Andromeda Rising is the debut novel in the Celestial Series by James Ramsey
Read: May 2013/June 2013
I rated on Goodreads: 5 stars
Book Description:
I should have been paying attention. Growing up on the run from religious fanatics gave me more than a few good reasons to be careful, but I was just too tired to be as vigilant as I should have been. My mind was occupied with my latest case—a missing nine year old girl. I was usually good at my job, but sometimes I needed a little extra help from magick. I always managed to track down a cheating spouse or the occasional runaway, but now it seemed more children were missing from the streets of Seattle and nothing I did worked.
A cat jumped on my shoulder and jerked me from my exhaustion induced stupor. I spun into a defensive crouch only to see the cat had landed on the sidewalk behind me.
Time seemed to stop for a moment when the cat spoke.
“RUN!”
My name is Jocelyn Matthews and if I live through tonight, I’ll tell you all about my life as a witch.
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For the past ten years, Jocelyn has been living as a closet witch in Seattle. When the Inquisitors that have been after her from the time she was nine finally manage to find her, Jocelyn is thrust into a world she never guessed existed. From talking cats to dark elves, she’ll have to do something she’s never done before: trust someone other than herself. If she wants to find the children that have been going missing all over the city, she’ll have to open her eyes to the bigger picture and find her place, not only for her safety but for the city as well.
My Review:
Wow….I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I started reading his book. I knew from the description that it was not my normal YA Dystopian book, which seems to be the genre I’m reading a lot, but more along the lines of a contemporary novel, and can I just say it was fantastic.
Jocelyn Matthews is a 28 year old woman living in Seattle and is a witch. She spends her time “working” for a Private Investigator, using her Magick to help locate the missing. She’s also spent most of her life running from those that will do her harm, the inquisitors. During their attack on her on her way home from trying to find out information on a missing child, she meets Mateo, her familiar, who happens to be a talking cat. If being attacked by the inquisitors wasn’t enough to freak her out, that talking cat was. Turns out Mateo has been looking for her for a long time.
Mateo introduces Jocelyn to a world of mythical creatures that she never really knew existed and was surprised at how much of her heritage she knew, and how much she still had to learn. In the end Jocelyn and Mateo end up teaming up with the Dark Elf she helped in order to find the mythical children that have gone missing. The interaction between Jocelyn and the Dark Elf is interesting and leaves you wondering if something else will become of their brief encounter.
I have to say that I enjoyed the friendship that Mateo and Jocelyn form throughout the book. Even when she does things that he doesn’t approve of like talking with bad fairies or helping an injured dark elf, he still sticks by her side.
The book is full of twists and turns that you don’t see coming, but still has the underlying story of friendship between Jocelyn and Mateo. It is beautifully written and definitely makes you want more. I think James Ramsey did an amazing job on her debut novel and I can’t wait to see what else she brings us in the second book of this series.
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