Review: Voodoo Dues - Stephany Simmons

Series: Lian and Figg #1
Genre; Urban Fantasy
Format: Ebook
Published: July 2011
Review by Lis

From the beginning of Figg’s employment, there is something not quite right about the bar. There are few customers, a parade of neighborhood psychics and pentacle adorned visitors, all coming to hold court with her enigmatic boss. Figg is not sure what is going on, but she is determined to find out! 

When the local voodoo queen shows up, and the next morning her grandson ends up dead outside the bar things get interesting. Figg pesters Lian into telling her the truth about his former life, and is thrust into a world where the things that go bump in the night are real. There’s a murder to solve, zombies to lay to rest and a villain that neither of them saw coming. 

Voodoo, Intrigue and Funny are ingredients of choice at the moment after reading a bunch of disturbing books that almost turned me away from (m/m) romance forever. Voodoo Dues was therefore a very welcome and much needed light read. At least it didn’t have aliens, eggs and an orgasm machine *shudders* What it does have is funny and lovable characters, a mystery, romance and voodoo and a murder. Need a Scooby Snack yet?

Figg is a bartender in this first person story in a bar where something shady is going on. From pentacle wearing customers and local psychics, they all come to flock to her boss like moth to a flame. Naturally Figg is curious and sticks her nose where it doesn’t belong. 

She gets in way deep when the grandson of the Voodoo Queen is found murdered outside the bar. Suddenly there are zombies, along with other things that go bump in the night and on top of that, her straight-laced, yummeeeeee, boss shows her a whole different side of himself. 

This is a funny light read that could have done with a few more pages. It’s a lovable story that would have been a little less confusing if it wasn’t seen from the first person view of both the characters. It’s a much criticized technique that not everyone will like. 

However, I found that it didn’t make me like this story any less. The characters are sweet and strong. Figg is lovable, but strong and touch. She doesn’t break down when she’s thrust into a world she doesn’t know anything about. 

Lian, her boss, is a very sweet man who’s trying to escape the horrors of his past. At times I found him a bit too girly, but not to the point that I no longer liked him. 

The plot itself in well thought through, but nothing big. It fits the story. 

You know who else fit the story? The secondary cast of characters! They are a good bunch. They are who actually sold the story to me. Romance needs a good cast of secondary characters and this story doesn’t disappoint. 

So, all in all, this story had me believing there is hope for romance yet! 

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Note from B
My flash fiction for this week