Initial Impressions 1/1/17: 4 stars 
 JACKABY was a fun novel with a big nod to Sherlock Holmes but with a supernatural twist. I really enjoyed the book from start to finish but never quite fell in love with it. There were parts where I laughed out loud at the wit and humor and others where I wasn't quite into the direction of the story. I actually didn't quite know what the book entailed as far as the supernatural goes so that was my misunderstanding from lack of re-reading synopses before starting (I generally don't to keep the element of mystery alive) so I had thought it was going to be more straight mystery than paranormal. I think I would have preferred that type of story (I'm just in the mood for a dark, gothic horror mystery like STALKING JACK THE RIPPER) but I did also enjoy the paranormal twist and I certainly wouldn't knock down a rating for my misunderstanding. 
 I enjoyed Abigail's character but as far as strong female goes, I felt like she could have been a bit stronger of a character in general. I did like Jackaby but I hated the audiobook narrator's voice for him (it was so awkwardly pointed and jilting) so that was a bit hard. I would have preferred a much more normal voice and let the character do the talking with the way that he spoke and the things that the did instead of this weird dramatic flair. 
 My only other gripe about this was the romance. It was in a weird in-between spot where I wanted either more or less, but I'm also glad that the romance wasn't with the two main characters. That was refreshing! I am interested to see where the rest of the series takes this. 
 I enjoyed the variety of supernatural beings and Jackaby's unique ability to see and understand them. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Jackaby and Abigail discover in future books! I just wish my library had the audio so I could binge on!! 
 Review as originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide 3/13/17: I wasn't totally sure what JACKABY was all about but I was excited to start it! I actually hadn't known that it involved paranormal elements so that was an interesting surprise when I started reading! (Yes, yes, I know that's what the whole series is about and it's plain as day in the book descriptions but you know me and going in totally blind.) I actually thought JACKABY was straight historical fiction, like a YA Sherlock Holmes. I was also interested to find out that Jackaby himself wasn't a young adult, and I thought that was great to have an adult character as a main part of the book since so many YA books skip around older figures and stick with the teens. It brought an interesting dynamic and mix and also allowed Abigail to get involved in so many things that she may not normally have had access to. That's always my thing with YA mysteries -- a big question that always has to be addressed is why a teen wouldn't go to an adult with a murder-mystery case and in JACKABY, Abigail is working for paranormal detective R.F. Jackaby. 
 I also figured that there would be a romance between Jackaby (this was before I knew how much older he was) and Abigail and I'm really glad that there wasn't! It was nice to see the romance built with Abigail and more of a secondary character and that it was a side plot and not a main focus of the book. The quirky mysteries still took the spotlight and there wasn't any mixing of work and romance. I actually didn't really care for the romance, though. I thought it wasn't very developed in the first book, which it didn't have to be developed right away, but for some reason it felt fast and forced for me. 
 JACKABY wasn't a perfect book but it was really enjoyable! Things kind of piled on with the paranormal but it was fun and not overwhelming as some books tend to feel when dealing with so many different para-creatures.