Meh. Another over-reaching paranormal romance, too much going on too many characters and not enough consistency in the world-building or development.

Fairies, vampires, shape-changers, dwarves, and witches of course, and that's just the good guys. Some adversaries include elementals dragons (woefully underpowered) more demons and various fairy queens. You're a much more devoted reader than I am if you can hold all that straight. I'm not sure the author could either. There is a couple of vanilla humans in there too, but mostly for the others to dismiss despite everyone wanting to live in the human world. Apparently it was sundered away apart from a few convenient Portals, but now the demons are looking to find the magic trinkets that will let them rejoin. The fairy queens are too self-involved to intervene so a trio of 'sisters' form different mothers are all that's standing in the way.

Wasn't terrible but I have no interest in the rest. ( )

Camille, a moon witch, half-faerie and owner of a bookstore works for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Call it a police unit for denizens of Otherworld. When a gentle giant gets killed near one of the portals to Otherworld, things start to get dicey. Camille and her two sisters, Menolly (a newly turned vampire) and Delilah (werecat), have to solve a case that involves demons, immortals, portal keys and well... pretty much everything their faulty half-faerie magic cant handle.

My take on the book:

While I enjoyed the book for the most part, I'm not fully convinced.
I've read other books by the author which I enjoyed a lot more. Nevertheless, there is certainly potential in this series: the plot is great, the characters are diverse and with already 20 books out, it cant be bad right?

So what didn't I like?
Well... it was.. a lot of the same. We had the same history, sentences (concerning her magic for example) over and over again and other descriptions were a tad overkill. Describing the world is super and makes it very immersive for the reader, but put too much of it in the book and it tends to stagnate and get boring.

Character development was decent. We got to know the sisters a bit, their family connection (Earthside and Otherworld) and we met a big part of the cast. I cant say we know anyone well, but rather only superficially.
From the support cast I like Smokey best... that dragon... man, I hope we get to see a lot more of him! :D

As I've stated earlier the many descriptions kind of threw a wrench in the flow of the book which was a shame as we didn't get too much action in this first instalment and as such were left with a lot of talking, descriptions of what Camille was wearing, another history lesson or warning that her magic might backfire and last but not least, some sex.

Since I already have some of the following books in the series I will read them at some point.
The plot is great, I just hope we got all of the descriptive world building and history lessons out of the way. Fingers crossed! ( )

I really enjoyed everything about this book; the style, the mythology, the characters. A fantastic mix of just the right about of humour and wit. Really hope the rest of the series is as good! ( )

problems with this book/series

1) there is a bit where the main character goes on about how boring rain is on earth, compared to the, "mineral rich" rains of Faerie. Either Faerie has a dramatically different precipitation cycle, or the author doesn't understand evaporation.

2) (this may be from Bloodling, but I think it was mentioned in this one as well.) let's say you have a super secret hiding place that you can not risk the bad guys finding. why would you think that putting this place on a dead end would make sense? from either an escape or a hiding pov, having only one route in or out is just stupid. "well, someone came into this room, but they didn't leave, guess I'll just have to give up!" luckily the bad guys were even stupider than tbe plan, so it all worked out okay. ( )

