Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “One of the biggest complaints I have with urban fantasy as a whole is that it tends to lean very far into the paranormal and make realism second place. Not so with Ann Aguirre's latest offering, Blue Diablo, which, put simply, is To Cast a Deadly Spell meets Commando. Corine Solomon is a woman...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“Content living hidden away in Mexico City, Corine Solomon is not happy when Chance, her handsome ex, shows up asking for her help. Corine's talent for handling an object and seeing visions of events surrounding its owner might lead them to finding his mother who disappeared from the border town of Laredo, TX. As Corine and Chance get pulled into a puzzling mix of international crime and powerful magick, they also find strong companions whose talents, combined with their own, might make the difference needed to save Chance's mother.
BookReporter wrote this review Tuesday, September 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Ann Aguirre's new series starts off intriguing, and, by the end of Blue Diablo, is downright captivating. Fast-paced and engrossing, I like how Ann writes, and I want to steal some quotes from Corine's inner dialogue. I was fascinated by the characters, charmed by their camaraderie, and I found the growing quandary Corine faces in her relationship with Chance titillating, not to mention other added attractions. I'm looking forward to next time.
Posted by Barbara Vey on www.PublishersWeekly.com/BeyondHerBook blog 09/02/09”
“I admit that I picked up BLUE DIABLO because of (1) the blurb from Patricia Briggs on the cover: "Outstanding and delicious!" and (2) because the lovely reviewer piqued my interest in the setting.
TJ wrote this review Sunday, August 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
BLUE DIABLO is the first in the Corine Solomon series by Ann Aguirre (Pronounced, apparently, "Ah-GEAR-ay"). Corine has been on the run her entire life. She started running when her mother was burned for being a "witch". The last time she stopped, she fell in love with Chance and nearly died, so she left him in the middle of the night to move on to Mexico City and start a new life. However, Chance, who has always been unnaturally lucky, finds her and asks her help in finding his missing mother. Corine--heiress of her mother's power--is a "handler" and cannot do anything but agree to help her ex...
I enjoyed BLUE DIABLO much more than I thought I would, to be honest. I expected fluffy romance with a twist of mystery and fantasy, but what I got was much more. Aguirre has a talent for characters, firstly. The entire cast of BLUE DIABLO is amazing--and I would very much like to see all of them have reoccurring roles in the second volume. Corine, herself, is a flawed but understandable protagonist with a good head on her shoulders. Her two love interests, Chance and Jesse, oppose each other nicely. Both Chance and Jesse appeal to different needs that Corine possesses and bring out different qualities within her. Their friends, Eva and Chuch and Booke and even Butch... Well, I love them all. To add to the awesome, the cast is matched by a wonderful setting. Rather than the usual, bland, nameless cityscape in which urban fantasy almost always seems to take place, Aguirre chose the colorful south. The story takes place entirely in Mexico and Texas.
Just to top everything off, the cover is gorgeous as well. I'd rather see Corine with the longer hair and her "hippie chic", but I can't deny that this is certainly eye-candy. And, of course, I forgive any truly beautiful eye-candy of discrepancies. (If you need proof of this, see Patricia Briggs' Mercy series, in which the beautiful covers give Mercy about a dozen tattoos she does not have.)
The next Corine Solomon book seems slated for April 2010 and will be titled HELL FIRE. I'll be waiting eagerly, myself.
My final thoughts: Recently, I've been branching out to try new, different Urban Fantasy authors. Vampires and werewolves are well and good, but the unique talent of Corine Solomon and equally unique landscape reminded me how nice different perspectives are. In fact, I challenge any of you to pick up this novel or a new vampire-less contemporary fantasy today and give it a try. Who knows, you may discover a gem like Ann Aguirre. ”
“Amazing book.
Steph wrote this review Monday, May 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Corine is a woman who has run from her past and currently resides in Mexico City.
Suddenly, her ex boyfriend shows up looking for her help to find his missing mother.
This story is filled with action, great characters & lots of sexual tension.
There's some dark humor and some touchy parts between Chance & Corine.
All in all, I was not disappointed.
Cliffhanger = ugh! ):
I can't wait to read the next book in the series.”
“ love reading urban fantasy, especially gritty well-written UF. BLUE DIABLO fit the bill to the proverbial T!
IYamVixenBooks wrote this review Thursday, May 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Corine Solomon, the reluctant champion, is diggin' her quiet life as a pawn shop owner in Mexico City. She can feel the provenance of an item, know where it's going after it leaves her shop. It's definitely better than the life she ran from. That life was harsh, filled with people who only wanted her for her gift of finding missing persons.
Her ex walked into her shop one day and Corine knew her quiet life as she knew it was over, possibly forever.
Chance had luck wherever he went, good and bad both. The bad kind being when Corine walked out of his life, searching for quiet. Now he's found her again and he wants her to help find his missing mother, Yi Min-chin.
Corine is thrust back into the world of magick, ghosts, warlocks, astral projection, gun-runners, drug dealers...just pure-dee bad all around.
