About the Book

The paranormal war that engulfed New Orleans seven years ago is over. But the battle for the city is just beginning . . . 

Claire Connolly is a Sensitive, infected with magic when the Veil that divides humanity from the world beyond fell. Magic can easily consume and destroy a Sensitive, and if Claire’s secret is discovered she’ll be locked into the walled district of Devil’s Isle along with every other Paranormal left in the city.

Bounty hunter Liam Quinn discovered Claire’s secret, but refused to turn her in. Together they saved New Orleans from the resurgence of magic that nearly destroyed it. But now a dangerous cult is on the rise, and it will take both Claire and Liam—and magical allies within Devil’s Isle’s towering walls—to defeat the occult threat before magic corrupts them both…

330 pages (paperback)
Published on August 16, 2016
Published by NAL Trade
Author’s webpage
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This book was by the publisher for an honest review.

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Chloe Niell’s work has been hit or miss for me. On the one hand, her stuff is seriously enjoyable. If I’m facing a frustrating time, her urban fantasy tends to be the kind of stuff I’m wanting to read to get away from my life and enjoy something light and fluffy. On the other hand, they aren’t my go-to books.

The Veil was the first book in Niell’s new series, and I really enjoyed it despite my expectations not to. It’s a brand new feel, a completely fresh story, and I really enjoyed Niell’s new tone. Now, I do think it is absolutely essential to read The Veil before you move on to The Sight. There isn’t much of a recap, and while previous events are touched on, they aren’t summarized in any real way. The Sight just takes off, and you have to understand what happened before, to understand what is happening in this book. Personally, I appreciate that, as summaries tend to frustrate me in novels, but it is something that potential readers should be aware of before diving in.

The Sight is a little different than its predecessor. For one thing, it focuses more on the politics and the social implications of these two very different societies trying to live together and find some happy medium after a war, and everything else. In a lot of ways I view this book as more focused on world and character development. That’s not to say that this book is enjoyable, because it is, or that it doesn’t have an addicting plot, because it does. It’s really focused on relationships, on personal developments, and how people react in tense situations, and I loved it for that. I’m a sucker for all those little details, and this book had them in spades.

There are a lot of political issues, and there is a small group of individuals in the middle of it all. I really enjoyed Claire’s perspective in this novel. Her shaky understanding and passionate desire to learn more about the magical world that is interacting with her own really comes through in her voice. Liam is another interesting viewpoint, as a lot of his opinions and prejudices are made light. He’s a bit more jaded, a bit more wordly, and his rose glasses have absolutely been removed. Both characters react with each other quite well, and their different opinions and perspectives add some interesting dynamics to this complex world. I really enjoyed how well they managed to balance each other out.

The romantic tension between Liam and Claire follows a sort of frustrating path. It’s obvious where things are going to end up, but it’s taking forever to get there, and the constant ho-hum, should I/shouldn’t I inner monologue throughout the book got old, fast. This is pretty stereotypical of Niell, though. Her relationships evolve slowly, and with a whole lot of tension that can get redundant. I can see the appeal, but for me it got to the point where I wished they’d just sleep together already so we can move on and deal with other things. (How’s that for some honesty?)

There is plenty of other kinds of tension throughout the book. This is a who-done-it sort of novel, and Claire and Liam have to work together to figure out who is behind the attack from the start of the book. Throughout their investigation, a lot of these personal quirks and political issues come to light. Some of the politics felt a little too soon, and I could have used a bit more development on both sides of the issue before a parlay (of sorts) was attempted. The tension and the mystery was handled really well, and Niell’s world expanded and became so much more intricate and layered throughout their investigation. The world she created graduated from being interesting, to becoming genuinely fascinating.

The Sight, as I said above, felt more like a developmental novel than anything else. It’s the book that managed to be interesting while it was obviously building things up for more to come. The developments were, in many cases, shockingly well crafted, and the world and characters became so much more dynamic. The romantic interest frustrated me to no end, but this novel really set the groundwork for some interesting things further in the series. I honestly cannot wait for the next book.

3.5/5 stars