Witchling, is about three sisters from the Otherworld living Earthside. Basically, the Otherworld is another dimension, and the people are Fae, Cryptos, and Demons. Thousands of years ago the 2 dimensions liveed in the same plane as each other, but then the Fae went to war with the humans, so the gods (the Greek ones to be exact) asked the Elementals to do something about it. They made a pact that sealed off the dimensions with limited access through portals regulated by the Fae. This pact was split into 9 seals and given to each of the elementals involved to guard. Over the course of time, they had gotten lazy and all of the seals eventually fell into a mortal's hands. Now modern day, the OW had become nothing but legends until the OW revealed itself once again. Humans are now aware of the OW's existence and have treated OW creatures as celebrities on Earth. The Three sister's are half-Fae, half-human. Their mother was a human who moved to the Otherworld to be with her husband, a fae. The story is told by the PoV of Camille, the eldest daughter, and an incompetent witch. Being half human has pretty much made their powers harder for them to control all the time and Camille's magic doesn't always go as planned. Her younger sisters are Dililah, a werecat who not only turns on the full moon but also turns when she's gets stressed out during PMS (pre-moon-syndrome), and Menolly, had amazing climbing skills until she was unwillingly turned into a Vampire on one of her assignments. Since they lived in the Otherworld while growing up, they were constantly ridiculed by the Full Blood Sidhe, especially Delilah ("Pretty Kitty") because she only turns into a small tabby cat while, typically, were-cats turn into big cats. So living Earthside as OIA agents (Otherworld Intelligence Agency) has made them minor celebrities in Seattle, and they have come to love quite a few Earthside luxuries. Then Jocko, a stunted Giant OIA agent who runs the Wayfinder bar, was garroted. Even while stunted he's taller and stronger than any human, and the rope gives off a strong Demon aura. dun-Dun-DUNNN!! Demons live in the Subterranean Realms of the Otherworld. They supposedly are to never allowed to reach Earth to cause their chaos, and THESE Demon scouts are looking for seals to give to their King, who planes to destroy the pact, destroying the separation of worlds, and bring an army to Earthside! With new dangers, new friends (such as a dragon that can morph into human form, an adorable gargoyle cub, and a foxy Japanese guy), and some intense passions between the characters, can the girls defeat top-notch demons and get the first seal from a mysterious 'Tom Lane'?

I loved this book, it incorporated many known mystical devices while also incorporating new which explained a couple of questionable things. It was very entertaining, and pretty hard to set down once I had started! The characters all have their problems which made it more relatable, even with all of the fantastical elements, it was quite love able. I also loved the authors writing style and I can't wait to read the next book :D ( )

WITCHLING IS THE FIRST IN THE OTHERWORLD/SISTERS OF THE MOON SERIES BY YASMINE GALENORN .
The d'Artigo sisters: They're Not your ordinary sisters,thats for sure. Half human/half Faerie the sisters are here on Earth to investigate crimes against and by what we earthlings know as mythical beasts.
Camille ,the oldest and a witch just cant quite get her spells to work. She has more than bad guys to worry about,she's in love with two men, one a shapeshifter and one a titan both of whom could, and want to tear each other apart. Delilah, a werecat who,when upset or nervous changes into a tabby cat, and last but not least Menolly,who is a vampire. She was changed against her will and is still trying to deal with all the undead stuff. Together the three sisters, along with a human go after four demons who are trying to rip the barrier between Otherworld and this world, as well as rip the three sisters into pieces .

I found WITCHLING totally and completely hilarious and cant wait to see what more trouble the threesome gets into . ( )

As much as I hate to leave any bad reviews, I couldn't even finish this book. While Galenorn's writing is beautiful, the plot didn't even exist with this one. :C ( )

so this book took me a little longer than expected. only because my kindle was lost and ive had to read on my phone. i decided to start this series even though, i already have so much to read, because its part of a reading challenge. and i love reading challenges, but also because ive read and pretty much caught up Ms. Galenorns other series Indigo court (ok still need to read the most recent book, but thats neither here nor there at this moment.) Ms. Galenorn has a flare for the fae and other creatures like it. But I really enjoyed this book, and for once im not routing for one guy in particular in the love interest of the main character, but that will probably change as i get through more of the books. But mainly what i enjoyed about this book, was that it set you up for a whole series of books, and I always enjoy a series that lasts for a while. ( )

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell. The Fae and various other creatures have integrated into our world, they even have officers that deal with Otherworld issues/problems. Camille and her sisters are agents, but they are half human and their magic often goes awry. One sister is part witch, another shifts to a cat and the third has been turned into a vampire. There's a demon threat they have been assigned to the case. The OW are not all good or all evil. Author picks and chooses which Fae lore to include in the story, some of the ones she chose to ignore were didn't sit well for me, especially like the common rule of never. thanking a Fae.
( )

