Review: Hypnos (Seeking The Zodiacs Book 1) by RJ Blain

Hypnos by R.J. Blain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

High Paced Urban Fantasy

I decided to read this book based on the fact that Faith Hunter (one of my favourite authors) likes this book. It’s tenuous I know but I really really like her books. This one is pretty good.

Olivia is a woman of dual cultures, with her mother being born in China and her father being American. She looks like her mother and thinks like her father, much to her mother’s dismay. Both parents adore their daughter but they are slightly crazy and bicker. Olivia’s father is a Police Commissioner and is disappointed his daughter joined the FBI rather than become a cop.

The world in which they live is one riddled with magic, caused by the dropping of nuclear bombs during World War III. Olivia is a rare survivor of the bomb that took out New York. Those that survived were very high powered magic users. Olivia is a supervisor of magic units called Quads made up mainly of drafted magic users. Olivia works incredibly long hours, can get by with little food and was at the limits of her body and power when disaster struck her city of San Francisco.

I liked how the book started out with her being weakened and struggling to stay awake. It showed that she wasn’t all powerful right from the beginning. I also liked how her main team flocked around her to try and make her take care of herself. It showed a strong woman, who is respected and cared for. I like it when the main characters are already established in their powers.

The world building was very good and the characters were all interesting. The plot was complex and kept me reading late into the night. However, the level of banter felt a little excessive to me. It was over the top and felt forced. It dropped off a little as the book went on, which made the read much more enjoyable, but it did make me hesitate a bit at the beginning. I’m glad I stuck with it.

I think future books in this series would make for a good read and will definitely read one when they become available.

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