Customer Reviews

Unperfect Souls (Connor Grey, Book 4)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

SYNOPSIS:
Connor Grey finds himself, once again, smack dab in the middle of all the fey and human political maneuvering in The Weird, a part of Boston given over to the fey of all descriptions. While Connor and Murdock get involved in investigating the murder of a Dead (notice the capital), they also find themselves completely embroiled in the politics between the humans in Boston and Queen Maeve and King Donor, two not so congenial monarchs of the fey. A new force is about to arrive on the scene and is definitely someone those two rulers will need to reckon with. Nothing is ever what it seems to be and that is about the only given fact in this paranormal world. Happily, for Connor and the reader, he does begin to understand more of what the dark mass in his brain is all about.

OPINION:
The writing in this entire series is absolutely wonderful. I've read all the books so far in the Connor Grey series and have enjoyed them all. But - and didn't you wonder if there was going to be a "but"? - I'm beginning to feel that I need a cheat sheet to keep up with everything that goes on. Book One started everything off in this urban fantasy world with a very diverse group of fey beings while keeping a nice connection to the human world. Each book has taken the characters and catastrophes from that book directly into the next book. That is beginning to be rather cumbersome for me. Now, here I am, just finished reading book #4 and I have so many characters and events floating around in my head that I'm very, very close to becoming confused. Or is that the beginnings of frustration? The first three books have huge paranormal occurrences which happen and which are constantly referred to. This one has a variety of unusual events that take place (which are interesting), but it seemed to be mainly focused on the political side of things. Who is an ally for whom, or seems to be, while actually working hand in glove with another faction within the Guild and fey politics. All of the books focus a large amount of attention on Guild, fey, and human politics because that is ultimately at the bottom of all the problems. These books now have a cast of many, many characters. And the author continues to introduce new paranormal type characters into each book. And each of those have their own identities, where they fit within the fey community, what their powers are, whether they are good or evil. I'm starting to need a list of who, what, when and where.

RECOMMENDATION:
Very highly recommended with one caveat: these books really must be read in order. The story builds so completely on what happened in the previous books that I just cannot even conceive of trying to start this series with anything but the first book. Some of this confusion/distraction/frustration may just be my own fault. I read a LOT of books, by the time I get back to the next book in a series I don't necessarily remember all the details of what happened previously in a series. Whatever the reason may be, this book made me stop often and try to figure out who a character was, when I had previously met them, and what cataclysmic event had taken place and what it's outcome had been. That's my word of warning.

I started Unperfect Souls with that happy, satisfied feeling of a reader who knows she won't be disappointed. Every book in the Connor Grey series has been better than the last, and Unperfect Souls is no exception. It is less cataclysmic than books #2 and #3 - and it's a good thing, too, because the city of Boston was falling apart at the end of book 3. Don't get me wrong - Unperfect Souls is packed with a lot of very, very interesting revelations and some pretty major political shake-ups. And some big explosions. And battles in the streets. And attempted murder at the Guildmaster's Yule Ball, leading to the ruination of several costly fairy gowns. Hmm. I guess it's pretty cataclysmic.

So what's in store for us in Unperfect Souls? We learn a lot about the dark mass inside Connor's head. He finally meets someone who knows what it is, who takes the time to explain how it works. Connor doesn't get all the answers, but it's a lot more progress than we've seen in any earlier book. We get a confrontation with Bergen Vize. And we find out why Murdock's father, the police commissioner, hates Connor so much.

But while the last couple of books in this series have been about watching things fall apart - the appearance of the Taint, the destruction of TirNaNog - this one is about putting things back together again. The problems that have plagued earlier books - like Guild mismanagement and broken human-fey relations - reach a crisis point. Lines are drawn in the sand. And it's about Connor feeling comfortable with the person he's becoming, accepting that his central role in recent earth-shattering events is no fluke. He thinks to himself, at one point, how funny it is that it wasn't until he lost all his powers that the fey elite started paying attention to him - and boy, have they. Queen Maeve and King Donor both have spies watching his every move. Security doubles every time he makes a visit to the Guildhouse.

The only bad thing about reading a new book from a series I really love is knowing how long it will be until I can get my hands on the next one. The Connor Grey series is one of those for me - I clap my hands when the release date comes, and then I'm grumpy when I tear through the book and realize how long it will be till I get another fix.

"Wow!" That's pretty much what my reaction was after reading this book. A lot happens this time around and neither Connor nor his friends are left unscathed.

The story starts out in it's typical fashion with Connor's police detective friend, Leonard Murdock, calling him in to assist on a murder case. It seems that a dead Dead guy (that is NOT a typo) has been found headless in the sewers. Now as odd as this may seem, this is the neighborhood of The Weird we're talking about, so naturally things end up getting progressively worse.