I'm not sure I like fae stories. ( )

A decently written story of three sisters who are assigned by Otherworld to live on Earth and keep the peace between others and full blooded humans. According to the story, Camille, otherwise known as the witchling, is a sex goddess because all of the men in the story are sexually interested in her. I'll try the next book in the series....just not sure at this point if I'll finish the series. The story didn't really grab me. ( )

This book tries to be everything. A witch, a shapeshifter, and a vampire as sisters. Check. All also fae. Check.
Quirky, tough heroine. Fail. Hard edged adventure. Fail. Humor. Mostly fail.

Observation: during the final *intense* action scene is the absolute wrong time to introduce backstory that will save them all. Interrupts the flow and should have been foreshadowed. pfft.

Observation: much overwritten. No need to call one thing by three different names. No one needs to know all of the thesaurus entries for anything. ( )

Any mythos you can think of is in this book. Yes they are, she (the main character) talks about them to death, so much information ! The first 50 pages were enough for two books, TMI. I also did not care for the constant reminder that they are half-something and what their body sizes are, yes she is big breasted we remember. The vocabulary keep changing from smart women to silly highschool student, arguh. So I did not finish the book I don't like being talked too, I like being shown things slowly as they fit into the story. I will not read any more books by this author ( )

Camille D'Artigo

I wish I had better things to say about this story but it was really just okay. There where a lot of charters and IMO too many side stories (something that is seeming to become a pet peeve with me I think) I find it distracting from the overall story. And while the narrator did a respectable job with so many characters at times as the main character she sounded very bored. Even during a sex scene, I mean if the character doesn't seem to be enjoying it why would I? The over arching story line has lots of potential but I'm not sure if I'll be finding out if the series gets any better anytime soon. 2 Stars ( )

This is my second time of reading this book...although technically this time I listened. Still a great story! Looking forward to the next one. :) ( )

great

This was quite a good book. I don't have my whole collection of books with me at the moment, as I'm in the middle of a move, so I went to Border's yesterday to find something enjoyable to read and found this. It was a fast read, fast paced and entertaining. It calls itself a romance, but I don't know how I feel about that. There was 'romance' in it, yes, but the plot took precedence over the romance story in almost every way. Usually I hate it when romances go this way, but it worked in this book. I will be buying the next one in the series ASAP. ( )

Witchling is told from Camille's point of view. Camille is the oldest of the three sisters. They are half-faerie and half-human. Each of the sisters possess their own special talents, but with a slight twist. Because of their half-human side their faerie powers do not work like they are supposed to. Camille is a witch whose spells backfire. Often. Delilah is a werecat who, instead of changing into a big cat, shifts into a golden tabby cat. Menolly is a vampire, but was not born this way. Menolly was a top-notch acrobat who could climb anything. Shortly after the sisters joined the OIA, they assigned Menolly to spy on a rogue group of vampires. Menolly was collecting information on them when here wall climbing ability shorted out. Menolly fell. The vampires caught her, tortured her and, when they were done, turned Menolly into a vampire.

I really wanted to give this book 3 moons for the storyline alone, but I just could not do it. The entire book was just flat. The fight scenes and sex scenes are written in the same tone as the mundane scenes. Like I said. Flat. I really did love the idea behind the story though.

The characters were a little off as well. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but something about the dialect was off. It's quite possible that I've gone completely insane, but there was something about the way they spoke that just drove me nuts. My biggest problem was that the characters seemed to contradict themselves. Camille did not seem to have any problems using magic during the fight scenes, but when she tries to magically lock a door it explodes. You would think that during at least one fight scene that something would go terrible wrong.

Witchling, for me, was just okay. There were some low points: Instead of feeling immersed in the story, it felt like I was being read to. Which is exceptionally sad considering I read the eBook. There were definitely some high points as well: Smoky the shape-shifting dragon who turns into a gorgeous piece of man candy who is all attitude.

