To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory

The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch. 

Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim. 

Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie’s got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

My Thoughts

I can't say, I absolutely love this book, but I still like it alot. I love pretty much all of the characters. Even the cocky Knight Vader. Love him to pieces. It's nice to have a male lead who knows who he wants and how to get it. 

Can I get one in real life? Much appreciated! :)

The only thing I didn't particularly like with this book is all of the romantic potential partners. There was the vampire, the elf, and Knight all vying for her attention. It was way too many for me to juggle even though I get the fact she is a very attractive fairy and wanted by many men. 

Other then that, I think I have no complaints. I think I was expecting so much since I've heard many great things about this author, but I just disappointed by the lack of wow factor that I was so expecting.

Characters: Like I said, I love all of the characters. I don't remember any character that annoyed me, which is unusual. I even ended up liking an unlikable character. I know a total tongue twister, but still. That's pretty decent characterization.

I also really liked the fact that Dulcie and pretty much all the characters had layers. Especially Dulcie and Knight. Delving into their past and discovering their current situations was interesting to say the least.

I also liked the powers given to Dulcie. I had to tip my hate to Ms. Mallory for giving them unique powers. I love the fact that the author took it back to Peter Pan with the fairy dust, and then shaking the hand to accumulate fairy dust? Ultra nice touch. 

I didn't understand why the author gave Knight these powers and associated them with the god Loki. It such a weird mix, but I do dig it. I just don't particularly like it. I don't know why, maybe it's because I can't really get why she picked certain aspects that make Loki Loki and added other powers that have relation to that character. So I have mixed feelings about his powers.

Then, to me, the whole elf thing just didn't really register. It's almost like she's recreating some of the old fairy tales and their powers and I don't really like the way she did. Making an elf tall for example kinda irks me .I don't know what it is. And of course, there were no Keebler jokes (which is beyond me) but that's just a sarcastic twist that I wish she would have put in there. It dead obvious that she should have put at least one cookie joke, but then again, it's probably just me. 

I guess in general, some of the powers for some characters made sense and others had no correlation at all, which kinda bugs me. Anyway, I think it could have been done with a better respect to the older versions but still given a unique twist. I'm thinking something along the lines of Grimm or Once Upon Time type of twist.

Plot: Love the twist at the end! Overall, I would give the plot a thumbs up. I even give her credit for developing a solid plot.

The only thing, plot wise, I didn't like was the fact that bdsm was treated like some kind of foreign entity. I didn't like the way it was portrayed. I know that bondage is part of the kinky realm of sex, but it doesn't mean that it has to be treated like only freaks love that sort of stuff. 

I think it could have been handled better with a lot more research and some more delicacy. Maybe I'm partial since I'm into it a bit, but I still feel like I can't be the only one who felt like, "Sheesh, bdsm isn't THAT weird." I guess for me, I think it could have handled better.

But I do love the fact that Knight likes it. So there's some hope that bdsm will get its due in the book and shown in a more favorable light.

Setting: While I understand the main setting, I didn't completely understand the Netherworld. Maybe she'll explain that in more detail throughout the series since I thought the Netherworld is suppose to be hell. So where is hell and why did she change it to a place that is reflective of the earth as is? I mean, what is the point of having a duplicate of earth anyway? 

And this is the same problem I had before, she's not really paying her dues toward the historical aspect of the Netherworld. Like I think, and I could be wrong, I thought in the Greek history that Hades was in charge of the Netherworld. That's where all of the dead go. 

So in her new world, where do all the dead go?

Or is she creating an alternative dimension where all the demons reside along with other paranormal creatures? And that hell is still there, just beneath Netherworld?

To me something isn't making any sense to me about her world. I wish I could figure it out, but I'm struggling to piece it altogether.

Ending: I like the ending. It's realistic and ties the story with a bow at the end. It still leaves me with a lot questions about her world and about what will happen next, but it was still a nice ending. I especially liked what she did for the main character and how she changed her. So I'll give her props on that too. Clever idea.

Overall: Would I recommend this book to friends?

I don't know.

I think I'm still on the fence about this one. I would be willing to give it to them since it's a free book. Would I tell them to buy the second?

I would have to read it and find out.

Am I tempted to buy the second book?

A little bit. The thing is: Lucy has A LOT of explaining to do, and if she doesn't do it in the next book, where does it leave all of my questions? And sure, I could ask the author, but shouldn't her book have the answers? Shouldn't the world building be sufficient enough that I wouldn't have all of these deep questions?

Shouldn't she have done the research? And sure, she might have, but then where is the hat tipping off to the history? That's where I just have an itchy feeling that I'm not going to be satisfied with her style of twisting the old.

It's not I wouldn't give her a chance. I would have to think about it some more first. And I would have to read the reviews to find out. Maybe ask one of the reviewers what they think about her world.

For right now, I would say read it and see if you find it suitable to your tastes. As of right now, I'm leaning on not reading any more books out of that series. But I might try some other book in her collection since she has demonstrated clear talent and work through this book. Hmm. This is tough.

Anyway, I hope that helps. Enjoy and tell me what you think about it!