Review: Don’t Rush Me by Jackie May

Posted February 15, 2018 by Lola in Fantasy, Review / 18 Comments

LolaReview

Don't Rush MeDon’t Rush Me (Nora Jacobs #1)
by Jackie May

Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Reverse Harem

Blurb:
Most humans have no idea that a dark and deadly underworld, filled with magic and monsters, exists. They wander through life blissfully ignorant of the supernatural world around them. Nora Jacobs is different. Nora knows exactly what kinds of hellish creatures haunt the streets of Detroit.

Thanks to a unique set of psychic abilities, Nora has managed to steer clear of the underworld most of her life. But all that changes the night the most powerful vampire in the city discovers her gifts and decides to use her as a tool to find one of his missing clan members.

As if that’s not bad enough, Nora believes she’s cursed. All her life, people, especially men, have been drawn to her—some to the point of obsession and violence. Underworlders, it seems, are not immune to this curse, and now she’s caught the attention of some of the most dangerous monsters in the city.

Neck deep in an investigation only she can solve, Nora quickly makes as many new allies as she does enemies. Her biggest problem is staying alive long enough to decide which is which.

*This is a slow burn reverse harem romance.

My Review:
I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Ever since I first heard of this book I knew I wanted to read it and was eagerly awaiting the release day. When I saw it pop up on Netgalley I didn’t hesitate and hit that request button as fast as possible. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a great urban fantasy read and is marketed as having a slow burn reverse harem. I love a good slow burn romance! There is very little romance in this book, but I am curious to see how it will develop.

Don’t Rush Me is a well written fast paced book. It follows the story of Nora Jacobs, who always kept her distance from the underworld, but at the start of the book something happened that pulls her right in the middle of a mystery. Underworlders are disappearing and she has to figure out why and where they go. The story kept my attention and I liked learning more about Nora, her friends and the world as I progressed through the book.

I really liked Nora, she is a great main character. She has been through a lot and has some mental scars she is still dealing with. She keeps her distance from people, but actually longs for family. I liked how she was capable and smart and didn’t hesitate to ask for help or backup if necessary. I liked that about her. I also liked seeing how she met some great characters and how she interacted with them. I also thought it was realistic she didn’t immediately get super close with anyone and even after she made some friends made it clear she was not ready for romance yet. Which totally makes sense after what she has been through. I am looking forward to see her overcome some of the mental scars she has and get closer to some of the people she meets.

This book is filled with great side characters. My favorites were probably the troll Terrance and sorcerer Oliver. I thought it was great to see some less common paranormal species like trolls as well. And I am curious what type of paranormal creature Nick is as we don’t discover that in this book yet. Oliver was great too, I liked how he had some struggles as well and how how nice he was to Nora. Nick was a bit of a charmer, but in a way that felt realistic and I liked how he respected Nora’s boundaries. Then there is Parker, whom I didn’t fully warm up yet, he seemed a bit typical vampire, but I did mostly like him. And I could understand why he acted the way he did and I liked that even after pushing Nora almost into something he backed off when he realized it made her uncomfortable. I liked how the side characters all had their own personality and the book really came alive thanks to them. I also like how they all respect Nora, they don’t want her in danger, but also understand there are things she has to do herself as that made the most sense.

There is basically no romance yet in this first book, which makes sense given what happened to Nora and how she’s still dealing with that. There is the potential for romance and multiple possible love interests. I am already making guesses who she will end up with and I am eager to see how that progresses in later books. It was great seeing how Nora found some new friends in this book and I liked how she interacted with each of them.

I liked Nora’s gift, she can read imprints from objects and read people’s thoughts if she touches them. I actually read another book this month about someone who could read imprints and I think it’s a fun ability to read about. I liked how Nora’s ability came in handy and how we get a feel for her abilities. I do have the feeling there’s more we don’t know yet and am excited to see where the story goes in the next book. I did feel that her imprint ability could’ve been developed a bit more. At the start of the book there are lots of mentions of imprints, but as the book goes on there are less mentions of the imprints and only when relevant to the plot. That might be because it wouldn’t add to the plot, but I would’ve liked a line here and there to know where she read imprints to make that aspect come alive a bit more.

There is a big variety of paranormal species that are introduced in this book and I liked how there was enough information to get a bit of a feel for them. But there’s also still enough to discover or that could be worked out in future books.

To summarize: This was a great start to a new series and I am excited to see where the series goes next. Nora is a human with special abilities and tries to stay away from the underworld, but in this book she gets pulled right in the middle of that world. Nora was a likeable main character and her actions felt realistic. I liked how she was smart and capable and not afraid to ask for help or backup. And she also was ready to help her new found friends. She has a bit of a sad and harsh backstory and it was great to see her make some great friends in this book. There is a great group of side characters in this book and I liked how each of them has their own personality and it was easy to remember who was who. There is a hint of possible romances, but it doesn’t go there yet which makes sense and felt realistic given what Nora has gone through. The world building was done well, we get a feel for the underworld and the different paranormal species. I also liked reading about Nora’s gift and am looking forward to learn more about the characters and world in the next book. This was a great start to this series and I hope book 2 will be released soon as I can’t wait to spend more time with Nora and her friends.

4 Stars

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Have you read a book were the main character has psychometry/ can read imprints?

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18 responses to “Review: Don’t Rush Me by Jackie May

  1. This one sounds interesting. I like the sound of the paranormal gift and can imagine how it hauls Nora right into the middle of the underworld. As ever, a detailed and well written review, Lola:)

    • Thanks! It was interesting to see how she got pulled into the underworld and how her gift made her a target and someone everyone wanted on their side.

    • I also like Urban Fantasies, although I don’t seem to read them as much lately. I am really glad I picked this one up. It was such a good read.

    • I love it when the side characters are so well done you come to care for them. There’s a troll character in this book that became one of my favorites as he’s so awesome to read about.

  2. This sounds interesting from the blurb, and a slow burn reverse harem sounds great! I too love slow burns, and I feel like that’d be even more important for reverse harems since that’s not the kind of thing a person would just jump straight into. From everything you said about Nora, I think I’d like her, and the side characters sound great too. I might have to try this one!
    Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Book Review: The Devil’s Revolver (The Devil’s Revolver Book 1) by V.S. McGrathMy Profile

    • This book was really good and it’s one of the best reverse Harem books I read. I really enjoy slow burns in general and it worked here really well. I am curious to see how the romance will develop over the course of the series. But it’s great to be able to get a feel for all the characters already and see Nora build a connection with them before it turns into a romance. I think you might enjoy this one and there’s even a vampire character (I know how much you like vampires) that I think will become part of her harem ;). Oh and there’s a troll as well (he’s one of my favorite characters), which you don’t see as often in books.

    • I didn’t realize you grew up around there. I think this is the second book that I read that I can remember that took place there. This is one of the best Rh books I read so far and I would definitely recommend it :).

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