. There was some romance between Claire and Liam, which I actually enjoyed quite a bit. Liam held himself back a lot and it takes a bit for us to find out why, but I was rooting for their relationship (and still am moving forward).

Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series is still my favorite of hers, but I really enjoyed the introduction the Devil's Isle series and I am very interested in seeing what will happen next for Claire and Liam.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The urban fantasy genre is really the one genre that I can never get enough of and while I adore it, I'm always on the lookout for something that stands out. For something that hasn't already been done time and time again.

Immediately I fell into the easy writing that Neil is so known for. She has a way of painting a setting and it's characters that seems almost effortless. You are transported right into the heart of the story and into the characters lives from the very first chapter and it only gets better and better after that.

Admittedly, it didn't take me long to be completely wrapped up in the story, invested, and hooked.

This was absolutely enthralling, entertaining, and completely original. Once again, Neil shows that she knows how to take an existing setting, shake it up and create something completely new and unique and most of all, fun.

With a whole cast of interesting characters, both human and supernatural, magic, danger, war, and mystery all thrown in with just a hint of a romance to be, and this truly was a wonderful start to what promises to be a stand out series.

*An ARC Copy of this was provide by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first of Chloe Neill that I have read/listened to, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I was not disappointed! The Veil is the first book of the series and it is off to a good start. The story line flows well and entwines the magic well into the journey of Claire as she is trying to hide her issues but is found out. After being found out as being a “sensitive”, Claire has to go to the one place she doesn’t want too…The Devil’s Isle. Once there, the trying path of learning how to control her powers is not an easy one. She encounters new people and situations that need attention. Claire must learn to harness her gift…there are important things to come. I think this is a good kickoff to this series, and I am definitely interested in continuing it! The only complaint that I have is that the narrator for the audio version could’ve been better. At times, it’s literally like she is just reading the story. And yes, that’s what she’s doing but, I didn’t FEEL the story as well as I usually do with audiobooks. That being said, I still give 4 solid stars!!

New Orleans and Louisiana have been “contained” because of a paranormal war. Those with “magic” are kept in a prison known as Devil’s Isle. Claire Connolly runs The Royal Mercantile in New Orleans. The store is one of the few left in New Orleans after the troubles and it is the only thing she has left of her family. When bounty hunter Liam Quinn discovers Claire has the guts to take on two wraiths attacking an innocent girl near her store (using magic that no one is supposed to know she has) he takes her on as an apprentice. Together with their friends, family and new acquaintances, they manage to keep the Veil sealed and war prevented. And no one is confined to Devil's Isle.

It was a little slow going at first. But I was totally absorbed in the story by the final battle. I can’t wait to see what will happen to Claire, Liam and friends. This is a wonderful new series. 4 stars.

I will admit to being excited to find my name (and it was spelled correctly!) used for a peripheral character.

I rec’d a copy of this book from Netgalley.

I really like Neill’s Chicagoland Vampire series, which I am behind on and need to get caught up on, so I decided to give her new series a shot. And man did I love this book. I loved the whole idea of Sensitives and the alternate universe for the Fae. Normally I get frustrated when it takes a long time to learn a bunch about things, like the stuff we learn about Sensitives, but the way Neill wrote it and how it is integral to the plot I was able to just enjoy finding things out as they were revealed in the book.

I really enjoyed Claire and Liam as the main two characters, I also liked the minor cast of characters, human and Fae alike, and I hope that we get to see more of the minor ones in the next books. I’d also like to learn more about the different types of Fae, what they are, what they can do, I just want to know more of them. (I can never know enough!) I’m just really excited for the next book in this series!

Thank you to PENGUIN for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great start to a new series. I like the choice of location – New Orleans. I think there’s a bigger impact on the reader if the area that has been through devastation like this one is a real location and not a fictional one. There was a lot to learn about this world, and think the author did a good job establishing it without slowing down the pace of the story. I’m definitely intrigued and looking forward to reading more about Devil’s Isle.

AH and I did a Group Review for The Veil on Badass Book Reviews.

Absolutely loved this new series by Chloe!! It has plenty of action, betrayal, humor and the beginnings of a great romance. This is an interesting take on paranormals. There was a Veil that broke letting paras into the world. The government was able to seal the veil and have put paras in a guarded area away from the population. They also put people who discovered they have magic once exposed to paras in the same guarded area. These people are called sensitives. The government as it turns out is hiding many secrets. Not all paras are bad, there is a way for sensitives to learn control over their magic, the veil must remained closed for everyone's safety. If you haven't already I recommend reading it. 5 stars.

