Three Days to Dead: Dreg City Series, Book 1

Just when I think I can’t be surprised anymore with an original plot in the world of urban fantasy- here comes Kelly Meding, and shows me my lack of imagination with her first novel in the Dreg City series.
With the clock ticking, we get taken along Evy’s side, a kick ass, strong, smart mouth heroine; a paranormal bounty –hunter whose job is to control and kill her city's supernatural bad creatures; shifters, vampires, gargoyles, fae, trolls, goblins- just to mention a few. But this is not an easy ride, this world is dark, mean, creepy, deadly, brutal and unpredictable; the magic is not pretty, and it’s everywhere, the supernatural politics draw an unclear line between the good guys and the bad ones.
Evy’s inner voice and narration force you to experience this world with all its anguish, creepiness, violence (yes, very strong violent scenes) and fear, but one most definitely worth the time.
Xe Sands approached this book with the perfect arsenal of emotions, and justifiably so, this book absolutely demanded it. Evy’s POV of this incredibly dark, dangerous and creepy world was brilliantly fleshed out with all its emotional depth and intricacy, this combined with the impressive array of voices for all the unsavory creatures, delivered an engrossing listening experience,and one that never felt forced or over the top.
By bringing Evy’s personality to life with the perfect balance of toughness and vulnerability, Ms. Sands conveyed a very likable and sympathetic character, and one that you can’t help but to root for.
Xe sands ability to perform credible male voices is ever present with her portrayal of Wyatt communicating his personality clearly.
Ultimately, I absolutely enjoyed this audiobook, so much so, that I’m half way done with the following installment “As Lie the Dead”.

I really liked this book because it wasn't predictable. The main character has a unique "condition" and the story moves quickly. It was a little darker than most of the books i listen to, there were times i wasn't sure i liked that. i decided i did because it added to the suspense, you don't know who is going to "make it out alive" and it isn't "all worked out fine" in the end. i think you should give this story a chance. if you like the early Anita Blake books you may enjoy this for it's "darker edge". The narrator was difficult to get used to at first, but i did. not the best not the worst, just...different, not the voice i would have imagined for this character... especially in the beginning when i thought she shouldv'e sounded more "freaked out" by her situation and surroundings. instead it was just...hmmm i'm in a morgue... try it out it is worth it.

There were several times during the audiobook where I wanted to say - yes, yes, I know. Much of the text felt redundant. I almost didn't finish. But it was ok. The narrator's voice is a little odd, took some getting used to. Liked the use of lots of different kinds of fantasy creatures in the storyline.

I've read several books and authors in this genre and Kelly Meding fits right in. This was an interesting story and Xe Sands did a very good job on the narration.

Even though the reviews nearly scared me off from this book, it turned out I quite liked it. If one were to put the tons of urban fantasy books written by women into a pile organized by quality of writing and orginality, this would be in the top 3/4 of the pile. Probably not the first book I'd pick up (Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, or Moning's Fever series are more suspenseful) but certainly it is better written and more original than many.

The romance wasn't really much of a romance though - and there is no sex during the book (I think there is a flashback to it, but not much in the way of details). Actually, this is probably the weakest part of the book - I think Meding was going for "angst" (i.e. should Evy love the man she had forgotten she loved, or the man the body she was possessing loved, or neither of them?) but it felt like this whole thread was sorta dropped, and ended up with the easy solution.

I did find the concept of solving your own murder quite original and even suspenseful. There are the usual supernaturals in the book, and they aren't elaborated on much, but they aren't really that important to the story anyway. Well, the bad guy is important, but the fact that he was a supernatural was actually not important to the story since he could have been any "bad-boy character" and still been there to cause havoc. We just get a hint at Evy's new-found powers, but they were interesting and I suspect they'll grow in future books.

The story is wrapped up in the end (no cliff-hanger) but I ended up buying the other books in the series... I'm curious as to what Evy does with her new life. The narration was good - I never had any issues following who was talking.

It was an ok story but I had trouble connecting with the characters. I though the narration a tad flat but then if that's the way it's written....I liked the world and some of the characters so I'll probably try another but I don't hold out a lot of hope.

I read to chapter 8 and couldnt finish it. This book was totally boring and narrator read to slow for me.

not what i was expecting but was really surprised at the story line....i like the characters and really look forward to books 2 and 3...hope there are more to come..

I bought this book because Xe Sands was narrating. It is not my usual style of reading and when I skimmed the paperback I was nervous. But I was not disappointed, the narration brought Evy and Wyatt alive along with everything else, I enjoyed listening very much.

I found this to be a very interesting book, and very enjoyable to listen to.