• Influential Magic

  • Crescent City Fae, Book 1
  • By: Deanna Chase
  • Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (447 ratings)

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Influential Magic  By  cover art

Influential Magic

By: Deanna Chase
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
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Publisher's summary

It's tough being a faery in New Orleans, a city fraught with vampires...especially when their very existence drains your life force.

Willow Rhoswen, owner of The Fated Cupcake and part-time vampire hunter for the Void is having a rough week. Four years after her twin brother's mysterious death, Willow's life is threatened and the director saddles her with a new partner - her ex-boyfriend, David. To her horror, he's turned vamp, which causes her physical pain whenever she touches him...and any other specimen of the undead.

In order to save Willow's life, David agrees to turn double agent against the most powerful vampire organization in New Orleans. Or so he says. And she's convinced they know something about her brother's death. Unsure where David's loyalties lie, she turns to Talisen, her childhood crush, to help her solve the mystery.

Caught between two gorgeous men and a director who'll stop at nothing to control Willow's gifts, she'll have to follow her instincts and learn who to trust. Otherwise, she risks losing more than just her life.

©2013 Deanna Chase (P)2013 Deanna Chase

What listeners say about Influential Magic

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A potential new favorite on my UF shelf

I first came across Deanna Chase in 2012 with her book Haunted on Bourbon Street. The book, featuring Jade Calhoun, was set in New Orleans and features Jade, an empath, and a creative and interesting group of friends, including a couple of strip club owners, a coven, and couple of ghosts with very different agendas. Since then, I happily enjoyed both Witches of Bourbon Street and Demons of Bourbon Street. There are still two more (that I know of) in the series that I have already purchased and are sitting in my TBR pile waiting for their turn. And I am very much looking forward to them.

Influential Magic is also set in New Orleans, and is the first in a series subtitled Crescent City Fae. This new series stars Willow Rhoswen, owner of The Fated Cupcake and part-time vampire hunter for the Void. Oh, and she is also a faery – complete with wings and flight capabilities. Well, when she isn’t around vampires, whose walking death drains her earth magic, and thus her life force. A very uncomfortable position to be in when your evil faery auntie, who is also the Director of the Void policing agency partners you with a vampire in order to investigate dastardly deeds by the local vampire corporation. Especially when that vampire happens to be your ‘used-to-be-human’ boyfriend. A boyfriend, who suddenly dumped you with a quick text message (jerk!), then turns up later turned – literally.

What happens to Willow in this volume of the Crescent City series is a neat bit of creative urban fantasy, but it also carries an undercurrent of politics and xenophobia which reflects what is happening in this world, this reality, even now. I am, admittedly, not a ‘vampire groupie’ as so many are these days. Been there, done that, would really like for that whole ‘cold, dead, walking corpses’ to be over already. I mean, come on – have you ever felt a real corpse? Gross. I couldn’t imagine kissing cold, dead lips, much less getting down and dirty with other parts! However, in Chase’s alternate universe, her vampires are, though still cold and walking dead, much more ‘real’ people than others in the genre, with lives and families whom they love – even if they are still overwhelmingly entitled, making them both vicious and brutally efficient killers when crossed.

Overall, I really liked Willow. She takes a lot of damage, both physically and emotionally in this first book, and overall she handles it well. I did find her rather naïve at times, railing against those who would take care of issues in a vigilante fashion, while openly acknowledging that the governmental agencies are deeply corrupt. At the same time, I honestly admired her for understanding the siren song of power and how it can so easily corrupt.

The fantasy storyline is creative, well written, and believable as an alternative reality of a world which evolved under magical conditions, while still aligning closely with our own. There is a bit of a triangle aspect, between Willow and David, the vamp ex boyfriend and Talisen, her childhood friend and mentor who is another faery. The triangle seems to correct itself at the end, and I honestly hope that the concept doesn’t carry on through the other books, as I find those sorts of story lines to be crutches for poor story development. However, the Shih Tzu that turns into a wolf? Awesome! And I hope that Willow will be spending more time in her bakery, creating magically infused cupcakes, and more time with her best friend, Phoebe, a witch. There were a lot of ends left free, leaving room for a great deal of really good story development as we learn more about Willow, her skills, and her family and friends. And having listened to the Audible Edition, narrated by Gabra Zackman, one of my favorite narrators of all time, there was a whole other level of enjoyment that I was able to gain from the book. And right now, Influential Magic is only $1.99 for the Audible Edition! What's not to like? Especially when it is also text-to-speech enabled for the Kindle edition. I prefer the Audible editions, as I can download them onto my Zune and pop it into my pocket while I am doing other things, but having it in both editions means I can read it any way I wish. Cool...

