The Veil by Chloe Neill – a Review
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Description:
Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil’s Isle.
Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.
Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.
But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…
Review:
The Veil by Chloe Neill is the first book in her new Devil’s Isle Urban Fantasy series. This is an interesting new world that Neill has created, which takes place in war ravaged New Orleans. Seven years ago the Veil which separated super naturals and humans was torn apart, and a war ensued causng havoc and massive destruction. Humanity won, with the Veil put back and sealed. Those who remained outside of the veil that have paranormal powers were relegated to a territory, which was guarded. They may live in a community with freedom within, but the paranormals call it Devil’s Isle. Now 10 or so years later, the Veil is weakening again, with someone determined to open it again.
We meet our heroine, Claire Connolly right from the start, as she runs a store in the Quarter, which offers all kinds of commodities that are hard to find, since the war ended. Claire meets up with her friends, but she holds a secret from everyone; she is a sensitive. Sensitives are humans who were endowed with magic that had seeped through the Veil during the war. Claire can move or stop things (telekinesis), which she discovered on her own, and keeps it a secret, since if found out she would be sent to Devil’s Isle.
On her way home from meeting with her friends, Claire tries to help a woman being attacked by Wraiths. The wraiths are damaged sensitive’s that were overloaded with magic, and need kill to absorb magic from others.
Though Claire manages to escape the wraiths, she unknowingly catches the eye of Liam Quinn, a bounty hunter, who finds and captures wraiths. Liam is our hero, and convinces Claire to get training to teach her how to handle her magic, and ensure she doesn’t turn into a wraith. Most of the above was early on. What follows is an adventure that will have Claire and Liam working together to find the people trying to open the veil. As she learns how to control her magic, Claire will find herself in dangerous situations hiding who she is from those in control, and trying to discover who she can trust among her friends. A romance between Claire and Liam slowly begins to build; something we can expect more of in the future books. Can Claire and Liam stop the Veil from opening again?
Chloe Neill has created a nice world building that is dark, filled with magic and paranormals, great secondary characters, and a nice couple in Claire and Liam. In any world building, the first book leads the way. Though there was some type of closure, the story is left open ended for us to patiently wait for the next book. I enjoyed The Veil, though early on it was a bit slow and confusing trying to absorb everything. I expect the following books to be even better.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
