Flight from Death by Yasmine Galenorn

July 8th, 2015 Kimberly Review 56 Comments

8th Jul
Flight from Death by Yasmine Galenorn
Flight from Death
by Yasmine Galenorn
Series: Fly by Night #1
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Heat Level: One FlameHalf a Flame

I’m Shimmer, a blue dragon shifter. Thanks to a mistake, I was exiled from the Dragon Reaches and sentenced to work for Alex Radcliffe, a vampire who owns the Fly by Night Magical Investigations Agency. Now, not only do I have to adapt to Earthside culture, but every time I turn around, somebody’s trying to kill us. And worse, Alex is as gorgeous as he is exasperating. But you know what they say: All’s fair in love and bounty hunting…When an old friend of Alex contacts him about a haunting at the High Tide Bed & Breakfast in Port Townsend, Washington, we think we’re on a simple ghost hunt. But our investigation quickly transforms into a deadly fight as we uncover an eighty-year-old murder, a cursed house, and a dark force trapping the spirits within. To stop impending disaster we must break the curse and lay the angry spirits to rest.

This year I have been making a conscious effort to try new to me authors and when an opportunity presented itself to read Flight from Death by Yasmime Galenorn, I jumped. Flight from Death is the first in her new Fly by Night, urban fantasy series. While it takes place in the same realm as her popular Otherworld series, it is not necessary to read them. Did I mention the main character is a DRAGON! An intense haunting and rarely seen supernatural creatures make Flight from Death a great read for fans of urban fantasy.

So a dragon, a vampire and werewolf walk into an Inn….

Shimmer is a blue dragon shifter, who has been exiled from the Dragon Reaches for five years and sentences to work Earthside with Alex Radcliffe. Alex is a vampire who owns the Fly by Night Magical Investigation Agency. I love the set-up and right away I am hooked.

Galenorn does a wonderful job of explaining this world where humans and the supernatural live together. Shimmer’s backstory and reason for exile are explained, but we also get a mystery about her parentage that I suspect will be an overall story arc with each book dealing with a new case for the Agency. Right away, I like the set up.

Alex’s friend Patrick recently renovated the Tide Bed & Breakfast in Port Townsend, Washington.  He was all set to open but strange activities that are more than a simple haunting have him asking for help. Alex takes Shimmer and Ralph an adorable, caffeinated computer geek who also happens to be a werewolf with him for this assignment.

I loved how the author managed to set a nice pace for the tale while weaving in the worldbuilding. So often book one in an urban fantasy is weighed down by building the world in the first half and just when things are getting good, it ends. Such was not the case it Flight by Death. From the beginning, I was drawn in and had a good sense of things.

The mystery was fascinating and suspenseful. A simple haunting turns into an eighty year old mystery. Add in a gypsy curse and dark supernatural creatures holding spirits and you have the makings for an intense action-packed read. It also introduced unusual supernatural creatures, a witch and a spirit walker. Did I mention ghosts? Yep, there are many spirits in Port Townsend and not all of them are happy. We see a lot of different supernatural creatures and learn a little lore.

I enjoyed the characters in Flight from Death but wish they were more fleshed out. We learned the most detail about Shimmer, but Alex, Ralph and Patrick have me curious to learn more. Bette, the agencies secretary is a snake-shifter who made me laugh and I loved page time with this snarky woman. Chai, a jinni whose like a brother to Shimmer added to the tale from knowledge, humor and badassery. Shimmer has issues, but the girl is not afraid to take on a challenge, ok she is afraid but she gets it done without falling apart and I liked her spunk.

There is a mild romance as mentioned in the synopsis between Shimmer and Alex. I got off to bad start with Alex due to something he said and never really regained my footing with the romance. View Spoiler » Thankfully, this thread took a serious backseat to the case. It is not dead in the water for me, but I need a lot more convincing.

Flight from Death was an good start to the Fly by Night series. I truly enjoyed the case and the world. I am looking forward to news on the next book in the series.

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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56 Responses to “Flight from Death by Yasmine Galenorn”

  1. Lauren

    Thank you for sharing, I’ve heard mixed things about this book. I’m glad you felt it was a good start to a series and wow a lot seems to happen too. Maybe one day I’ll pick it up.

  3. Lark

    The dragon-shifter bit has me intrigued, and your joke had me grinning. I read the spoiler and I admit, that would really bother me, too, and yet I like what you say about the world-building. I am so swamped with books to read, though! [sigh]

  4. Lindy

    I love that this story has a variety of supernatural creatures and the author does a good job of explaining how they co-exist with the humans in the world. I’m glad that you were able to enjoy the pacing and action-packed mystery, despite having some issues with the romance, and needing the characters to be more fleshed out.