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wishy Washy Heroine that Grew on Me

This is a hard review to write. How can I put it in words without spoiling anything? I loved the story. But at times, the heroine, Willow, would drive me crazy! I wanted to smack her. Why she worried about the bad guys being tortured to get info from them was beyond me after all she went through. And she treated Talisen (hope I spelled that correctly) and David so bad most of the time. Almost seemed selfish a few times. But if I had been through what she had, I would too. I got frustrated because it would take forever to get things explained. But that's what made it keep you hanging. I didn't mean that as in it was drug out. Not at all. There were some twists at the end I never saw coming. I had to stop for a moment and just think about it, I was so stunned. I was also torn between David and Talisen for most of the book. I saw good in David even though he had been bad. Ooh I'm dying to tell about stuff. This world building and story line is so amazing! It's really strong and packed with stuff. I had the ebook and the audio so I would listen at times and read other times. The narrator really brings it to life even more. She does voices so well you think it's actually someone else speaking. I forgot I was listening to just one person. It was like listening to a tv show. I was so absorbed. I think this might be my favorite series of Deanna's now. I highly recommend it.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exciting New Series

Would you try another book from Deanna Chase and/or Gabra Zackman?

Yes I love this story and I have been enjoy Deanna Chase books for a while but I have to say I am excited to see were this series goes. I liked the story and also the people in this book. I was worried it would be closer to the other series but Deanna did it again and surprised me and I happy to say this is a great book and can't wait for the next one.

Any additional comments?

I so look forward to the next book I hope we don't have to wait to long.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Character descisions make no sense

What would have made Influential Magic better?

Writing characters that are believable. If I was doing magical research and someone hired me because of that, why would I also need a job at finding vampires? If my life was being threatened I would head for a safe house, not run out on a mission to figure out who was using my magical donuts to do evil. If an ex shows up and someone partners me up with them, I am going to need something other then "they are a double agent" to convince me it's ok. If i hate vampires and they slowly drain my life force, I am not going to risk my life just because i am told to without a back story of why I must. If a master vampire calls my body guard son, i think i would figure out thats the guys maker. I think it's also not believable that I would accept a "we will talk about it latter" response and drop it never to be mentioned again untill the great reveal. If someone almost killed my dog I would not instantly forgive them. If someone I did not trust was helping me find info I would ask basic questions like where are we going and why. If someone tries to attack me and starts to reveal some kind of secret but gets cut off for whatever reason, I would notice. The writer forces the story line foward using flawed character logic.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

In the first few chapters the narrator was having a hard time transitioning from female character to the monotone used to give information. It's ok now and then but it should never happen in the begining while a listener is getting to know characters. Audio samples tend to come from this part of the book so it's vitally important to get it right.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

You Get What You Pay For.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not at all. To me it was all over the place. I couldn't get the characters straight while listening. Everyone sounded pretty much the same to me.

What was most disappointing about Deanna Chase’s story?

I liked her other books but the main character in this story just annoys me to death. She is whiny and comes to too many WRONG conclusions about situations. I gritted my teeth during the first hour and I had to stop.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The voices she did were horrible. It was very annoying. Half the time I couldn't distiguish what character she was. She was very boring, slow, and monitone.

Any additional comments?

I got this book when it was on sale for 1.99. To me it was way to much for it. Dont waste your time buying this book.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, but painful characters

I found the world building to be interesting and the story line to be decent. However, the main character is painfully weak and irritating. I wish that she was less whimpering and unaware of the world. The other characters are a little better, but for the most part they're too shallow and rely too much on character stereotypes.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Too irritating

What would have made Influential Magic better?

Make the main character stop and think before jumping to so many wrong conclusions. She also used poor judgement and didn't seem to have any sense at all. She just wasn't a very likeable character to me.

Has Influential Magic turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Great New Series!

If you could sum up Influential Magic in three words, what would they be?

Fae - Vampires - Action

Any additional comments?

I'm a fan of Deanna Chase's Jade Calhoun series, so I was anxious for her new series to come out. Fae, vampires, witches and a shih tzu that phases into a wolf . . . what more could you want? Throw in murder plots, double agents, twists and turns, a love triangle, and magically enhanced cupcakes and you've got yourself quite the ride. This isn't a paranormal romance though. The love triangle is in the background, which is exactly where it should be for this action-packed adventure. I could totally see this as a tv series, and I can't wait for the second book!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved It!!

Gabra Zackerman's narration was spot on. Willow came to life in this audiobook. I highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Weak Pathetic Victim – Dramatic Monologue?

The ‘heroine’ who is telling the story is fey. She has friends who are witches, vampires, and other such creatures. She is weak, bruises easily, and is constantly worrying about what her friends think about her and whether or not they are really friends.
I know people like this (not fey) but whiny, weak, pitiful, woebegone, sad sacks. I don’t like being around them.

Halfway through this book (after thinking it would surely improve) I threw in the towel . No sense making myself uncomfortable for pleasure!

There is little action and seemingly no plot.

I was disappointed because I am familiar with this author and have enjoyed some of her other work. That is the reason I bought the book.

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