Review of ‘Fire & Water’ by Alexis Hall

I love this series! As a huge urban fantasy/paranormal fan and mystery/crime fan, the combo of both is just wonderful. Kate Kane is everything I love in a PI. She’s sarcastic and witty but also plenty flawed. She drinks too much, doesn’t always communicate well, and can be a total badass, but she has a heart of gold and tries to do what’s right. Kate’s inner thoughts and dialogue are so well done that I actually wrote down multiple quotes that made me laugh or smile. To put that in perspective I can count on one hand how many books I wanted to remember quotes from in the past year. As much as I love this series, love Kate, and loved the writing, this was my least favorite book of the series.

I have read the first two books multiple times. When I heard that Hall decided to continue the series, this was instantly on my list of most anticipated reads of 2020. Did my super high expectations become part of the issue? Maybe, but there was no way I could give this book 5 stars with its ending. I don’t know what is going on but this is the second book in a row that I would have given 5 stars to but the ending messed it up. And while I hate to bring this up but Carina Press Romance promises their books will have a ‘happily ever after’ or ‘happy for now’. That was not the case here. There were multiple bad things that happened and only a tiny bit of hope for one of them. I have not heard of any plans for a book four but I sure hope Carina will stand by that promise and we will get a HEA for the series. If not, Hall is going to have one angry lesbian on their case.

If you are new to this series, do not start here. These books need to be read in order. Hall did a great job of tying in all three books and knowing all the history made the book even more fun to read. Not only that but while Kate is the star, the whole cast of characters around her is wonderful and it’s worth getting more attached to them in each book.

Even with my strong dislike for the ending, I still really enjoyed this read. It was almost one of my rare 5 stars ratings. This series holds a special place in my heart and I would easily recommend it to fans of lesbian urban fantasy paranormal books. I just beg of Hall that after that ending that they won’t keep us waiting long for book 4. My rating: 4 stars.

A copy was given to me for an honest review.