Broken Soul

Eighth in the Jane Yellowrock paranormal fantasy series and revolving around a Cherokee skinwalker-cum-vampire-bounty-hunter in New Orleans.

If you’re interested, there is a chronological listing of the Jane Yellowrock books on my website.

My Take
It’s strategy, battle, and lots of plotting by too many factions in Broken Soul. When Jane gets to thinking about all the possibilities why this is erupting, who’s behind it, and how to deal with security problems that continually pop up, too many of which are from feuds and issues centuries ago! my brain starts to hurt.

It’s all first person dual protagonist point-of-view from Jane’s and Beast’s perspective, both of whom have their issues. The guilt she carries from when she was five, her hatred for vampires even though she works for them, the conflict of suddenly having family, friends. Although, Jane is starting to tick me off. All this guilt she pulls down onto herself! She’s going overboard on this.

Awww, Janie’s overwhelmed when she’s given flowers. For the first time in her life. Bruiser gives Janie some nice gifts, including that Mughal Empire blade. His romancing is so very sweet, taking into consideration who Jane is, what she would like. It’s sweet enough that Jane confesses her secrets to him.

Leo has the very bad habit of keeping too many secrets as part of his long-term planning. He is also way too influenced by his “privileges” from the days when he was first turned. Right of kings?? I don’t think so…

Poor Derek. He’s having a hard time coming to terms with what Leo wants from him. And Jane’s answer doesn’t exactly reassure him. I gotta say she is honest about it, lol.

Hunter has a fascinating backstory on how vampires evolved. Ick. Hunter makes an excellent point about how the Catholic Church claimed the Jews were Christ-killers, but that it was the Romans who actually killed Jesus. Well, the Church does so like an excuse to take people’s properties. Oh, man, there’s the story of Noah and the Flood in here! Fascinating! She also provides a history of how the vampires spread out into Europe. We also got a quick peek in at some of the amazing people Bruiser has met in his past. I love how Jane phrases it, that Bruiser has lived. Beast has an interesting reveal about having encountered light beings in her past.

Hunter also provides a backstory for the origin of werewolves…and why we also have other shifters. I definitely understand Jane’s sort of envy when she finds out what arcenciels can do and what riding them provides the rider. The very idea of no pain after stopping time…whew…nice…

Jane’s troubles keep mounting up, as she gets her half-form and discovers that her DNA is no longer a double strand but a triple. And we learn that Beast has been keeping secrets from Jane. Hmmm… I do enjoy those conversations Beast and Jane have *grin*.

Oh, boy, this one would be a challenge for profilers. Ya just can’t trust what we think we know. Then there’s Soul’s, um, lack of perception. How the heck is Jane supposed to know the baby arcenciel is trying to communicate with her. Sure looks like attacks to me! And Soul provides Jane with a threat and us with back history on the arcenciels.

I’ll tell ya, there is so much power and action in this…whoaaa. It is fascinating how Hunter manages to make actions that are so impossible to counter and yet she does. And Wrassler…ah, geez…

Phew, who knew Katie could be so fair about who is really at fault in starting this whole crisis!

Ah well, just remember that “everything’s better with bacon.”

The Story
The European Vampires are pushing for a visit, and evidence suggests that they are desperate for a new refuge, intending to take over America. Starting with Leo Pellisier and his territory.

It doesn’t help Jane’s sanity that the elevator at Vamp Central is acting up.

The Characters
Yellowrock Securities is…
Jane Yellowrock’s company…along with her Younger partners: Eli, a former Army Ranger, and his brother, Alex, “the Kid”. Jane is a Cherokee skinwalker sharing her body with another soul, Beast. She’s also Leo’s part-time Enforcer and a Cherokee War Woman, responsible for restitution and revenge after battle. Bitsa is Jane’s beloved motorcycle, still being repaired. The Gray Between is an alternate plane that Jane enters when she shifts, one where time stops.

George “Bruiser” Dumas is now an Onorio and Leo’s former primo and still with all his prominence in the city. With his very own apartment at the Saint Phillip.

