Shadows and Relics

Smoke and Shadows, Book 1

By: L.L. Gray

Narrated by: Diana Guillermo

Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

A dark ritual. Werewolves on my trail. A single chance to uncover the truth....

Cameron Blaze is my name, living on the edge is my game. Acquiring an ancient artifact? Sure, I like old stuff. Procuring a precious? I’ve got some sticky fingers right here. I will do pretty much anything to make rent, and will enjoy the hell out of the ride as I go.

When werewolves turn up in New Orleans for the first time in living memory, I was curious. When they start to disrupt my business, I was annoyed. But when they come at me? I’m ready to open a can of whoop-the-wolf, no matter the consequences.

Adding to my canine conundrum, ghosts are disappearing from the New Orleans cemeteries, and rumors of dark rituals are floating around the seedy underbelly of my city. To top it off, a powerful and mysterious relic has gone missing. A relic that, by all accounts, has the power to tear the veil that separates this world from the next to shreds.

With time running out and lives on the line, will I be able to find this ancient relic before all hell is set loose on my city?

©2022 Heroic Rose Publishing/L.L. Gray (P)2023 Heroic Rose Publishing/L.L. Gray

Interesting, New (to me) Series Starter!

This was a new to me author and I'm glad I tried this series out! The author creates an interesting world where the supernatural hide among us, from the benign to the ones who you'd best avoid at night. I liked the variety of rules and leaders that the supernaturals have come up with to avoid detection and how Cam tries to hide under the radar lest her secret get out.
The main character, Cameron, is an acquirer of things and an occasional body guard. She spends her days acquiring and her nights hanging out with her bar owning best friend. Until one day, when a job with a large payout comes up and then (almost) everything she's ever known gets thrown into chaos.
I enjoyed the found family dynamic and how Cam learns how to play well(ish) with others and learns that she can indeed rely on others to help her out. Cam and Magnus have a wonderful dynamic that I hope gets to play a part in later stories. It's a fun mystery with wonderful secondary characters. Cam really got to grow in the story, both learning about herself and learning what she really values most in her life.

There is swearing, violence (quite a bit, the whole ritual sacrifice thing going on), and no romance (hints, but it's definitely not the point of the story). At the end of the story, there is the first three chapters of the next book included, so the story is about 45ish minutes less than the total listening time. The next few books are already out and I look forward to them becoming audiobooks!!

I enjoyed the narrator! I haven't heard her narrate before and she does quite well. I'd definitely listen to another book by her again. I thought she did a wonderful job with the characters and accents. I'd definitely listen to another book by her again. I listened at 1.15x.
My review will say listener received a free copy, however than isn't quite true. I supported the author's kickstarter and an audiobook was included in the tier I picked.