Junkyard Druid: A Druidverse Urban Fantasy Novel (The Colin McCool Paranormal Suspense Series Book 1)

I had to settle in with a couple things and then I enjoyed it enough to try #2… stay tuned.

If you're looking for a few new twists to myth cycles, urban magic, possible/plausible druidical systems, and general modern heroics, this a good series to pick up. I'd prefer less crass language, but in general it fits the mood, tone, and character(s) using it and it rarely comes across as merely being "thrown in". That issue aside, the plots hold together well, build on themselves without suffering from the "re-sets" that so often happen in longer series to keep the drama going. There is steady character development, and to avoid spoilers, plot points that other authors would drag along for the entire run or at least much of it, are developed and allowed to change, rather than be dangled and drawn out. In the end, it's good escapism with some insights and ideas that will give you something to ponder if you have the mind to.

I would recommend you purchase this book as well as books 2 and 3. Massey seems to struggle at the start of Junkyard Druid, not really finding any footing until the second half of the book. Please don't, however, let this stop you from enjoying a remarkable series.So let me start with the good. The world Massey sets up here is pretty incredible. Clearly his mythology is well researched, the dialog flows well and the inter-personal relationships seem meaningful. Additionally the plot is interesting and hopefully will pull you along enough to get to the second half of the book and continuing the series as a whole.Now the bad. The diary sections of the book aren't written well. They feel clunky and unneeded. Massey attempts to establish exposition that would have been better introduced to the audience in the main story. They also break the immersion of the story. I would be following along with Colin and his adventures, eager at the end of each chapter to continue, only to be disappointed that the next chapter started with a diary entry that would pull me out of the story. Fortunately this seems to be the only book where the diary entries and the therapy sessions play a role at all.There is the issue I had with beating into our head what happened with Colin and Jesse several times throughout this book. I totally understand in the later books where past events are summed up as part of the narrative. And I understand the impact that these events had on Colin but they seem copy/pasted and don't contribute to the story past the first couple of mentions.I also wanted to echo what other people have already said. In the first half of Junkyard Druid everybody comes across with one-dimension. They all seem to have one purpose, one target, they seem to be so cliched. There just doesn't appear to be any place where the characters have to take a non-obvious path or make a non-obvious choice or act in a non-cliched manner. Colin is a whiny, pretty boy, Bell is the "tough as nails" biker chick, Crowley is the baddie working on the good side, Maeve is the stereotypical fairy queen.Finally, the book I purchased had pages falling out of it as I read it. I have attached an image where you will see that quite a number of pages in the first third of the book fell out as I was reading it. You can see the last 2/3s of the book is cut perfect but the first 1/3 is uneven. That is due to the pages falling out. I do want to say, however, that I own all 11 books (as of today) of the main story and this is the only one to do this.If you've gotten this far please follow my advice and purchase this book as well as Graveyard Druid and Moonlight Druid. As I mentioned, once you hit that second half of the book Massey gets into a better flow. Sure the diary entries actually get a bit tougher to get through as Massey seems to start hitting his stride and they mess that up. But as you follow along in the series as a whole Bell becomes more then just a "tough as nails" biker chick, Crowley is more than just the baddie working on the good side, Maeve is more than just the stereotypical fairy queen. Literally every character gets better and more well-rounded. Massey dives more into to other culture's mythologies and start involving them in the story lines. Colin's struggles become more and more epic. I would put the last 4 books of this series (Druid's Due, Druid Apprentice, Druid Mystic and Druid Arcane) on par with Butcher's Dresden Files and Hearne's Iron Druid. Every new book Massey puts out gets better. I look forward to book 12 of Colin's story.

I'm generally skeptical of titles that Facebook recommends. This is certainly inspired by the Iron Druid series, but has a unique take on magic and the mythology. The first book establishes an interesting protagonist, back story, and magic system. And for me, the Texas setting is a delightful bonus. Fans Atticus O'Sulluvan will not be disappointed.

