Gizmo's Reviews: Suzanne Johnson

Series: Sentinels of New Orleans # 6
Format: Kindle, 357 pages
Release Date: July 24, 2018
Publisher: Suzanne Johnson
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Paranormal / Urban Fantasy

The uneasy truce between the preternatural species of New Orleans has shattered, with wizards and elves, shifters and vampires—not to mention the historical undead—struggling for ultimate control of the city, including the humans who still think they’re atop the food chain.

They aren’t, however—and the Summer Prince of Faerie wants them to know it.

Stuck in the middle? One unemployed wizard sentinel. For DJ Jaco, war makes for strange bedfellows as she finally embraces her wizard-elven heritage and strikes a deal with the devil so she and her ragtag band of allies can return to defend her hometown. After all, when the undead French pirate Jean Lafitte is working in the mayor’s tourism department, things could go horribly wrong.

War is coming to New Orleans just in time for Mardi Gras, with the elves and wizards lined up on opposite sides, the shifters with a new leader, the vampires promising loyalty to the highest bidder, and the soul of the Crescent City resting on the outcome of the civil war going on in Faerie between the rival princes of summer and winter.

Mardi Gras Day is approaching fast, the faeries have infiltrated almost every parade, and the line between friends and enemies grows thin as DJ tries to stave off open warfare on the St. Charles Avenue parade route.

Laissez les bons temps rouler…but be careful, or the good times might roll too close for comfort.

Frenchmen Street is the sixth and final installment in author Suzanne Johnson's Sentinels of New Orleans series. As the story begins, we find our protagonist, Drusilla (DJ) Jaco, in 1814 New Orleans (Barateria) along with her allies Rene Delachaise (Merman), Alex Warin (Shifter), and Jean Lafitte (Undead Pirate). But, she no longer trusts Alex. There has been a whole lot that has happened since the previous installment. 2 months ago, DJ fled her home in New Orleans with a steep price on her head and charges of treason.

Unemployed Wizard/Elven Sentinels with a powerful Elven Fire Stick named Charlie don't have a whole lot of other job opportunities when preternaturals, including her former boss is chasing after her. As a Sentinel of the city, DJ is supposed to protect the city's humans from those who want to subvert and control them. Like the current Summer Court Prince Florian who is about to announce, in a major way, that there are those who are much more dangerous living in the city and they are here to stay. The war has finally kicked off after a period of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

This is a world where after Katrina hit New Orleans, a door opened that allowed preternaturals to flood into the city. Ever since Katrina, the various preternatural factions have been lining up for a showdown, and that showdown has resulted in some heart breaking casualties. Jean Lafitte Undead seem to be the only reliable faction that hasn't thrown in with the other groups and abandoned DJ to her fate. Jean will live as long as people remember him, and people in New Orleans will remember Lafitte for a long, long time.

After their rocky beginning in Royal Street, Lafitte has become DJ's most worthwhile ally. It doesn't hurt when the author makes a huge disconnect between Alex Warin, and DJ, which leads DJ to seek out the one person she really doesn't like; Quince Randolph, Head of the Elven Synod who she is technically married to as his bond mate. I am one of those who hasn't exactly given DJ a break. She's made a whole lot of mistakes, including not killing someone who she should have. One could say that killing someone is never the right answer, until the person destroys your life and refuses to fade into the darkness.

I have been to Mardi Gras/New Orleans but I hope to one day in the future. I had no clue there were so many parades! Holy Cow! There must be a parade and a party and a celebration for almost anything imaginable. I think, perhaps, that was a bit overdone on the authors part, but if that's what really happens during Mardi Gras, I'll have to accept her word for it. I am happy with the break between DJ and Alex. It has been a long time coming, and Alex was always allied with the Wizards, including Elder Zrakos who wants someone to please take out DJ asap before she can do what she does.

I honestly didn't hate Rand this time out. Yes, he is a complete sexist jerk. Yes, he really does think he is the most beautiful preternatural who ever lived. And, yes he believes that he can control DJ's actions even though she has laid down the law and stood fast and never wavered. I think the friendship between DJ and Rene was bound to become something else after Alex's actions. I loved the addition of dragons, yes, dragons who can be as small as cats, or as large as a Goodyear blimp.

