Title Blood of the Demon

Author: Diana Rowland

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: February 23, 2010
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Stand alone or series: Book 2 in the Kara Gillian series.

Welcome to the world of Kara Gillian, a cop with a gift. Not only does she have the power of “othersight” to see what most people can’t even imagine, but she’s become the exclusive summoner of a demon lord. Or maybe it’s the other way around. The fact is, with two troublesome cases on her docket and a handsome FBI agent under her skin, Kara needs the help of sexy, insatiable Lord Rhyzkahl more than he needs her. Because these two victims, linked by suspicious coincidence, haven’t just been murdered. Something has eaten their souls.

It’s a case with roots in the arcane, but whose evil has flowered among the rich, powerful, and corrupt in Beaulac, Louisiana. And as the killings continue, Kara soon realizes how much there’s still to learn about demons, men, and things that kill in the night—and how little time she has to learn it.

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher.

Why did I read this book: I read the first book in the series, Mark of the Demon last year and really enjoyed it.

Review: UF/Crime noir novel Blood of the Demon starts a few weeks after the events at the end of Mark of the Demon . Detective Kara Gillian has been back on the job for a week after being on leave for a month. While on duty she is asked to call on colleague Brian Roth and walks into a nightmarish scene to find the police officer dead, in what appears to be a suicide. A suicide note points to his wife also being dead, apparently killed by him. If losing one of their own and in such a strenuous circumstance wasn’t horrible enough, an added element that only Kara is privy to (as a summoner of demons) complicate matters even further. When she sees Brian’s body she is able to tell something is not right and tapping into the arcane she realises that his essence has been consumed and in this world, whatever happens to an “essence” when someone dies – this is not it. Therefore, Kara believes that Brian’s death might not be a suicide after all. However, the case is taken from her hands and given to another detective.

But then, a second death happens. A prominent restaurateur whose death is also initially ruled accidental and whose essence has also been consumed. Kara starts to believe that both deaths might be connected. Her aunt Tessa who unfortunately is in a coma-like state (her essence is might missing – not consumed though) since the events of the previous book might have been able to help her out. Her aunt’s library might be another source if it wasn’t surrounded by all sorts of wards leaving Kara with only but one place to go for answers: the demons.

As someone with the ability to summon demons , a secret only but a few people know about, Kara is able to call forth demons from a parallel dimension and depending on which level of demon, strike deals with them for services rendered. An intricate system of levels and honour, determines which demons are most likely to help, which demons are most likely to be dangerous and so and so forth. Although it is never really explained why Kara and her family would have this ability in a world who seems to be ignorant that such beings even exist, it is hinted in this book that this ability does come from somewhere and I am intrigued. In the previous book, Kara summoned a Demon Lord, a most powerful demon called Rhyzkahl whom she has a sexual connection and who saved her life at the end of the book. It is clear that Rhyzkahl has an agenda and this is brought forth in as he offers to help Kara in exchange for something that will most probably shape and change the future of the series and all characters involved.

The combination of forensics investigation and Urban Fantasy is once again one the best aspects of the novel – the authors knows her turf around the former and the latter is definitely interesting with the relationship between the different demons she calls forth never being what I expect them to be.

On another level, this series would go nowhere if it wasn’t for its main character and narrator, Kara. Neither a tough-as-nails detective nor an extra-vulnerable cookie-cutter character, Kara navigates the well-balanced in-between place with moments where she is strong and confident with the things she knows best like her police work and her abilities as a summoner which seem be to growing as she tests her own limits and learns more; and with moments where she is weak and frustratingly vacillating in her personal life. But that only makes her very human – a character with a past, with a history, with a loneliness that leaks from the pages in which makes her a little bit sad. Those are traits that make for a compelling read especially when it comes to understanding her eagerness in trying to reach to Rhyzkahl (who is for all intents and purposes Untouchable) and her (utterly frustrating )denial when it comes to her relationship to FBI agent Ryan – now living JUST THERE (and for all intents and purposes Touchable) and her best friend (or is he?). This relationship between Ryan and Kara was one of my favourite things about book 1 and it remains so in book 2 and I am firmly on Team Ryan, wherever it takes me.

