Review : The Veil by Chloe Neill

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : The Veil (Devil's Isle #1)
Author : Chloe Neill
Publication Date :  August 4th 2015
Publisher : NAL
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Seven years ago, the Veil that separates humanity from what lies beyond was torn apart, and New Orleans was engulfed in a supernatural war. Now, those with paranormal powers have been confined in a walled community that humans call the District. Those who live there call it Devil's Isle.

Claire Connolly is a good girl with a dangerous secret: she’s a Sensitive, a human endowed with magic that seeped through the Veil. Claire knows that revealing her skills would mean being confined to Devil’s Isle. Unfortunately, hiding her power has left her untrained and unfocused.

Liam Quinn knows from experience that magic makes monsters of the weak, and he has no time for a Sensitive with no control of her own strength. But when he sees Claire using her powers to save a human under attack—in full view of the French Quarter—Liam decides to bring her to Devil’s Isle and the teacher she needs, even though getting her out of his way isn’t the same as keeping her out of his head.

But when the Veil threatens to shatter completely, Claire and Liam must work together to stop it, or else New Orleans will burn…

Personal Thoughts

Wohoo! The Veil was a fabulous start to a new UF series, that is bound to become even more epic and romantic in the future. I've read a few books in Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampire series and really enjoyed them, but my TBR got the best of me and I haven't been able to catch up on the series. Reading The Veil reminded me of just how much I'm missing out.

The world building in The Veil was one of my favorite things about this book. It was extremely well-developed and the author built it up from the scratch throughout the book. As a reader, you really get to experience the start of it and it was fascinating. In the middle of New Orleans lies a magical barrier that separates the human and Paranormal worlds. A war a few years ago allowed supernatural creatures of all kinds to enter the human world, nearly leading it to its destruction in a brutal war. Now completely locked down, the wall has completely changed the face of New Orleans, bringing magic into it. Some humans like our protagonist, Claire, have absorbed some of this magic and are known as Sensitives, but some humans cannot handle it and are turned into wraiths, mindless killer creatures. I loved reading about the history of the world and how magic came about to be in the human world. Chloe Neill did a fantastic job at helping readers visualize this history and you could tell that she put a lot of thought to it while writing the book. I loved all the the intricacies that went into crafting this world and I couldn't get enough of it. Most of The Veil felt like an introduction to the world, the plot only picking up towards the second half of the book. While some readers might be put off by the slower pace of the first half of the book, trust me when I say that it's important because you're actually learning about how the world came to be. I'd much rather have detailed world building than a weak world. I certainly wasn't bored by the first half of the book, but I have to say that I was more invested in the book during the second half. I loved how action-packed the story got and I was dying to know who was attempting to open up the magic barrier and was attacking Sensitives. All in all, the plot was thrilling and I'm looking forward to seeing how it expands as the series progresses.

An UF series can't really succeed without engaging characters though and thankfully, The Veil had some interesting ones that I enjoyed getting to know. Claire, our protagonist and a Sensitive, was someone I instantly bonded with. Feisty, smart, strong and independent are words I would use to describe her. She had recently lost her father and had only recently learned about her magical abilities and dealing with all of that. I loved watching her become more confident with her magic and willing to work to become comfortable with it. Claire also had the help of Liam a sexy bounty hunter who she meets one night after wraiths attack her. Liam was a hard character for me to gauge at times. He was mysterious and enigmatic and I basically wanted to get to know everything about him. He opened up to Claire and the readers slowly throughout the book and it was glorious! He and Claire had some smoking chemistry together and while there wasn't much of a romance in The Veil, which is typical for the first book in an UF series, I enjoyed the banter and dynamics between the two. I can tell already that their relationship, when it progresses, is going to be deep, honest and passionate. I'm already shipping them like crazy and I NEED them to be together. As with many UF books, there is a vast cast of secondary characters, each of them interesting in their own ways. I especially took a liking to Liam's brother, Gavin, who I think will turn out to be one of the most engaging characters in the series. Besides that, I enjoyed all of the old and new friendships and I also can't wait to see how the villains in this series will create further barriers for the characters.

The Veil was a great start to the Devil's Isle series. If this is just a promise of what's to come in the subsequent books, then I honestly can't wait to see where the author takes us next. UF fans, you don't want to miss out on this one!

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and NAL for the e-ARC of The Veil.