I loved Gruff, the Welsh Pembroke Corgi who Rand gives to her, and ends up saving her life more than a few times. Not a dog lover, but Gruff would definitely be at the top of my list were I to ever get one. This story is also heart breaking, and no I won't tell you why. I don't think what happened is fair, and is seems as though everyone quickly moves on after it happens. I think it's fair to say that this series coming to an end was the right thing to do. You can only stretch things out for so long before the story becomes stale.

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Series: Sentinels of New Orleans #5

Format: Kindle, 336 pages

Release Date: November 8, 2016
Publisher: Tor Books
Source: Bewitching Book Tours
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Suzanne Johnson's "strong and intriguing" (Publishers Weekly) urban fantasy series continues with Belle Chasse. The Sentinels of New Orleans series has earned starred reviews from Library Journal ("a resourceful heroine who relies on her magical ingenuity") and PW ("vivid...a lively tale jam-packed with action, magic, and intriguing plot twists").

With the wizard-elven treaty on the verge of collapse, the preternatural world stands on the brink of war. Unless former wizard sentinel DJ Jaco manages to keep the elven leader, Quince Randolph, focused on peace and not personal matters.

With no one on the throne, Faerie is in chaos, with rival princes battling for power. The still-undead pirate, Jean Lafitte, is building his own army of misfits, and DJ stripped of her job and hiding in the Beyond to avoid the death sentence handed down by the wizard Council of Elders can’t get anywhere near her beloved New Orleans or her significant something-or-other, Alex.

It's time to choose sides. Friends will become enemies, enemies will become allies, and not everyone will survive. DJ and her friends will learn a hard lesson: sometimes, even the ultimate sacrifice isn’t enough.

Belle Chasse, by author Suzanne Johnson, is the Fifth installment in the Sentinels of New Orleans Series. For those who haven't read this series yet, Belle Chasse continues the story where Pirate's Alley left off. In fact, I dare say that it would make total sense to go back to the beginning of the series with Royal Street, and progress forward until you are caught up. This series is set in a world Post-Katrina where the supernatural community surged into the modern world thanks to the borders between worlds crumbling.

Series protagonist Drusilla (DJ) Jaco is a Green Congress wizard with the ability to use powerful Elven magic. She even carries a staff called Charlie that makes her dangerous and a threat to others. She recently lost her card, her job as Sentinel of New Orleans, and now has a death sentence waiting for her if she is ever caught. What's a girl to do with all of this falling on her shoulders? She, and her allies escape to Pirate Jean Lafitte's home of Old Barataria, where wizard's magic don't work. Old Barataria is the 1815 version of South Louisiana. It is a place where perpetual darkness leaves no room for sunshine.

Team Lafitian consists of merman Rene Delachaise, Shifter Alex Warin, Loup-Garou Jake Warin, Loup-Garou Collette, Vampire/Wizard Adrian Hoffman, and Christof, Faerie Prince of the Winter Court. In addition, DJ finally meets her cousin Audrey St. Simon, and her uncle Lennox St. Simon who both play interesting parts in this story. On the other side of the equation are First Elder Willem Zarkov who has made DJ's life horrible, Quince Randolph, DJ's "bond mate" who I loathe with every fiber of my being, plus vampires, and the Elven Synod.

Belle Chasse really doesn't move the series forward all that much, except perhaps closer to the preternatural war that has been on the minds of a whole lot of characters for several books now. We still have a whole lot of politics and shenanigans that we need to sort through before we get to the end. DJ's main focus in this book are to keep her best friend safe, keep Rand away from a very pregnant Eugenie while she figures things out, and make sure her friends are safe and sound and survive until the war can either be diverted or won.

One could say that DJ is a very stubborn character who often trusts the wrong people that leads to dangerous situations. One could also say that Jean Lafitte, not DJ is the real leader of the group. He has been using up all of his resources while also standing in the shadows waiting to see which side he chooses to support. I am happy that DJ has made friends with not only Rene, but Jake and Collette as well. I'm still curious as to the romantic entanglement that still exists, but I do hope that Johnson sorts it out quickly in the next book.

