Editorial Reviews. Review. "The plot gallops, the mysteries matter, and the secret at the heart of . This is the second Nola O'Grady novel I have recently read.
Table of contents
Contains all three books in the series. An Urban Fantasy Story.
Nola O’Grady Series
An unwilling empath faces cute guys, college classes, and a killer with supernatural powers. Can she outwit him with her ability? The secrets of alien evolution are revealed in this mind bending series. A must for Spielberg fans. Get your copy now. Flawed Series Box Set: An Urban Fantasy Series. Every ability has a downside. An empath and her Flawed friends must outwit a psychotic killer with his own extraordinary power. Return of the Dragonborn: Review "The plot gallops, the mysteries matter, and the secret at the heart of it all just whets my appetite for more.
DAW August 2, Language: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention fantasy ari urban kerr license ensorcell psychic heroine eating bodyguard francisco chaos san katharine agent israeli nathan romance disorder brother. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I don't mind Nola having flaws. Flaws make for interesting characters.
In this case, Nola's eating disorder takes up too much space and time. See, Nola is an agent for balance and harmony, but deliberately starving herself to be a "fashionable size 4" is the very essence of imbalance. This girl needs an intervention, pronto. How she has the energy to chase after criminals or perform her work is beyond me. As in, "everyone ordered breakfast, I ordered a latte and read email.
She even yells at him at one point for asking her about food. As for her boyfriend, Ari, he grimaces, scowls, frowns, sighs and rolls his eyes about every incident that tests his worldview trying to not add spoilers here that I felt like yelling at him myself, "Get over it already, or get out! Every time night falls, you have to hear about their fear and their inability to deal with the absence of light. That's sort of how this character feels about food, which is a shame, because her abilities and her job and her family and everything else are so engaging.
After finishing "Water to Burn" last night, I took some time to decide whether I want to go to the next book or not. Yes, there were some plot holes, such as a being giving her a message about her father -- that she totally forgets about, instead focusing on what she will wear and why she chose it. Yes, she has an overabundance of teal tops, omg, check out some other colors!
Again, flaws are great, especially if a character is aware of them and is working to overcome them. That shows growth and development. But after two books of Nola's obsession with her dress size, I find I'm not connected enough to her as a heroine to want to go on. Sadly, Nola's alienating and, to me, fatal flaw is why I have regretfully decided not to continue on with her in her future adventures. A psychic and an Israeli spy in a true alternate world, full of psychically gifted Iriish Americans, and psychic aliens.
Nola, is an unusual heroine.
Brilliant but wounded, and struggling to accept her anorexia. She loves Ari, Irsaeli spy and her bodyguard, but has commitment issues. An odd couple, but together the capture a violent alien and his human accomplices. The fun is in the how and why, and the way Kerr explores issues of abandonment, sexism and Irish history into a convincing milieu for her story.
- U.S. Army, TECHNICAL MANUAL, NIGHT VISION SIGHT, INDIVIDUAL SERVED WEAPON, AN/PVS-4, TM 11-5855-213-.
- The Education of a Golfer.
- Customers who viewed this item also viewed.
- The Business!
The plot twists and turns and you need all four books. And hopefully the next two which haven't been published. Nola's a snickering, snorting kind of heroine. She doesn't snicker and snort! The reader does, and occasionally howls with laughter as she deals with a world that is more complex than she imagined it to be Mass Market Paperback Verified Purchase. Katherine Kerr's second Nola book is the start of moving into the master range of urban fantasy. She is no zelanzy, but she is moving up on the current crop of very good urban fantasy writers.
Charming vulnerabilities, family weirdness, and romance bring this series into a good place. Overall, Water to Burn is a good book.
- Get A Copy;
- Ringing True.
- Water to Burn.
- Paperback Editions;
The characters are interesting and the story is entertaining and held my attention. The issues I had with the book are minor, but were enough to be annoying. First, the author continues to point out how very, very thin Nola is, and how she needs to eat more, and whenever Nola puts something in her mouth it's preceded by thoughts of how many calories it has. Either that, or she makes a point of saying it's a salad when everyone else is eating pizza. Nola is really, really thin. Nola's bones jut out. Nola needs to eat more. It gets tiring after a while.
