demons

REVIEW:  Demon’s Fall by Karalynn Lee

REVIEW: Demon’s Fall by Karalynn Lee

She was an angel at the gates of Hell. When Kenan, an incubus, finds a caged angel for sale in the Hellsgate marketplace, he sees her as a challenge. Certain that his skills in seduction will work as well on a heavenly creature as they do on mortal women, he buys Jahel, intent on having(…)

REVIEW:  Sumer Lovin’ by Nicole Chardenet

REVIEW: Sumer Lovin’ by Nicole Chardenet

Divorced, middle-aged Rachel Brinkerhoff, a Jewish matchmaker from New York who hopes to remarry, moved to Toronto for a fresh new start with her business and her love life. But no one told her that female-aversive Toronto was BYOB – Bring Your Own Boy. She partners with an Indian and a Muslim lady who want(…)

REVIEW:  Temping Is Hell by Cathy Yardley

REVIEW: Temping Is Hell by Cathy Yardley

Dear Ms. Yardley: While I liked the narrator’s voice and found some aspects of this story funny, the lack of movement in the plot and the overall mishmash of world building left me puzzled and deflated at the end. Kate O’Hara is presented as this conflicting mass of extraordinary capabilities and super screw up. Despite(…)

REVIEW:  Battle by Michelle West

REVIEW: Battle by Michelle West

Dear Michelle West: I’ve made no secret of the fact that I have mixed feelings about the first three books of your House War series. I loved the fact they expanded on the pasts of Jewel and her den, but I also disliked that we retread familiar scenes from other books set in this universe.(…)

REVIEW:  Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

REVIEW: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Dear Ms. Taylor, Your previous novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, was my favorite read of 2011. In it, readers met Karou, a blue-haired art student from Prague who also happened to be the human adopted daughter of monsters. The unfolding of Karou’s story, her history with the chimera, and her connection to the global(…)

REVIEW:  The Demoness of Waking Dreams by Stephanie Chong

REVIEW: The Demoness of Waking Dreams by Stephanie Chong

Dear Ms. Chong: I hope that Harlequin isn’t marketing this as a romance because I can foresee a lot of unhappy readers if it was. The Demonness of Waking Dreams asks the readers to step into an Alternate Universe Venice and imagine that the world is populated by demons and angels who are engaged in(…)

REVIEW:  Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong

REVIEW: Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong

Dear Ms. Armstrong, All things must come to an end. That includes your Women of the Otherworld series. I can’t believe it’s been over ten years since we were first introduced to Elena, the only female werewolf in existence. And while I’ve liked some books more than others, I still consider this series to be(…)

REVIEW:  The Hunter and the Hunted by Kelley Armstrong

REVIEW: The Hunter and the Hunted by Kelley Armstrong

Dear Ms. Armstrong, Bitten was one of the first urban fantasy novels I read from the current subgenre that sprung up during the last decade. I loved Elena, Clay, and the world you introduced. When you expanded the Otherworld setting beyond the werewolves, I had mixed feelings. I have a weak spot for the pack.(…)

REVIEW:  The Demon You Know by Julie Kenner

REVIEW: The Demon You Know by Julie Kenner

Dear Ms. Kenner, When I got your recent email newsletter, I was so happy to see that there’s going to be a new book in the Kate Connor “Demon Hunting Soccer Mom” series. And to whet my appetite and get me back into this world, you also have a short novella – now available on(…)

REVIEW:  Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

REVIEW: Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

Dear Ms. Ione: This book was really a struggle for me and I wasn’t quite sure how to approach the review.  Ideally books should be reviewed based solely on what happens within the contents of the story.  Yet Lethal Rider is the third book in a series of four about the Four Horsemen of the(…)

REVIEW: The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter

REVIEW: The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter

Dear Ms. Showalter, I like some of your books more than others. I freely admit this. While The Darkest Surrender worked very well for me, and I really enjoyed the novella in The Heart of Darkness as well. The harpies as heroines just seem to work. I was going to pass on The Darkest Seduction(…)

REVIEW: Skirmish by Michelle West

REVIEW: Skirmish by Michelle West

Dear Ms. West, I love your books. Whether it’s under this pseudonym or Michelle Sagara, I make sure to read them all. It’s true that I find some more satisfying than others but I’ve never actually regretted picking any of them up. Given my growing disenchantment with the fantasy genre as a whole, this is(…)

REVIEW: The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred

REVIEW: The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred

Dear Ms. Kindred, A few months ago, I read your Carina Press novella, The Devil’s Garden, and enjoyed it quite a bit. It reminded me somewhat of a cross between Storm Constantine and Jacqueline Carey, which I thought was a good and interesting mix. I also liked that your characters fell outside the usual gender(…)

REVIEW: Devilishly Hot by Kathy Love

REVIEW: Devilishly Hot by Kathy Love

Annie Lou Riddle had a plan: Move to New York City. Break into the fashion industry. Work her way to the top. Nowhere in that scenario did she expect to accidentally sell her soul in exchange for a job at Hot! Magazine. Oops. Demons, it seems, aren’t big on letting mortals off the hook. Now(…)

REVIEW: Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

REVIEW: Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Dear Ms. Dark, This was an especially difficult book to grade. After much reflection, I have decided to recommend it because of the strength of the prose and what, I believe, are the very engaging middle sections of the book. However, despite the fact that Ballantine is billing this book as a paranormal romance, I(…)