Julie Kenner

The Blood Lily Chronicles — (2009) Publisher: Lily Carlyle has lied, cheated, and stolen her way through life. But in death, she'll really get to be bad… When her little sister is brutalized, a vengeful Lily determines to exact her own justice. She succeeds at the cost of her own life, but as she lies dying, she is given a second chance. Lily can earn her way into Paradise by becoming an assassin for the forces of good. It’s the job Lily believes she can really get into — but she doesn’t realize that she may not be able to get out.

Tainted

The premise of Tainted is this: A young woman, Lily, is killed while carrying out vengeance against a rapist who attacked her sister. Lily is sure she’s going to hell for all the things she did in her short life, but instead she comes back from the dead…in someone else’s body. Her mission: to hunt demons for God. Her reward, if she succeeds, is redemption.

At first, I was reminded of a couple of other urban fantasy series. The wrong-body plotline and the theme of sisterly love reminded me a bit of Vicki Petterson's Signs of the Zodiac (though Lily’s new body is a stranger’s, not her sister’s). The idea of earning redemption by slaying supernatural nasties called S.J. Day's Marked to mind. And Deacon, the possibly-evil bad boy who stirs Lily’s senses, reminded me of a lot of urban fantasy love interests. What I really loved from the beginning, though, was the story of Lily’s struggle to integrate herself into the life of Alice, the woman whose body she now inhabits. It’s hard and confusing trying to take over someone’s life without giving away how little you know, and it’s sometimes sad, as when Lily realizes how few of Alice’s acquaintances have even noticed the difference.

What really kicks Tainted into high gear is Lily’s growing curiosity about Alice. Why is she in Alice’s body in particular, and what happened to the real Alice? Things start adding up a little funny, and I remember thinking, If Julie Kenner has the guts to take this story where I think she’s taking it, I’ll be thrilled. And Kenner does. A big fat plot twist takes Tainted out of “standard-issue urban fantasy” territory and makes it something unique and very much worth reading. Even Deacon turns out to have more depth than I was expecting.

If I have any quibble with Tainted, it’s this: Demons, in Kenner’s universe, bleed black sludge instead of regular blood. This is plot-relevant a couple of times. Trouble is, I can think of two scenes that would have been very different if Lily, and the reader, had been privy to the color of a bleeding character’s blood. Knowing whether these two characters were demon or human would have given a lot away, and so the narration simply doesn’t mention the color of the blood. Given that Lily usually notices this detail during combat scenes, the fact that she doesn’t in these two instances feels a little bit like cheating.

That said, Tainted is quite enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the two upcoming Blood Lily Chronicles novels. There are enough twists here to set this series apart from the pack, and that’s something to celebrate in this subgenre. —Kelly Lasiter

Torn

It's hard to review Torn without spoiling the big twist in the previous book, Tainted! So, I'll just say that Torn follows the further adventures of Lily Carlyle, now Alice Purdue, as she attempts to keep demons from overrunning the Earth. Meanwhile, her thorny relationship with Deacon continues, her handlers have teamed her up with a partner, and now Lily has custody of her traumatized little sister, Rose.

Rose is now facing a violation that might well be worse than what she suffered in the previous book. The demon responsible for her rape has now taken up residence in her mind and body, sometimes possessing her wholly, sometimes lurking just below the surface. The parts of Torn that deal with Rose are pretty painful to read, especially when you think about Rose only being fourteen and what she's already gone through in her young life. And it starts to seem like there's no way for Lily to help her.

I was a little disappointed in the treatment of two of Torn's characters. One of them finally achieves his fondest desire, but I guess I was hoping he'd get a longer, more poignant scene when it happened. Then, there's Lily's partner, Kiera. She's a really interesting character, from her sharp tongue to the never-quite-answered question of which side she's really on. I wanted to see her explored more deeply, but instead I felt that she was kind of wasted and that she was only in the story for a particular reason.

Torn's plot is definitely a "middle book" plot. It picks up right where Tainted left off and serves mainly to set up the events of Turned, and to prepare the characters for what lies ahead. However, it's a quick, suspenseful read filled with demonic intrigue and a bit of Indiana Jones-style temple-raiding. And we get to see Lily give one of the minor villains his just desserts, which is quite satisfying indeed!
—Kelly Lasiter

Turned

Turned is the third, and best, book in Julie Kenner's Blood Lily Chronicles series. The convergence is coming, when hell's gates will open, spilling out hordes of demons onto the Earth. Lily is the linchpin in the schemes of both Good and Evil, the “Prophecy Girl” who must choose between two fates: becoming queen of the demons, or locking the gates at the cost of her own eternal torment. Lily knows which path she must choose, but darned if queendom doesn't sound a lot more appealing than burning in hell forever...

Yet there might be a third way... There are legends of a lost key that could lock the gates without requiring Lily's sacrifice. She's all for this, naturally, and so she searches for it, with the help of her evil-smiting “team”: Deacon, Lily's demonic lover; Rose, Lily's sister; and Rachel, Alice Purdue's sister. But our heroes are running out of time.

The plot is filled with suspense and emotion; the reader feels Lily's mounting sense of panic as the time for her terrible choice draws near, and the chaos in the streets of Boston as the demonic legions begin their conquest. Along the way, Kenner incorporates lots of little “Chekhov's Guns” from earlier in the series (remember Alice's knife tattoo?) and ties all of her plot threads together well.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this series, from its twisting plot to its unlikely heroine and the terrible decisions she faces. I don't know if Kenner plans to continue The Blood Lily Chronicles; the ending of Turned leaves the reader satisfied, but leaves the door open to further stories. I can say, though, that I recommend these three installments to fans of fast-paced urban fantasy with a dark edge.

The prose is uncomplicated, which makes for a quick read. I tend to like it a bit “purpler,” but your mileage may vary. And an ornate style probably wouldn't have suited Lily's voice anyway.

And by the way, might I mention an aspect of the romantic subplot that's really refreshing? Lily knows who she wants and loves. Throughout her story, supernatural forces induce her to become attracted to several other characters, but she realizes it's just the magic talking, and that she doesn't have to act on it. —Kelly Lasiter