Three Stars

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I started reading NEW ORLEANS RUSH. It was my first book by Kelly Siskind, but the cute cover and synopsis were irresistible. For the most part, this book charmed me with its zany humor, quirky characters, and snappy dialogue. I definitely think you have to be in the right kind of mood when you start this book. Don’t take things too seriously and you’ll enjoy the story and Ms. Siskind’s writing a lot more.

The positives: Let’s start with the setting. I loveeee New Orleans and I liked that the book had NOLA vibes without shoving the city down the reader’s throat. I also enjoyed the concept of magical brothers! What a fun and interesting career for the three Marlow guys. I thought the behind-the-scenes magic information was fun without bogging the story down. The secondary characters (the brothers and Della) were fun and fleshed out enough to make the story three-dimensional.

Bea was an entertaining character. She’s one of my favorite types of heroines: fun, flighty, with a heart of gold. I have friends like her and I loved the endless positivity, even if she was a bit naive sometimes. Huxley was a great character as well. There is something so endearing about a hero who is completely enamored with the heroine. His nicknames and complete faith in her abilities made me a little swoony. Plus the Elderwand references absolutely cracked me up.

The cons: It seems like the story got away from the author a little bit. Instead of diving deep on Bea and Huxley’s relationship and the central problems in the story, extra plot elements were thrown in. I lost interest in the story towards the middle when Huxley and Bea were just friends. In fact, it took me almost a week to finish this book (that’s super slow for me). I appreciated the tension and time for Huxley and Bea to get to know one another, but it just felt like wasted time as a reader. I even forgot that Bea was Huxley’s assistant by the end of the book because it was lost under the weight of too many subplots and weird details.

I’m going to put this out there: The climax of the story was ridiculous. I like when an author goes for humor, but that whole scene felt contrived.

Overall, if this was the start of a series (and I really hope it is because I enjoyed the world Ms. Siskind created), I think it built a strong foundation. I would absolutely read another book. I promise you will only appreciate this story if you let yourself get a little whimsical and absurd.

Side Note: I feel DEPRIVED of a certain brother’s story. Deprived.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

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