Belle Chase is definitely not a standalone novel. You need to have read Pirate's Alley before jumping into this story. Plus, the ending of the story not only leaves heart break, but also leaves a clear path to what the author claims with be the Sixth, and final installment in the series. See you then!

I expected Christof to start a snowstorm above Rand’s head. What I didn’t expect was for the prince to lower his head and charge Rand like a raging bull, head-butting him in the midsection. They hit the ground, and I saw my chance at the same time Eugenie spotted me.

I motioned her toward the woods where the transport lay. To hell with the Blue Congress wizards. We were going to make a run for it while Christof kept Rand too busy to notice.

She set off for the woods, and I met her halfway. “My family thinks I’m crazy!” she wailed, loud enough to draw the attention of the tall, skinny Blue Congress wizard with the rooster haircut.

“Hey, stop!”

Holy crap. I whipped out the elven staff, paused long enough to aim just to the right of the wizards. They already had their hands up and were doing some of their nifty Blue Congress magic when I released my fire and blew up the tombstone next to them, sending a rain of marble and playing cards onto their heads. Around us, evidence of their magic appeared as tombstones began moving to block our escape route.

I grabbed Eugenie’s arm and pulled her around a marble stag the size of a small SUV. It had lowered its head and pawed the ground as if to charge. Blue Congress magic was so damned cool— create and re-create.

“Stop, DJ!” Eugenie grabbed my arm as I tried to race past her. “A sinkhole!”

I looked stupidly at the ground in front of us, which had opened a gulf big enough to drive a Greyhound bus into. “Go around and run fast,” I shouted, sending another shot of the staff toward the Blue Congress wizards and blowing up a ginormous marble eagle perched atop a nearby tomb.

We didn’t stop to see if the stag was chasing us, but ran for all we were worth. Finally, at the edge of the tree line, I hazarded a look back at Christof and Rand. The faery stood watching us; the elf had crumpled on the ground. Not dead, though, because in my head, far behind my protective barriers, I heard him yelling my name.

Christof grinned and motioned for us to move along. He didn’t have to motion twice, because the wizards were chasing us, still chanting and doing their finger dance. The stag was getting way too close.

I raised the staff and blew a hole in the earth in front of the advancing stag, forcing him to change direction. Luck was on our side for a change— the stag began charging toward the wizards instead, who had to stop pursuing us in order to protect themselves from being trampled beneath marble hooves.

“Let’s run to the transport before those idiot wizards can get out from under the stag.” I grabbed Eugenie’s hand and we ran to the clearing. “Help me roll this werewolf out of the transport.”

To her credit, she didn’t ask a single question. We tipped the werewolf onto his side and rolled him outside the interlocking circle and triangle, leaving him at an awkward angle with his

feet in the air. Oh well.

I touched the staff to the edge of the transport and said, “Winter Palace, Faery” just before the Blue Congress wizards reached the edge of the clearing. I waved at them as the transport sucked the air out of my lungs. They were too late.

As soon as we materialized on the round floor of ice in the Winter Palace, Eugenie screamed. I figured she was getting her first look at the grisly remains of Faerie Princess Tamara until a blinding light knocked me off my feet and a big crack appeared in the ice between us.

“Where is my brother?”

I whirled to see Florian sitting on a block of ice behind us bundled in a heavy coat, a blanket spread beneath him, no doubt to protect his royal assets from getting cold and wet.

“He’s in Shreveport, Louisiana, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church, having a fi stfi ght with an elf,” I said, pretty confident that of all the things he might expect me to say, that wasn’t it.

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About the Author:

Suzanne Johnson is the author of the award-winning Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series but perhaps is best known for her romantic suspense and paranormal romance books written as Susannah Sandlin, including the Penton Vampire Legacy paranormal romance series, the Wilds of the Bayou suspense series, and The Collectors romantic thriller series. Her awards include two Holt Medallions in 2013 and 2015, a 2015 Booksellers Best Award in romantic suspense, and nominations in 2014 and 2015 for the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award. A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama. Suzanne loves SEC football, fried gator on a stick, all things Cajun, and redneck reality TV.