Promise (Caulborn #2) by Nicholas Olivo

Promise (Caulborn #2) Reviews

• 
  Hanzel

  I love Mr. Olivo's Caulborn series, fast, simple and action pack.............
  
  Vincent Corinthos, a demigod, child of Janus (God of Doors, also God of beginnings and in a sense endings{do correct me if I am wrong}, A caulborn operative, people who patrol the known worlds against those that seek to destroy the equilibrium of modern society(natural and supernaturally speaking), a god in the making, simply put think of it as policedemigod(ahhhhh......huh.....).......
  
  The story so far, after becoming the God of the Urisk(a psychic fae race that aside from strengthening him with their faith, shares with him additional abilities, that manifests whenever they survive hardships) and rescuing their resident techgenius gremlin, Vincent was introduced to another God to hone his true ability, opening doorways/portals, A new enemy also surfaced an organization called The Keepers.......this book also introduced Herb, a necromancer...........
  
  A lot happened, and the finale was really unexpected.......things are really gearing up for something.........
• 
  Mike

  Another enjoyable and quick read. It ended on kind of a cliffhanger so I will go ahead and read the third book today.
• 
  Nathan Tullis

  *I received a free copy of this audio book for review via
  Audiobookreviewer.com*
  
  I was offered this book almost immediately following my review of the first one (Imperium) and I said yes as soon as I could. I really enjoyed the first Cualborn book and dove in immediately. There may be some minor spoilers from book one in this review.
  
  The story picks up shortly after the events of book one and focuses heavily on the promise made by Vincent therein. After speaking with his friend, who is a dragon and dragon’s are awesome, Vinny discovers the existence of a group called The Keepers. Keepers have a seemingly endless well of knowledge and capability. Since the Caulborn have never heard of them, Vincent decides to check them out. After an extensive tide of questions he decides they may be able to help him with his problem with Orcus, the god of oaths and the one who is holding Vincent to his promise that Megan will be “fine” forever, literally. After completing his part of the deal with the Keepers Vinny thinks everything is going to work out. That is until Megan goes missing. Adding to that Vincent has other worries at home; Petra’s mother is coming to town. Not only is his girlfriend’s mother visiting, she just so happens to be Aphrodite and she makes life unpleasant for Petra.
  
  This was a solid follow up to Imperium. While it wasn’t quite as good as book one in my opinion, it definitely kept me interested the whole time. Nicholas Olivo brought in some new and entertaining characters and built upon the old ones. I love what he is doing with the mythological deities in this series. As I said in my review of book one, I am a huge fan of mythology and I can’t help but be sucked in when someone is doing something interesting and new with the gods. I’m intrigued by how the gods would act in another’s eyes, this series has so far done very well with that.
  
  Ian McEuen again brings his narration to table and he did a terrific job of bringing the story to life. He has a really great delivery and give every character their own voice, adding more depth the already likeable protagonist and his extremely entertaining supporting cast. One of the big draws of the voice acting by McEuen is the pace, it’s almost perfect, there’s not robotic pauses or sentences hard to understand because the narrator is reading too fast, it’s right where it needs to be. In addition to the great performance, there is not background noices, static, or any annoying mouth noises or heavy breathing.
  
  Fans of mythology or any kind of urban fantasy needs to give this book a read. Fans of Nick Podehl should also check this out. McEuen has a very similar style to Podehl and he fits the story very well. Without a doubt this series is worth it.
• 
  KJ Van Houten

  Promise by Nicholas Olivio
  Rating: 4.5 stars
  
  Promise starts with a bang -- make that a scream as Vincent and his Caulborn partner Megan instantly jump into a battle with skeletons rising from a Boston graveyard. Just who is that masked and hooded stranger behind the attack? Even with his psychic powers (perks of being half human and half god with his own society of worshippers), Vincent finds himself trapped. Newcomer Herb Wallenby, benevolent necromancer, comes to the rescue. Herb and Megan find an instant attraction for each other that is cute.
  