Angie Baby is Molly Everhart Trueblood and Evan Trueblood’s too-powerful witch daughter and Jane’s godchild. Evan is a witch who’s still in the closet. Aggie One Feather is a Cherokee Elder counseling Jane. Uni lisi is a term of respect for Aggie’s scary mother.

New Orleans
The five-hundred-year-old Leo Pellisier is the Master of the City (MOC) of New Orleans. Amaury Pellisier had been Leo’s uncle and the previous MOC. The fifteen-year-old-appearing Grgoire is his best friend, his secondo heir, the blood-master of Clan Arceneau, and of the Valois line. Girrard “Gee” DiMercy is his Mercy Blade, an Anz, who helps vampires maintain stability or delivers mercy. Adelaide “Del” Mooney, a human lawyer, is Leo’s new primo. Ernestine “Raisin” is the in-house CPA. Edmund Hartley lost his clan and now works for Leo; he’s a good healer. Amy Lynn Brown is one of Shaddock’s (in Asheville) who is famous for her coming out of the devoveo way early as well as able to bring other scions through their devoveos early. Mario Esposito is a vampire who thinks he’s way prettier and suave than he actually is.

Wrassler, because he can make a WWE fighter look puny. Quesnel is the sommelier.

Derek Lee, a former Marine, is Leo’s Enforcer-in-training and doesn’t like Jane. His men include Mannie Dubose, Angel Tit, a former marine and their IT security specialist as well as Team Tequila which includes T. Jolly Green Giant, T. Blue Voodoo, T. Antifreeze, T. Red Dragon, T. Trash Can, and T. Acapulco. The Vodka boys include V. Sunrise and V. Hi-Fi.

Joses, son of Judas (Yo-sace, Bar-Ioudas), is one of the Sons of Darkness.

Katie’s Ladies is…
…the oldest continuously operating whorehouse owned by Katie, the vampire who originally hired Jane and has since handed over to the deed to what is now Jane’s house. Tom, a.k.a. Troll, is her primo and a some-greats uncle to Rick. Deon is Katie’s three-star Jamaican gay chef. The ladies include dominatrix Christie, Ipsita, and Tia who is interested in Alex.

Clan Arceneau includes Brian and Brandon Robere, who are Grgoire’s Onorios, two of three in the entire US. Adrianna is Grgoire’s heir. Jane keeps killing her and Leo keeps bringing her back.

Clan Laurent is led by Bettina. Bethany Salazar y Medina is crazy insane, and she and Sabina are outclan, priestesses of the Vampires.

Law Enforcement
PsyLED is…
…the Psychometry Law Enforcement Division under the umbrella of Homeland Security. Soul, l’arcenciel, is in charge in this area. Special Agent Rick “Ricky-bo” LaFleur is a former NOLA detective and now a wereleopard. Paka is his new were-panther girlfriend. Brute, formerly “Fire Truck”, is a human trapped in his white werewolf form.

Special Agent Stanley is the officer-in-charge with ATF. Sarge Walker is Rick’s cousin, a pilot.

NOPD
Detective Jodi Richoux is the head of the woo-woo department, a promotion meant to hinder her. But her friendship with Jane and what she learns from her turns it into a positive. Officer Swelling is about twenty-five. Officer Everett Semer had been heading toward retirement. Deputy Antonelli investigates a crime out at Aggie One Feather’s.

European Vampires (EVs)
Their highest ranking members were Semitic, arising from the first three, the father of Mithrans, Judas Iscariot and his two sons, the Sons of Darkness (SOD). Franis Le Btard, an illegitimate son of Franois d’Angoulme, is Grgoire’s sire, a brutal pedophile who is a third-generation Mithran.

Batildis and Peregrinus are Grsgoire’s Mithran sister and brother, sired by Le Btard. With The Devil, their primo and an undefeated swordswoman, they make a fearsome threesome, Satan’s Three.

La Destreza, a.k.a. the Spanish Circle, is a particular type of duel. One where cheating is quite acceptable. The Vampira Carta is the legal code for all Mithrans, a.k.a. vampires. Lolandes was a very powerful witch of her time, said to have created werewolves. Paul Reaver has a good credit card and Florence works for him.

