Volatile Bonds (Prospero's War)

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Kate Prospero just wants to do her job busting the bad guys in Babylon while on loan from the police force to the MEA task force. Life would be easier if everyone wasn't keeping secrets - her partner, her brother, her best friend, and forget about a straight answer from the mayor! Bodies are turning up dead as the city prepares for an event of the ages. Kate never makes the easy choices as she continues to battle her past to forge a future.

I loved this book! I regard a Jaye Wells as a master world builder and her very flawed characters are flawlessly developed. At the heart of this series is a well written police drama, add the magically adept and you've graduated to amazing urban fantasy. The only flaw was the 2 year wait, but it was worth it!

I enjoyed the first three books in this series and was excited when Volume 4 came out. However, as I read through this book, there were so many typos and grammatical errors that it go to the point of being very distracting and hard to read through. This book felt very rushed and "forced". The character dialogue was terrible and instead of the protagonist learning from previous mistakes and developing over time, we're stuck with the same juvenile behavior from Prospero that we had in the very first book. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and would have been much happier with just the first three volumes.

Kate’s back! And urban fantasy bestselling author Jaye Wells has another hit. “Volatile Bonds” has all the familiar and outrageous characters we love in the Prospero’s War series, as well as some unique and treacherous newcomers.

In book four, Detective Kate Prospero and her partner, Special Agent Drew Morales, members of the Magic Enforcement Agency (MEA), have a new foe. A dangerous coven has arrived in the Cauldron, a new potion is on the street, and former beau, now mayor, John Volos appears to be in the thick of it.

Wells is a master at creating flawed characters filled with secrets and guilt. In this latest tale, we learn what some of those secrets are and the guilt behind them. Battling dirty magic, murder, evil and powerful adversaries, time is not on their side, and Kate, Drew and the MEA are again pushed to the breaking point. Can relationships survive? Can Kate move forward? Or will her past as a former family member of a powerful dirty magic cartel prove too much?

This series draws you in, and unlike some fantasy, life in Prospero’s War seems all too real. Great characters. Snarky and sarcastic wit. Fast pace. Twists and turns. It’s a book that’s hard to put down, and one you can’t wait to see what happens next.

Love the series! How there will be another book!

Jaye Wells was recommended by Kevin Hearne. Said it was the best stuff he had read in a while. So, I had to read. Love these books, and the characters. You will be entertained.

I've read all the other books in the Prosperos War series, and I have to say that I liked this one the best. The protagonist finally seems to have grown up and is parenting her brother with some maturity and drawing boundaries with the men in her life. Well done, Jaye Wells!

Another amazing tale from the Cauldron. Kate Prospero is the kick arse hero most women dream to be.

I enjoyed the first three installments of the Prospero's War series and was happy to see Wells continue it with Volatile Bonds. Her magic system rocks...potions help and harm based on how you create and use them, which is a perfect analog to chemistry in the mundane world. There's always something at stake in the Prospero's War books -- Wells's protagonist fights like mad to solve cases and save her own (and her colleagues') skin. Highly recommended if you like, or think you might like, paranormal detective stories.

Jaye Wells creates a most believable world, not necessarily one I'd like to live in, but visiting is grand. Her characters have depth, grow and change and become people you can't help but care about.
My only sadness is the unavoidable time between volumes, but every next installment is worth the wait!

I received an ARC from entering a contest. This is book 4 in the Series. The world Jayne creates draws you in and her protagonist Kate is very well written. This is a mystery but also a journey and I am emotionally invested in the outcome. I haven't finished the book yet but I wanted to rate it and hope more people discover this awesome series.