My Thoughts: I always keep my expectations low when going into a new series from the UF/PNR genres. It helps to cut down on any disappointment. Fortunately, this book worked for me. While there were some things that didn't quite make sense, overall, this is a series that I'll look forward to the next book coming out.
This book was more story driven than character driven for me. The author made New Orleans recognizable while also making it a dystopian landscape. Like finding out how NOLA and it's people managed to survive and rebuild and go forward after the war with the paras. I look forward to finding out more about the those living and working in Devil's Isle. At times they were more interesting than the main group of characters.
While I liked Claire and Liam, if they are the sole focus of this series, I can see myself losing interest. Having Claire become so proficient in her powers so quickly and in the save the day moment was less believable than anything. I had seen mention of it around and had to agree, she should not have been able to solve the veil problem all on her own at this point in her life.
There is some romantic feelings between Claire and Liam but it was kind of light. It has possibilities going forward but like I said above I will enjoy this series more if there are other characters taking the lead than just these two.
Even with the current veil problem being resolved there are enough questions/mysteries to keep me interested in future books.

Reviewed by Francesca and posted at Under The Covers Book Blog

I have read Chloe Neill in the past and I admit that I enjoy her work. As excited as I was to see she had a new series coming out, for some reason I didn’t rush to get to it. See, that’s a lot of how I’ve felt lately about the Chicagoland Vampires series. The books are always good. And yet, I am still behind reading it because there’s just a certain something (don’t ask me what it is) that I find missing. It doesn’t make me want to rush to read it. Maybe it could just be that Merit and Ethan have gotten a bit stale for me. So I blame that feeling on not reading this as soon as this review copy hit my hands months ago!

This has all the potential to becoming one of my new favorite paranormal series! First of all, it involves magic. There aren’t enough urban fantasy books centered around that in my opinion. But the how it’s done it’s also so cool and completely different. Kudos to Ms. Neill for some awesome world building. And it was done flawlessly. There’s no crazy info dump being book one trying to explain to you all the details and workings of the world. You are learning as you go along, oftentimes with the heroine. I was always fully immersed in the story.

The setting is post war (with paranormals) New Orleans. The Veil was closed after and all types of magic is forbidden. People who have the natural ability to do magic are called Sensitive. If they don’t learn how to control the magic within them, they turn into wraiths. People found guilty of using magic are sent to Devil’s Isle, which serves as a prison, but it’s more like a town just filled with some unwanted elements. Me? Sold on this 100%. I thought it was brilliant.

Claire, our heroine, has been dealing with the death of her father during war. She’s keeping her supply store running and trying to hide as best as she can that she is a Sensitive. She doesn’t want the magic, but sometimes she can’t control it and it runs wild. As it happened one night that causes the chain of events that leads to her being introduced to what you would consider the truth about their reality. Oh and maybe save the world. I absolutely loved Claire. Why, you ask? Because she kicks ass in the most natural way. She’s not one of those bitchy women we see all the time in UF. She’s also not a know it all. She faces every situation as best as her knowledge lets her. Without losing her cool. Without getting into danger because she thought it would be the brave thing to do. She’s not after the accolades, she just wants things to go right and she will do whatever is needed for that. Very refreshing take on a UF heroine and I am a fan!

Then we have Liam. Sigh the hero. Yes, the hot alpha with a touch of bad boy. He’s a bounty hunter. His job is to find wraiths and turn them in. No, nothing magical about him other than the fact he’s gorgeous and enthralling! But he’s the one that spots that Claire is a Sensitive and takes her under his wing. Did I mention hot, alpha and bad boy? Liam is intense but with a side of mushy. After all the bad he’s seen, he can still go with his emotions and let them dictate what he does. He’s loyal to those around them, those he cares about. And he kicks major ass, so there’s that.

THE VEIL was the perfect introduction to this world and if this is anything to go by, I will be a loyal fan of this series. It’s action packed and fast paced, with enough sexual tension to keep a girl hoping. And with a cast of characters that I couldn’t have picked better myself. This book was exactly what I needed to restore my faith in the paranormal. Yes! There can be a new series that catches my interest and gets me giddy again! And that is Devil’s Isle.

