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  • Royal Street See large image

    Royal Street (Paperback) By (author) Suzanne Johnson

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    Short Description for Royal StreetAs the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco's job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures.
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  • Great Start to an Exciting New Series!4

    Andrea Thompson Set in New Orleans in the days preceding Hurricane Katrina, and the tumultuous weeks after, ROYAL STREET is the story of Drusilla "DJ" Jaco. DJ, a Green Congress wizard, is charged with helping to protect modern day New Orleans from the Beyond. What lies in the Beyond? Vampires, Weres, Elves, the Historical Undead...All who are itching to cross over. When Hurricane Katrina forces a breach in the borders, and DJ's mentor, Gerry goes missing, she'll find out is she's ready to take on the preternatural bad boys, or die trying.

    Oh, how I love a great Urban Fantasy. I'm always amazed when an author can create a world all his/her own. Suzanne Johnson is no exception. And though I thoroughly enjoyed many elements of ROYAL STREET, I have to give major props for the world-building. Johnson's brand of wizard was well developed, interesting and not terribly complicated. Hurricane Katrina was a horrible time for Louisiana, especially the New Orleans area. But to take such devastation and create a series around it's havoc was brilliant. New Orleans is an easy pick, with it's rich, decadent heritage. And it is hip deep in the "historical dead", my new favorite type of supernatural being.

    For example, Jean Lafitte, a historically famous pirate. ROYAL STREET opens with DJ and Jean facing off in the bayou. He's a freaking riot, maybe my favorite character in the book. He's handsome, possesses a wicked charm, and is dead sexy. Even though he would probably feed DJ to the gators if it served him well, I couldn't help but smile every time that bad boy showed back up. The fact that I'm gushing over Jean instead of the main character should tell you how much I liked him.

    Speaking of main characters, I really liked DJ. Her dialogue, verbal but especially internal, was funny, a tad snarky, and sincere. DJ's a tough, brave chick. She does tend to let her heart rule her head, sometimes a bit too much, but I have to admire a girl with so much loyalty and courage. There were a few times I wanted her to take a beat and thinks things through a bit more. But who wants a completely perfect, obedient heroine? Boring!

    DJ has a hot, slightly brooding, more than capable partner in Alex Warin. Sa-woon. I mean, sure, Alex is a bit on the quiet side, and yeah, he's a tad secretive. But when he begins to open up...I don't know how DJ can stand staying in the "Just Partners Zone". Alex's cousin, Jake, though, offers a nice alternative. Jake is open, funny, and sexy as heck. Better yet, he's not DJ's partner. The chemistry between DJ/Alex and DJ/Jake was perfect. And even though it never turned into a true triangle, you can just see an emotional storm brewing on the horizon. Either way, DJ can't possibly make a wrong choice.

    As much as I enjoyed ROYAL STREET, I did get into a bit of a lull throughout the middle portion of the story. There was lots of talking and plan making about finding Gerry and protecting the wards, but not a lot of actual action going on. It felt like a long, slow build-up to the big confrontation. But once we got there? Wow. What a great, action and emotionally-packed ending. I had no idea what would happen. Johnson ended the story with some resolution, and a super set-up for book two in the series, RIVER ROAD, due out in November. I've already added it to my to-read list.


    Favorite Quote:

    " ' I know you think I'm hot.' Then the grin faded. 'Of course, you think Jake's hot, too, and Jean Lafitte, who's not even alive. You're really screwed up, you know that?' " (pg. 167) by Andrea Thompson

  • A new UF series with potential3

    Shelley Cusbert Royal Street is an enjoyable urban fantasy series debut from Suzanne Johnson. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has caused breaches in the border between this world and the Beyond and Drusilla Jaco, a Green Wizard, is charged with banishing the undead back to the ether. DJ though is distracted by her missing mentor, Gerry, who is suspected of betraying the Elder Wizard Council, an undead pirate seeking revenge and the Enforcer, Alex. With a voodoo God and a serial killer on the loose the new Sentinel of New Orleans has her hands full.

    What I particularly like about Royal Street is the world building. Set in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, Johnson sensitively incorporates the tragedy into her story. The devastation makes an interesting background throwing up natural obstacles like a lack of electricity and transport which her protagonists have to work around.
    New Orleans history is rich with iconic characters which Johnson works in to the story including voodoo gods, pirates and even musicians. While there is mention of vampires, fae and werewolves it is the historical undead that feature in Royal Street. Known in general as Pretes, the otherworldly beings reside in the Beyond in 'Old Orleans', a historical alternative to the modern city.
    The magic system of Royal Street focuses on wizardry with a system that is headed by the Elders and then tiers of wizards with different abilities. As a Green Wizard, DJ is only able to wield potions, spells and charms, Red Wizards have mastery over physical magic while Yellow Wizards have psychic abilities. Enforcers are the muscle for the council dispensing justice where necessary.
    Unfortunately Royal Street was let down by the protagonists of the story, especially DJ who lacks the smarts I prefer in my urban fantasy genre. There are too many instances where she makes poor decisions, ignores obvious clues or acts so slowly as to put herself or others in danger. This is particularly true at the climax when she inexplicably fails to act to prevent injury to her allies. The romantic element of Royal Street includes Alex, the Enforcer sent to assist DJ, Alex's cousin Jake, a war vet, and the pirate, Jean Lafitte. DJ is attracted to all three men but I didn't like the way in which she seemed to be toying with Alex and Jake in particular. The relationships are another example of DJ's immaturity.

    While I think the characters of Royal Street need to be stronger, I did enjoy the book. There are often teething problems for a new series and ultimately I think the original aspects of the world building and potential of the story outweigh the flaws. Royal Street is a promising debut and I will be interested to see where Johnson takes it. by Shelley Cusbert

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