Pirate’s Alley (Sentinels of New Orleans 4) by Suzanne Johnson

Hello to all,

                       If there is one author i don't want to miss any release because i'm never disappointed  that's Suzanne Johnson.  If you follow this blog since the beginning you saw  how my love for her writing only grew with each new titles as i kept being surprised...

After a long, really too long, wait due to publishers, book 4 in the Sentinels of New Orleans will be released next week and since i was lucky to get an early copy i can already share my opinion if this book with you. Despites all that's happening here, i did want to share my review with you before the release so that you could still pre order it as it's important for authors. So if you are interested in this series, if you want to read it after reading what i have to tell about it don't hesitate and buy it before tuesday!

If you haven't started the series yet, you really missing something but thankfully Suzanne is hosting a giveaway to win one of the first 3 books so please go tell her a big thank you while you participate and good luck!

Happy Reading!!!

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication: 2015

ISBN:  0765376970

Genre: urban fantasy,suspense
Violence: mild
Language: normal
sex: none ( allusion)
Public: 16+

Source: arc

Short description from goodreads :

 Wizard sentinel DJ Jaco thought she had gotten used to the chaos of her life in post-Katrina New Orleans, but a new threat is looming, one that will test every relationship she holds dear.

Caught in the middle of a rising struggle between the major powers in the supernatural world—the Wizards, Elves, Vampires and the Fae—DJ finds her loyalties torn and her mettle tested in matters both professional and personal.

Her relationship with enforcer Alex Warin is shaky, her non-husband, Quince Randolph, is growing more powerful, and her best friend, Eugenie, has a bombshell that could blow everything to Elfheim and back. And that's before the French pirate, Jean Lafitte, newly revived from his latest "death," returns to New Orleans with vengeance on his mind. DJ's assignment? Keep the sexy leader of the historical undead out of trouble. Good luck with that.

Duty clashes with love, loyalty with deception, and friendship with responsibility as DJ navigates passion and politics in the murky waters of a New Orleans caught in the grips of a brutal winter that might have nothing to do with Mother Nature.


War could be brewing, and DJ will be forced to take a stand. But choosing sides won't be that easy.

My opinion:

          Oh my I can’t tell you how much I loved this book; really the wait has been more than worth it. Suzanne Johnson manages to surprise us each time and in several ways while making us more than a simple reader caught in a fascinating story.

I’m still in hyper mode after my reading but I will try to explain why I’m so enthusiastic about this new instalment.

This story starts just a few weeks after the events in “Elysian Fields”… so while it could be still possible to jump into the universes starting with this book… I would not recommend it. With book 2 or even 3 it would not have mattered as much I think.  Yes the author gives us small reminders of what happened but to really catch all the subtle threats and implications it would be really better to start at the beginning so if you have the opportunity to do so I can only recommend you to start with book 1 and see the magic at work.

So like I said this is set a few weeks after DJ got injured and bonded to Rand….she is trying to adjust and all things considered she is doing quite well with all what happened. However peace never last long in New Orleans and soon our Sentinel has to face new challenge. The supernatural creatures being fed up with the power the wizards keep for themselves decided to call for a council of their own……and of course when it comes to power those hungry for it won’t give up easily.

First there are the matter of what happened (trying for no spoiler here^^) and justice must be given…yes safe that the definition if justice can differ. Jean Lafitte for example put trust and loyalty in high regards…so if you stab him in the back… vengeance won’t be he can forget….our Jean is not really forgiving and he has the time on his side.

Knowing that DJ’s Boss orders her to shadow him and prevent any incident from happening.

That’s only the beginning and one of the few things we could sure know Jean.

However more forces are at work and new elements over the past plot start appearing and the divers sections ( fae, vampires, shifters, historical undead, wizards, shifters etc) each react in their own way…. This can only lead to one thing: war if nothing is done to prevent it.

Dj has many friends or allies that are not wizard and she is one of the few capable to think more globally which can’t be said for her boyfriend Alex… as a enforcer he is a strict follower of the rules all is either black or white…all what DJ isn’t and that causes some tensions. I got quite angry with Alex at several moments but mostly he stays the same as he always was so far.

DJ has greatly matured…and more important she is starting to really see what she wants…now that she is forced to make some really important choice she is staying true to herself and I absolutely loved that.

Suzanne manages via the alliances, treacheries etc to give us a deeper insight of characters we have come to love or hate and really it it was done in a master’s way making us take side along with Dj ( perhaps not always the same as her either). We learn about past enemies and discover new ones.. the villains getting harder to identify sometimes and at other simply such that we want them to find their demise soon and in a very painful way ( hear me Rand…I did not like you and it’s getting worse). Also as we get a better understanding of the characters and their motivation we can see how it was never a real love triangle( I don’t see how some saw a quadrangle even^^;;), the romance get a little step back in profit of the action but Dj gets some clarity too making the romance one we want to see more of while at the same time we don’t really need it ( too caught into the story to mind).

I loved to discover the faes and while I’m not sure where I stand for some of them yet this made the book even more passionate, some characters are only cited for now but we find ourselves already wanting for more. The suspense is perfectly distilled and the action constant so I could not stop reading until the last page.

 Really this book was a fantastic read and I can’t wait for book 5 ( please no more than a year this time!) really it was fabulous and the ending while I won’t classify it as a cliffhanger really make us which for more soon.

If you love urban fantasy this is really a series you must read.

Score:  5/5

Disclaimer: Source: a copy in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

 If you want this book you can buy it on  amazon or on  Bookdepository 

You can find more informations on the series and Suzanne on her Blog

and you have the opportunity to participate in her contest to win book 1 ( or 2 or 3)in her monthly giveaway in april so don't hesitate to give it a try!