Chloe Neill introduces readers to a very different New Orleans than we’re used to seeing in this first installment of her new Urban Fantasy series, Devil’s Isle. It’s been seven years since paranormal beings tore through the veil into this world, kicking off a bloody war with humanity. The veil is closed and the war is over, but the aftermath lingers on. The earth is scorched. Resources are scarce. And magic has bled over into some unsuspecting humans, turning them into Sensitives. They are hunted and interned on a nearby island unless they hide their magic. And hiding has become Claire’s specialty.

Claire is a Sensitive who runs her late father’s mercantile store. She keeps her life small intentionally, with even her good friends Tadji and Gunnar unaware of what she can do. Everything is going ok until she chooses to use her telekinesis to save a woman under attack by wraiths… sensitives who have lost control of their magic. She quickly meets Liam, a wraith bounty hunter, who recognizes what she is –and offers to help her learn to control her magic before it can control her. From there, things get only more complicated, as Claire learns new truths about the so-called enemy; deals with a maybe-romance with Liam; and squares off with the group making new wraiths in the commission of an even more devastating plan.

I liked the world-building here. Born and raised in the New Orleans area, I always appreciate being able to picture the area in context of a book. (Even if I did blink twice at Liam saying he went to Xavier, an HBCU.) Neill did a good job setting the stage for the current condition of the city and if there is anywhere on earth that people would stick it out and stay in their communities despite the wreckage, it would definitely be NOLA.

The characters were ok. I felt like I knew and understood Claire pretty well, but I didn’t feel super-connected to her. Liam… even a little less so. Maybe that will change as more of their history and whatnot is revealed in future books. But here, they were just alright. And their almost-romance was pretty lackluster. The secondary characters were almost totally flat, which is a shame because there was potential there; it was just never realized.

The book ends with some unanswered questions: specifically about how the wraiths were becoming more sentient. And while there is no cliffhanger, Neill sets up an easy path to follow for future stories.

While I didn’t love this book, I did like it ok. I think I will give book two a try. I hope it will grab me more than this one.

Rating: B-

I was very hopeful for this book, unfortunately it didn’t quite deliver. Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland series is wonderful, but the last few books have been more mediocre. With this new series, and new ideas, I was hoping that there would be that spark again which made me love Merit so much. Now I’m just sitting here wondering what to write. This book could have been great, but to me it felt only good.

The post-apocalyptic New Orleans setting was certainly interesting, though it wasn’t quite clear how the rest of the country was doing. New Orleans is the worst, they’re dependable on deliveries from outside the city, electricity is flaky with the magic, and there is still this sense of danger with the Devil’s Isle so close. Still Claire is just living her life, running her shop, trying to make the best of things. Though she has to keep her abilities a secret, ’cause pretty much everyone hates magic and it would send her to jail.

That changes when one night she saves this girls from wraiths. Now you can’t be really mad at them, ’cause they were once Sensitives like Claire. It’s what happens due time if you let the magic take you over. This is where she meets Liam Quinn. He’s a hunter and willing to help her out. There is supposed to slowly bloom this connection between them, I think, but I wasn’t feeling it.

On their own Claire and Liam are great, and there is definitely that physical attraction, though the emotional part was missing for me. The focus is very much on everything that is going on around them, and not on them. So for the adventure element that was certainly okay, could have used a bit more action for my taste, but that’s personal preference.

To kind of sum it up is that there is nothing really wrong with the story, there was just nothing that jumped out. The characters were okay, though not remarkable, and the plot interesting, but not quite exciting. So good book, just not quite enough to make it a must read for me.

*I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This is a great romp! Sexy guys, smart and snarky kick butt girls, a great original take on magic, lots of fun and they kept it clean, no sex. I love it when it takes characters more than a single book to fall into bed.

Being the first book of the series I expected the typical buffer info (half the book spent on character development), I should have known better, Chloe never disappoints. She builds characters and history, along side the plot, as the book progresses you learn more and more about the world being written. This like all of her other books is an amazing read, and I cannot wait until the next books release. It is set in New Orleans-withatwist dystopian style setting with the perfect blend of Fantasy and local culture! (I may or may not have used a sick day to finish reading it), (If my boss is reading it, I absolutely did not use a sick day to read it).