Stacia Kane - Chasing Magic

Magic-wielding Churchwitch and secret addict Chess Putnam knows better than anyone just how high a price people are willing to pay for a chemical rush. But when someone with money to burn and a penchant for black magic starts tampering with Downside’s drug supply, Chess realizes that the unlucky customers are paying with their souls -- and taking the innocent with them, as the magic-infused speed compels them to kill in the most gruesome ways possible.
As if the streets weren’t scary enough, the looming war between the two men in her life explodes, taking even more casualties and putting Chess squarely in the middle. Downside could become a literal ghost town if Chess doesn’t find a way to stop both the war and the dark wave of death-magic, and the only way to do that is to use both her addiction and her power to enter the spell and chase the magic all the way back to its malevolent source. Too bad that doing so will probably kill Chess -- if the war doesn’t first destroy the man who’s become her reason for living.

Comment: Another installment in this gritty series by Stacia Kane.
This time Chess is facing the deadly end of one of her issues, the drug addiction. It's because of that problem that many people are being found dead and Chess has to find a way to help before too many people get killed because of that.
Chess also has a personal choice to make. Things she did before come to the surface and in the end of the book she faces a challenge she thought she couldn't have ever, but the world isn't always such an awful place, after all.

Several things happen in this book, emotionally speaking. At least, in my point of view. A secret about what she's done in the past because of Terrible is discovered by Elder Griffin and after that, another punch in Chess's self esteem is dealt because she always took pride in her job for the Church and on how Elder Griffin would think her worthy and considered her one of the best and wanted her involved in his private life and how he would respect her and now things changed and Chess feels even dirtier because she sees his loss of confidence in her as another proof she is trash. I don't foresee her seeing not everything is her fault anytime soon.

Dealing with drugs and how they have such an impact and role in her life is another issue in this novel. Being a junkie makes Chess see everything connected to drugs as a kind of constant reminder of what she's doing and why she needs the drugs. She helps the ones being targeted as people with feelings like everybody else and she defends the because just because people have things they need or want to forget doesn't make them any less human than any other person. Obviously, she takes it personal and I can't help it but being worried that if by any chance she gets rid of drugs in the future, how will she deal with the fact of working in Downside where they are so easily obtained and how that would affect her temptation levels and even her relationship with terrible..I know, I know, nothing I'm saying is happening, this is me speculating but considering I believe Chess has had a growth as a character and the author has said perhaps that evolution might mean a rehab in her life someday, I can't help but putting together that and the fact the series will end someday and my hopes of rehab for her and imagine a world where she would have to deal with so many changes...would it be worse for her to never get over her awful past and drug abuse or to do it but relapse and suffer the process of thinking of herself as a failure again no matter how human that is? Questions, questions...

Chess growing up as a character is the most obvious thing foe the reader after 5 books. In this novel we see how she relies in so many people and how she actually matters for so many too. Elder Griffin feels disappointed but don't we all about people we care about and who do things we didn't expect them to do? Even Terrible demands something and although he doesn't forbid her of using drugs he also doesn't urge her to do so...
Their relationship is getting stronger, actually. Because of that, Chess is feeling better too and has someone who not only loves her, but trusts her too. I think it's great for them and they do perform a great scene in the book, reminding me of those movies where the hero and heroine save the day and then defy logic by surviving the odds.

I think this book had many interesting issues being dealt with but there was also a certain sense of darkness in the air, like trouble is coming and I can't help but watch it and I know it might not be like I imagine but I'll certainly won't miss it. I hope the next book won't take too long to come out.

Stacia Kane - Sacrificial Magic

When Chess Putnam is ordered by an infamous crime boss -- who also happens to be her drug dealer -- to use her powers as a witch to solve a grisly murder involving dark magic, she knows she must rise to the challenge. Adding to the intensity: Chess's boyfriend, Terrible, doesn't trust her, and Lex, the son of a rival crime lord, is trying to reignite the sparks between him and Chess. Plus there's the little matter of Chess's real job as a ghost hunter for the Church of Real Truth, investigating reports of a haunting at a school in the heart of Downside. Someone seems to be taking a crash course in summoning the dead -- and if Chess doesn't watch her back, she may soon be joining their ranks. As Chess is drawn into a shadowy world of twisted secrets and dark violence, it soon becomes clear that she's not going to emerge from its depths without making the ultimate sacrifice.

Comment: This is the 4th book in the Downside Ghosts by the author. Once again we return to the world where ghosts are evil and can come back to terrorize the living. And of course, to our protagonist, without self esteem and a drug addict. In this new book, Chess has a new case to work and at the same time her drug dealer requests her help to deal with a little problem of black magic and obviously she can't say no.