On the down side, a couple of things that completely mystified me. Firstly: after being caught by her new friend Jill in the act of talking to a demon, how easily Jill took it all. How easily Kara spilled all about being a summoner and about demons and Jill didn’t even blink. It just didn’t feel right.

Second, what I have come to call the Lost Syndrome. One of the most infuriating things about that show is how those characters run around in circles not talking to each other and not asking relevant questions. In Blood of the Demon it is CLEAR as day that Ryan has a Big!Secret! and he is not who or what he says he is, Kara knows this, something HUGE happens in this book and yet….no questions asked. For someone who is a detective it just seems unnatural, inorganic to the story. One could argue that it is all part of the character’s inability to face reality, or her need to respect Ryan’s privacy. I say: poppycock. As with Lost, the secret needs to be dragged to keep readers (or viewers) interested. Does it work? Why yes, I am a Lost fanatic after all and I will be back for thirds in this series.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: I am completely on board of the Kara/Ryan’s train. I know of course, that this is Urban Fantasy and there are no assurances when it comes to romance but I love their chemistry and all of their scenes together in this book were a pleasure to read. My favourite was the one scene when Kara tells all about what happened between the Demon Lord and her in the previous book and why.

Verdict: A great sophomore effort from Diana Rowland and I love the combination of UF and Procedural with a dash of Noir.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: In For A Penny by Rose Lerner

Title :A Tale of Two Demon Slayers

Author: Angie Fox

Genre: UF

Publisher: Love Spell
Publication Date: January 2010
Paperback:: 308 Pages

Last month, I was a single preschool teacher whose greatest thrill consisted of color-coding my lesson plans. That was before I learned I was a slayer. Now, it’s up to me to face curse-hurling imps, vengeful demons, and any other supernatural uglies that crop up. And, to top it off, a hunk of a shape-shifting griffin has invited me to Greece to meet his family.

But it’s not all sun, sand, and ouzo. Someone has created a dark-magic version of me with my powers and my knowledge—and it wants to kill me and everyone I know. Of course, this evil twin doesn’t have Grandma’s gang of biker witches, a talking Jack Russell terrier, or an eccentric necromancer on its side. In the ultimate showdown for survival, may the best demon slayer win.

Stand alone or series: Book three in the Accidental Demon Slayer series. Book 1: The Accidental Demon Slayer reviewed here. Book 2: The Dangerous Books for Demon Slayers reviewed here

How did I get this book: Review Copy from the publisher

Why did I read this book: I am a fan of this series, which I have been reading since it first came out.

Review:

A Tale of Two Demon Slayers is the third book in the Accidental Demon Slayer series, in which former preschool teacher Lizzie Brown discovers she has come from a long lineage of Demon Slayers. In the past two books which cover a period of roughly two months she has gained her powers on her 30th birthday, discovered that her powers came from a family she didn’t even know she had, complete with a witch grandmother who is a member of the Red Skulls (a coven of geriatric biker witches) , that those same powers were not even supposed to be hers (hence the “accidental”) , fell in love with a Greek griffin called Dimitri, had to learn to use those powers, went to Hell and back to save his family and saved the world.

In this third instalment, Lizzie is getting ready to get a much deserved break in sunny Greece with her hot boyfriend and her talking dog Pirate. But who says things go easy to Lizzie? At the airport, her grandmother decides it is time to give her a box that belonged to her mother containing an object that is an important part of a Slayer’s training – and her tutor is to meet her….in the middle of her vacation. Then, inside the box, there is an invisible bar which upon being touched by Lizzie, foretells her impending death. If that is not enough, en route to Greece, Dimitri tells her when he first went searching for her, he used Griffin magic to trace her magic and that made her vulnerable. For all intents and purposes that shouldn’t have been a problem, but someone has tried to steal this remaining “Lizzie” thread from his office in Greece. Upon arriving in his villa, they learn that there is a threat not only to his Lizzie but to his family as well.

I was expecting a lot from A Tale of Two Demon Slayers . Even though I really enjoyed the first book for its wonky humour and non-stop action, the second book set the bar higher when it dealt with a more personal, intimate side of Lizzie. But neither explored her relationship with Dimitri or her hopes and her dreams or rather, how her becoming a Demon Slayer, influenced those in depth. I was pleased to see that those issues were deftly dealt with as it all comes full circle in this book.

