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Review: Beyond the Veil by Pippa DaCosta (The Veil #1)

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Beyond the Veil by Pippa DaCosta // VBC ReviewBeyond the Veil (The Veil #1)
Pippa DaCosta
Published: Feb. 15, 2015 (Pippa DaCosta)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon (free for Kindle as of this posting)
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Jannelle

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Charlie Henderson’s entire life goes up in flames—quite literally—and everything she has worked for, for the last few years, is gone.

After having been raised as a half-demon slave to a full-blood demon beyond the veil under the name of Muse, she finds escape in the Demon Prince Akil, who gives her the tools she needs to escape and become a self-dependent woman in our world. In the process, Akil and Muse develop a relationship that is put on hold when Muse decides one day she is going to walk away. A few years later, an assassin shows up at her workshop and after a hostile confrontation finds her shop in pieces.

The main question here revolves around who is responsible for the destruction of her shop. Could it be Stefan, the assassin that visited her before the explosion, or could it have something to do with the past she walked away from and spent years hiding from?

Beyond the Veil was a fantastic read—it carried with it all the gritty goodness I enjoy in urban fantasy novels and the unavoidable sexual tension I crave in paranormal romances.

The reason I gave Beyond the Veil four stars instead of five was because this installment had so much potential, that it mostly delivered on, though there was a depth that felt lacking. Muse’s relationship with her ex-boyfriend Akil, for example, felt like it was missing history that could have benefited the overall storyline. I wanted to know more about what happened when Muse and Akil were together in the past: what made it great and what was the catalyst that made Muse walk away. While it’s touched upon, I felt like I was missing more history to help in understanding the gravity of the situation Muse finds herself in at the beginning of the novel.

There was also a love triangle that was developed between Stefan, Muse, and Akil that had me seriously dumbfounded as to whose team I was on. (Well, for a bit… I am totally team Stefan right now.) Stefan walks into Muse’s life mysterious and all-knowing about the past she had worked so hard to hide. Not only does he serve the necessary sex-factor purpose, but he makes Muse question long-held ideas that has influenced her life choices up until this point. The spoiler-bombs dropped here were superb, though slightly transparent. Not sure if it’s because I’m a veteran of the UF/PNR genres, but I wasn’t entirely surprised by some plot twists along the way.

I have to say that I enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the plot. I never felt as if the story was dragging and the action balanced along the journey with Muse at the center certainly helped push the story forward. I listened to the story on audio versus reading it and I am surprised to say that I didn’t miss a hardcopy. The narrator, Hollie Jackson, did a great job at bringing the characters to life and I am looking forward to reading more books under her narration.

Overall, Beyond the Veil was a great story that I am definitely interested in pursuing. I have already picked up the second installment, Devil May Care, and will be listening to it soon.

Sexual content: graphic sex

One Response to “Review: Beyond the Veil by Pippa DaCosta (The Veil #1)”

  1. Angie says:

    Thank you. I was between books and picked this one up for free after reading your review. Now I’ve binge read the whole series and can’t wait for the first of the spin-off books to come out in June. So thanks again for pointing these books out! 🙂

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