The other thing is the constant attention to her clothes. My mental image of the character is now a sickeningly thin woman who wears a lot of teal. I know Katharine Kerr is an excellent writer. I loved her fantasy series and never found fault in her writing there, so I wonder if it's just her adjusting to a different genre.
The person who did the cover art totally got Ari wrong.
Water to Burn by Katharine Kerr | leondumoulin.nl
Do you know who I picture when I read Ari? Yep, that's Ari in my head. So I can see why Nola would be totally hot for him, because hell, I am totally hot for him myself! Another thing I love about this book was that, since you really need to have read LtE first, the explanations of the backstory were short and sweet. I didn't get long-winded explanations of what happened a few months before, and could just move on in the story. It probably would have helped if I had re-read the first book before reading this one, but I still remembered enough of it that reading this one wasn't confusing.
There are a lot of acronyms in the book, but they are spelled out in the back. I'm curious to see if Nola will follow the doctor's advice and put on some weight, because quite frankly she's way too skinny, and I've only "read" her! I look forward to reading the next installment, in the hopes that the storyline with Michael and Nola's father will be delved into next.
It was a great plot surprise to find out that their father opened the portal in the house, and I can't wait to see how Michael's powers will manifest themselves. Also, I wonder how Sophia will adjust to the world she's entered and if she will be able to cope with her new surroundings. In fact, if I'd put my mind to it, I could have very easily finished this in a couple of days instead of the approximate week it took me. Mar 26, JennaL rated it it was ok Shelves: Is it better then the first? Will I be reading the rest of the series?
Which is too bad. The premise behind the series is a really intriguing one, one that in the right hands would have been totally up m Is it better then the first? The premise behind the series is a really intriguing one, one that in the right hands would have been totally up my alley for a fun read. It makes me wish authors could sell their worlds when they just can't muster up the enthusiasm to continue on themselves. Build the world, set the framework, and then hand it over to someone who will love and make something beautiful out of it, instead of just treating the whole thing like a gray joyless grind to crank out a finish project.
Good ideas, great concept, seriously uninspired middle of the road to the point of nonentity finish. Which is why, even though it's possibly a bit better then the first book, I'm taking it down a star. Unless she had a gun to her head demanding she continue this story, I don't understand why a talented writer didn't just scrap this entirely, or at least put the work down, slide it into a drawer for a year or three until the passion came back.
Writing is what makes me me. It's something that defines who I am, even if I never personally sell a book and only get the odd bit of ghostwork, editing, or articles published. Even if all THAT never happens again, I write because when I get up in the morning and when I go to bed at night, the first thing that makes me - ME - is the need to live in a world of words. It's a skill I spend more and more time trying to perfect and the things I write are my children, just as much as if they were physically alive and a part of me.
So this kind of insipid 'meh' writing makes me crazy, and is worse in a lot of ways then just outright terrible writing. But don't half ass it. And this series feels like a massively half-assed shrug of an attempt. Apr 21, Ana rated it liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Still liked it but incredibly enough not as much as the first. The characters are evolving and I'm not sure I like that change yet.
I always thought Ari's job was going to come back and bite them and I'm pretty sure that's what's happening now. It also annoys me like crazy how everyone assumes that because a relationship is working out marriage is the next step and, of course, the girl just has to accept. People talk about freedom of choice all the time but there's always some standard everyone Still liked it but incredibly enough not as much as the first.
People talk about freedom of choice all the time but there's always some standard everyone expects people to follow. If a woman doesn't marry until she's forty or fifty it's implied she's a bitter spinster, if a woman doesn't marry her boyfriend it's implied she doesn't love him enough and so on Not to mention how everything is slightly dysfunctional considering both their lines of work.