The story this time, focuses a lot on Lizzie, with less time for gimmicks (as fan as they usually are from the Red Skulls or Pirate) with a little bit of rebellion from Lizzie. I mean, this is her life. But ever since she came into her powers, she has been dragged around, pushed about, she hasn’t had a chance to say “no”, has she. Not that it crossed her mind – she has a duty, she knows that. But sometimes it is nice to be simply asked. There is one aspect of Lizzie’s personality that I find interesting, which is her OCD tendency to have an explanation for everything and to have everything in their places – including people. Her powers, and the overwhelming feelings for Dimitri (and Dimitri’s for her) simply do not fit in – that struggle with both is a great part of her arc.

As for Dimitri, finally, we come to understand and to get to know him more. This time we are in his turf and we see his family and his friend. Getting to know those is to get to know his traditions and therefore his motivations. I can honestly say now, that I can get on board of that relationship.

On the down side: how annoying is that the title and the blurb completely and utterly spoil the plot of the novel? Because it is not until the last few pages of the novel that we come to know that the threat comes from a second Demon Slayer? Yet, we are expecting it because of the title of the Novel!

And finally, what made Lizzie special to me was that she was effectively an accidental Demon Slayer. To see a common, preschool teacher dealing with it was both funny and interesting. But at the end of this book, there came a twist and I am not sure how I feel about that. Right now, I am sitting on the fence. I guess I will have to read the next book to see what will happens next .

Notable Quotes/ Parts: I loved the no holds barred confrontation/conversation between Dimitri and Lizzie in which both of them said what they felt and thought. It was awesome.

Verdict: A strong third instalment in a series that has yet to let me down. It remains a full of action, funny, sexy and entertaining, Urban Fantasy /Romance series. Lizzie has grown as a character and Angie Fox as an author – great stuff.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading Next: : Lex Trent Versus The Gods by Alex Bell

Title: Bleeding Violet

Author: Dia Reeves

Genre: YA/ UF

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 2010
Hardcover: 464 pages

Love can be a dangerous thing….Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she’s far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

Stand Alone or series: Stand alone

Why did I read the Book: I saw this around the Internet last year and was intrigued by the blurb.

How did I get the book I requested a review copy from the publisher.

Review:

You are not welcome to Portero, Texas, unless you have a thick skin and you are here to stay. With hidden doors that open to other worlds (the Latin word for door: Porta) spread all over town and with all sorts of creatures (like leeches with tentacles for example and ghosts that live in the river and grant wishes if you can manage to breathe underwater enough to make the wish) crawling out or sucking you into them , Portero is definitely Weird Central of America. Its residents have all accepted their reality, living life to the best of their ability, under the Mayor’s authority and the hunters of Mortmaine’s protection. Everybody wears black as to not attract attention except for the Mortmaines who wear bright green; and if you stay long enough you are entitled to a key. This is how you know you belong.

Enter Hanna Jarvinen, first person narrator of this story and one of the most fascinating characters I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Half Finn, Half African American, Hanna is a biracial, bicultural, with bipolar disorder and violent tendencies, prone to hallucinations and who ran away from her aunt’s house before she was sent back to a mental institution. With her Finn father dead (although when she is not taking her pills, she talks to him in her head) all of Hanna’s hopes rest on her mother, Rosalee. Even though she has never seen her mother since she sent her father and her away when she was a baby, she fantasises that Rosalee will not only welcome her but accept her, weirdness and all. All her dreams come crashing down when she arrives in Portero. Rosalee is cold and unwelcoming. She means to send Hanna away, back to her aunt, to the mental institution, anywhere but Portero. She does not want anything to do with Hanna and is absolutely convinced that she will not adapt to the harsh reality of Portero:

“Let me get this straight: You want me to leave because you don’t think I can adapt?”
“I know you can’t”
Was she serious?
I was biracial and bicultural. A walking billboard for adaptation.

