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A Ferry of Bones & Gold by Hailey Turner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG Hailey Turner has done it again!

This is another absolutely phenomenal book by this newbie author. Reading this book there is no way to tell it's only her 4th published work! Hailey's attention to detail is impressive; she has the ability to build a world that sinks it's claws into you and hold on tight. Not only has she done that in this book, she has also incorporated - and twisted - myth for her own purposes in this new series. This time Hailey is taking on the ancient Gods - the Greek Pantheon, the Norse Mythos, African deities, you name it she's playing with it.

In the introductory book to her new Soulbound series Hailey takes the Gods and throws them into a world full of magic, were creatures, fae and vampires that is still gritty, modern and urban. Okay, I'm gushing a bit, but this book hit _all_ the things I grew up loving and sets them on their head. I cut my reading teeth on Greek myths, transitioned into fantasy and, when I was a moody teen, I dove head first into the paranormal, so check and check and check!

The plot premise - Red headed mage Patrick Collins is a man with some serious attitude issues and a healthy dose of disrespect for authority - despite working for the Supernatural Operations Agency, aka SOA (the paranormal version of the FBI). He's a former military mage who was left scarred and broken after the 30 Day War, an attempt by the Dominion Sect, to bring Hell to Earth and to strip the power of a God and give it to a human. He's damaged goods _but_ he's also 'owned' by the Gods. When he was 10 years old the Gods saved him from death and exacted a promise out of him, turning him into their weapon. Sometimes Patrick wishes they'd just let him die instead, but a soul debt is now owed, his scarred and damaged soul no longer belongs to him.

Which is why Patrick finds himself in New York City. A God has gone missing, there have been ritual murders with signs of demon infestation and the NYC SOA department stinks to high heavens of corruption. The local Paranormal cops don't trust anyone from NYC's SOA and so Patrick is called in. And is thrust right back into the hell he thought he'd walked away from when he left the military behind him - the Dominion Sect is trying to raise hell again.

Patrick's soul debt is called in (though not forgiven) and he finds himself protecting a seer who has a direct line to the Norse Gods and a werewolf that the _actual_ Fates have deigned to throw directly in his path. Time is running out as Patrick, Jono the werewolf, Marek the Seer and a motley handful of allies made up of civilians, people who actually want to kill Patrick but can't because of a promise, and an old military buddy are racing against the clock to prevent a God from being sacrificed to the Dominion Sect's insane plot for world domination - all of which happens on the Summer Solstice. Of course.

Patrick's life is FUBAR.

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