There is some good in there. My favorite characters are Chuch and Eva and Butch. They are unlikely warriors ready to fight the good fight.
I could identify with Corine's wounded heart nature. I like when the characters feel 'real' and all of these do. Good is shaded and reluctant, bad is uber bad and not always easily recognizable. ”
“I have actually started and almost finished this book. My puppy chewed through pages from page 273 to page 278 making it impossible to read those pages. I tried to read anyway, but cannot even guess at the missing pages. So it is now languishing on my shelf, infinished. I tried to e-mail the author, to see if it was possible to get just those pages e-mailed to me (I'm on a severe budget right now, and cannot afford to buy two of the same book) but have not received a reply. I attached pictures of the chewed pages as proof the I actually had the book, and the pages were actually chewed up, but maybe it went to her spam folder because of the attachments. Whatever the reason, I am disappointed and really would like to finish reading the book. I was really getting into this book when the puppy vs. book fiasco happened.
Mardel wrote this review Saturday, May 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
UPDATE: Ann Aguirre e-mailed me the missing pages! Finished the book yesterday.
I enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend it to others. This is a book that I will be looking for sequels to.
DIALOGUE - good
ACTION- Lots of good action- of all types, supernatural, gunfights, attacks...
PLOT - a good one. Corinne's ex-boyfriend's mother is kidnapped. Corinne can handle objects and see an event that has happened. This way she is able to help Chance trace his mother's last steps. They enlist help from a couple of acquaintaces who end up as friends. An excaped convict shows up to do the work of God, and Corinne has to decide wheter to trust him or not.
MYSTERY - There is some mystery surrounding Chances mom. Why would anyone want to kidnap her? There is mystery surrounding Corinne. What really happened to her father? Why does Corinne have to pay such a steep physical price whenver she handles objects.
ROMANCE - there is a little. Chance is Corinnes ex, and he's still attracted to her, though a little bitter at the way she left him. She is still attracted to him, though she feels their relationship would have eventually killed her. She is also attracted to a "hot" cop she meets, the cop in charge of the investigation surrounding Min's disappearance.
A great book. I'm so glad I was able to finish reading it, thanks to Ann for writing a great book, and for providing me with e-mailed pages replacing puppy-chewed pages.
Other books by Ann Aguirre: Grimspace and Wanderlust, both well worth reading.”
“Review coming soon!”
Jessica K wrote this review Monday, April 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“New series. Handler Corine Solomon thought she left her life behind when she left Chance, her ex. But he shows up at her pawn shop in Mexico asking for help in finding his mother. She has been kidnapped. Corine and Chance join with others like her- people who can do 'things'. I liked it. ”
Liza S wrote this review Wednesday, April 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Blue Diablo (Corine Solomon book 1) by Ann Aguirre
Brooke Reviews wrote this review Friday, April 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Corine Solomon is a handler. If she touches something that's magically charged, she can see its past; like who held it last, where its been, or events surrounding the item. Sometimes she can even see the future. In the past she used these powers to look for missing persons, and to put the bad guys in jail. Now, she just wants the simple life she's set up for herself in Mexico, but people keep trying to find her and put those powers to use again. People like her ex-boyfriend, Chance, who is desperate to find his missing mother. Corine knows that she must help as soon as she handles his mothers lucky Buddha, and sees that she was taken. As they follow the clues they find themselves facing sorcerers, demons, witches, zombies, and ghost, and in more danger than they bargained for.
Blue Diablo adds a muy caliente Southwestern flair to the Urban Fantasy genre, and leading lady Corine is down to Earth and as real as they get. She doesn't have super strength, and she doesn't tote around guns. The best she can do is throw a grenade. The only thing she possesses is the power her late mother left her with. I enjoyed the romance and the sexual tension between Corine and her ex, Chance. Corine is confused about her feelings toward Chance, and she's constantly questioning his intentions. Which is good considering their past: working together to rescue people and rake in big money. But when Corine almost lost her life, she decided enough was enough and left him in the middle of the night. Their chemistry is undeniable though, and they find themselves working against each other at times because they are afraid of their feelings.
Corine's powers were pulled off brilliantly. Better than other books I have read with handlers in them, and her powers paired with Chance's luck make them unstoppable. The powers of a few of the other characters had me a bit confused, like a character being sent by God...was he really or was he just crazy or maybe just a supernatural with healing abilities? But it all works out in the end with a huge battle scene starring tons of zombies!
Blue Diablo is smart and saucy, with a great cast of characters that are likeable, memorable, and most of all have each other's backs no matter what. Each time a new character came on the scene they were well fleshed out, and I could tell that a lot of thought went into each one.
I look forward to reading book two in the Corine Solomon series when it's released. In the meantime you should head out and get this book when it comes out on April 7th!
”
“I won an ARC of this book and when it came I had no interest in reading it. I finally made myself give this author a chance and guess what? I really liked it. I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series when it's available to see what happens. ”
Leigh Ann B wrote this review Wednesday, April 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