Reach is an “entrepreneur” who can hack anything and knows everything. And he’s gone traitor. A lillilend, or lillend, is a mythical shape-changing creature of light used in gaming. Sylvia Turpin, the sheriff of Natchez is dating Eli ( Blood Trade , 6). Margery Thibodaux had been one of Jane’s neighbors and was worth millions. Les arcenciels are living, breathing, dream-inducing, drug-pushing, see-through rainbow dragons from another plane of existence. The People of the Straight Ways were also called the Builders, of whom Noah was one. The Angel Hayyel was called by the Everharts and Truebloods in Raven Cursed , 4, and gave Jane and Beast info on how to come to terms with their two souls. U’tlun’ta is a liver eater, a skinwalker gone bad.

The Cover and Title
The cover has a black background with blue swirls of energy twisting around a leaping Jane, her braid whipping in the wind, clad in her black leathers with a weapons belt over one shoulder, and holding two short swords. The author’s name is at the top in a light blue, the same color as the stylized border of bats along the left edge. An info blurb is immediately beneath it in white with the title, also in white using a distressed font, on an angle above Jane’s head with the series info, in white, beneath it and right justified. There’s an epigraph in white to the right of Jane’s knee. At the very bottom, in white, is a testimonial.

The title is all about the PsyLED agent, the Broken Soul who fears for a young arcencieland the conflict between Beast and Jane.

And I’m in a book funk again.

For me, that’s the mark of a truly great series—every time you venture forth into its world, ready for a new adventure with well-loved characters, the inevitable end hangs like a cloud . . .

You start the book like it’s water and you’re dying of thirst, but the further along you get, you begin to feel taunted . . . by the growing percentage of completion, or the diminishing number of pages . . . and then it’s over . . . until next time.

*gnashes teeth*

Yeah. You know what I’m talking about.

Such is my relationship with Jane Yellowrock . . .

Early in the series, a certain magical artifact began to complicate things for Jane. Since it’s first appearance, the blood diamond has changed hands several times, but even hidden away in a safety deposit box, there’s always someone (or something) who knows about it, and wants to get their hands on it.

Dangerous someones (or somethings). Remorseless and determined someones (or somethings).

It’s a problem.

So it’s not a surprise when Jane gets a call from a much abused (sounding) Reach, warning her that a couple of vamps found him, tortured him for information about her and Leo (that he gave up), and oh, by the way, they were probably already in New Orleans, b/c all of this took place a WEEK ago, but he couldn’t call before now (b/c torture), that she assumed it (once again) had something to do with the blood diamond.

I’m not saying that it did, or it didn’t. I’m just saying it would probably be a good idea to go ahead and destroy the blasted thing, which has (supposedly) been the plan all along.

And if it can’t be destroyed, then she should take a boat into the middle of the ocean, turn herself in a bird, fly as far as she can and still make the return trip, and drop it.

Yes, I’ve given it some thought . . .

Much to my disappointment, the European Council of Mithrin vampires don’t make an appearance in this book, Hunter is saving that for Dark Heir, but never fear—there is PLENTY going on in Broken Soul to give fellow Jane fans their fix. Just b/c the Council fangheads aren’t stateside just yet, doesn’t mean there aren’t any European vamps in town, but I kind of felt like the villain in this installment took a backseat to other important plot developments. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this book felt like filler until the now thoroughly hyped-up Council vampires show up, it just didn’t feel as personal as I’m used to with the Big Bads in this series.

However, looking back, I think it was necessary—those previously mentioned developments feel mighty important to the future of Jane, and they more than made up for any perceived lack on the villain front. Without getting spoilery, some of those developments include:

Fun, new tricks with Jane and Beast
Something seriously freaky in the bowels of the vamp HQ (that I totally guessed, btw. Oh yeaaaaah).

Okay, so that’s all I can give you without spoilers.

On the character development front, Eli and Kid (aka Alex) continue to be a fun and colorful presence in Jane’s life. One of my favorite Eli quotes from the uncorrected proof is:

“You hurt her and I’ll skin you alive and feed your carcass to the wild boars in the swamps. You copy?”

