Review: The Veil (Devil's Isle #1) by Chloe Neill

The Veil (Devil's Isle #1) 

by Chloe Neill 

Published August 4th 2015 by NAL Trade 

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…

My Thoughts

I haven't not read any of Chloe Neill's books before but this was really enjoyable for my first one. She has an awesome take on the city of New Orleans and also on "Paras" or paranormals. This was probably one of my favorite Urban Fantasies I have ever read.

This story follows Claire Connolly, a teenage girl who is alone in a war torn world. A world ripped apart when Para's made it through the veil. Even though the Veil is now patched up, things are extremely desperate as humans fear for their lives. The government tried to contain all those with any magic to Devil's Isle whether they are harmful or not. This is Claire's worst fear. Since she is a sensitive, she is in constant fear of discovery. When a chance encounter tests her morality to the limits Claire makes a choice that catapults her onto path she never would have taken herself but is exactly where she needed to go. If she uses her magic to much and doesn't control it, it will devour her and she will became a wraith! I Thought the descriptions of the Paranormals were quite interesting just as I was intrigued by the way the magic worked in this story.

Even though the story starts extremely slow once the setting and characters are established the pace picks up a nicely. This became a fairly quick read for me since I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I actually couldn't resist the tension between claire and Liam, a man who works for the government but also has a heart of gold. He doesn't want to see Claire become a wraith and after witnessing her save the girl's life he knows she is something special. I loved the fact that weren't all over each other from the jump. This is going to be the slow smoldering type of romance. They are both smart and not letting their emotions get in the way of their thinking...yet anyway.

The setting was also a perfect choice. New Orleans is such a unique place. There is just a different vibe there. My father lived close for a few years and everytime I went to visit I could totally see how it was the birthplace of so much legend and lore. The way Neill incorporates the city into this story is perfection.

Overall, this was strong first story in an Urban Fantasy series I will be sure to continue!

3 Snowflakes