Theoretically Nola is Ari's boss while he's in the US but it seems pretty clear Ari doesn't like receiving orders from her and always tries to turn things around to his way of thinking. Not to sound like a government flunky but there will be times when he may need to follow her orders to the letter and I'm wondering if he'll be smart enough to do it.
Of course I also see the level of ridiculousness of said situation considering the different level fields of work and how Nola doesn't seem to have an ounce of self-preservation 'cause she'd have started physical and weapons training otherwise already. While I understand her reluctance I also see how her Chaotic forces manipulate humans and humans do tend to strangle and shoot people. In that respect Ari is so much advanced that, like I said, it's ridiculous he has to follow her orders.
I'm not sure I like where this is going. Nov 21, Aurian Booklover rated it liked it. It took me two tries to get into this book. I started rereading it after I had read the first pages or so a few weeks earlier, and could not understand a thing. But when I started again, it made more sense to me. Or as much sense as such a very strange story can make. A San Francisco as we know it, a battle between Chaos and Order, where Balance is the most important thing.
Order would mean stagnation of growth, of live. And Chaos would just mean more chaos. Alternate realities or dimensions It took me two tries to get into this book. Alternate realities or dimensions, apparitions, divine interventions, and psychic powers, mix that up with secret government agencies, politics and murder, and you have it all. She is afraid of relationships, and how Ari has gotten to her in such a short time.
She hates weapons, while Ari is a sharpshooter, and loves his guns. You need to be able to concentrate to be able to understand it all, or at least the biggest part of it. If you like really different urban fantasy stories, with a strong romance thread, but with very little real smexy times, you will like this. I really cannot compare it to anything I have read before. I do recommend you read this in order, or you are totally irrevocably lost in the story. Jun 03, Sorcha rated it liked it Shelves: The story follows on from book 1, which if you havent read like me it's a little hard to catch up on, but generally the story is ok.
She is following up in chasing the missing members of the coven that was broken up in Book 1. Meanwhile there are entities coming over from an alternate dimension, her brother is trying to get his new radioactive girlfriend over from this alternate dimension where she has been working as a prostitute , a new business partner of her brother in law is blackmailing him and is in far too deep. There's also a small mystery of Nola's missing Irish father, who in this book she finds out why he's missing, that he's not really as dead as everyone thought, and some of the reasons he left Ireland in the first place.
Nola has psychic powers, which now places her at the head of a really really secret agency. She is following up the other people from the coven she broke up in book 1, an investigation that leads her to more deaths, more visitations and surprises from alternate worlds. I dont know the background behind the "not wanting to eat" issue - she's not anorexic, just never seems to be hungry and is always being told to eat - and there are detail descriptions of what she's wearing I dont know why.
They seem to change clothes more often than they eat, which is a little strange and of course, no visits to the bathroom! Jan 23, Poussinette Sophie rated it really liked it. The storyline for "Water to burn" was more organized than in License to Ensorcell. I loved the forays into Nora's crazy family: Every one of them is a misfit, every one of them fits perfectly. I hope the next book develops a few of them Sean is still a bit sketchy.
The world building is solid, imaginative and fun calamari aliens, yum.
See a Problem?
The fact that the world in question is not limited to San Francisco and the The storyline for "Water to burn" was more organized than in License to Ensorcell. The fact that the world in question is not limited to San Francisco and the Bay Area was a plus. There IS a lexicon for them at the end of the book. Unfortunately I read it in electronic form and learned of its existence on the last page of the book disgusted and pained sigh AND they are very Mar 30, Fantasy Literature rated it really liked it. Water to Burn, the second installment in the series, expands upon the characters and concepts introduced in the first book, and lives up to the aforementioned potential.
Again we have a murder mystery — Oct 08, Lucy rated it really liked it Shelves: Nola O'Grady is the new head of the San Francisco branch of an unnamed government agency that most of the government doesn't know exists. That's because her group deals with the paranormal. Nola is psychic and sometimes sees things that aren't there. She is paired up with an Israeli national who has his own unnamed agency back home, but who also works for Interpol.