Will I read the next book in the series? I'm seriously considering it. I realize that this is Yasmine Galenorn's first urban fantasy book. There was bound to be a few bumps in the road. What do you think? ( )

This was quite a good book. I don't have my whole collection of books with me at the moment, as I'm in the middle of a move, so I went to Border's yesterday to find something enjoyable to read and found this. It was a fast read, fast paced and entertaining. It calls itself a romance, but I don't know how I feel about that. There was 'romance' in it, yes, but the plot took precedence over the romance story in almost every way. Usually I hate it when romances go this way, but it worked in this book. I will be buying the next one in the series ASAP. ( )

I read this one after the second book, and I think if I'd started here: (1) the second book would have made a bit more sense, but (2) I probably would not have continued with the series. A shaky beginning; not terrible just not very compelling either. ( )

Our reading list is long and legendary, and one series that has been on our to read list for a long time is the “Sisters of the Moon “ series by Yasmine Galenorn. So I have finally got round to reading “Witchling”

Witchling introduces us to 3 sisters, Camille a faerie witch, Delilah, a werecat and Menolly, a vampire. Agents for the OIC (a kind of faerie combo police/diplomat/secret agent corps) they are on Earth (Seattle to be exact) doing their job to the best of their slightly clumsy, half-human abilities. They work closely with the local police to help solve supernatural crime and navigate the world as alien, magical beings.

There job becomes several times harder when the Demons of the Subterranean world are stirred up, a threat to both the Otherworld (from where the fae come from) and Earth. And worse, the forces of Otherworld seem to be descending into chaos, just when they need to be at their strongest – leaving the sisters very much alone to face the threat.

Let’s start with some good points. And yes, you know this review is going to end up trashing it by the fact I’m making myself start with good points, sorry guys it’s not going to be a lovey review.

Read More ( )

For the month of July, my book club read Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn. I would categorize Witchling as adult Urban Fantasy. There are a few racier scenes in book one of the Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon series so I would say this book is for adults or older teens.
At first, I couldn’t get into the book. I don’t know if that’s the fault of the writing, or whether it had to do with external circumstances in my life. I eventually got down to business, and finished the book rather quickly.
Witchling is the first book in a series about three sisters who are half faery and half human. The faery blood and human don’t mix well, so the three sisters have some rather unusual and complicated abilities. Camille is a witch, and the human blood often causes her spells to misfire or have unusual consequences. Witchling is told from Camille’s point of view. Delilah is a werecat. Yeah, that’s right – werecat. The human blood causes her to turn into a golden tabby cat – not a fierce puma, leopard or tiger. Menolly is a vampire. She wasn’t born a vampire she was attacked and turned about five years before this story takes place. As far as special abilities – hers kind of suck – well pre-vamp anyway. She was a really good climber. She could climb high and vast. Her human blood however caused her climbing to fail her and she fell into a pit of vampires. As far as powers go, I’m not really seeing anything special about climbing.
Anyway… the sisters are all agents for the OIA, the CIA of the magic world. They got sent to earth to take on positions that are considered less than desirable – all due to the fact that they’re considered screw-ups in the Otherworld. While the queen of the otherworld is lost in an opium haze, a demon leader has gained control of the Subterranean Realm and is plotting to take over the Otherworld and Earth as well. He sends a harpy and two demons to gather intelligence and find one of nine mystical seals that when put together will allow for total worlds domination.
I enjoyed reading this book once I got into it, but I only rate it at a three star level. It’s obvious that this is a freshman attempt at writing urban fantasy (I’m told by the book club member who suggested this book as July’s selection that the author has other books – but this is the first UF). The author spends a lot of time trying to create backstory. Yasmine Galenorn is very descriptive – which is usually a good thing; however, Ms. Galenorn tends to tell us over and over that Camille is busty and has stars in her yes and Menolly has red Bo Derek braids. Sometimes she describes the characters physical attributes just pages apart. I didn’t forget what Camille or anyone else looked like between page one and page five. Another thing we are regularly reminded of is the fact that Faery don’t look at copulating and relationships the same way humans do – which serves as a way to show us that Camille isn’t doing anything wrong by dating and sleeping with several …uh…mythological creatures at the same time.
Something about the series that I both like and dislike is the number of magical creatures involved. On the one hand I think it’s cool that there is a kitsune – and a dragon that takes human form, and faeries, and wereanimals, etc. The problem is that she throws so many into this first book in the series that it almost seems like a cliché. I do think it is ok to have all these beings, but maybe to have spread them over the series would have been better. It seems like we’re getting a crash course in mythical and fantastical creatures 101.
That being said, I would like to restate that I did enjoy the book. The dialogue was nicely done and I found many parts humorous. I like the fantasy world that Ms. Galenorn depicts and many of the characters we are introduced to in this first book.
I will be reading the next book in the series, Changeling, which is told from Delilah’s point of view as aprt of a reading challenge next month. I am interested to see how Ms. Galenorn’s writing develops and whether it improves over the next 12 books in the series. I’d like to learn more about Delilah and Menolly as we learn only the basics about them in Witchling. ( )