I love reading about the diverse paranormal beings that inhabit Colin McCool’s world. It’s also great reading about Austin, TX as I live nearby. The action is fast-paced and fantastical while packed full of surprises. I’m looking forward to reading book 2.Read via Kindle Unlimited

This is a stand alone story. It does not end in a cliffhanger. There is foreshadowing for another book, which the author says is coming. There is little swearing. There is one non-graphic scene of consensual sex, but everything else is heavy flirting and mild innuendo.Colin is a young man with a problem. Trained as a hunter, he and his girlfriend, another hunter, are pushed by their mentor, a 2000 year old druid, into hunting something that turns out to be more than they can handle. When the fight goes poorly, he discovers he's been cursed and turns into a hulk-type berserker, killing everyone and thing in his path, including his girlfriend--who may be haunting him.Threatened into accepting a job from Maeve, queen of the fae, he tries to balance returning to college, finding the object Maeve wants, and handling his drunken, drug addicted mentor.Colin is a likeable character. Younger than usual in these type of stories, we see him struggling to overcome his crushing guilt as he attends therapy, and talking about not enabling his mentor. This is not to say the book is full of self-discovery angst. Instead, it just has the ring of a young man trying to live a typical life, failing through no fault of his own, and being damned annoyed about it.Colin's world is richly populated with well known and lesser known people and creatures. There's the quartet of red caps who seem to be stuck in a bad 80's version of the Sopranos, the bar keep who is the head of the local vampires, the obligatory circle of witches/wizards with whom he has a mutual lack of admiration, various strange creatures from Irish mythology, werewolves, and a woman friend who shrouds herself so well in don't-look-at-me spells that people think he's talking to himself when he's having coffee with her. All of these creatures and people are integrated easily into the story, and make sense when they show up.The only thing this reader felt could be improved was that some explanations were a bit overlong.This story was an excellent read; lighter than others in this genre without sacrificing plot or characters. This reader looks forward to the next book.

It's very rare I don't finish a book but I am struggling with this one. Normally I try a sample but this sounded so much my thing I just bought it. I am over a third in but it's all back story, explaining, self indulgent whining. All that has happened is saying hi to (presumably, or should I say predictably, if anything actually gets going) trope love interests 1 and 2 in a coffee shop. I kid you not. Oh wait, there was a brief altercation with some leprechauns in a car park where they ran away because they realized who he was woo-hoo! I considered prefixing that with 'spoiler alert ' but that would be over selling it. Maybe the leprechauns thought he was going to tell them his life story... Having read the other reviews, I probably won't be forcing myself to continue.

SPOILERS: Don't Read on if you want to avoid them.So it was fun, it was worth reading, enough so that I'll likely read the rest of the series. If you like Urban fantasy that isn't too complex or deep, Give it a shot. the writing isn't amazing, but its not so bad to put you off either.However, lets go through the similarities between the Dresden Files and This.Protagonist Killed his first love,DF (Dreden Files): Elaine Burnt to death by Harry, JD (Junkyard Druid); ripped apart GF when under curse.DF; Magic authorities(White Council) distrust him and want him dead, JD; Magic Authorities (Circle) distrust him and want him dead.DF: WHite Council muscle Morgan hates him and enjoys pushing him. JD: Crowley from the Circle hates him and wants to kill him.DF antagonistic relationship with ancient mentor, JD: same.DF: forced to work for and with Fae queens etc (Godmother and Queen Mab(Mab is Gaelic spelling of Maeve) JD: Blackmailed into working for Queen Maeve).DF: Love interests, Short, friend zone, trusted, Murphy, and tall, Leggy, sexualised, leather wearing Susan. JD; Short, Friend zoned, trusted Sabine and Tall, leggy, sexualised, leather wearing Belladonna...I could go on. I'm actually surprised he hasn't been sued for plagiarism its such an obvious rip off.

I finally have in and brought this book, and I'm so glad I did!!A Druid, a lost love, a crack smoking several thousand year old mentor.A Vampire running a coffee house/restaurant???Loving ALL the characters that are wonderfully written.

Weaving the world of magic into the modern world with flamboyant, reckless skill. Colin, the young druid hero is a tormented soul torn apart by the death of his great love: Jesse. But, against all odds he soldiers on to continue his life, fighting evil and protecting those he loves against dark forces. Action, adventure, humour and romance wrapped up in mysteries to solve and cracking plot twists. An enjoyable read for all fans of urban fantasy.

I'm surprised by the way this first installment took me on a fun gallivant through the Irish methos. But one slight was the unrelenting sort of teen boy drama of being awkward and snake bit shy around any possible female and then wondering why his best friend the galastig would dial up her glamour. But definitely a good first installment and I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops.