Lily Carlyle has lied, cheated, and stolen her way through life.
But in death, she'll really get to be bad...
When her little sister is brutalized, a vengeful Lily determines to exact her own justice. She succeeds at the cost of her own life, but as she lies dying, she is given a second chance. Lily can earn her way into Paradise by becoming an assassin for the forces of good.
It's the job Lily believes she can really get into--but she doesn't realize that she may not be able to get out.
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When Julie was knee-high to a grasshopper (an expression that she would like it known she has never, ever used in real life) she informed her parents that she was going to be a novelist, and proceeded to write Kitty Claws, a bestselling book about a cat as Santa. (The book sold out its entire print-run of one, so lets not split hairs about that "best-selling" thing, okay?)
After that stellar start, Julie continued to dabble in the literary arts, writing short stories on yellow pads that she forced her mother to type, scribbling poems on ruled notebook paper that she forced her mother to type, making up skits and songs that she forced her mother to watch and listen to, and diving head-first into high school journalism, at which point, mom finally got a break.
In college, she continued with the journalism thing, picking that as her major and working at The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for the University of Texas. The idea that she could actually write novels and, oh, buy food too, completely eluded her.
The journalism thing cranked along nicely for about one semester. Then Julie got a job as a production assistant on a movie originally called Splatter, but which was released as Future Kill (and can still be found in Blockbuster and through Netflix), with really great Giger poster art. Julie worked her tail off, appeared as an extra, had a great time, and promptly switched her major to film.
Graduating at the ripe old age of 19, Julie chickened out and didn't move to Los Angeles to become the next Steven Spielberg. Instead, she stayed in Austin and worked as a media assistant until she decided that perhaps law school was the better way to go because, hey, a degree in film slides so seamlessly into law. (Or, more likely, grad school was inevitable and the LSAT seemed doable.) Not one to waste time, Julie took the LSAT in December, and was admitted to Baylor Law School on a full scholarship the following February. Law school and Julie got along great, and after graduation, Julie went to work as a law clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where she had a fabulous time drafting legal opinions, preparing the judge for court, and taking regular trips to New Orleans on a government per diem. During her two year stint as a clerk, the writing bug bit again, and Julie wrote a stage play that will never, ever see the light of day. Really. So don't even ask.
After her clerkship, Julie decided she could handle moving to the Big City, and she took a job with Skadden, Arps in L.A., where she worked on a variety of cases with some very smart lawyers. After a year, she moved on to smaller and smaller firms (and had a short stint as a production exec at a small film company, thus justifying all those credit hours in college). She continued to work with very smart lawyers, one of whom introduced Julie to Julie Garwood (her books, not the woman herself), and the writing bug bit again.
Though Julie had been dabbling with writing in her limited spare time, she'd lacked focus. Now, she'd found it, and she was determined to write an historical romance. You may, after reviewing Julie's book list, note that there are no historical romances on there. Let's just say that she didn't succeed at that task. Julie did, however, discover that while she has a head for contemporary nuances, the ins-and-outs of historical detail are enough to make her head explode.
The in-progress historical was promptly shelved, and Julie turned her attention to fleshing out a contemporary romance, having decided that category romance was the way to go, since with the demands of a legal job, she'd be much more likely to finish 240 manuscript pages than 400.
Finish them she did, and though she got nice feedback on the voice, the novel didn't sell. One editor, Harlequin's Brenda Chin, returned a rejection letter with a note that the hook wasn't enough of a "sexy premise."
Always up for a challenge, Julie came up with the opening line, "You need a man," which she thought had oodles of sexy premise potential. She just had to find a story to go with the line. Eventually, she did, and Nobody Does It Better, Julie's first published novel, was born. She entered the first few chapters in contests, finaled, and was ultimately judged by that same Brenda Chin, who ended up buying the manuscript. (Which is not the reason Julie thinks Brenda is a really cool person. Truly.)
By that time, Julie had realized that 400 pages were manageable after all, and she'd almost completed a paranormal romance along the lines of The Little Mermaid about a cat who is in love with her master. The Cat's Fancy sold just a few months after the original sale. Both books came out in 2000, along with a second Temptation, and Julie has had at least 3 books hit the shelves annually every since, and now has well over twenty books to her credit, crossing over a multitude of genres, most of which are represented in some way by the clever pictures in the collage at the top of this page.
Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a "flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations," Julie's books have hit lists as varied as USA Today, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Locus Magazine, all of which has made Julie a happy camper. Julie is also a two-time RITA finalist, both times for books about strong women (a superhero and a demon-hunter). There's probably some deep meaning there, and if you know what it is, feel free to drop Julie a line.
Julie was also the winner of Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Contemporary Paranormal of 2001, the winner of the Reviewers International Organization's award for best romantic suspense of 2004 and best paranormal of 2005, and the winner of the National Readers' Choice Award for best mainstream book of 2005. Not that she's keeping track or anything.
Julie writes a range of stories including quirky romances, sexy contemporaries, young adult novels, suspense, paranormal mommy lit, and (soon!) darker urban fantasy.