As much as Rosalee is unwelcoming, Hanna is unmoving and they are both forces to be reckoned with and so they strike a deal. If Hanna is not freaked out in the first two weeks, she gets to stay with Rosalee. On the very next morning Rosalee sends her to school where she is welcomed by the weirdest happenings and she realises that maybe Portero is weirder than she expected after all. Then, when she fully expected to fit in from day one, after all she was always able to use her looks and her personality to captivate men and women, she is ignored and scorned by the in-crowd lead by Wyatt, a Mortmaine. Hanna is a Transy, a Transient, someone who is just passing by and porterenses are used to see those leaving or dying too soon. But after she witnesses Wyatt using powers he is not supposed to when vanquishing a threat to the school, they become close. Now, Hanna thinks that the perfect way to impress not only the porterenses but above all her mother is to go on a hunt with Wyatt. When she comes back from the hunt, exhilarated, and unscathed, it is when things get really complicated.

Bleeding Violet is one of the best Young Adult novels I have ever read. The writing is lovely, the story is hands down amazing and the characters are everything I could have hoped for. Every time I open a book, I wish for the sort of all-encompassing experience that this book provided me.

I have read several reviews of Bleeding Violet around the internet and most of them focus their attention on how the story is weird , crazy and surreal. Yes, it is. To the point where I would say that the novel would definitely appeal to fans of QuentinTarantino and Vertigo’s graphic novels.

But although Portero is indeed an incredible setting and the situations that happen in this novel are really surreal, to me more than that surrealism, more than anything else what leaps from the pages are how REAL the characters are. Regardless of any gimmicks happening around them, or the way they might react to those situations, Bleeding Violet is extraordinarily realistic at a very basic level.

Take away the doors and the creatures (as fascinating and cool and vivid and creative as they are) and the book is a character-centric novel in which every.single.thing is character-driven. Everything that happens is because of these characters’ emotions and actions. Hanna is the main propeller of the plot, her emotional estate and that of those that surround her is what matter and what is at centre stage here.

Her need for motherly love and acceptance, to fit in start a sequence of events (which in turn re-set something that started a long time ago – but again, THOSE events wore also consequences of deeply felt emotions that converged in one horrible moment in time: greed, grief and fear). The way she speaks, thinks, reacts was …I don’t know. Awesome. I fell in love with Hanna from chapter one. She is so confident but at the same so lost. She has so many issues that need to be addressed and a definite mental illness that needs to be treated.

But Hanna is not the only character who has issues and deeply felt emotions: her mother, as cold as she was, was the result of a horrible childhood. Wyatt, had his own issues with authority and with heritage. This triad of characters and Hanna relationship with both and with herself are the meats and bones of the novel. On the romance side of things, how refreshing and realistic to see a couple starting off as any couple, dating and then having sex (because it is good and natural) sharing a connection and laughter without having to promise to be together- forever- and- ever- amen- because-they-belong-together. It is all the more believable when the two have to work through issues like still having feelings for an ex-girlfriend or not having feelings for any of the guys you had sex before. Or how Hanna sees the world in a confusion of colours and Wyatt tends to see it in black and white.

There are so many threads intertwined in the novel: deception, greed, power, sadness, death, acceptance, what is like to be biracial, what is like to be compassionate when you need to be ruthless, what is like to be young and have new ideas in the face of Tradition, what is like to love a mother who does not love you back. And it makes for a memorable, unique, fascinating, unapologetic, profoundly moving story.

Be aware though that this not a wholesome story. It is dark, gory, sensual, and violent. There are no definite, clear cut, simple answers. And it is certainly not for the squeamish ones: mental illness, teenage sex, a suicide attempt are present as well as moral ambiguity and not a few violent scenes.

I think it is testament to this writer’s ability (and perhaps fondness for her characters) that in spite of all the aforementioned violence and darkness, Bleeding Violent ends on a definite, unmistakable and believable high note. And as of now, this book has a secure spot on my top reads of 2010.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: My copy is replete with earmarks. I picked these two sequences as they contain the least spoilers at the same time that they reveal a lot about Hanna. The first shows how Hanna is weird in her way of looking at things. The other is an interaction between her and Wyatt.

