To Kill a Warlock: Dulcie O'Neil, Book 1

Dulcie O'Neil is an idiot. For some reason this particular genre has a common type: stubborn, impulsive, overly emotional, with very poor judgment, and Dulcie just may be its poster child. She acts first and thinks later, ignoring both very good advice and flashing neon signs reading "Don't go in there!" The question isn't so much "how is she ever going to get out of this one," it's "how did she ever get herself into this one." And, that's just her professional side. She comes with as much emotional baggage as dysfunctional family of four. But, she is also highly principled and fiercely loyal to those she cares about. When she puts her own life on the line, it's to help and protect others.

The plots and other characters are interesting and, when Dulcie isn’t getting in her own way, there’s enough suspense to keep the reader engaged. By the third book, Great Hexpectations, it appears our little girl may be growing up. The narrator, Therese Plummer is very good and does a great job of bring all the characters to life.

All and all, I do recommend the series if you don’t mind periodically rolling your eyes and thinking, “For God’s sake, Dulcie, grow up!”

over the top

I laughed through most of it

It was a great and easy listen. Also VERY enjoyable!!

Find a better writer.

She needs to decide what genre she is writing and stick with it. It starts off hilarious then tries to be serious, then tries to be a mystery, then a romance. It never finds cohesion.

The opening scene is great. The book falls apart after that.

Disappointment. I feel like a wasted a credit on this book.

The performance is really good, given what the reader had to work with.

No spoilers in this review :)

Most notable positive aspect of the book - Funny and personable characters. Their responses were relatable, even with the added magical abilities.

Descriptive & Fun!
If I had fairy dust in today's society (cruddy apartment/driving a car/ordering fast food/policing the outlaws) I think I would respond the same way the main character does. The magical powers can be used in limited ways (you cannot use it as a holy grail solution to everything) but the different powers are sufficient to keep you from carrying lighters and pepper spray, with the added benefit of being able to always see the true object/person no matter the disguise. The narrator had a wide range of emotional voices. You could see the narrator smiling and grimacing and furrowing her brows as she acted out all of the characters. Each character had their own personality due to the vocal expression, so they were not dependant on the unique man/woman/monster voice. The author was INCREDIBLY colorful in all her descriptions. I could see each detail, and still she found wonderful fun words to make the picture complete! Example: She looked crusty, bumpy, and Booger-fied (instead of just green and slimy)

Downside:
There is so much unnecessary cussing in the book that I became squirmy and dispirited. The author was successfully being colorful without all the cusswords, so why did she sprinkle so many throughout? Most likely the author used the cusswords as an expression to make the main character appear unrefined and realistic. Honestly, I don't want to listen to a real co-worker or friend cuss like that, so having the main character do it was uncomfortable. Added negativity that just didn't belong in such a fun story…could have used fake expletives (Dang it! Shoot! Heck No! ) and the same objective would have been achieved.

Needless to say, I squirmed through the first hour or two, but the cussing was too much for me, so I put it down for a while. I realized that wasn't fair, so I continued to listen a few weeks later. I finished it, and will be checking to see if the cussing has been reduced in number 2. I would like to enjoy the series…but for the cussing…It is a shame, because the story was INCREDIBLE!

A fun story line, very entertaining story - just the type of thing I like to listen to while commuting to work or traveling in the car. Nothing so earth shattering that you cannot concentrate on driving, but interesting enough to keep you awake and engaged in the story, and wanting to get back to the story soon.

the story line and the comedy

Dulcie

I listened to the other Dulcie O'niel books. She is great to listen to because every character sounds different allowing each of them to shine.

i did laugh a few times and at the end of every book my mouth drops at the unexpected cliff hanger.

I'm a little tired of books having multiple potential love interests for the heroine. Two possible love interests is more than enough but this one has three which I think is a little overboard. Also, I hope in future books that Dulcie stops saying "holy Hades" (and variations on a theme) so much. It got to be annoying after a while.

Therese Plummer does a nice job with Dulcie's voice. The voices for the male characters aren't fantastic but they are passable.

Overall the story was enjoyable to listen too but it wasn't anything spectacular. I had been hoping to really love the story and was disappointed that I didn't. It had moments I really enjoyed but mostly I was just ambivalent about it. I already have book 2 on my kindle so I will probably give it a try and see if the series gets better. I may even buy the audiobook for it too since Therese Plummer did a nice job with it.

Great characters, a lot of fun to listen to. The narrator does a good job with the voices, keeps you in the story. Plot line will interest you to the very end. Fantastic job all around.

I literally couldn't believe my ears at the beginning of the book. Talk about grossness! Our poor heroine, Dulcie, had been turned into a big green frog kind of thing and nasty stuff was dripping everywhere. Not what I had expected, but I was amused! Okay, and repulsed a bit too.. which was probably the idea.

Another reviewer stated that this author is new, and that would explain a lot. The story is solid and entertaining, no doubt about it, but there were a few times I thought it a bit jerky - or the 'flow' just felt a bit off. Nothing I can pinpoint exactly. This is where having a book in print might make it easier to review.

The story is enjoyable with a new spin on fairies and magical law enforcement. The way she shakes fairy dust into her palm, but has a problem when her palm is injured ... well, that was a priceless imagination at work, in my opinion.

This is a story I'd recommend, despite a few parts that had too much gore in the description of a crime scene for my taste. But I'm a wuss, so that's pretty normal. I am thinking of purchasing the next book just to see where the story goes.

This is an entertaining urban fantasy with a headstrong, hardworking police officer. Dulcie polices the Netherworld with tenacity of a pit bull. Her job throws her into dangerous situations, but she is trained for those. It is the attraction to her boss, a warlock, which throws her life in disarray.
A very light enjoyable comedy for pleasure listening.