Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3

By: SM Reine

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

This urban fantasy set contains the first three books of the Preternatural Affairs series: Witch Hunt, Silver Bullet, and Hotter Than Helltown.

My name's Cesar Hawke. I'm a witch working for a division of the government you've never heard about.

The world's not what everyone thinks it is - unless you think that our world's a pawn in a game of chess between Heaven and Hell, and riddled with as much magic and wonder as it is with evil.

In that case, the world is exactly what you think.

My place of employment - the Office of Preternatural Affairs - takes a modern approach to an ages-old problem. It used to be that inquisitors would burn demons and the people in league with them. Now we get warrants, perform arrests, put the suspects on trial, and send guilty parties back to the Hell from whence they came with the travel forms filled out in triplicate.

This stuff I do with the OPA, it saves lives on most days.

Most days, I said.

©2014 SM Reine (P)2014 Red Iris Books

Character Flaw

Would you try another book from SM Reine and/or Jeffrey Kafer?

I would have liked the story more with less of his personal comments.
Girls, smart remarks, really a weak character.
I made it thru the 3 books,, but that is it.

What did you like best about this story?

The story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jeffrey Kafer?

His voice is good it was the character he was playing.

Did Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3 inspire you to do anything?

Not to purchase anymore.

Any additional comments?

More story and less of the wise crack stuff.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Bad, "it was a dark and stormy night" bad

Would you try another book from SM Reine and/or Jeffrey Kafer?

No

Has Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3 turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Hi did his best but he was working with a sophomorphic piece of crap.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration! The author needs a dictionary! If you are going to use a poultice in your story you could at least look it up and find out how it is used! You don't eat a poultice. It was disappointing because I spend good money buying books and it's an investment in someone's writing career when I do. This author did not live up to his end of the bargain. Tired cliches, using words he didn't understand, using every scatological word in the English language whether they were called for or not, total lack of character development etc., etc., etc. what terrible writing!

Any additional comments?

"Praise Allah", "
"Yeah, baby it's me"
"The room spun around me"
This is the best this author could come up with?

12 of 16 people found this review helpful

book one was okay, book two lost me

Urban fantasy is probably my favorite sub-genre. I read a lot of it. This wasn't the worst UF I've read, but it wasn't great.

Book one was okay. It starts off with a clear problem and goal for the protagonist. It starts with a scenario that, while a little cliche (I'd love it if the dead body at the beginning of books could be an attractive young woman a bit less often), did a good job of catching interest and signaling what at least the first part of the story would be about.

The characters, though, never really appealed to me. They weren't so off-putting that I stopped listening, but they were always just kind of bland. And I really didn't need all the sexual commentary from the male MC's POV narration. Even though the MC is a witch, he doesn't seem to be a very good one and doesn't really do any/much magic. The biggest UF element is some talking with the dead and run-ins with "demons" (incubus, mainly). So... meh. But it kept me interested enough to finish the book.

Book two, though, was unfocused. It was never very clear what the problem was they were trying to solve or why they were the ones who had to solve it, and their team dynamic was pretty awful and unprofessional. (The boss sends them in to talk to a super-dangerous bad guy to get info without having any cover story about why they're there to talk to them, and even though he's on their earpieces, when the bad guy asks, "So who are you with again?" the boss is just silent.) As cops, I just couldn't believe this group. But the biggest problem was the lack of focus in the story. About an hour and a half in, two of them were in some tunnel fighting giant spiders and I couldn't even remember why they were there or what they were meant to be doing. (They did not go in to clear out the giant spiders.) And at that point I figured, if I was that far into the story and still couldn't figure out what the story was about and didn't particularly like any of the characters, it wasn't worth continuing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Adolescent

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If it had been written with an adult audience in mind.

What was most disappointing about SM Reine’s story?

I felt like I was reading a book written for a mid-teen audience, rather than someone with four decades of reading under their belt.

What aspect of Jeffrey Kafer’s performance would you have changed?

He did the best with what he had.

What character would you cut from Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3?

All of them.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A man I like.

The book was good and the narrator was better. I don't normally like male narrators but I really enjoyed listening to this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not a bad series, but not great either

Would you try another book from SM Reine and/or Jeffrey Kafer?