“It wasn’t made for you. Don’t you dare get attached to that room.”
“You said I could stay”
“For two weeks and that’s -” Her spoon clattered to the floor.”You took my armoire?”
“I needed a place to store my clothes.”
“I had all my books in that armoire!”
“I saw.” Hundreds of books, several in German and Dutch, and endless stacks of bound manuscripts had crammed the armoire; I’d sweated through my chemise removing them all.
“I stacked them neatly on the floor,” I said, so she wouldn’t think I was a slob.
Rosalee pushed away from the table, chair legs squealing angrily against the tile. I thought she was going to go into her office to see what I’d done with her books, but she went up to my room instead and she did a slow 360-degree turn.
“Why is everything purple?”
“It was Poppa’s favorite color.”
“You painted my armoire purple!”
“It would have clashed otherwise.” she was making me feel like I’d murdered her best friend. “Why don’t we go finish that stew, hmmm? Before it congeals?”

What a freak! What an amazing and marvelous freak!
Hope brightened his face as he studied my expression. “You don’t think it’s weird?”
“It’s beyond weird,” I assured him breathlessly. “Beyond cool, even.”
“Only another weirdo would think that was cool.”
“Busted.”
“Bullshit. What’s weird about you?” He looked me over. “Besides your fixation with purple.”
“It doesn’t matter. Compared to what you can do, I’m boringly normal. So what are you?”
He put his half-finished sandwich on the tray as though he’d lost his appetite. I thought about what I’d said and immediately felt bad.
“I’m sorry. I can’t believe I asked you that. I hate it when people ask me that.”
He lifted his eyebrows, bemused.”Why would they ask you?”
“Because I’m biracial. People look at me and can’t figure me out, so they ask, `what are you?` Like I’m a whole other species. But you…are you another species?”
He did some more thinking. “You had to accept a lot today. I don’t wanna blow your mind.”
“It’s already blown”
“You think it is. I could vaporise it if I wanted to. But I don’t. Especially now that you know about me. And it doesn’t bother you.”
He crossed his legs in front of my feet, leaned forward, and rested his chin on my bare knee. The underside of his chin was sweaty, but I didn’t push him away; he was so cute, like a little boy, looking up at me. The late afternoon sun burned in his eyes, letting me see all the way inside him, but not in a spooky lure way. This was something else.

I also URGE you to go here and read the first chapter. It is AWESOME. And it got me hooked as soon as I finished reading it.

Additional Thoughts: Following the recent fiasco with the Whitewashed cover of Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore it is great to see a beautiful, accurate cover such as this. Kudos to Simon Pulse.

And as Bleeding Violet was written by a POC and has a POC as a main character, I am counting the book as my first entry in the POC Reading challenge!

And on a side note: Dia Reeves is writing another book set in Portero, Yay! I simply cannot wait. The potential, folks. THE POTENTIAL.

Verdict: A memorable, extremely well-written, character-driven novel with a fascinating and appealing narrator, against the backdrop of a surreal story. Dia Reeves debuts with a bang: a story that is certainly not for everyone but for those who dare, a guaranteed poignant, different, unique experience. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

Rating: 10. A resounding one with a standing ovation – what else? This may not be a perfect book for everyone, but is certainly, a perfect book, a perfect fit for me.

Reading Next: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N K Jemisin

Title: The Harrowing

Author: Alexandra Sokoloff

Genre: Horror (Supernatural Horror)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (US) / Little Brown (UK)
Publication Date: August 2006 (US) / October 2009 (UK)
Hardcover: 256 pages (US)

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novel

How did I get this book: ARC from the Publisher (UK)

Why did I read this book: I have heard of Alexandra Sokoloff before, and have been meaning to try her work for a while now – ever since I learned of The Harrowing’s nomination for Stoker Award (Superior Achievement in a First Novel). When we were offered a review copy from the UK publisher, we thought, what better way to get Halloween Week underway than to review this title?

Summary: (from AlexandraSokoloff.com)
Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of the last home-bound students heading off for Thanksgiving break, and Robin Stone swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. Or perhaps it’s only gathering itself for the coming weekend.

The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of a sixth presence disturbing the ominous silence that pervades the building. Are they victims of a simple college prank taken way too far, or is the unusual energy evidence of something genuine – and intent on using the five students for its own terrifying ends? It’s only Thursday afternoon, and they have three long days and dark nights before the rest of the world returns to find out what’s become of them. But for now it’s just the darkness keeping company with five students nobody wants — and no one will miss.

Review:

On the eve of Thanksgiving Break, quiet, self-contained Robin Stone finishes her last classes and prepares herself for a long, lonely weekend in her dorm room. An outsider since birth, Robin is both looking forward to and dreading her reprieve from her bitchy, beautiful roommate and other Mendenhall peers. When the torrential rain starts to fall and Robin makes her way down to her dorm’s common room, she sees that she isn’t as alone as she thought – four other students join her for the weekend, each of them with their own secrets and personal baggage, each of them an outsider, just like Robin. When the electricity goes out, one of them finds an old ouija board – and eager for entertainment, Robin and the sexually suggestive Lisa decide to use the board. Robin doesn’t believe that anything will happen, but when they seem to have made contact with the other side, things start to get weird. The entity moving the pointer knows each of the five’s most intimate secrets – things that Robin and Lisa should not, could not know. The five have made contact with something, and it will not be ignored. As the weekend wears on, strange things begin to happen in the dorm – the common room is destroyed by unseen hands. Strange noises and whispers are heard. Each character has strange visits and encounters with a shadowy menace that grows stronger each day. Robin and her newly united friends must discover what the creature is and what it wants, before it destroys them.

Overall, I was surprised with how much I found myself enjoying The Harrowing – in a totally guilty pleasure, teen horror kind of way. The book reads quickly and is very cinematic; in fact, as the book progressed I could see the screenplay developing in my mind (incidentally, after finishing the book and checking out Ms. Sokoloff’s website, I see that she is in fact a screenwriter as well as a traditional prose author). This isn’t a bad thing – in fact, it gives her otherwise simplistic story a good, fun-cheese boost. Though her prose is basic and straightforward, Ms. Sokoloff manages to capture images that will have B-movie fans giggling with delight (I say “giggling” because these images are rather over the top, in a good way) – a possessed character licking a bloody axe, flickering candlelight in a dusty attic as characters surround an Ouija board, and, of course, quippy, horrible one-liners abound. There’s even a requisite research scene, for crying out loud! (No microfilm/microfiche though, unfortunately.)

Relying so heavily on these teen horror tropes is risky business – this novel easily could have been terribly bland and unreadable – but it all pays off in The Harrowing. It’s the perfect blend of fast paced writing and good, predictable nacho-grade cheese that makes it all inexplicably work. I truly enjoyed myself while reading this book.

While Ms. Sokoloff sticks to the script in terms of form, she does make one important deviation that makes The Harrowing that much more memorable, in this reviewer’s opinion. Instead of using the usual “enraged spirit” or Christian pantheon demon from Hell channeled through the ouija board, Ms. Sokoloff takes an ideological minority – her demonic entity emerges from Jewish lore. And this, dear readers, is really freaking cool. How often are demons or entities of evil portrayed through the lens of Catholicism in modern horror? Almost always. Ms. Sokoloff dares to take a different faith, a different pantheon in her novel, which pays off beautifully. I certainly was impressed.

As for weaknesses, well, besides the ideological shift, Ms. Sokoloff’s book isn’t really anything new or groundbreaking. Her writing, as I’ve said before, is straightforward and simplistic, as are her characters. The writing manages to work because of the aforementioned tongue-in-cheek look at teen horror tropes, but the characters are lacking. Protagonist and third person narrator Robin is a fleshed out character whom readers can relate to because of her loneliness and strength despite her initial fragility. I liked that Ms. Sokoloff took a chance by writing her story through the eyes of a heroine who has serious issues – she’s not the sweet, pretty, quiet virginal brunette that usually is the teen heroine. Though she is pretty, quiet, virginal and brunette, she’s not very sweet and her life is a hot mess – she’s depressed and suicidal at the beginning of the book, but she has a great character arc over the course of the story as she connects with others, finally. Unfortunately, Robin is the sole character who has this depth. The other five characters are enjoyable, but caricaturish – there’s the brainiac, the jock, the jock’s blonde sorority type girlfriend, the slut, and the “bad boy.” Again, the tropes are fun enough to make the story enjoyable, and I did like that each one of these characters are inherent “outsiders” and unite over their shared differences. I just wish I got to know each of them a bit more.

