Book Review: “The Shambling Guide To New York City” (Shambling Guides #1) by Mur Lafferty

“The Shambling Guide To New York City” (Shambling Guide #1) by Mur Lafferty (2013)

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal

Page Length: 350 pages (paperback edition)

Synopsis:

A travel writer takes a job with a shady publishing company in New York, only to find that she must write a guide to the city – for the undead!

Because of the disaster that was her last job, Zoe is searching for a fresh start as a travel book editor in the tourist-centric New York City. After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can’t take off her resume — human.

Not to be put off by anything — especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker — Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble — with Zoe right in the middle. (Goodreads)

Review:

“The Shambling Guide To New York City” is a fun and witty urban fantasy novel. It’s a clever take on a travel guide for “the big apple” except with a supernatural twist. Our main protagonist is a writer who is eager for a fresh start and new job. She takes a job at a publishing company only to be thrown from the human world into the paranormal. I thought Zoe was very brave to jump into unfamiliar territory especially after trying to turn over a new leaf in her life. She starts out very naïve in the beginning, and slowly becomes an expert of the “coterie” (paranormal) world.

Lafferty takes great care building a plot and using a familiar to city to draw in an audience. I really liked the cast the cast of characters and vast varieties of supernaturals featured in the story. Each character is a different paranormal who definitely brings their own personality to the story and making it an entertaining read. Another added bonus was that the reader gets to see a popular tourist hot spot through “non-human” point of view.

Final Rating:

4 out of 5 stars! Can’t wait to see Zoe’s new adventures in “The Shambling Guide To New Orleans”!