I have read a lot of urban fantasy--120 books, according to my tags--and it's very difficult to describe works in the genre as innovative and fresh. They tend to take old tropes like vampires, werewolves, or fairies, and put their own spin on them. Josh Vogt, however, has created something incredibly unique in his Cleaners series. His heroes work in supernatural sanitation. They wear the guises of common janitors and maids as they do battle with Scum that crawls out of sewers and the dark cracks between dimensions.

That's a lot for college girl Dani to take in. She's hardcore OCD, and when her powerful magic manifests, she's forced into the ranks of the Cleaners. The book is a lemony-fresh romp with the quick pace and breezy reading of urban fantasy all dressed up in a whole new way. ( )

The best thing about this book? A believable friendship that forms between a crotchety old man who cleans toilets for a living, and a female pre-med college student. And it wasn't a sexual relationship! An actual friendship! Refreshing to see that.

The second best thing? The crotchety old man and the pretty college student aren't what they seem at first glance. I can't talk about that without giving spoilers.

I like that this heroine has a major character flaw--mysophobia--that remains consistent throughout the novel. She doesn't magically overcome it, or forget to be afraid for a convenient plot point. It's true to what a phobia really is. Speaking as someone with a phobia, I'm glad the author did his research.

Urban Fantasy is a genre that I rarely like, and this book has some of the UF genre tropes that bother me. There's a pantheon of immortal beings. The rules of magic are a bit squishy. There are super powers and creatures, yet normal people remain unaware. Memory erasure is easy and free. But these are Urban Fantasy things. If you like "The Dresden Files" and books like that, then you won't have a problem here at all. Plus, this book has some delightfully weird characters!

I was especially entertained by trash mage Stu. And the Gnash. The Gnash is awesome. You should read this book just for the Gnash, if nothing else. ( )

The crusty old janitor who cleans out the supernatural scumbags gets suckered into mentoring the germaphobic new kid who is clueless about her newly acquired magic talents. The obsessive germaphobic pre med student finds herself in a new form of reality and learning with questionable coping skills. Probably a great book for some, but not for me, especially since I found the narrator's vocal performance grating to my ears.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast ( )