  But this is a Vincent Corinthos story, not a love story. Apparently it isn't easy being half human and half god as Vincent shows as we follow him on another adventure through Boston, into numerous portals, and across dimensions to the Bright Side. So nice to see the return of characters that I came to really enjoy in Imperium, the first novel in this series. Especially Gearstripper, the mechanical genius gremlin. I particularly enjoyed getting to learn more about Vincent's girlfriend Petra -- daughter of Aphrodite and made of living stone, a model hiding an inner geek. But what's up with some of the new characters? Does Herb have an agenda other than asking Megan out to dinner? What's going on with the mysterious Keepers? Who is that masked man behind the growing number of skeletal attacks? What is that mysterious magical object stolen from a Viking treasure chest on display at the museum? How will Vincent deal with Megan's sudden disappearance? And really, what's up with a dragon that hoards vintage clothing?
  
  I really enjoy Nicholas Olivio's writing style! It's action-packed with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour, and peppered with enough references to contemporary culture to appeal to my inner geek! (My favourite scene involves Vincent remembering the time when he was first considering asking Petra on a date -- a memory that involves imaginary miniature Star Trek captains giving advice!) I definitely recommend this story to anyone that enjoys reading humour with their fantasy worlds. Definitely suitable for teenagers as well as adults. And while I always recommend reading a series in order, I find that this story is ok to be read separately -- although of course reading in order will provide a richer experience and understanding of the returning characters.
  
  Bottom line: if you like to read contemporary fantasy and you love humour, then definitely read this book! Several great characters to get attached to. Promise is a quick read suitable for teens and adults. I only listed this as 4.5 stars instead of 5 because there are a few times the transitions from scene to scene are a little rough.
  
• 
  Alston Antony

  Another good book in the series. I still love the fast paced action and really love the main character and also loved Petra back story too.
  
  However in this book I really didn't really find Megan character intriguing as I did in the first book and also for some reason I didn't like Herb at all.
  
  I really hope the 3rd book will fix the issues with the characters.
  
  Overall it's a good book if you're in modern urban fantasy.
• 
  Sherry Ramsey

  A very good followup to Imperium, the first book in this series--I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars but settled on 4 for a couple of reasons. Olivo's writing is fast-paced, lively, and extremely enjoyable to read, and I just love these characters. With a lot of look-alike stories on the market today, these are definitely unique and memorable. What I didn't like about this book won't stop me from reading another one.
  
  MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD: My only quibbles with this book are plot-related. I was very annoyed with Vincent at the way he got into trouble in this book--he signed the contract in far too cavalier a manner when all his instincts should have been screaming at him to run away. I think as a character he's smarter than this, and I hated to see him do something dumb for the sake of advancing the plot. I also felt that he should have questioned the Keepers' definition of "fine"--because locking someone away in stasis really doesn't make them "fine" in any sense of the word. I felt that they broke the contract right there, but it *never came up.* Even if they had argued about the definition--but it seemed like such an obvious thing to not even address.
  
  However, these issues nothwithstanding, I did enjoy the book and read it quickly. A great series and I hope there'll be more!
• 
  Brandt Anderson

  I just don't like the main character at all. He's just so dumb for lack of a better word. I can't understand how he is an operative in a supernatural enforcement agency. The moment he gained powers they offered him a job when he failed as a field agent. The sad thing is that his biggest problem was the simplest thing to fix, and yet he would rather get other people injured than fix it. I honestly feel bad for his followers, the Orisic, as all his actions as a deity are reactionary. He waits until his enemies strike his people before implementing changes to prevent it. It is a good thing I like the world the author has created or I wouldn't be able to read more of this series.
• 
  Sharon Schultz

  This second book does not disappoint, in a series that I sat down and finished in long reading binge because I wanted to know what happens next!
  Also, the WONDERFUL and complete lack of the romantic triangle trope plaguing most paranormal books is delightfully refreshing!
  
  If you like urban fantasy then this book is for you.
• 
  Erik Warming

  You think being a god is easy? Not while you also have your day job. We continue to explore the world, but I am starting to wish for some kind of boundary. Everything is possible and that could get annoying in the long run - on the other hand, it open up for a wonderful bad guy in this book.
• 
  Jamie (JK)

  3.5 stars really. I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as the previous installments. More later.
• 
  Susan

  4.5 stars. Excellent world building, vivid characters and a wicked sense of humor threaded throughout.
• 
  Jonathan Wilson

  4.5 Stars
• 
  Sean Moreira

  Predictable, When I read the cover I figured out 85% of the plot before even opening the book.
  
  Still it has great elements in it which make you want to love the book but the author fails to utilize them properly