It waffles between feeling like it is young adult (scenes where characters act immaturely, or in a manner that seems to be trying to impart some sort of "moral" to the reader, rather than a manner that actually suits the situation in the book) and not feeling very young adult (some polyamorous loving going on here).

It has an interesting world and I sort of liked the concept, but... the "battles" were pretty lame (Estep's are better) and the main character... well, she tries too hard. And is always second guessing herself, and comes across as inconsistent (both in magical powers and mental strength) and yet is in charge of the OIA on Earth... seriously?

I already have the next book in the series so I'll read it but I don't think this story was strong enough that I'd buy it now if I hadn't already. Estep's Elemental Assassin is the same sort of story and is less young adult-feeling but if you want a fairy story that's well written and angst-full - try Moning's Fever series. ( )

This book is eat up with Teh Stupid. To be honest, I read maybe two chapters and was very proud that I did not throw the book or harm it in any way. It was, instead, gently transported to the "back to the library" stack. I even refrained from putting in a warning note to future would-be-readers, but it was hard. ( )

I wish I knew what caused the sudden rise in popularity of supernatural romance. Perhaps then I could write a book as mediocre as this one and be published just as easily. I had been looking forward to reading this series, as I'm familiar with the author in her other genre and expected good things from her. What a disappointment. Never mind that there didn't seem to be a clear plotline, or that the storyline was crammed with all manner of supernatural beasties that seemed to shift against each other uncomfortably, as though jammed together in a small box, ready to burst out with one wrong move. [a:Eileen Wilks|40563|Patricia Briggs|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1228867484p2/40563.jpg] has written a supernatural series with just as many ghoulies and ghosties within her books, yet there is a smoothness and flow, even a sense of rightness, to the disparate cultures and entities represented which is sorely lacking in Galenorn's work. Galenorn's characters are problematic as well. They were erratic and out-of-focus; in short, acting against the basic personality she sets up for each character. Consider that one of them will shapeshift into a tabby cat at the smallest stressor, a family argument, yet can spring into attack mode, knife out and gun blazing, under a stronger stressor such as someone unexpectedly entering the house. Doesn't make sense to me. Then there's the fact that the three main characters, the sisters, are half-fairy. That's fine, I completely understand that. Therefore you don't need to beat me over the head with their fairy-inherited cavalier attitude towards sex, or the fact that one sister is in thrall to a dark fairy and can't fight the compulsion to go screw him every time he walks into a room. Let me state, I am not a prude: Sex is good and fun, and I have no objections to the highly colorful, 16th cen. euphemism (which rhymes with 'duck') that describes it. However, I do have a problem with an author dropping it and other such words with an alarming regularity, enough to distract from the story. Was it some sort of justification or defense on the author's part, to prove that she wasn't just a New Agey Wiccan, that she could also write 'hip' and 'popular' fiction? I don't know, but it's the only thing I can think of. ( )