The Wicked City (Siren Song #1)

Whatever June Coffin says, goes—literally. And it’s not just because she’s a chain smoking rebel. As a Siren, June has the ability to force people to obey any command she voices. But in a world where those with supernatural powers quickly become lab rats for science, she’d rather look out for herself than fight on the front lines…until her similarly gifted twin brother, Jason, is captured by Chicago’s Institute of Supernatural Research.
To save Jason, June has no choice but to enter a hidden world of conspiracy, murder—and strange bedfellows—including a widowed paranormal advocate whose memory June accidentally erased, and a fiery paranormal separatist leader. Soon the lines between attraction and strategic alliance become blurred. But in a city exploding with paranormal crossfire, and her brother’s life at stake, June will have to face her inner demons and finally take a stand.
~ Goodreads

Amazon

Fluttering Thoughts:

Worldbuilding: For a UF, the Siren Song series has a pretty low key fantasy element. In fact, it tends to “translate” the fantasy into a Sci-Fi-ish note in a way (telepathy, telekinesis, aural captivator, so on). I was hoping for a really fantasy-flavored read when I got the book, that’s true, but I found the approach interesting and more on the unconventional side. You guys know I like the unconventional side, lol.
Characters: June, the MC, is the kind of character you’ll either hate or love, I think. I’m not sure there’s a middle ground here. I for one loved her. She had a lot of attitude, and I’m a huge fan of tats&attitude in a chick. She liked what she liked, and the world be screwed. Kudos to her for that. At times she came off as petulant maybe, but a lot of that came from her sort of quirky sense of humor, and I found it fun and not annoying. She’s a very flawed and unapologetic female MC and I seriously love that 🙂 What I didn’t much like was how little she seemed to personally drive the plot. More on that below, lol. I would have liked June to be the triggering factor more.
The rest of the cast was fun, but I can’t say any of them won my heart. Okay, except Dipity, lol. I loved the cat. Micha was the kind of understated mancandy I don’t much fall for. The June/Micha tangent was hot, there was some nice chemistry there, but I can’t say I was “sold” on it all the way. There’s room to grow there, lol. Sam was intriguing and I wanna find out more about him, and I liked Muse.
Plot: The story was more suspense I guess than actual action. Since I’m not a hardcore fan of agitated action, I didn’t mind that. If you’re more of an action fan, it might feel kind of slow to you. A lot of the action was more group-driven than MC-driven, and pretty low key for a UF.
Writing: Third person, past tense narrative from June’s POV. Since she’s quite snarky and fun, it made the style a very likable choice for me. It’s a very visual style, descriptive enough to paint the pictures in your head.
Curb Appeal: Awesome cover, hooking blurb – it does suggest “unconventional”, which it is.

All in all, I found The Wicked City interesting and I think I’d love to read the next installments in the series. It’s fun, quick reading, reasonably fast paced, liked the humor (always a big plus for me!) and a lot of potential. I’m curious to see where the series will go in time.
I recommend it if you’re into quirky characters, not that agitated action and newish but not overly done perspectives on the paranormal world.

• Author
• Recent Posts

The_Butterfly_Livia

Book lover, customizations OCD-er and list-lover extraordinaire. Unrepentant coffee addict, smutty romance and sexy bad boys/villains lover of doom.
I read, I write, I spamificate -- therefore I am.

Livia social:
Goodreads~~~Twitter~~~Facebook~~~YouTube~~~@

Latest posts by The_Butterfly_Livia (see all)

• Star-Crossed Lover Excerpt & Giveaway - Aug 7, 2018
• What Lies in Shadows by Siena Noble Giveaway - Jul 24, 2018
• Paranormal Book Recs by Jennifer Honeybourn & When Life Gives You Demons Giveaway - Jul 17, 2018