The Veil by Chloe Neill

August 3rd, 2015 Kimberly Review 75 Comments

3rd Aug
The Veil by Chloe Neill
The Veil
by Chloe Neill
Series: Devil's Isle #1
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.-Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused. Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head. But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…

The Veil is the first book in the urban fantasy series Devil’s Isle by Chloe Neill. She is an author who has been on my list forever and when I saw this was set in NOLA, I knew we were destine to finally dance. I am so glad because I slipped right into this story- I enjoyed the characters and cannot wait to return.

Five Caffeinated Reasons to pick up a copy of The Veil

  • The World: The Veil is set in a dystopian New Orleans after a great war that occurred when the veil between our world and the paranormal world opened. Magic is now banned, there are food shortages and very few people remained in the effected areas. Para (beings from the other side) trapped in our realm when the veil closed and humans known as sensitives who have paranormal abilities are contained in a walled of section of NOLA known as Devil’s Isle. The government occupies NOLA and for those who chose to remain life is hard. Neill did an excellent job of explaining the world and did so without info dumps creating a wonderful flow. I consumed this story in two sittings.
  • The Characters: Claire Connolly our heroine owns a store in NOLA, and loves the city.  I loved this ginger-headed, kick-ass character. Claire is fearless, and harbors a secret- she is a sensitive and must be very careful not to expose herself. She has no training and understands very little, in fact she feels very alone despite being surrounded by friends, and loyal customers. This allows us to learn with her and leaves room for her to grow as a character. Liam Quinn is a bounty hunter who hunts para and wraiths. He lives within the walls of Devil’s Isle and when he sees Claire fight of a pair of wraiths he steps in to help her. Liam is a total alpha without being controlling. I enjoyed their interactions and his belief in Claire. There is some chemistry and complications there but Neill has me curious about what could develop. The secondary characters are mix of humans and para. Some are part of the military controlling NOLA and others are citizens like Claire who are just trying to find normalcy. It created a dynamic group and their interactions added depth and furthering my enjoyment of the story.
  • The Veil: The world beyond the veil and the paranormal creatures we encounter all have me curious. The Veil itself is almost a living breathing character. Despite being at war with creatures from the beyond the folks know very little about the para.
  • Suspense/Action: Neill is an excellent storyteller and she created some intense battles, placed our characters in danger and gave us a villain to loathe. All of this had me reading just one more chapter.
  • Original/Fresh storyline: From the world to the characters Neill created a world I am anxious to return to. I loved how down to earth and normal Claire was. While the males had alpha tendencies, she added some depth, particularly with Liam’s backstory. The ending was climatic and had me holding my breath. Neill even managed to surprise me with a little twist and reveal. The threat in this first installment was handled and I appreciated that the ending didn’t feel rushed. She has created unlimited storyline possibilities with this motley crew of characters and I am curious as to what will happen next.

The Veil was a thrilling urban fantasy and the world building was outstanding. Fans of urban fantasy will find themselves caught up and for those unfamiliar with the genre it is the perfect book to try. I am looking forward to the next installment.

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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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75 Responses to “The Veil by Chloe Neill”

  1. Lexxie

    Great review, Kim! I loved The Veil as well, the fact that it was set in a dystopian NOLA plus the paranormal and magical elements just had me reading and reading, with a goofy smile on my face 🙂 Claire was great, and I am really curious about how this series will unfold as well.
    Have a terrific Tuesday 🙂

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I agree the NOLA setting made me grin. I slipped right into this story. I actually met author on release day and she was delightful, grounded and as excited about the series as I was.

  2. Olivia

    Everything about this book makes it sound like something I would love to read. I love the idea of brilliant characters, world building – but most of a ll about the plot being fresh and original! I can’t wait to try this one for myself.

