Death and Relaxation

This book starts out fine and then it's like being a passenger in a cab in Manhattan: vroom! brake. vroom! brake. vroom! brake. Ugh. Motion sickness. And that's not even the worst of it.The premise was kind of cool. Reminiscent of Ilona Andrews' "Innkeeper" series (and suffers by the comparison), but the similarity is shallow. Ordinary is a town in Oregon where gods and monsters go to take vacation. The "creatures" (vampires, werewolves and the like) go about their daily lives as they are, but t [...]

3.75 starsDevon Monk is one of my favorite urban fantasy authors. I don't think I ever find a book from hers that I don't like ever since I discovered her Allie Beckstrom series five years ago. ALTHOUGH, I did skip her Age of Steam series, mainly because I'm not really a fan of steampunk. Anyway, this new series of her is another one that I enjoy and definitely will follow. It's a little bit lighter than her usual story. Sure, there's a dead god which fell into Delaney's jurisdiction, but things [...]

This is my third Devon Monk book, and I'm sorry to say this author is never on my autobuy, not even near it. I do like her stories, and this is not an exception, but they never move beyond an ok, this is a nice read. I'm never particularly interested in their sequels. Death and relaxation suffered from two main ailments: thinness, both in plot and world building, and uncertainty (Am I a uf mystery or a uf romance?).The plot is really barely there, but I think it's linked to point 2. There's too [...]

Delaney Reed is the chief of police in Ordinary, Oregon, but her town is anything but ordinary. It is a place where various creatures – vampires, werewolves, etc. – live among humans and where gods of the world come for a vacation. When they do, they have to give up their ‘god powers’ and live as mortals. They also must have a job for the duration of their stay in Ordinary. So there is a bar in Ordinary owned by Hera. There is a kite rental place owned by Thanatos, the god of death. Ther [...]

Not bad. Kinda boring though. Still, I'll read the next one when it comes out.

The whole Ryder thing just about ruined this book for me.

A true small town story. I would know, I live in one, minus the vacationing gods. You get the setup of how the town works, then a god is murdered. The police chief is not only a chief, her family finds a new mortal the god power has to go in. The chief actually holds that power in her body until then. There are a lot of questions about the chief's childhood crush too, that need answering. It was really a great murder mystery, I always enjoy paranormal crime books. It was interesting enough that [...]

Story was ok but I didn't enjoy the relationship dynamic at all. Got the the end of book 2 and didn't bother with book 3. I was so put off by the MC's.

Ordinary If you're a die hard paranormal lover of seriously kick-tail, hard core action female protagonists you're going to be sorely disappointed with this very ordinary cozy mystery. This is essentially a formula driven mystery with an unremarkable protagonist and her equally unremarkable family and friends.There's no surprises and nothing to keep you awake at night, but an easily readable novel that remains true to its cozy mystery genre.

"This is Ordinary, nothing about it has ever been normal." Ordinary Magic introduces us to Delaney Reed and her two younger sisters. All are police officers in Ordinary, Oregon, as well as "peacekeeper, guardian, and law for all the mortals, creatures, and deities who made Ordinary their home." The small town is an official vacation destination for gods, goddesses and deities who must relinquish their powers - albeit temporarily - while on holiday, which makes them human for the duration of thei [...]

*Source* Booklending*Genre* Urban Fantasy**Rating* 3.5*My Thoughts*Death and Relaxation, by author Devon Monk, is the first installment in the Ordinary Magic series. Police Chief Delaney Reed has been in the position of “bridge” since her father passed away a year ago. Luckily for Delaney, she has two wonderful, and supportive sisters in Myra and Jean who are also on the force. Plus, she's never had to use her abilities as the bridge. Until now. Ordinary, Oregon is anything but Ordinary. I [...]

This was a really hard one for me to rate.Let's start with the stuff I loved.1. The Reed sistersTheir family dynamic is amazing. And I hope we get to dig even deeper into Myra and Jean, because I love them as much as I love Delaney. The story of their family - just drawn in broad strokes, for this first book in the series - seems complex and interesting, and I want more. But it was also great to see these three sisters and their very real relationship with each other.2. The world-buildingI love [...]

What a surprise this was! First of all, I’ve had Devon Monk on my Mountain TBR for YEARS! Don’t ask me why that hasn’t been remedied, but that may change soon. So anyway, fast forward to a few days ago and I saw Ilona Andrews post about this release on Facebook and. the cover whore in me HAD to have it. And I’m so glad I took the plunge. In a time when we are facing a lack of good paranormal books, I jump for joy any time I find a gem, and this is oneATH AND RELAXATION is an urban fantas [...]

Death and Relaxation is the first in the Ordinary Magic series and tells the story of Delany Reed, the police chief and keeper of all things supernatural in the town of Ordinary. The Reed family have looked after and kept the secrets of the supernatural community for centuries and with her father's recent death Delany is now head of her family's obligations. With the death of a God, Delaney not only has to find the murderer but also a new host for the God power and she has just seven days to do [...]

