Residue (Residue Series Book 1)

 

Synopsis

When Jocelyn Weatherford is whisked away from a private boarding school in upstate New York to live with her extended family in New Orleans, she is unprepared to encounter the dangers awaiting her. Yet even as she is thrust into an unfamiliar world of witches and voodoo magic, the greatest threat of all may be the boy she has fallen for.

While handsome and charming, he is also a Caldwell...a member of the family the Weatherford's have been feuding with for centuries. As their forbidden love grows it becomes the volatile spark that forever changes their world and everyone in it.

As a spinoff of the Guardian Trilogy, fans of that series will enjoy seeing a bit more of Maggie and Eran in this novel and a lot more of them in future instalments of this series.

Review

This is the first book in a series of 4, where we meet Jocelyn and Jameson who are fated lovers – the Romeo & Juliet of the supernatural world. There is action and mystery, magic and romance entwined within it. In the first chapter you learn about the kind of world into which Jocelyn is about to be thrust into as she discovers that there is more to her family than she would ever have dreamed of.

There is an instant connection between Jocelyn and Jameson which neither of them can deny, thankfully they don’t proclaim instant love at their first meeting, although there is an instance in one of the shops they visit in the beginning of the book which highlights the power of their connection but thankfully Laury doesn’t overdo it which personally I feel would have spoiled the beginning of the book. Despite the supernatural feel to the story, the romance comes across as credible whilst being gentle in the beginning it grows with intensity throughout the book.

We also meet their extended families who are deadly enemies and think nothing of hexing each other. We also learn of Miss Mable who first appears to be a minor character, but as the book and series progresses we find out more about her and what a formidable woman she is (I love Miss Mable) I would recommend reading the Guardian Trilogy by Laury Falter first before starting this series, as some of the details from those books are replicated in this series.

Laury Falter's books often feature an element of voodoo in them, which I like, which is an integral part of the New Orleans setting. Residue as a first book is a great start to what feels like a great series. This book has a level of uniqueness that makes it memorable

The only negative I can say at this point about this book was the promise of seeing more of Maggie and Eran from the guardian trilogy. This was the premise on which I bought the first book of this series and I was very disappointed that there was barely a mention of them. So buy this book if you want a great book to read but don’t buy it if the only reason is to read more about Maggie & Eran. This is a great light read perfect for a holiday or a spare 5 minutes.

I rate this book