House of the Rising Sun by Kristen Painter Book Review

Augustine lives the perfect life in the Haven city of New Orleans. He rarely works a real job, spends most of his nights with a different human woman, and resides in a spectacular Garden District mansion paid for by retired movie star Olivia Goodwin, who has come to think of him as an adopted son, providing him room and board and whatever else he needs.

But when Augustine returns home to find Olivia's been attacked by vampires, he knows his idyllic life has comes to an end. It's time for revenge—and to take up the mantle of the city's Guardian

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Review – I read the House of Comarre series and the Cresent City series is a spin off of that. I absolutely LOVED the House of Comarre and that world so I jumped at the change to review this. I've seen Kristen Painter at several conventions and she is so nice.

You don't have to read the first series to enjoy this one. The author explains things and you can draw your own conclusions as you read. If this is the genre you usually read then it will be no problem at all. House of the Rising Sun has incredible world building and the characters – oh wow. I love Augustine from the beginning and even felt for Harlow. My favorite character was Harlow's mother Olivia so the book got a bit emotional for me.

I was in New Orleans last week for the RT book convention and this book really came alive for me. It shows REAL places and it made me love the book on a whole other level.  In the book it's New New Orleans. Vampires were run out of town and the city is controlled by Fae. Both Augustine and Harlow are hybrid Fae and Augustine is in a heap of trouble with them.

If you don't typically read Urban Fantasy you should give it a go. The first book in the series is typically a world builder and sets the stage for the series. There is no insta-love or insta-romance. That's what I love about these books. There is a build up. You can definitely feel the attraction between Augustine and Harlow though. I'm really looking forward to the next book.

I do have to say that the cover is a bit misleading since the book starts with Augustine's (male) POV and is mostly his story but I still have to say it's worth the read.

About Kristen Painter:

A little about me: I’m a former college English teacher, but I've held a crazy mix of other jobs including maitre’d for Wolfgang Puck, personal trainer, and sales for Christian Dior Bijoux. On the writing side of things, I’m a two-time Golden Heart finalist and have been on the board of three different RWA chapters. What can I say? I like getting involved. I’m not adverse to bossing people around either.
I have a *slight* shoe addiction and occasionally indulge in an unnecessary handbag. Hah! That was a joke. There is no such thing as an unnecessary handbag. I love make up and jewelry and spa days. Yes, I’m a girly girl. But don’t think that makes me weak. I can (and do) kill off characters with the best of them. Speaking of which…

My forays into writing have been as varied as the jobs I’ve held. I’ve written poetry, articles for magazines, short stories, paranormal romances (that include fantasy, contemporary and steampunk genres) and now I’ve found a home with urban fantasy. I love worldbuilding and few genres give you the kind of license urban fantasy does.

I’m also the co-founder of the award-winning writer’s site Romancedivas.com

I live in FL with my retired Air Force husband and a horde of feline dependents. I’m represented by The Knight Agency.

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