The way some people binge on tv shows, I binge on book series, which constantly has me muttering that famous line: so many books, so little time.

Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires is a series that I happily binged on until I caught up (and then realized that’s she’s written more since I last caught up-ha!). Now she has the new Devil’s Isle series, which if the first book, The Veil, is anything to go on, is going to be fantastic.

The Veil takes place in New Orleans and refers to a type of portal that’s opened between worlds letting paranormals, those with powerful magic, slip in. A war was waged and the humans “won,” but barely. Now magic is off-limits and anyone seen using it is taken to Devil’s Isle, a prison for paranormals and sensitives.

Protagonist Claire Connolly is a Sensitive, a human capable of performing magic. This has dangerous implications not only because if she’s caught she could be taken away, but humans using magic can become wraiths, which is like a pained, skeletal version of themselves. They absorb magic, become crazed, and will do anything to get more, even if it means killing. So, Claire has a secret that she keeps even from her best friends.

On War Night, a celebration on the anniversary of the end of the war, Claire sees a tall, dark, and handsome (TDH) man in the crowd. He captures her imagination. On her way home, Claire encounters two wraiths attacking a young woman. Since she can’t leave the woman to fend for herself, Claire takes on the fight and uses magic. The TDH, Liam Quinn, sees Claire using magic.

Liam Quinn is a bounty hunter who captures wraiths, but he also has connections that could help Claire learn how to use her magic properly.

While Claire is learning to harness her magic, forces in New Orleans are trying to create upheaval. And because it’s what they’ve been doing for years, albeit separately, Claire and Liam work to save New Orleans (and maybe the world?) again.

Neill’s writing captured me right away and this almost became one of those “need to stay up all night books” except that with amount I had left, it would have been a “never go to sleep book” and that wasn’t happening.

Claire is a kickass heroine, but not kickass and recklessly stupid. She’s smart and rational with a good sense of humor. Likewise, Liam is also likable, with just the right amount of hero and normal guy blend. Together with the other characters, all very well-written, The Veil is pretty much as character-driven as it is plot-driven. The world-building is good as well.

I am very extremely happy to see a new supernatural series not revolving around vampires and/or werewolves. Because the writing was so fresh, the characters well-written and enjoyable, the plot not so predictable, and the pace good, I highly recommend this book if you enjoy fantasy/paranormal.

The Veil was published on August 4, 2015.

From Amazon: The Veil: A Devil’s Isle Novel

rating:  (5 out of 5 butterflies)