During the course of the investigation, Connor finally (FINALLY!) stumbles across someone who knows something about the mysterious mass in his head. The only problem is that this person also happens to be one of the most repulsive beings known to the Fey, and what Connor is told isn't really something he wants to hear. Still, this is the only way he can learn more about what's happening to him and his desperation has him taking chances that he knows he probably shouldn't.

Then there's Murdock ... more than once as the story plays out, Murdock finds himself in situations that are both dangerous and, ultimately, tragic. Murdock's world becomes seriously shattered and he ends up more shaken and vulnerable than we've ever seen him before. With all the crazy stuff that's going on, Connor is the one Murdock ends up turning to, and the concern and support that Connor shows him is quite gratifying to witness. (Connor's certainly come a long way from that guy who left his friend alone and unconscious in a graveyard (see "Unquiet Dreams").)

I have to say that the relationship between Connor and Murdock is something that I've found fascinating from the very first book. The differences in their backgrounds, beliefs and ways of life are so diverse that calling them an "odd couple" is almost an understatement. While the previous books have focused mainly on the professional aspects of their relationship, this book delves deeper into their friendship and we're finally allowed to see just how much trust and affection exists between them.

Meryl too, as Connor's not-quite girlfriend, gets her fair share of drama. And Joe the Flit just keeps getting better and better. He's got some of the funniest lines and I just love how his friendship with Murdock seems to be deepening as well.

Overall, this story packs much more of an emotional wallop than the others. Connor and his small circle of friends suffer through some major stuff and not everything is tied up nicely in the end. Being forced to wait another year for the next book to come out just seems cruel.

Great job Del Franco. Great job!

I enjoyed the first two books of this series, but it was the third that made it a must read for me. It had action, adventure, intrigue and some interesting and surprising revelations. Unfortunately, this book dropped the ball and gave up most of the momentum built in the last book. Politics. That pretty much sums up the plotline in a nutshell.

The story started out good, with a mystery and a dead body (like usual). One of the Dead from TirNaNog is found decapitated. He's literally a dead Dead guy. Though it has a certain macabre humor, this premise quickly devolved into a political struggle acted out through a conflict between Solitaries (fey who are too unusual/ugly to be accepted) and the Dead. That conflict - that mystery - is completely secondary to the political machinations going on. Connor can't talk to anyone who doesn't have a hidden agenda!

As for Connor's black mass that blocks his abilities? We get closer to an answer there. But, after four books, I tired of moving "closer." I'm beginning to feel like a horse chasing a carrot hung in front of me that I can never catch. I can understand a thread running through all the books to interconnect them and make them more than stand alone mysteries. But when that thread prevents any resolution from occurring, it becomes frustrating. Every book has Connor recalling all he lost when he lost his abilities (wealth, status, power) and yet now he sees the light and can no longer support the Guild. Methinks he doth protest too much. Would he still be a changed man if he got those abilities back? I'd love to find out.

There was some good things that kept me reading through to the end. Readers learn more about Murdock, his new essence shield and his family. The mystery surrounding just who "The Hound" is was a surprise. Eorla Kruge as a powerful fey NOT out to step on the little people was a breath of fresh air. If they hadn't been so dominant, the politics were also interesting. However, at the end I didn't feel like the story progressed. The only difference between the beginning and the end are some casualties - and a lot more questions. It makes me reluctant to try the author's other series set in the same world. I will read the next book, but if there is no resolution - I won't be back for more.

I'm seriously in love with this series. Briggs' "Mercy Thompson", Huff's "Tony Foster" and Del Franco's "Connor Grey", my top three UF series!

I loved everybody in this book: Connor, Murdock, Joe and Shay, Eorla, Meryl, Briallen and Keeva. Even the hell hound was lovable! And we finally got some answers about the dark mass in Connor's head - and it was awesome! I was delighted to see Shay back - he's one of the cutest characters that I've ever encountered in a book and I think he would deserve a series of his own. I mean, quoting stuff like "Look at this face, doll. The only girls in high school who wanted to sleep with me were confused lesbians" - because yeah, he really is that pretty - who wouldn't love him! And Murdock and Connor, I love their friendship - and yes, I'm curious who Murdock's sleeping with, too! Also, what an epic finale again. Del Franco really knows how to deliver huge, Boston-melting battles - the cover of this book, Connor walking down a bridge while behind him the city burns, does not lie, I kid you not!

I'm ecstatic about this series and I hope there'll be book 5 soon!