Her initial foray into the urban fantasy mommy lit genre--Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom--proved especially successful, resulting in a Booksense pick, a Target break-out book, other accolades and honors, and a movie deal. Specifically, Carpe Demon, is in development as a feature film with Warner Brothers and 1492 Pictures. Julie frequently pounds on her battered wooden desk (Salvation Army, $25, gotta love it) in order to urge the project from development to screen. (In Hollywood, these things are never certain until you're watching the movie and eating popcorn.)
Julie and her husband moved from Southern California back to Texas in 1995, and Julie quit the practice of law to write full time in 2004. Now, she lives and writes in central Texas with her husband, two daughters, and several cats. She is an active supporter of Love Without Boundaries. Click here to learn more about the charities Julie supports.
This review is from: Tainted (Blood Lily Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
The premise of _Tainted_ is this: A young woman, Lily, is killed while carrying out vengeance against a rapist who attacked her sister. Lily is sure she's going to hell for all the things she did in her short life, but instead she comes back from the dead...in someone else's body. Her mission: to hunt demons for God. Her reward, if she succeeds, is redemption.
At first, I was reminded of a couple of other urban fantasy series. The wrong-body plotline and the theme of sisterly love reminded me a bit of Vicki Petterson's Signs of the Zodiac (though Lily's new body is a stranger's, not her sister's). The idea of earning redemption by slaying supernatural nasties called S.J. Day's Marked to mind. And Deacon, the possibly-evil bad boy who stirs Lily's senses, reminded me of a lot of urban fantasy love interests. What I really loved from the beginning, though, was the story of Lily's struggle to integrate herself into the life of Alice, the woman whose body she now inhabits. It's hard and confusing trying to take over someone's life without giving away how little you know, and it's sometimes sad, as when Lily realizes how few of Alice's acquaintances have even noticed the difference.
What really kicks _Tainted_ into high gear is Lily's growing curiosity about Alice. Why is she in Alice's body in particular, and what happened to the real Alice? Things start adding up a little funny, and I remember thinking, "If Julie Kenner has the guts to take this story where I think she's taking it, I'll be thrilled." And Kenner does. A big fat plot twist takes _Tainted_ out of "standard-issue urban fantasy" territory and makes it something unique and very much worth reading. Even Deacon turns out to have more depth than I was expecting.
If I have any quibble with _Tainted_, it's this: Demons, in Kenner's universe, bleed black sludge instead of regular blood. This is plot-relevant a couple of times. Trouble is, I can think of two scenes that would have been very different if Lily, and the reader, had been privy to the color of a bleeding character's blood. Knowing whether these two characters were demon or human would have given a lot away, and so the narration simply doesn't mention the color of the blood. Given that Lily usually notices this detail during combat scenes, the fact that she doesn't in these two instances feels a little bit like cheating.
That said, _Tainted_ is quite enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to the two upcoming Blood Lily Chronicles novels. There are enough twists here to set this series apart from the pack, and that's something to celebrate in this subgenre.
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This review is from: Tainted (Blood Lily Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
Tainted started out at a 5 with tough big sister avenging and protecting her little sister only to find herself dead and then reborn, in another's body. I read urban fantasy for a break, or escape if you prefer, and this book started out with me be totally interested in Lilly's issues. This had justified murder, serving a higher authority, right vs wrong. Our heroine, Lilly, was set up as strong with human faults. Then the story just stopped progressing. The story line seem repetitive and in fact ended like a bad TV serial wanting you to tune in next week to find out what happened. Tainted started as a 5 and ended as a 2, so I gave it a 3. Kenner set up the story line will enough for me to read the next book ...... maybe.
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This review is from: Tainted (Blood Lily Chronicles, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
Julie Kenner is an author I am very familiar with. I've read her "Demon Hunting Soccer Mom" and her "Good Ghouls" YA series and I have enjoyed both. When I heard she was writing an urban fantasy series I was intrigued. Urban Fantasy is one of my favorite book genres. In "Tainted" Lily goes after her 14 year old sisters rapist and stalker. Somehow she dies as she murders him, leaving her sister and dead beat stepfather on their own. But Lily isn't exactly dead. She wakes up....in a strange body and facing a demon. She soon meets a frog-like man who claims that they have been waiting for her. She has identified as the one in a prophecy who can close the portal that is letting in demons. In the meantime she trains to fight and kill demons, and tries to make sense out of a life in Alice's body. She decides she almost must find out who killed Alice. Some of the ideas here aren't unique. We've seen super strong females fighting demons before. Lily in Alice's body reminded me of the plot in the Signs of the Zodiac series where Joanna finds herself in her sister's body. Joanna also wanted revenge on a rapist. "Tainted" has some truly strong points. There is a big twist toward the end that I didn't see coming and that changed where I thought the series was going. Kenner's writing style is engaging and page turning as usual. I did enjoy this book and I have a feeling the next two will be even better since the storyline is now all set up for us. A strong 3 star debut that I am sure will continue to soar.
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