Her family has a wide range of paranormal talents and these appear through the whole series. I like the characters and their interacti Nola O'Grady is the new head of the San Francisco branch of an unnamed government agency that most of the government doesn't know exists. I like the characters and their interactions, though there's a little too frequent emphasis on Nola's possible eating disorder and Ari's overly aggressive driving, as well as his guns.
This is the second in the series, after License to Ensorcell. Nov 03, Cami rated it really liked it Shelves: I'm definitely enjoying this series and looking forward to the next book. The acronyms used by Nola's agency are not as irritating in this second book of the series as they don't seem to be used as much, or maybe I'm just not noticing them as much.
- Is It Too Late?: Key Papers on Psychoanalysis and Ageing (The IJPA Key Papers Series).
- Patriotic Treason: John Brown and the Soul of America.
- Verlieb dich nie in einen Millionär! (German Edition).
- The Nola O'Grady Series in Order - Katharine Kerr - FictionDB.
- Frequently bought together;
- The Universe of Things.
I'm still really bothered by Nola's eating disorder I just don't see any reason for her to have an eating disorder, it simply doesn't add anything to the story. She's also VERY defensive and an I'm definitely enjoying this series and looking forward to the next book. I can understand the defensiveness Other than these nitpicky things, I thought this was a great story and fairly well written. Apr 05, Redqueen rated it it was amazing. Psychic powers, secret service, San Francisco — what else could you need? Second in the series, this contains all the elements that made the first work for me and more.
As a San Franciscan, this works for me — but the City would be well described for those who have never been here. The twists and turns of the story kept me up far too late! I won this in a GoodReads contest. It was on my list to buy, I swear! Jun 16, Laura rated it really liked it Shelves: When I finished reading License to Ensorcell , I was delighted to learn on GoodReads that other books in the series had already been published.
We headed straight over to Barnes and Noble to pick it up. I liked learning more about Nola O'Grady's family. Ari is holding up surprisingly well to the quirks of life with an O'Grady. The author has plans for a long series which isn't really what I was looking for. I was hoping for more self-containment but I'm already hooked on the series. Nov 04, Loralee rated it it was ok. Decent, even though the plot was all over the place and since it was a sequel I spent a lot of time confused about the characters.
But the characters are all right, including the near-anorexic commitment-phobic psychic main character and her secret agent boyfriend. The plot pulled together at the end, although it seemed pretty arbitrary, but at least it became readable enough that I wanted to finish it. Read this only if you love urban fantasy and must start another series exce Decent, even though the plot was all over the place and since it was a sequel I spent a lot of time confused about the characters. Read this only if you love urban fantasy and must start another series except you should probably start with book one.
Dec 25, Samuel Lubell rated it liked it Shelves: These is the second of the Nola O'Grady paranormal romances. As with the first the various doings of the paranormal O'Grady family are more interesting than the mystery elements. Nola's brother, who can walk between worlds wants to bring back his alternate universe girlfriend and an Uncle is being blackmailed by the bad guys. And a rabbi from Ari's past has a letter from Nola's previously thought dead father is who himself a worldwalker from a parallel world.
There's not much romance although Nola and Interpol agent Ari move in together and avoid using the L word. Oct 23, Jenni Ebba rated it really liked it. This book had good development and was good in the world-building sense. I loved how we got to see more of Nola's family and her relationship, despite Nola's best efforts otherwise, to Ari continues to grow.
I also liked that we also see a possible end to Nola's anorexic behavior with her family and Ari telling her to EAT. This book makes me anxiously await the next installment. Jul 27, Liza rated it liked it Shelves: This second book is also a fun story. It's a nice change from so much of Urban Fantasy, because Nola is in an actual relationship with an actual guy, and they're working through their relationship and their issues in their own way, without ever getting into that angsty thing where they suddenly stop trusting each other or start pushing each other away that you see in so much UF.
May 29, Ron rated it really liked it Shelves: Worthy sequel to License to Ensorcell. Nola and Ari pick up the threads of the case from the previous volume which leads them to blackmail, treasure hunting and watery danger.