Shotgun Sorceress [Mass Market Paperback]

This is the second book in series following 'Spellbent' which I enjoyed very very much. 'Shotgun Sorceress' not so much, as I felt the storyline was not substantive enough as far as a layered plot was concerned,it just felt the characters where going round in circles & the plot as a whole did not really move forward. Don't get me wrong it was 'ok' but nothing really new.
The majority of the book is chasing down a soul sucking demon who wants to keep her food supply & hell in place, having incarcerated a small town. Our butt kicking protagonist finds out more about her family & history. Her spidery familiar brings entertainment and I loved his calm machinisations & who I think is one of the best characters.
Personally would of liked to have seen Jessies relationship with 'Blue' developed & her problems with the guardian spirits explored, also it annoyingly ends on a cliffhanger theres not really any closure & the ending anticlimatic. Wish I could be more positive as I really enjoyed the debut.

I am bitterly disappointed with this book. I adored the first in this series, and actually read it twice because I thought it was so original and fun. I had been waiting for the second installment with excitement, and when it was finally released I snapped it up.

But oh, what a nasty shock. The writing itself is good quality, in terms of the way the author uses language and her descriptive capabilities. But frankly, this book is not even a book. It's a hodgepodge of disjointed scenes, squished side by side and bound together. There is no flow, no cohesion. Basically, this 'collection of scenes' looks like a writer's idea scrapbook, and the entire novel itself feels directionless and in dire need of heavy editing and a complete rewrite.

There are also scenes seemingly pasted between other scenes, where they don't belong and are irrelevant. One especially distracting example is when Jessie launches into a 3 page story about her preteen sexual conquests, out of nowhere, and in great detail. I was left cringing, literally thinking to myself "TMI, Lucy Snyder, TMI!!" Yes, i understand these types of books have sex in them. I am even a fan of actual erotica. But even for me, reading graphic descriptions of tween sex is beyond the pale and totally disgusting.

A lot of the book has random raunchy sexual references, which I can tell are meant to come off as an irreverent part of Jessie's narrating style, but which instead make the reader feel like they're at a school lunch table with a bunch of guffawing, pimply teen boys. The references are not erotic, and not even indicative of adult sexuality. They are just disgusting and adolescent. I won't mention any here because I have no doubt they would get my review taken down.

Halfway through the book, I groaned and just put it away for a few days. I only finished it out of a sense of obligation. I am so let down, because I truly wanted to know what lay in store for Jessie and Cooper. The overall feeling I got from the book is that the author is trying too hard. It's almost like she wants to be Diablo Cody (the screenwriter who did "Juno"), attempting to be ultramodern and witty. But she doesn't pull it off.

I have to stongly advise against purchasing this book. I am not sure if I will bother with the next book when it comes out... I certainly couldn't stomach re-reading this installment to refresh my memory when the time comes. A sad end to my journey with Jessie and Cooper.

Set a few days after the events that took place in book 1 "Spellbent", Jessie is dealing with the repercussions of entering Hell to rescue her boyfriend Cooper. She's also still adapting to her disabilities; a lost eyeball (although the magical replacement does prove somewhat useful) and a fiery cursed arm (which is certainly better than no arm at all disregarding its tendency to drip flammable acid). Yet despite the injuries she sustained in "Spellbent" Jessie did something that was thought impossible, and as a result she finds she is knee deep in trouble and trying to keep herself, her lover and her friends alive.

"Spellbent" was an action packed exciting read and "Shotgun Sorceress" is the same. Battling not one but two demonic enemies, Jessie definitely has her work cut out, but luckily she has help from familiar faces; Cooper, his brother the Warlock and her familiar Pal (although he now has a new appearance). Jessie again proves a resourceful, feisty young woman but in this book she did things or made some decisions that left me wanting to bang my head against a wall. These incidents aside, "Shotgun Sorceress" is an exciting, wild adventure with plenty of magic and gore that should come with a warning to the squeamish. The body count in this book is high and there are certainly some rather grizzly deaths, but there is no real emotional impact as the vast majority of those killed are soulless "meat puppets". There is never a dull moment around Jessie and with her family making themselves known to her, it looks like she'll have plenty more adventures in book 3 "Switchblade Goddess" due for publication next year.