After Reading: Jackdaw Hammond #1 & #2 by Rebecca Alexander

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

In modern day England, Professor Felix Guichard is called in to identify occult symbols found on the corpse of a young girl. His investigation brings him in contact with a mysterious woman, Jackdaw Hammond, who guards a monumental secret--She's Dead. Or she would be, were it not for magic which has artificially extended her life. But someone else knows her secret. Someone very old and very powerful, who won't rest until they've taken the magic that keeps her alive.... 

In Krakow in 1585, Dr John Dee, the Elizabethan Alchemist and Occultist, and his assistant Edward Kelley have been summoned by the King of Poland to save the life of his niece, the infamous Countess Elisabeth Bathory. But they soon realize that the only thing worse than the Countess' malady, is the magic that might be able to save her...
As Jackdaw and Felix race to uncover the truth about the person hunting her, it becomes clear that the answers they seek can only be found in the ancient diary of John Dee's assistant, Edward Kelley. Together they must solve a mystery centuries in the making, or die trying. (Goodreads)

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Following her showdown with Elizabeth Bathory, Jackdaw Hammond is running from her past, hiding from her future, and hoping to contain her newfound thirst for blood. Buying an overgrown home in the middle of nowhere seems like the perfect place to escape…at least until she finds herself in the sights of a murderous family with a terrible secret and a penchant for dark magic. Meanwhile, her old ally Felix Guichard has gone to New Orleans to conduct his own investigation into the nature of blood magic, but is soon sucked into the intrigues of the city’s occult underworld. But Jack will need Felix more than she knows, for the battle for her soul is set to begin.
 
Her only salvation may lie with the secrets of 16th century master occultist Edward Kelley, and a dangerous mission he undertook in Venice to confront the Inquisition, the darkest deeds of his own past, and the fearsome power of Elizabeth Bathory. (Goodreads)

Okay, I'm going to get caught up with some reviews here today and figured these were in the same series, therefore lumping them wouldn't be a bad thing :)

I went into these novels with a whole lot of excitement, as they're quite different from my normal fare, but looked fantastic! Plus, because my writing has been veering in the "adult" direction more and more lately, I have been feeling remiss that I haven't been reading as widely in that area. Anyhow, both books were intensely interesting, with a really fascinating slant on magic and both vampires and werewolves. I rather liked the characters, especially Sadie, though Jackdaw (who goes by Jack), always felt a step removed from the reader--I still don't feel like I have a good sense of her personality or really anything beyond her condition. Interwoven in both books is the story of Edward Kelley, while he either starts or is involved in some of origins of what Jack is facing in the modern portion of the book. This is a clever was to tell the story, though Kelley himself doesn't draw me in as much and I found myself wanting to skip those chapters (I didn't) to get on with Jack's tale. I imagine this is always the hazard with dual narratives--one is always more interesting than the other :) Other than that, I did find the pacing to be a bit off in both books, but I do wonder if that's because I have been reading quite a lot of YA where pacing it expected to, well, keep up. Here, the beginnings were good, but the middle lagged, often up until the last couple of chapters. It made for some sleepy reading a few times, I'll admit. Anyhow, this is a long-winded reviews, mainly because the books were complex with a lot that both drew me in and left me wanting more.

Have you heard of these? Had a chance to read either?