It's all been said before, but in a nutshell....this is a series by an author with mad skills at world building; a great (and well-thought) urban/magic dynamic; a strong cast of secondary characters who don't come across as paper cutouts; excellent pacing and plot, an excellent sense of momentum, and a very, very, very excellent and patient plot development that takes four novels to build into some truly stunning moments. I love what the author did with Boston, with his friendship between Connor and his cop friend Murdock, with Briallen and Joe... In a genre that's showing rapidly diminishing returns, I look forward to this series, and this latest installment did not disappoint. I highly recommend it to all the fans of Hamilton, Butcher, Andrews, Briggs, Vaughn, Carey, Thurman, Levitt, Gaiman and Harris. And as for where the author is going next.... well... Book 5 better come out damn soon, Mr. Del Franco. I'm not nearly as patient as you!

Over a century before the world of Faerie intersected with the modern human world in the Convergence, which trapped various magical races in the human world. The Weird, in Boston, is a kind of Faerie ghetto where Connor Grey, a Druid who has lost most of his magical powers, is a consultant for the human police, helping out with any magical aspects of the crimes there. Now the Dead from TirNaNog, due to a recent catastrophe, have also been trapped in the human world and one of them has been found decapitated. Even the murder of the Dead needs to be investigated, although, admittedly, it isn't high on the priority list of the human police nor the magical enforcers of the Guild. Then another body is found, that of a Solitary Fey, another group low on the priority list. On top of that, the on-going fey rivalry between the courts of the Celtic fairies and the Teutonic Elves continues to cause problems, and human antagonism in the form of restrictions and aspects of martial law in the Weird is adding to the build-up of resentment and violence.

The Connor Grey novels are among my favorite paranormal mystery, urban fantasy series. Grey is a survivor who has had to overcome the loss of his magic and his former livelihood and in the process has had to re-examine his life. He also has to deal with the mysteries, which make him feel of use. And in this book, things seem to be developing with the mystery black mass in his head that is blocking use of his magic. The events will change his life and that of others, shifting again the balance of power among fey and human. I sped through this book with fascination and joy and am now a bit sad because I have to wait for the next one. I recommend that you read the series starting from the beginning with UNSHAPELY THINGS.

Okay, I did something with this book that I NEVER do...

I read the fourth book in a series first...

I couldn't help it. I picked up the book on impulse, books 1-3 weren't available, and the description was just too much to resist.

I was resigned to the fact that I was probably going to have to work to read this book, spending the entire time playing "catch-up" on all the world-building and plot lines I missed in the first 3 books. I was wrong. This book captured me, had me totally immersed in the Weird and Connor Grey by page 7, and kept me there 'til 3am when I finished the book, still wanting more. This is one of those books that every once in a while, you just sit back in awe and marvel at how beautiful the writing is.

In Unperfect Souls Mark Del Franco has done what very few have been able to do...make a new reader starting mid-series feel right at home in the world he's built & the back story missed -- all done with deft, elegant prose that was truly a joy to read. Just enough information to fill me in, and make me want to run out to the store and buy the rest of the series, IMMEDIATELY!!

This has quickly become one of my favorite UF series, and one of my must-read authors. Do yourself a favor, and put Mark Del Franco's Connor Grey series on the top of your TBR list and check it out. You'll be glad you did!

4 ½ stars - The powers that be still want to find out what Connor Grey and company did to put a stop to the near apocalypse at Forest Hills Cemetery. Meryl, who I would've liked more of in the book, is back, as is Briallen and, of course, Murdock. Even Shay turns up again in Unperfect Souls. Manus ap Eagan and Eorla Kruge are more involved in this one; Eagan wants Connor's help regarding the human authorities and the fey, and Eorla wants him to try and help her figure out how to get rid of the remaining Taint before anyone can learn how to use it and redo the control spell.

Meanwhile, headless bodies are turning up in the Weird and the Dead appear to be going after the solitary fey. Connor has even more on his plate when another blast from his past shows up. A blast who may or may not be who she says she is. And, yes, Bergin Vize is likely involved in some way. There's also a mysterious figure called the Hound, as well as an actual hound. A Dead hound. Oh, and the mass in Connor's head seems to be exerting itself more and he might be able to find answers about it from an unlikely and very scary source.

I don't know if Del Franco was up at two in the morning mainlining Red Bulls when he wrote the last quarter or so of this book, but holy hell. I honestly don't know what to say without giving anything away, but so much happens that I actually gasped out loud and did a clutch-the-pearls move at one point. A lot gets resolved, but there are quite a few things that happened and, in hindsight, I said to myself, "Wait, what about...?" I really hope there are resolutions to those things in the next book. Like I said, I can't mention much without giving something away, but this book had the most going on out of any of the previous ones. I absolutely love this series and can't wait to read Uncertain Allies.

I have not read this book yet. I read the other three books and enjoyed them. I am so looking forward to reading this book. I will try to get back to you in a couple of months. brenda