  6. Michelle

    I’ve read one of Yasmine’s books a long time ago, and bought two others…mostly because of the covers. It wasn’t my favorite because of the character depth issue but it was quite fun. I can totally understand why you never fully recovered from the Alex thing. I hate when people say that…if you like someone enough that you’re envision them instead of the one you’re with it’s time to reconcile with the fact that you need to cut ties before it becomes a problem.

  7. Kristin

    I actually just recommended the library order this (yeah, long story for another day) so I’m glad it was good! I might just have to pick it up and actually read it myself. I’m with you, I NEED and WANT to read more “new to me” authors!!!!!

    BTW – I’m not sticky on what bothered and got stuck in your brain about Alex. I kind of think it’s romantic. I’ve been on the bad end of that and still, I see it as you just can’t help some stuff. But I’ve romantic mush for brains….

  8. Diana Leigh

    I am intrigued by the dragon part! They make the coolest shifters. Too bad Alex was a jerk at the start. 🙁

  10. Mary

    I really like Galenorn’s stories and this one is set in the same world as her other series. A really good start to a new series — hoping that the other characters do get a bit more fleshed out!

  12. ShootingStarsMag

    Sounds like a really fun series! I want to read more UF, and that’s good you don’t have to read her other series before going into this one.

  13. Heidi

    This sounds interesting, and I have been meaning to try this author as well. I know that sometimes the first book in a new UF series is a tough sell as the author is taking time to establish characters. Hopefully Alex will come around for you next time.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I am really trying not to focus on all of these huge series on my wishlist, and just dive into author’s on my to read list when a new book/series pops up. So far it has paid off.

  14. Ramona

    Lol, you had me at “a dragon, a vampire and a werewolf walk into an inn…” I hope to read this. It’s not often that I come upon new series anymore 🙂 Brilliant review!

  15. kindlemom1

    This is an author I really need to try as well because I have heard good things about them. Glad this was a pretty good start to a new series, it sounds really interesting! This is definitely my year for trying new authors and getting my TBR pile down.

  16. Debbie Haupt

    Ok Kim I’m still chuckling at “So a dragon, a vampire and werewolf walk into an Inn….” 🙂

    I wish there were more hours in the day to try new authors, but I guess I’m just going to have to give up an hour or so of sleep because you’ve showcased some pretty impressive stuff lately. LOL
    I also saw this reviewed somewhere else today but casue I’m old too I forgot where LOL

  17. Kimberly Gauthier

    Adding this one to my Wish List. Thanks. I’m so glad that I found your site.

  18. Lanie

    You had me at Dragon, that’s pretty much all I needed to know to want this book. lol

  19. Tanya

    Reading now. I’m not to a point yet where I have a connection with the characters but I’m liking the side characters best right now.

  21. Jenny

    I was sold at dragons Kim. Is it bad that that’s all it takes to convince me? Give me a blue dragon shifter any day and I’ll be a happy reader! It’s too bad the romance turned you off just a touch, but hopefully Alex will win you over in the next book!

  22. Melanie (YA Midnight Reads)

    I really don’t read enough Urban Fantasy (maybe I’ve read a tiny handful over the years???) so I am very curious about this one and shall check it out on goodreads!

    Lovely review as usual, Kimba <33

  23. Nick

    That’s awesome that you are trying to read other new authors, Kim! I need to make that a goal of mine too. This sounds wonderful although I would wish for the characters to be more fleshed out too. I clicked your spoiler and yes, that would frustrate me too when it comes to the romance. 🙁
    Hopefully, the next book will be more solid when it comes to the characters and the romance.
    Great review, Kim!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I will try book two and see how it goes, I loved the supernatural elements and unique creatures..so was a lot to offer.

  24. Rashika

    I had to click the spoiler button to see what Alex had said that was a huge turnoff and I am with you on that. That is not cool at all and makes me feel uncomfortable. However, given how good the book sounds aside from that tidbit, I still want to check the book out!

    Great review, Kimba!! 🙂

  25. Ro

    Wow! Lots going on in this book and sounds interesting! Enjoyed your review. Hugs…

  26. Melliane

    I confess that I’m not a really big fan of the author so well.. I’m not that attracted to the nex series. But happy it was nice for you!

  27. Myrthe

    Sounds like a great read! I haven’t read anything by Galenorn before, seems like I should give it a try.

  28. Lorna

    Well your review about made me fall out..I just reviewed it today as well and when I posted it to Amazon, I did so with the heading, A Dragon, a vampire and a werewolf walk into a bed and breakfast. Great minds and all that 🙂 Anyway I enjoyed it as well, maybe a bit more than you though.