Arc Review: Hostile Takeover or a noir style Urban Fantasy!

Hello everyone, and happy Monday! How are things going? I hope that your week has started in the best possible way! Today I am here with a review for one of the latest books I received from NetGalley, and I am happy to share it with you all!

Title: Hostile Takeover
Series: Vale Investigation #1
Author: Cristelle Comby
Page count: 353

He’s done a deal with Death herself. But unless he can send beasts back to the Otherworld, losing his life will be the least of his worries…
PI Bellamy Vale’s near-immortality doesn’t give him a moment to rest. Completely worn down as Death’s supernatural detective, he’s starting to think he got the short-end of his do-or-die deal. So when a string of savage attacks grip the city, Vale abandons all hope of sleep and sets out to discover who let the Otherworld beast free…
Reading dead crime victims’ minds for clues, Vale attracts the very unwanted attention of a fresh-faced journalist and his jealous police officer ex. Reluctantly agreeing to let the women tag along for the danger, the investigation reveals his worst fears. It turns out letting the brutal monster loose may only be the first wave of destruction.
Can PI Vale catch the puppet-master before the whole world is dragged to hell?

Hostile Takeover is the first book in the fast-paced Vale Investigation urban fantasy series. If you like classic noir-style action, out-of-control mythology, and a healthy dose of sarcastic charm, then you’ll love Cristelle Comby’s edge-of-your-seat adventure.

I have a little penchant for urban fantasy, and if you throw in noir-style action, mythology, and sarcastic charm well… how could I resist???
And I am really glad to have given in to the temptation! Even if to be honest, there is not so much sarcasm as I was hoping, I was not disappointed by this reading. Not disappointed at all!

The world that the author creates for us is interesting. Her “other world” is fascinating, and I loved that she includes in it all the mythology, not only one. And so we have so many interesting Underworlds, and similar, and the Gods are all there, somewhere at least. I really hope to see more of it, but so far I am glad about what she gave us here.

And with an interesting world, we get some interesting characters. Vale is our MC, and he is quite a pleasant guy to be around. He wasn’t as sarcastic or as witty, or as fun, as I was hoping, that’s true, but I didn’t miss it while reading. I enjoyed being with him, and I enjoyed him quite a lot. And with him, we have some good sidekicks, too! I think I love Zian, he is just this cute nerdy guy, but well… this is not all there he is! And his father is just… oh my! I enjoyed him, too (the father I mean). And Kennedy. I was not a big fan of her, especially at the beginning, but in the end, I warmed up to her, too.
On the one hand, they are not amazing or memorable, and I know that this seems a bad thing, but it is not. Yes, maybe I am not so invested in them, and I won’t take them with me, that’s true, but I enjoyed being there with them all, I enjoyed their adventures and their relationships. And hence, I enjoyed their company.

And we have a solid story here. It is intriguing and captivating, and I had some difficulties to just put down the book. Once you are in, you wouldn’t get out easily, that’s for sure. And we visit a lot of interesting places, too. I’d love to visit the Tomb, for example. So, to try and summarize it all, I had a great time with this book, and I want more. I really hope to get to read the sequels, because Bellamy Vale was an interesting character, and a good PI, too!

Maybe it is more a 3.75 than a full 4 but… who cares! This was an enjoyable reading and I am looking forward to the sequels! And what about you? Have you read this book? Or other books by the same author? Let me know!!!

Happy reading!
S.