  3. Red Iza

    I’m addicted to her Chicagoland series so of course, I’ll have to read this one 🙂

  4. Berls

    I completely agree – this was so good, especially for the world building. And I can’t wait to see what will come, Considering what Claire saw on the other side…! Great start to a series, for sure! Great review 🙂

  5. Eva

    Great review! I also really liked this one — great characters and setting! Can’t wait for more in this series!

    my review

  6. Lindy

    I love that the world building was so strong that it was like a living breathing character! Claire sounds like such a strong and interesting character with a unique gift, and Liam sounds yummy! I like that this story was unique and full of suspense as well. Wonderful Review 🙂

  7. Kay

    This book sounds so good! I just started reading her Chicago Vampire books and I am really enjoying them. I can’t wait to give this one a whirl.

  9. Lorna

    I have never read anything by her but I have been seeing lots of reviews on this one-mostly good. You have me intrigued-great review!

  10. Stormi

    I have only read one book from this author and it’s the first book on the CV series (need to read more of those..lol), so I can’t wait to give this one a try. 🙂

  11. Stephen W. Gee

    I already love urban fantasy, and I’ve been trying to read more books written by women, so I can learn to more authentically write female characters myself, and SOLD. Sounds good, thanks for the review : )

  13. Christy

    Dang, everyone’s review for this went up today. Did ya’ll plan that? 😀 Mine will go up later this week, but I agree, this book was really good. Good ol NOLA!

  14. Sophia

    Oooo, this sounds great! Plus the very fact it’s in New Orleans makes it more ominous. Fabulous review, Kimba! 🙂

  20. Heidi

    I really liked this one as well. The world building, characters and story were all fantastic. The only niggle I had was how she suddenly had super powers at the end. Still I can’t wait for more.

  21. Debbie Haupt

    Kim what better place to un”veil” this series than in New Orleans where the veil always seems a little thin. Great review, I’ve seen a lot about this new series. I think this will definitely go on that pile of mine 🙂

  22. Maja (The Nocturnal Library)

    Neill IS an excellent storyteller, I completely agree with you there. I have such high hopes for this new series. UF always takes a while to pick up, what with the world being established and all. But patience will pay off, I think, as it usually does.

  23. Ramona

    I do love the sound of this so much! I cannot wait to read it – a dystopian with magic… I mean, heck, yeah! It’s an amazing idea 🙂 I see everything seems in order now, the blog looking as gorgeous as ever. Good work, Kimba.

  24. Liz

    This sounds very good. I love paranormal stories set in NOLA because the city itself just seems alive and the perfect location. And wow – I love the cover. Very striking!

  25. Kristin

    I’ve been waiting for all you guys to start posting your reviews for this one! I love Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland series but I didn’t want to commit to a review copy of this. I will go buy this now!! That’s high praises from you!!!! I love that you think there’s a lot of stories that can come out of this world.

  26. Braine

    I loved this one too! The villainess surprised me, I didn’t see that coming. Also, love the Angels! They’re like elves in LOTR with their golden armor and stuff

    • kimbacaffeinate

      *happy dances* Everyone I know is loving it…it makes me want to dance:) I love that she described them and others so well. I can close my eyes and just picture it.

  28. Lexxie

    I agree with you, Kim, The Veil is an expertly told UF tale, everything clicked, and even the world-building was something I felt like I was eased into. Great review 🙂

  29. Nick

    Yay, Kim! I’m so happy you loved this one as much as I did. I really liked that Claire was so down-to-earth and normal but also secretly badass too. And yes to Liam! So swoony! I love what you had to say about the Veil being a character itself. I was fascinated by it.
    Lovely review, Kim! I need book 2! 😀

  31. Jeann

    Intense world, kick ass character and a great urban fantasy? So glad you enjoyed this one Kimba! Sign me up!

  32. Silvia

    This is great! I was very curious about this book and now I know I’ll have to read it for sure! Thanks, Kimberly 😀

  33. kindlemom1

    I’m such a dork because I’m so excited you read this and loved it as much as I did Kim! I can’t wait for book two!

  35. Lover Of Romance

    I so need to get my hands on this book. I am starting to read more UF and This author has been on my TBR list forever!! haha I love the whole dystopian setting and the banned magic thing too sounds interesting.

  36. Teddyree

    woah … I love Dystopian, I already like Chloe Neill’s writing, I like getting in on the ground floor of a new series and I want a new urban fantasy series to crush on. This could be it!