Crescent City Trilogy (Kristen Painter)

## Genre Information

Urban Fantasy
Futuristic

Paranormal Romance

 (Series Content Ratings Click on Explicit Ratings for details.)

## About the Series

* **Genres:** Urban Fantasy / Futuristic
* **Theme:** *Crescent City Trilogy* is set in the same world as the *House of Comarré series*.
* **Narrative style**: Third person narrative

## Series Description

Augustine lives the perfect life in the Haven city of New Orleans. He rarely works a real job, spends most of his nights with a different human woman, and resides in a spectacular Garden District mansion paid for by retired movie star Olivia Goodwin, who has come to think of him as an adopted son, providing him room and board and whatever else he needs. But when Augustine returns home to find Olivia’s been attacked by vampires, he knows his idyllic life has comes to an end. It’s time for revenge—and to take up the mantle of the city’s Guardian. Then Olivia’s estranged daughter, Harlow, arrives. She hates being fae, but her powers are exactly what Augustine needs to catch the vampires. Can he convince her to help him in time? Or will the sparks between them send her running again?

## Books in Series

1. House of the Rising Sun (Crescent City Trilogy Book 1) (2014)
2. City of Eternal Night (Crescent City Trilogy Book 2) (2014)
3. Garden of Dreams and Desires (Crescent City Trilogy Book 3) (2015)

## World Building

### Setting

New Orleans — CRESCENT CITY is one of New Orleans' nicknames, and that is where the story is set—in the year 2068.

### Fantasy Elements

Fae, witches, vampires, psychometrist, raptor fae, shifters, wizards, demonic forces, mirror traveling, , , ,

### World

This series takes place in the same universe as Painter's HOUSE OF COMARRÉ series. A year has passed since the ancient covenant between humans and othernaturals was broken, and othernaturals have revealed themselves to humans. (The covenant was broken at the end of the first novel in the COMARRÉ series.)
In this world, New Orleans has long been controlled by the fae, led by the high fae council—the Elektos. The fae allow witches to live in New Orleans, but a fae curse keeps the vampires out. Any vampire who enters New Orleans immediately acquires the ability to daywalk, but loses that ability as soon as he or she leaves the city. Another feature of the curse is that when a vampire leaves New Orleans he or she loses all memories of the visit. So far, this curse has resulted in very few vamps in New Orleans—a situation that is highly satisfactory for the fae, the witches, and the humans.

### Protagonists

Augustine (aka Augie, Gussie) Robelais
a fae hybrid (shadeux fae and smokesinger) whom we met in COMARRÉ when he helped his brother's friend, Chrysabelle, enter the fae plane. (Chrysabelle is the heroine of the COMARRÉ series.) When Augustine helped Chrysabelle—a mortal—go into the fae realm, he violated one of the Elektos' most sacred rules, so as the series opens, he is just returning to his home town of New Orleans after being on the run for about a year. Augustine is a laid-back, womanizing hedonist who is trying to forget his extremely unhappy childhood. His fae mother tried to pass for human and constantly berated Augustine because his gray skin and horns loudly proclaimed his fae heritage. Eventually, she kicked him out, and he lived with a street gang until retired movie star, Olivia Goodwin, rescued him, brought home into her home, and raised him as if he were her own son.
Harlow Goodwin
Olivia's estranged daughter, who turned her back on her mother when Mom refused to reveal Olivia's father's identity. Harlow wants to believe that her father is human, because she despises her fae heritage and wants nothing to do with the fae life. Unfortunately, Harlow's fae talent is impossible to ignore. She is psychometric, which means that she has the ability to "read" the history and emotions that are tied to every person or object that she touches. She is so sensitive that she must always wear gloves to prevent her skin from touching anyone or anything because those contacts always flood her mind with a sensory overload of emotions. Harlow has stayed away from her mother for years, refusing all communication and living an independent, if poor, life as a computer technologist. She works as a private contractor, taking jobs that fall in the gray area between legal fixes and illegal hacking. As the series opens, Harlow has just been sentenced to two years in prison for hacking into a computer system illegally. Paying an $850,000 fine would keep her out of prison, but she doesn't have any money, so she's on her way to New Orleans to ask her wealthy mother to bail her out.
## Book Descriptions

1. House of the Rising Sun (2014)
Every vampire has heard rumours of the mythical place where their kind can daywalk. But what no vampire knows is that this City of Eternal Night actually exists... And its name is New Orleans. For centuries, the fae have protected the city from vampire infestation. But when the bloodsuckers return, the fragile peace in New Orleans begins to crumble. Carefree playboy Augustine, and Harlow, a woman searching for answers about her absent father, are dragged into the war. The fate of the city rests on them - and the responsibilities their fae blood brings can no longer be denied.
2. City of Eternal Night (2014)
Magic and mystery collide in this second installment of the new urban fantasy series by House of Comarre author Kristen Painter Still coming to terms with their unexpected partnership, Augustine and Harlow have a tentative truce. With Harlow slowly working to accept being fae, Augustine still learning how to be Guardian, and feelings growing on both sides though, they do not have an easy road ahead. But when a young girl is stolen from the Mardi Gras Exemplar Ball—the biggest far event of the year—Harlow and Augustine must put all their issues aside to bring her home alive. Harlow's father, Braziano, is of course their number one suspect, but evil lurks in every corner of the city and time is running out. Their only choices: Either find a way to rescue the girl, or Augustine must die.
3. Garden of Dreams and Desires (2015)
Magic and mystery collide in this thrilling conclusion to the new urban fantasy series by House of Comarre author Kristen Painter. Tourists are disappearing at an alarming rate. While Augustine and his lieutenants attempt to find them, Harlow and the evil spirit possessing her remain Augustine's true focus. Freeing her from the spirit's grasp is all he can think about, especially with no real solution on the horizon. Then he discovers the tourists are disappearing because the witches are stealing souls to cast a dangerous chaos spell. Before he can stop them, Harlow becomes their victim. Now he must race the clock to set her free and end the witches' machinations before the chaos spell strips every fae in New Orleans of their power and bring fae rule to an end.
## References

1. ↑ Urban Fantasy | Kristen Painter
2. ↑ Fang-tastic Fiction: Kristen Painter: CRESCENT CITY TRILOGY
3. ↑ Fang-tastic Fiction
4. ↑ Fang-tastic Fiction