Hmm . . . I wonder to whom he’s speaking . . . and whom he’s talking about . . . Could Eli be talking to the man who brought Jane flowers, and when she didn’t know what to do with them, told her gently:

“They go in a vase. On the nighstand by your bed. Or on the kitchen table. Or on the coffee table in the living room. They go where you can see them most often, and, seeing them, remember that you deserve flowers.”

I just can’t say . . . *twirls mustache*

I can and will say that it is worth the wait. (view spoiler)

Broken Soul is just the latest fantastic installment in Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series, which continues to be one of my personal favorites in Urban Fantasy. Old questions are answered, new questions are raised, and though far (FAR *crosses fingers*) from being finished, lovers-of-Jane finally, FINALLY get some satisfaction in the a-male-worthy-of-the-heroine department. For those of you who have been holding out for just this moment, your wait is over.

For those of you waiting for other reasons, tell me why, and I will disabuse you of those notions. For those of you who have somehow made it this far without even hearing about Jane, that’s no longer an excuse. You’ve got until April to get ready for the European Mithrin invasion. The clock is ticking . . . *tick tock*

Oh my gosh! This series just gets better and better! I thought Black Arts was incredible, but Broken Soul even blows that away. Wow. I just finished, and it is hard to think of what to say without giving it away…guess it is obvious I don’t do reviews for a living! 🙂

Jane is up to her neck (pun intended) yet again. Trying to get ready for a not-wanted visit from the European Mitherans, fang-heads of state in Jane’s thoughts. And in the middle of all this, with strange brown outs at HQ, and an elevator with a mind of its own, along come three old vamps and some unidentifiable creature that appears to want to take a bite out of Leo, the Master of the City and Jane’s boss.

Saying much more might give too much away, but several story lines are explained, one that changes the relationship between Beast and Jane…in a way I’ve been looking for since I read the first book.
Can a scene be bloody and a tear jerker at the same time? Well, it was for me, anyway!

This series has been awesome, and I’m thrilled that there should be a total of 15 books! This one had twists and turns…and yet more explanations that made perfect sense.

As I was reading it on my kindle, I looked down and saw that I had read 87%. I honestly sat there a moment, certainly not wanting to stop, but sad that it was almost over.
Maybe that’s all that needs to be said in a review…if the book makes you feel like that.

I’m not often taken in by fantasy romance because there’s usually far too much mummy porn for my taste but the Yellowrock books are proving to be a delight. I love the heroine and her little posse of male suitors although I reserve my full approval for Leo, who is just wonderful on so many, many levels. this is one feisty chick and she is great. Thumbs up!
There are a few of points of criticism, mind you:
1) The dwelling on weapons – dear gods, the descriptions of the various bits of arsenal are tedious. I find myself skipping those bits.
2) Repetition. Hip length hair, golden eyes, weapons… We already know what the woman looks like and how she likes to dress, for heaven’s sake.
3) I know Jane is a barbarian, but why would anyone put Cool Whip in tea – it’s poison? Or real cream, for that matter? Hell’s bells, that offends my British sensibilities no end.
But, having said that, good fun and very nicely written with a decent arc and good characterisation.

Once you’ve read one Urban Fantasy novel featuring a kick-ass female vampire hunter you’ve pretty much read them all. The early novels of Laurell K. Hamilton set the pattern and are still amongst my favourites of the genre. Now it is a very crowded field indeed so anyone who manages to stand out is to be welcomed. The Jane Yellowrock novels have the usual plot standards – the sexy powerful master vampire; musclebound werewolves; mages; and poor old outmatched humans. The character of Jane Yellowrock is different in that she is the sole surviving Indian Skinwalker, able to shapeshift into virtually any animal, although she most usually changes into her constant mental companion Beast, a huge mountain lion to which she is inextricably and magically linked. The mental dialogue between the two is a constant in all the novels as is the world seen through Beast’s eyes after she has shapeshifted. I’ve read several of the series now and the plots are again pretty standard, usually involving some kind of plot or powerplay amongst or against the vampires in the US. Yellowrock has found herself in the employ of the vampire master of New Orleans and this novel revolves around a visit to the city by representatives from Europe’s old vampire families – who may not have her boss’s best interests at heart. Author Faith Hunter manages to get more out the genre than most and that is definitely welcome.

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