Hi, everyone!
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for UMBRATE by A.D. Jones on this Black Phoenix Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Welcome to Dalton
Home to Humans, Dwarves, Elves and the shadowy Umbral Populace.
Detective Vanic Bradley works hard to keep the peace, coming down hard on the criminal underbelly of the city.
After putting his life on the line multiple times in recent weeks, all he wanted was a day off work to spend time with his son, and re-evaluate his place in the world – but forces beyond his control have other ideas.
For reasons unknown, he will find himself in a race against time as two hundred innocent citizens become collateral damage in a murderous plot centered around him.
Umbrate is the debut Urban Fantasy crime thriller by A.D Jones, that will offer up his take on a fantasy setting that should be welcomed by many readers, regardless of their genre tastes.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199395214-umbrate?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=RYgA5KMF4E&rank=1
Universal link for the book on Amazon
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
UMBRATE by A.D. Jones is an engaging debut urban fantasy crime thriller that introduces us to a new world that is like ours but besides humans is also inhabited by dwarves, elves and a dark and shadowy species known as the Umbral. This is also a fast-paced crime thriller. While this novel is a short standalone, it could easily lead to a series.
Umbral can only come out in the night or in protected environments that will not let the sun touch them and even as the government has tried to assimilate them, there has always been a deep prejudice towards them. Detective Vanic Bradley works the dangerous night shift and does not like Umbral. After being wounded on the job, Vanic just wants a day off to enjoy with his young son. They end up at the mall and are suddenly trapped inside with a killer who is willing to turn everyone else into collateral damage to get to Vanic.
I really enjoyed this story and was easily pulled into this new urban fantasy world. The crime thriller plot is what you would find in many thrillers, but this story has distinct races from fantasy stories as well as the new Umbral race. Vanic is well developed for this shorter novel. He is divorced, but on good terms with his ex, a loving father, has a current love interest and is a rising star in law enforcement ranks, but he does have a prejudice against Umbral which goes all the way back to his youth. There is plenty of action, especially once everyone is enclosed in the mall, and this is when all the major secondary characters become known and help in the fight.
This is a fast read with an interesting new world, gripping thriller action and by a debut author. I am looking forward to seeing what will come next from this author.
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About the Author
A.D Jones lives in the North of England; where he spends his time favoring books over people and can be found writing or devouring said books to review online. He loves Coca-Cola, Twin Peaks, all things horror, and cult movies. He dislikes the movie ‘The Karate Kid’ with a passion that burns brighter than the sun.
His debut novel – Umbrate was released in October 2023 to positive feedback and his next book: Sacrificial Waters is scheduled for release sometime in 2024.
He also has multiple short stories in print through publishing houses such as Dark Village Publications and January Ember Press.
You can find him on Instagram – the_evergrowing_library