The storyline is very interesting. The author writes in a fluid way and it's intriguing how the little clues get in the middle and sometimes we only notice them because of other clues and it's very good to understand where the story is leading. The case is interesting and like always, it's not a random occurrence that the other case Chess has to deal with for Bump is connected to her Church case. She just has to find a way not to mix them. I never find an issue with the way the author works and solves the cases Chess has and it's fascinating to see every step until it's everything is there for the reader to understand the whys and the hows.

Now...about Chess herself... In this story she has a love life..well, a loving and more stable one...but she keeps thinking when will be the day her boyfriend - sort of - tells her he's done. Some people might think this is nuts because love is strong, we have to trust the other person, etc... but this isn't easy for someone with a low or non existing self esteem. When we convinced ourselves no one can really understand us or that there's no reason for others to like us or even that we feel impostors in this world and everyone else will see us for what we are not, then...
I have to confess I understand Chess's thoughts. I understand her reasons to be an addict. I don't think she took the best decision when she turned to drugs but in this book we see it wasn't as easy as we might think and we have even more little tidbits about the why. She has an horrible childhood and youth. Horrible. But sometimes we don't have to be treated badly to not like ourselves. Sometimes we just are.
Chess also has options to make in this book about herself. I don't think of her as weak anymore after her choice. In a "normal" world thinks aren't like this but there are many people out there who aren't confident and who don't feel worthy even if rationally they know they are. So, I love chess as a protagonist because she personifies all of those who can't be what they deserve because it's not that easy, or that simple to just change. It takes time and sometimes it's too hard even to try. I hope she redeems herself in the future. I really do because I'd like to see her happy, to feel loved and worthy at last. I just hope she accepts it for real when it does.
So, this book, in terms of emotions and feelings is awesome because in real life people have problems and I like seeing a heroine who doesn't become perfect just because she is in love - like Chess is - but has a lot to work on before admitting she needs help and she deserves to have it. The title is very appropriate too, in my opinion. I recommend this series to everyone who can accept a protagonist who doesn't love herself that much...

Stacia Kane - City of Ghosts

Chess Putnam has a lot on her plate. Mangled human corpses have started to show up on the streets of Downside, and Chess’s bosses at the Church of Real Truth have ordered her to team up with the ultra-powerful Black Squad agency to crack the grisly case.

Chess is under a binding spell that threatens death if she talks about the investigation, but the city’s most notorious crime boss—and Chess’s drug dealer—gets wind of her new assignment and insists on being kept informed. If that isn’t bad enough, a sinister street vendor appears to have information Chess needs. Only he’s not telling what he knows, or what it all has to do with the vast underground City of Eternity.

Now Chess will have to navigate killer wraiths, First Elders, and a lot of seriously nasty magic—all while coping with some not-so-small issues of her own. And the only man Chess can trust to help her through it all has every reason to want her dead.

Comment: Amazing! Completely amazing!
I loved this book, everything was great. Chess is sad, she's down because Terrible hates her and she has strong feelings for him. Plus she's bound not to share Church matters with others. The Lamaru are attacking again and now she has to work with a partner. Her live is a mess.
I thought things couldn't work out for Chess...she still has a long way to go in order to reach happiness. I'm not even sure on how will she do that but she'll have to eventually. But in this book she thinks and solves a major issue, she saves the Church and she talks to Terrible. Things look rocky between them but there's this HFN that just made my day!!
I'm sure the author will find lots of obstacles for them, and I'm a bit afraid of what's to come, but hopefully in the end of the series...they'll end up in perfection.

Stacia Kane - Unholy Magic

For Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job. As an agent of the Church of Real Truth, Chess must expose those looking to profit from the world’s unpleasant little poltergeist problem—humans filing false claims of hauntings—all while staving off any undead who really are looking for a kill. But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new “celebrity” assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes.

Someone’s taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumors that it’s the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they—along with their ruthless employers—are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural, and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.

Comment: This book (#2 in the author's Downside series) leaves a mark. It makes you think. A Lot.

I don't know how thr author can deal with everything she puts on the page. I had a hard time digesting what I was reading, I can't imagine what it must be like to write and process and analyse and whatever an author has to do to make the story good for publication.

Chess is finally caught in her double affections. Then she suffers more because she realises she wanted something and now it's too late.

What amazes me the most in this series is Chess's feelings. The ones she shows off to the other characters and the ones only the reader sees. She's far from perfect. I hate it that she had such an awful past, that sehe thinks she deserved that and that she has to drug herself to live through its memories.

But I can't help getting to know what is happening either, so...

Professionally she usually has a balanced way of seeing things, even when she's in trouble. She still has a moral conduct in her, despite all the mistakes and wrongness. I think it'll be interesting to see her development.

Unholy Magic is a difficult, emotive book. But iyt's totally worth it.