Have You Read This One?

Another random number pick from my to be read shelf on Goodreads to find my next read. I got number 192 and at the time of the picking that was Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews. I have read the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews, maybe two years ago. I enjoyed the first three (and a half) books a lot in that series. Let us see what this series as to offer!

Clean Sweep – Ilona Andrews
Original title: Clean Sweep (2013)
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #1
Format: Audiobook (graphic audio)
Narrators: Nora Achrati, Ryan H. Reid, Alex Hill-Knight, Karen Novack and more
Length: 6 h 2 min

Synopsis from Goodreads
On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is…different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, “normal” is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night….Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

Initial thoughts (4% in): I found a graphic audio version of this book and I am considering wanting to read this with my eyes instead. I might need to look up if the price is not too ridiculous. I feel like I could really enjoy this but I do not know if I will get the voices mixed up, I do not think they tell us who is speaking unless they also do something while speaking? I get some Mercy Thompson vibes of the book. I admit that I have not actually read the synopsis yet so it could go in another direction but it feels like a main character of a potential unusual race being a “fixer” in the neighbourhood? Promising start and I really want to continue!

17% in: I did continue because the book was either quie expensive or would take lite two weeks to get here. And I am feeling good about that decision. I still enjoy listening but it does not have the “wow” factor anymore that I initially got. Maybe it is the way the main character talks with herself in her head, or how the narrator reads it, it is something that do not completely scratch my book itch.

38% in: I was not expecting the different planets elements but I think this was also some of the supernatural explanations in the Hidden Legacy series?

53% in: The graphic audio format works in some ways and is a bit uncomfortable in others. When it is clear who is speaking, I enjoy the different voices. Sometimes when someone speaks far away, it is tricky to hear when they get such low volume (not always easy to hear while driving). And, the sound of flesh being pierced is sometimes a little unpleasant and the metallic sound when the broom is turning sometimes hurt my ears a little.

74% in: It is growing on me. I really enjoy this magic house! I am a little curious to how this innkeeper business works. Can anyone become an innkeeper? Do you need to have magical powers to become one? Or do you get them when you are trusted to become an innkeeper?

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed listening to this book in audiobook format. The cast was not that big so the problem with who was speaking did not really occur. The idea of having a magic house intrigues me and I want to continue with the next book in the series soon. I am not sure how close in time I want to read it, though, in case it will feel too repetitive. But not too far away either so I do not forget too many things.

I still think that some of this could be compared to the Marcy Thompson series, like they are on neutral ground until they decide to do something, being of an unusual “type” and a fixer, urban fantasy. pretty badass. But otherwise they are quite different and should perhaps be more “if you enjoyed this series, you might also enjoy this one” type of comparison.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars – I really liked it.