Between Jobs (The City Between #1) by W.R. Gingell

Okay, I’m jumping on the three psychos and their pet train. In modern day Hobart, Pet (that’s the only name we’re given) lives with two fae and a vampire who came to the house where she was squatting (okay it was her house, but her parents were murdered in a gory/mysterious way and since she’s only 17 she doesn’t want to be sent to child welfare services so hides out in her own house) to investigate a murder.

During their investigation, they find out that not only can Pet see them, but she can see the Between (where fae and mundane world meet) and curiously seems unsmellable to the vampire.

Don’t even get me started on all the problematic areas in this story. Pet is underage, she’s “used” by the three psychos and accepts their commands/borderline abuse, she accepts the terrible abuse by her cafe boss, etc. etc.

Somehow Gingell gives her a bit of backbone, however, especially when she’s in Between and kicking goblins to the curb. Or choosing when to only follow the letter of the three psychos law rather than the spirit.

Story-wise, its a bit confusing. It really took me until about two thirds to understand who/what was being investigated, Gingell gives us alot of plot (and no, it isn’t at all resolved) via Pet’s meager understanding based on stuff she overhears.

But even with problematic themes and confusing plot, I’ll hang on for characters, and boy howdy did Gingell conjure up some doozies.

The three psychos. Sigh. Not only is JinYeong a Korean vampire who only speaks Korean throughout this first book, and “liquid dark eyes” is overused to describe him, but he is a beserker when fighting. Athelras is pleasing cool, removed, and there’s some foreshadowing involved in his relations to Pet I assume are going to come out sometime in future books. Zero is just…cool. Although for someone as determined not to get attached to Pet by using “it” pronoun when talking about her, Gingell has him grinning an awful lot.

So I’m hooked. By the characters. And the location in Hobart and the slang. This is pure guilty pleasure reading. Onto buy the next book.