Review: Clean Sweep – Ilona Andrews

Posted 16 December, 2014 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 18 Comments

Review: Clean Sweep – Ilona AndrewsClean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #1
Published by Selfpublished on 2 December 2013
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Pages: 200
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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5 Stars

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

Clean Sweep is the amazing start to yet another awesome series by power-couple Ilona Andrews. Witty, magical and with a strong female character, I loved the way the first story in the Innkeeper Chronicles is so different from their Kate Daniels series.

My Clean Sweep review:

Dina is a really good character to follow, she has some magic, but it’s mostly chained to the inn she’s the hostess of. And it’s a very special kind of inn, too, in which people of various species come to stay, and where the keeper has to make sure they are safe during the time they are there. With vampires, werewolves, aliens and parallel worlds, Clean Sweep encompasses a whole universe of characters, possibilities and stories. At the start of the story, Dina and some of her neighbours find yet another dog that has been viciously killed, and she tries to get the new guy, Sean, to take responsibility for finding out what’s going on.

Little by little, the readers learn about Dina’s back-story, how her parents and their inn just completely disappeared, and for years, Dina and her brother were traveling the galaxies looking for them, while their sister had gotten married and lived off-planet. Now, Dina is ready to have her own inn, with all the responsibilities and intricacies that come with that position. I enjoyed how the story in Clean Sweep unfolded, because it’s told in first person point of view from Dina’s perspective, with quite a lot of dialogue to help us readers get to know the characters better, based both on what Dina tells us, and how they speak.

The humor is so well done – I was laughing out loud several times, both because of Dina, and because Sean and the vampire Arland with them trying to outdo each other to show Dina they were better than the other. And there’s a very fun new fact about vampires in Clean Sweep… something very funny happens to them when they drink coffee.

Because of the dogs in the neighbourhood being killed off, both Sean and Dina need to make sure their little haven is safe, and when Arland suddenly shows up, seemingly out of nowhere, they have a new ally to help them against an alien who is there for a very specific reason. Using all their magic, strength and cunning, they end up working quite well together, bringing even more humor and some very well done fights to the forefront. With a compelling heroine, some strong male characters and a well-built world, Clean Sweep will possibly sweep you right off your feet with enchantment, perfect writing and funny twists.

Sweep in Peace, the second book in the Innkeeper Chronicles is currently being released chapter by chapter online on Ilona Andrews’ website! I’m trying my best to stay away and wait for the full story, but it’s so hard…

Some of my favourite Clean Sweep quotes:

For me hotness was a complicated matter involving brains, humor and some other things, but all that aside, I was willing to admit Sean Evans was nice to look at. Unfortunately, in light of the events two nights ago, he was also the prime suspect for the dog killings.

It was as if a medieval castle and a Southern-belle, antebellum mansion had a baby and it had been delivered into the world by a gothic wedding-cake decorator.

“How did it go with the werewolf?” she asked. I sat in the chair. “He’s pretending I’m insane and that he doesn’t know what I’m talking about.”

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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18 responses to “Review: Clean Sweep – Ilona Andrews

  1. It amazes me out Ilona Andrews writing pair can continuously come up with new and interesting worlds that are all completely unique from each other. I’ve been desperately waiting book two to come out on audio. I’m hoping it will be available after the first of the year, though I have no idea how far along they are on the serial on the site.

    • Me, too! The characters’ voices are completely different, the world is new and enticing, and the writing is close to perfect. I hope you’ll et your hands on the audio very soon – I also hope the full book will be released before Christmas, so I can get myself yet another Christmas present. From me to me 😉
      Have a great day, Melanie.

  2. This is an Andrews read that I haven’t gotten to, Lexxie. It sounds like it has their trademark humor, which I love! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I *think* it’s on one of my ereaders…I’ll have to look and maybe add it to one of my challenges. 😉

    Enjoy the rest of your day, my dear! *BIG HUGS*

    • It does have their amazing sense of humor, but even the humor is a little different from their Kate Daniels series.
      Have a great Wednesday, my dear! I don’t know where the time goes these days. *BIG HUGS*

  3. I want so badly to read Ilona Andrews!!

    Clean Sweep is a really good and clever title and from what I read here, a very interesting read. Sounds like a very creative book with all the vampires, werewolves, aliens and parallel worlds! Thanks for sharing, Lexxie!

    Btw I think I should start reading Andrews with Kate Daniels series, right? I’ve read so many great things!

    • Kate Daniels and Clean Sweep has nothing to do with each other, so you could start with whichever series you like, Athina. I know the first Kate Daniels books were on sale for kindle a while back, but I don’t know about now.
      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

    • LOL, I know what you mean – I often own books I read reviews of too, it’s just that I have that little problem called time :O

  4. I’d love to see what a gothic decorated cake looks like lol ! I haven’t read this author yet but, as usual, this book is already on my list, great review !

    • LOL, I know right? I was trying very hard to imagine it, too Iza. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this author – there’s just the right balance between paranormal, mystery, fights, friendship, humor and romance 😀

  5. So glad you enjoyed this one Lexxie and that it didn’t let you down! I’ll have to give Andrew’s books a chance!

    • You should give their books a chance, Lily. I only started with their Kate Daniels series this fall, and I’m so happy I did!

  6. I really need to read this author! Everyone is so in love with the writing and I still haven’t tried one. All this gushing over the pair has me thinking I am missing something. 🙂

    Also, did you do something different to your blog? Maybe it is just me but it looked different..lol. 🙂

    • I definitely think you’re missing something, Stormi! :p

      And yes, I’ve upgraded to Tweak Me v2, and made the colors a little lighter, and now only have widgets on the right side 🙂 Do you like it?

    • Oh, you could have had an ARC for Clean Sweep, Braine? If you’re up for vampires again, just know that they are not the main ‘creatures’ in this story, since Dina the Innkeeper is 🙂
      I hope you’ll get to read it, and that you’ll enjoy it!

    • Their humor is amazing, I completely agree, Naomi. I’m sure you’ll find the time to read Clean Sweep one day… I know how it is, though – so many books!!

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