This book had a certain something, but it was also missing a certain something.It had the charming small town atmosphere going, it had the really new and unique concept of a secret vacation town for gods, an intriguing romance, and it had a dose of fun and humour with the town's rhubarb rally. It was compelling reading. Basically, at its heart it was a good book. On the other hand, it's technique was off base in all sorts of ways. The characters were OK- they didn't irritate me, but I didn't fal [...]

I liked this well enough and I'm going to read book two, but I really need Delaney to be less stupid and oblivious.

Really enjoyed 4.5 stars. I wish that they would change the star system. 10 or 7 stars would be good. This would then be 6 stars out of 7reading 10/9/16

3.5 stars! Good story and characters! I liked how the Gods came to this town on vacation and stayed for years without their powers!

The town of Ordinary is anything but ordinary. A small town story of the Reed family who are entrusted to be mortal overseers of mythological god powers. These same gods get to enjoy some R&R time while their powers are safely contained. I enjoyed the easy flow of the book and found the town and its people to be fanciful and amusing. My favorite characters were Bertie and Thanatos.

What a surprise this was! First of all, I've had Devon Monk on my Mountain TBR for YEARS! Don't ask me why that hasn't been remedied, but that may change soon. So anyway, fast forward to a few days ago and I saw Ilona Andrews post about this release on Facebook and . the cover whore in me HAD to have it. And I'm so glad I took the plunge. In a time when we are facing a lack of good paranormal books, I jump for joy any time I find a gem, and this is oneATH AND RELAXATION is an urban fantasy set i [...]

Devon Monk is nothing if not consistent, I always enjoy her books. This first book in a new series did not disappoint. I was immediately engaged with the main character, Delaney Reed, the chief of police in Ordinary, Oregon, a town that is anything but ordinary. If you like urban fantasy, I think you’ll like this book. It isn’t dark but it isn’t silly. It’s packed with strong women but they aren’t smartasses. I kind of hated the romance though. At one point Delaney said something smart [...]

Small town, urban fantasy that is quite different from other Devon Monk books I've read. Delaney Reed was an interesting character as the chief of police of Ordinary, Oregon. It's the place where gods go to vacation, which means each Reed child has a unique ability to meet the requirements of living in an usual town. There's a murder to solve and the Reed daughters are up to the task.Our heroine as is typical of many Urban Fantasy leads, of being seemingly being able to function on coffee alone. [...]

A very solid 4 stars, possibly 4.5 stars.Loved the idea of a vacation spot for Gods in Ordinary, Oregon. And the fact that 'creatures' were also present and a largely unknowing human population rounded out the town. And also the Reed family, in this generation 3 sisters, all of them the town's police force. Still a question mark over how Reed senior, the Sheriff, died a year before the story started.Delaney Reed, the new Sheriff, has the responsibility of bridging the Gods power when they vacati [...]

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the Ordinary Magic series, what a fantastic little town Ordinary, Oregon is. It’s filled with vacationing gods, werewolves, vampires and other creatures, as well as the normal humans - and then there is Delaney Reed who has been the police chief ever since the death of her father a year ago. It’s her job to keep all of the towns secrets from the regular humans and tourists and keep the peace, along with her two sisters, which make up the town’s polic [...]

Okay so this was a bit annoying because I really don't like my MC's stupid and this MC really is that. She is chief of police with a lack of skills and understanding of her job. If someone calls and tells you to stay in the house because something dangerous will happen if you don't. What do you do? You stay in the house. what did the MC do? She went out of the house. 30% some of the mystery went out and you already knew who it was that would be the next god. Still Devon Monk kept it going until [...]

3.5 stars - this was pretty lightweight but I enjoyed it. I like the town where the gods hang up their power and vacation by living like mortals for a few decades. I also liked the three sisters who are in charge of policing the town. There's a bit of mystery and I am looking forward to the next book which is supposedly out soon.

Not gonna lie : I rarely expect perfection from the first book in an urban fantasy serie. Generally, the worldbuilding is a bit shaky and the plot isn’t really surprising. But the characters save it.In this book the worldbuilding seems pretty good for a first book. Ordinary, Oregon is a small town where gods come to spend some time as mortal without powers, which they call vacations. The town also has other supernatural creatures. And the Reed family is there to make sure the gods behave accor [...]

It took me awhile to read this book but I'm glad I did. I really really like this premise of the town and Gods going on vacation. I enjoyed almost everything about it. I love the sisters and the way that Devon Monk writes emotion and family.My cons:Except I don't trust Laney's observational skills. And that's the one thing she should have in spades. I get that she's new and there's a lack of sleep and all, but when it came to both Ryder and the God Power these things were obvious. She needed to [...]

I was surprised and excited to trip over a new set of books by Devon Monk. And now I'm disappointed. Gods hanging out without their power in an Oregon beach town. I just couldn't buy it. And the characters were lots of near misses - they sounded good but the writing didn't quite work. Sure the whole thing has possibilities. And perhaps the sequel will be better. But a bit lame. And not up to the level of quality I expect from this author.

doesn't sound like I'd like it too much/review/show