Shadow Sight (Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective) [Kindle Edition]

E.J. Stevens (Author)

Book Description

Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk unseen by humans...except those with second sight, like Ivy Granger.

Some things are best left unseen...

Ivy Granger's second sight is finally giving her life purpose. Ivy and her best friend Jinx may not be raking in the dough, but their psychic detective agency pays the bills--most of the time. Their only worry is the boredom of a slow day and the occasional crazy client--until a demon walks through their door.

Demons are never a good sign...

A demon attorney representing the water fae? Stranger things have happened. And things are about to get very, very strange as a bloodthirsty nightmare hunts the city of Harborsmouth.

There's blood in the water...

Kelpies have a reputation for eating humans. Unfortunately, kelpies are the clients. When an Unseelie faerie this evil stalks the waterways of your city, you have to make hard choices.

The lesser of two evils...

Shadow Sight is the first novel in the Ivy Granger urban fantasy series by E.J. Stevens.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sarcastic wit, supernatural beings, a good mystery and one kick butt heroine."
--Paranormal Romance Guild

"I enjoyed it even more than my beloved Hollows series by Kim Harrison."
--The Keeper Shelf

"Readers will love E.J's signature humorous writing, her kick-butt protagonist, and one heck of an unpredictable story."
--A Cupcake and a Latte

"I absolutely love the creepies in this book. If you like strange creatures and quirky-oddball descriptions this is for you."
--Dizzy Izzy Book Reviews

"I love the world of Harborsmouth. Stevens has again managed to create characters that I loved. She has this knack for making quirky, endearing characters. Ivy, Jinx, Kaye, Marvin, and Hob are perhaps more addicting than the characters from the Spirit Guide series."
--Reading Lark

About the Author

E.J. Stevens writes poetry, urban fantasy, and young adult paranormal novels. E.J. is the author of the Spirit Guide young adult series and the bestselling Ivy Granger urban fantasy series.

When E.J. isn't at her writing desk she enjoys dancing along seaside cliffs, singing in graveyards, and sleeping in faerie circles. E.J. currently resides in a magical forest on the coast of Maine where she finds daily inspiration for her writing.

You can learn more about E.J. by visiting about.me/EJStevens

Product Details

• File Size: 491 KB
• Print Length: 243 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0984247580
• Publisher: Sacred Oaks Press (July 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008GN32I0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,345 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A lot of good things here, but as a whole less than the sum of its parts. August 28, 2012

By para

Format:Kindle Edition

Ivy Granger's unusual talent - psychometry, the ability to get psychic impressions from physical contact - has always been more of a curse than a gift. With the help of her terribly unlucky best friend she's finally managed to make the best of it and they operate a detective agency that interacts with the fae as often as with humans. But a rough day looks to decline even farther when their next client is a demon. And one that surprisingly may have an offer they need to listen to...

Shadow Sight is a hard book to review. Ivy is a very interesting heroine - flawed and in over her head but determined and likable. An intense fear of physical contact due to uncontrollable psychometry is one of the most ingenious yet intuitive negative side effects of a supernatural ability I've come across. The plot unfolds well as the scope of the danger her and her allies face emerges and the potential costs become clear. This is the first of a series, it presents an interesting universe and sets up a lot of potential for future stories.

Which leads me to one of the book's biggest problems, in that it tries to set up too much and convey too much information about it's world, at the expense of the story. The fae that populate this world are interesting, but the narrative stops to describe every single variety in great detail. It's fine at first, but by the end it was really noticeable and distracting. In addition to being too numerous the descriptions often went on too long, crossing from "show" to "tell" and feeling almost like an encyclopedia entry. Strangely some of the actual plot developments and action seemed rushed (particularly at the end), adding to the pacing issues.

The other thing that I found troubling were some internal inconstancies. Someone as obsessively paranoid as Ivy about accidental skin contact with ANYTHING would never wear anything that left much skin exposed, no matter what her roommate said, no matter how hot it was outside, etc. Yet Ivy wears skirts because nothing else is clean, shirts that come down off her shoulders, etc. This might seem like nit-picking, but when I'm reminded every page or so that she has serious issues about anything at all touching her skin these little things really take me out of the story. There's another (stronger) example of this kind of inconsistency I'll avoid details of due to spoilers.

So overall I liked Ivy's first adventure and a lot of the ideas in it, but there were enough missteps to keep it from even coming close to its full potential. I will likely read more in the series, and we'll see how it goes.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sassy Heroine, Unique Spin on Urban Fantasy July 8, 2012

By Sofia Wren

Format:Kindle Edition

Ivy Granger isn't a character from Harry Potter, she is a specially skilled detective in a town brimming with unusual creatures. Others may see an old man collecting bottles or a rasta smoking a joint, but she sees the monsters hidden behind the glamor. More importantly, Ivy has the gift of psychometry, the ability to sense visions from touching an object. As soon as her skin touches people or objects, she may be victim to seeing horrible happenings from the past. These talents are what gives an edge to Private Eye, the private detective agency run by Ivy and her *rockabilly friend Jinx.