No. I've been looking for a new modern fantasy series to sink in, but I just wasn't able to connect or care enough for any of the characters in this one. The stuff in a book that would make you curious and concerned, Reine seems to ignore, as if trying to leave it up to the reader to form their own opinions, but that just makes the characters seem very surface-level only.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting was the set up of the preternatural affairs branch. I felt like he could have gone in to it more there since that seemed to provide a complex world to explore more in depth.Least interesting was the main character. He had elements briefly mentioned in his history that would make him intriguing in personality, but again, they just get brushed on and immediately forgotten. It's cute he has an allergy to magic, but other than making him sneeze, it doesn't do anything else.

What aspect of Jeffrey Kafer’s performance would you have changed?

He was good! Nothing to change with the narration.

Could you see Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Probably a TV series? Or an anime? There are a lot of these kind of supernatural dramas out there nowadays, but the whole setup of a magic-world-police force would be the challenge... building up a complex world with new rules like that while keeping an audience entertained with the characters, action, and drama.

Any additional comments?

The characters are kind of 1-sided. Everyone. Even the one girl who clearly went through some traumatic experiences inside the prison... her situation, everyone's emotional state (except the main character's misadventurous hookups) were ignored for the most part.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great series!!!

I am a huge fan of the Iron Druid Chronicles & this series of books draws you in just as they do. There is just enough sexual tension mixed in between the characters to make it interesting and flow with the story but not to draw away from the real storyline. If you are a fan of supernatural story lines, this series is one
to take a chance with!

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

A must read for urban fantasy fans

Cesar Hawke, is an investigator for the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He is a witch who comes from a family of witches. Ironically, he is allergic witch craft. That is not a problem though, he can shoot you while sneezing. His partner is Suzy Takeuchi. She is great with guns and attitude. Fritz Frieder is his rich playboy boss who can buy anything and kick ass with guns and martial arts. Isobel Stonecrow, necrocognitive, who can also talk to the dead.
The stories are paranormal mysteries which involve great fast-paced action while solving paranormal crimes featuring witches, werewolves, demons and hell. For one credit this is the BEST buy, because you get the first three books.

Cesar work begins very low key, more paper pushing, and petty crimes than field work. A new team and partner, and work that involves handling dead bodies and countless trips to Helltown. Helltown in the home town of all things paranormal. Residents clear the streets at night and normals cannot see or enter the place. Of course there is a little love interest involved, which that is not a straight forward affair

Cesar is sarcastic, funny, self-deprecating and wimpy when a dead body is involved. He is not like Dresden in the Jim Butcher series, the strong take charge, the one everyone seeks to solves paranormal issues.

This is a must read for Urban Fantasy fans.

supernatural office politics?

Didn't think I would like it as much as I did. The characters pulled you into thier story, and the narration was great. Got so much done listening to this and didnt feel the time passing. Great distraction! Thank you, it was just what I needed.

great series

Would you listen to Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3 again? Why?

I don't often re-listen to anything, but I did enjoy this book quite a lot.

Any additional comments?

Great series, glad I was able to get both the trilogy in ebook and audio so I could switch back and forth, and listen/read at need. Loved that it was packaged together, not many books come that way in audio form. Also loved the story.

Doesn't grab the imagination

I liked the ideas behind the stories but didn't like the hero; he wasn't heroic and came across as bland. I did persevere in the hope that the character would evolve but he didn't he was just as boring/bland at the end of the third book as at the beginning of the first. I won't be listening again which for me is a big tell of how much pleasure a book has given me.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Another world

Where does Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed these three books. They were the first books by SM Reine that I tried and will definitely continue.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favourite character? Who knows? I do know that I don't really trust any of them and am waiting for whoever is going to be the traitor to come forward. it is well written and keeps you guessing to the end.

What about Jeffrey Kafer’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed the narration and would definitely consider other novels read by him

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

excellent!!!

loved it! great story line and a fantastic narrator who was perfect for the part and really helped set the scene x

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Urban Fantasy meets strong masculine male

If you could sum up Preternatural Affairs, Books 1-3 in three words, what would they be?

Gripping, laugh-out-loud moments and addicting

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely has to be the main character!

What does Jeffrey Kafer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Jeffrey's voice is so masculine and he is so great in narrating. His feminine voices that he does I must say is quite good!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Didn't deliver.

I couldn't get into this book at all. I didn't even bother trying book 2 and 3. It looked intriquing but just didn't deliver at all.