California Bones

I was really not into the description of this book, but I'm very glad I read it any way. It looked to gritty for my taste, and indeed it is pretty bleak, but the world-building and magic system were interesting enough to keep me intrigued. The characters, with the exception of Gabriel and Max, are maybe a bit pat and we don't get into a lot of the reasoning behind their out of control proficiency in their skills, but it doesn't matter quite as much given the literal magic in the air.

I'm not sure if I loved it quite enough to bump other books off my to-read list in order to finish the series, but it was a pretty exciting romp through alternate Los Angeles. If you like your fantasy heavy on the the thriller, I'd give this series a shot.