In Shadow Sight, the first book of the series, Ivy Granger comes face to face with a demon. Worse a demon lawyer. He wrangles her into an early morning meeting the next day (a Saturday rrrr), and drops the bomb that Ivy better start looking for clues or the entire town will be under attack from beasties.

The number of creatures introduced throughout the book is staggering. Because each creature tends to have a way to hide it's appearance, these fae and demons lurk in plain sight. I found the way this is done to be very clever. Props to the author for including species I have never heard of before. However, I could have used a pronunciation guide for the dark horses each uisge.

I like the main character Ivy, she seems to have her head on her shoulders. Why she would be wearing three inch heels in the cover is beyond me, as those aren't included in the two pairs of shoes she owns in the book. Cross trainers and a pair of Doc Martens--so no, not really a heels chick. Practical, she wears gloves in the heat to avoid nasty visions. Since often being sarcastic and grumpy seems to be part of Ivy's personality, she could have been a little more edgy.

Shadow Sight is a quick read. I found myself zipping blithely along in the grocery aisle. Overall it was a good story with excellent images, mythos, action, and pacing. The romance subplot could have been integrated a little better throughout the book so it was less out of the blue. I wished Ivy's character was a little meatier, but there's nobody else quite like her. Her gifts make Ivy Granger and her detective agency truly unique.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenally Spectacular!!! May 17, 2013

By Maghon

Format:Kindle Edition

Holy crap, I've found a new series to obsess over!! It's got the same old paranormal characters but this is a wholly unique take. I LOVED that. It's so much fun and it's got such a real element feel to it. There's so many things to make it part of so many genres as well. It's got the mystery for sure, as you are trying to figure out who to rescues, and how to rescue them, and who to go to for help and who the real bad guy is. It's also ubran fantasy as there's definitely got some really cool supernatural characters. And I think the heroine is my favorite as she isn't your usual heroine. She's more of the damsel in distress who is willing to sacrifice herself to help everyone else.
So, Ivy is a normal girl... except she can touch an object and see it's past, as well as feel it. So, when someone is being hurt and she touches them, she relives it. She always wears gloves, she has a serious aversion to touch, and she lives like she's in a bubble. She's a smart girl, but she also has second sight, so she can see through the glamours of all the supernaturals walking around. I love that she is always asking for help. She knows she's got no chance to do something of this magnitude on her own. She is also very real. She is always tired, she still needs to eat and pee, she has to save money to make rent and food. She is scared to death of the demon who walks into her office. You like her yet, cuz I love her. She's also fiercely loyal and she will stand up to the big bad crazies to protect her friends even when she knows she has no chance.
I think her roommate Jinks is ultimately hilarious. I love her role in this series. She is the perfect best friend and business partner. Madame Kaye is the seriously ancient, very powerful witch that Ivy considers a friend. She also plays a vital role. But her little friend Hobs-who lives is Md. Kaye's kitchen, and her huge friend Marvin the Bridge Troll, are two of my favorite characters to add. They made the story so much fun! This is like a paranormal version of the breakfast club hahahaha!!! The demon is Forneus is quite the different demon. He's definitely got the hot for Jinx, he's kinda nice, if not a bit smelly, and he's actually willing to do REAL deals with Ivy and Jinx. Heh, I look forward to all of these characters in the future... And wait till you meet Cffyl!!! Totally HAWT!
The writing is fantastic. It starts out with the prologue telling you a little about their hometown. Then you proceed to learn about Ivy's first "vision". Poor kid. Then it's like, woah there's a demon in the office. Giggle. It's a pretty nonstop crazy ride from there. The plot is awesome. The crazy scary bad guys are like freakishly scary. The emotions that come to play in here make it so real. I am all in with this new series! YES! GIMME MORE!!! I hope to see some more shape shifters, maybe a werewolf in the future! Though with all the scary characters in here already, I'm scared to ask what kind of werewolves they would be 5 COMBUSTIBLE MYSTERIOUS FAE PAWS!!

More About the Author

E.J. Stevens is the author of the Spirit Guide young adult series and the bestselling Ivy Granger urban fantasy series. When E.J. isn't at her writing desk she enjoys dancing along seaside cliffs, singing in graveyards, and sleeping in faerie circles. E.J. currently resides in a magical forest on the coast of Maine where she finds daily inspiration for her writing.

You can learn more about E.J. by visiting http://about.me/EJStevens