The Official Description: I like my women like I like my whiskey: more than is good for me.
Name’s Kane, Kate Kane. I’m a paranormal private investigator, which is like a normal private investigator except—and stop me if you’re having trouble following this—more paranormal. This business comes with a few basic rules: don’t start drinking before noon, don’t get your partner killed, don’t sleep with the woman who killed him.
Last year I broke all of them.
The only rule I didn’t break was the one that said don’t work for vampires. But then a dead werewolf showed up outside the Soho shag palace of Julian Saint-Germain—a bloodsucking flibbertigibbet who’s spent the last eight centuries presiding over an ever-growing empire of booze, sex and hemoglobin.
I shouldn’t have taken the job. The last thing I needed was to get caught in a supernatural smackdown between a werewolf pack and a vampire prince. Even if the vampire prince was dangerously my type. But what can I say? I was broke, I’m a sucker for a pretty face and I gave up on making good decisions a long time ago.
Just the facts: Kick-ass lesbian lead, spooky supernatural characters, hot sex and full of action!
Queer, marvelous, dangerous and hilarious! This is a perfect beginning to a PI series! – Kinzie Things
My thoughts bit: Full disclosure: Alexis Hall is one of my favorite authors. Most of the time, I find myself wanting to read certain genres or certain “types” of plot. After reading Iron & Velvet I now know that I will happily read anything that Alexi Hall writes.
Kate Kane is a part-fae, kick-ass, bit-of-a-disaster, lesbian private investigatory. If that’s not enough to interest you, Kate has a vampire ex-boyfriend who stalks her (and watches her sleep), an assistant who may be reconstituted marble, a love-interest who is both witty and debauched (and also kick-ass), and a murder case to solve. The case is going to be a challenge that is the supernatural-bitey-attacky kind!
“That made it me, my dickhead ex, a celibate incubus, the most fabulous man in fangs, an indestructible Geat, a shape-shifting toff, and someone who’s already tried to kill both me and the person we were trying to rescue. We’d got to seven after all. Still a bit light on magnificence, though.” – Kate in Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall
I absolutely loved this book. There were several times when I was laughing out loud and had to set the book down to explain to my partner what was going on. Yes, this novel is a little over-the-top, and yes I absolutely recommend it. It’s kind of like a mash-up of a stream of consciousness and supernatural crime-fighters.
Kate’s life is a bit of a mess. Her business partner is dead… and the whole history behind it seems convoluted. I’m hoping that this is the kind of hanging thread that Hall will tug on in future installments of this series. While Kate is pretty funny, there’s a hint of resignation about her that is a bit sad. Of course, she has sworn off vampires when she meets Julian – the devastatingly beautiful and enticing female Prince of Vampires connected to a murder. Of course, Kate’s intrigued and has trouble sticking to her own swearing off of said supernatural creatures.
Patrick, the vampire ex-boyfriend turned stalker, has absolutely got to be a swipe at the Cullen type of vampire from the-books-that-shall-not-be-named. Patrick is fiercely devoted to Kate and has been for far longer than they were actually together. He’s both a hindrance and an inevitability in Kate’s life but I couldn’t help being amused every time he appeared.
More than anything… it’s just the writing that makes my heart happy. It’s the little things…
“I finished my coffee and gamely ate a banana. They’re basically mush held together with stringy bits. And Eve once told me they were technically nuts, which blew my mind. Then she told me that peanuts weren’t nuts. And then I dumped her. Though not, admittedly, for a couple of years.” – Kate in “Iron & Velvet” by Alexis Hall
Alexis Hall? You get me. So much wit and humor in one action-packed book is good for my soul. Cannot wait for more of this series.
Things You May Want To Know: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In This book: (SPOILERS) violence, bloodshed, killing, blood play, blood-drinking, blood rituals, assault, kidnapping, stalking, lots of gore.
Readalikes: Other stories that are similar or give the same feel.
- Glitterland (Glitterland #1) by Alexis Hall
- Pansies (Spires Universe) by Alexis Hall
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers
Links: Goodreads // The Author // The Publisher
I received an ARC of Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall from Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 