Review: Souljacker by Yasmine Galenorn (Lily Bound #1)

Souljacker (Lily Bound #1)
Yasmine Galenorn
Published: Mar. 7, 2016 (Diversion)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher or author in exchange for an honest review 

Reviewed by: Margaret

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Does anyone else miss Lost Girl? Yasmine Galenorn may have just the thing to fill that void. Souljacker features a succubus, Lily O’Connell, living in the human world with a diverse entourage that includes a witch, a ghost, a demon, a human tech geek, and a cat that’s not. She has ties to the Winter Court because of her mother but doesn’t spend much time with other Fae, though it looks like that may change as the series progresses.

Lily owns a sex salon called Lily Bound where she fulfills the fantasies of supernaturals, mostly weres, in exchange for feeding on their chi. (She won’t feed on humans anymore because it’s likely to kill them.) When one of her clients is killed by a vampire inside her salon, which should have had impenetrable wards, the police are unable to help. Lily turns to P.I. Archer Desmond, a chaos demon, to catch the killer before Lily and her friends become victims as well.

To make matters worse, the victim, Tygur, (my biggest complaint about this book is that character’s ridiculous name) was the weretiger alpha and his mate blames Lily for his death. Now the entire pack is out to get her along with a murderous vampire.

Souljacker is set in the near future, though exactly how near is unclear—cars and phones seem to be the same as they are today, but characters reference a few recent events as though they were many years past. In the intervening time, weres and the Fae have come out to the public and are more or less accepted by the human population. Vampires revealed themselves several years later and because of their violent natures, are not yet part of the mainstream. The vampires’ portrayal as mobsters led by the Deadfather is perhaps a bit cliché, but I thought it worked.

I also liked Lily’s relationship with Archer, which might be described as colleagues with benefits. She has to feed from him the second time they meet, which could have led to an insta-love situation, but thankfully didn’t. And I feel bad for Nate, the best friend who has no shot at being a love interest because he’s human. I really enjoyed Lily’s motley crew and the history that already existed between them. I’m excited to see what’s next for this supporting cast.

This is only my third book of Galenorn’s but for those familiar with her work, it has a similar feel to Flight from Death, although I like Souljacker much better despite its complete lack of dragons. I’m curious about how Lily’s relationship with the Winter Queen will develop, as well as the relationship with Archer. I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Sexual content: sex