Dead to the World

Crossroads Queen, Book 1

By: Annabel Chase

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

Lorelei Clay isn’t like other people.

She isn’t even like other supernaturals. Her specialties are the nightmares of the living, communication with the dead, and cooking bacon until it’s golden brown and perfectly crispy—no magic required.

Six months ago, she moved to the ultimate fixer upper, a monstrosity from the Gilded Age that borders the local cemetery in the sleepy Pennsylvania town of Fairhaven. Lorelei is content to spend the next few years in solitude, renovating the house and avoiding humanity, until a missing young woman disrupts her plans. Lorelei’s search for the teenager means crossing paths with the residents she’s successfully avoided so far, including the human police chief, the coven, a cursed vampire, the assassins guild, the werewolf pack, and the mysterious and infuriatingly alluring owner of The Devil’s Playground, an elegant nightclub that caters to the local supernatural clientele.

Lorelei plans to find the girl quickly and return to the privacy of her castle walls before anyone learns her secrets, but you know what they say about the best laid plans....

Dead to the World is the first book in the Crossroads Queen urban fantasy series.

©2023 Annabel Chase (P)2023 Annabel Chase

What exactly is she?

I came into this series completely blind. I didn't even read the summary.

In this first book in the series, we are introduced to Lorelei Clay. We don't really know anything about her other than the fact that she just recently moved into a small town and bought a ramshackle run-down mansion - oh, and she can see and talk to ghosts. She wanted to live somewhere where she didn't have to interact with anyone else. She had every intention of spending her days remodeling this mansion VERY slowly (because she really didn't have any carpentry skills) and minding her own business.

Unfortunately, that didn't last very long. What she didn't realize was that she had moved into a sort of supernatural mecca. Her home just happens to be at the "crossroads" of, well, of everything. She had heard of places having one crossroads before, but she did NOT realize that her town was a meeting spot for MANY, many crossroads.

What does that mean exactly? Well, that is what she is going to have to find out.

weirdly funny

I really like the characters and how the interactions feel natural instead of guided. A great book to listen to if you like supernatural beings in a modern setting just trying to live their lives.

story was good, narration

I love Vivienne as a narrator! She makes the story come alive! Just a fantastic speaker.

Interesting story

She’s kind but also fiercely guards are independence and time. She keeps her word and also does her own thing, regardless. She just wanted to fit in, when she realized she couldn’t, she removed herself from the equation. Like recognizes like.
Following the story of a fellow nerdy loner.

Liked the lead.

The characters were likeable and the story entertaining. I will be looking to pick up more of this series.

bought book 2

I actually found the book rather soothing. where other books have the main character discovering themselves this one has us trying to figure out the main character. a little touch of sexy but in no way a main focus of the book. performance was excellent.

A good listen

Coming off of K.F. Breene's latest book in the Midlife Magic series, this book left quite a bit to be desired. But then, most would, and my expectations are probably too high having finished that just before picking this up. Over this was a fine book. The writing, plot, and character development were all fine good but not great. The audio performance was good, but not great. It is not great, but a good listen.

I’m hooked!

This is a new author for me and what drew me to this book was the narrator, Vivienne Leheny, and genre. (I know it may sound backwards for some people, Vivienne Leheny is one of my favorite narrators) and I thought what the heck it was only one credit. I was not disappointed at all and immediately got book 2. It has a great storyline with interesting characters. I can’t wait to see how this series unfolds. I hope there are many more books to come.

Really enjoyable looking forward to the next book

I enjoyed that the MC is a straight shooter, doesn’t fall into the ‘misunderstanding’ trope. Keeps the mystery going.

Awesome start for a new series!

So just what kind of monster are you? You get hints and suggestions and you have all kinds of creatures joining the party! Great fun!