Still, despite the lack of depth in terms of character or subtlety in storytelling, I found myself enjoying The Harrowing immensely, in the best schlocky horror movie kind of way. It’s nothing new or exceptional, but it’s fun enough to pass a rainy, Halloween afternoon. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from Ms. Sokoloff.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From Chapter 1:

It had been raining since possibly the beginning of time.

In the top tier of the cavernous psychology hall, Robin Stone had long since given up on the lecture. She sat hunched in her seat, staring out arched windows at the downpour, feeling dreamily disconnected from the elemental violence outside, despite the fact that every few minutes the wind shook the building hard enough to rattle the glass of the windowpanes.

In milder weather, Baird College was the very definition of pastoral. Wooded paths meandered between ivy-swathed stone buildings. Grassy hills rolled into the distance, dotted by trees . . . all unmarred by the slightest sight of civilization.

But now the old oaks lashed in the wind under roiling dark clouds that spilled icy rain on the deserted quad. In the bleak light of the storm, the isolation seemed ominous, the campus hunkered down under the pelting rain like a medieval town waiting for the siege.

The cold of the day had sunk into Robin’s bones. The wind outside was a droning in her ears, like the hollow rush of the sea. Inside, Professor Lister’s soft German accent was soporific, strangely hypnotic, as he quoted Freud from the wood-planked dais far below.

“ ‘The state of sleep involves a turning away from the real, external world, and there we have the necessary condition for the development of a psychosis. The harmless dream psychosis is the result of that withdrawal from the external world which is consciously willed and only temporary. . . .’ ”

Robin’s moody reflection stared back at her from the window: dark-eyed, somewhat untidy, elfin features framed by a tumble of nearly black hair. All in all, a chance of prettiness if she weren’t so withdrawn, guarded.

She pulled herself away from the glassy ghost of herself, blinked around her at a sea of students moored behind tiers of wooden desks.

People were shifting restlessly, looking up at the clock above the blackboard. A little before three, Wednesday. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and everyone was impatient, eager to escape for the holiday. Everyone except Robin. The four-day weekend loomed before her like an abyss.

Thanksgiving, right. Thanks for what?

At least there would be no roommate.

She sat with the thought of no Waverly for four days, and felt a spark of something—not pleasure, nothing so life-affirming as that, but a slight relief, a loosening of the concrete band that lately seemed to permanently encircle her chest.

No mindless, venal chatter. No judging cornflower blue eyes.

And no one else, either, Robin reminded herself. No one at all.

You can read the full excerpt online HERE.

Additional Thoughts: Ahh, sweet teen horror. The Harrowing puts me in the mind of delicious, guilty-pleasure teen horror flicks.

You know which ones I mean, the ones you used to eat up in middle school and high school. Films like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, Urban Legend, Disturbing Behavior, The Faculty, Final Destination, The Craft, etc. *Note, I’m not including the ’70s and ’80s classics, because that’s a different “feel” altogether! These ’90s-onward teen scream flicks are embodied beautifully in The Harrowing.*

Verdict: Good, sexy, teen horror flick fun, The Harrowing is an entertaining read recommended for anyone looking for a lighter horror novel. This is a fantastic debut novel effort, and I’ll certainly be back to read more from Ms. Sokoloff in the future!

Rating: 6 – Good

Reading Next: Hater by David Moody

Today we bring you a new feature, called “What She Said…” in which we both review books that the other has already read and reviewed. The idea arose because of the dilemma that if one of us reads and reviews a book, the other can’t really post again about it, right? WRONG! Hence, “What She Said…” was born. For those books that we REALLY want to read after the other has reviewed – and gushed – about it. For today’s installment, we take on Jasmyn by Alex Bell, and The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Jasmyn by Alex Bell
Gollancz (UK), June 2009, Trade Paperback 320 pages

Original Review June 2009
Original Rating: 8 Excellent

What Thea Said:

“You know those books, the ones that when you finish them you feel like your heart is being twisted in your chest – with love for how wonderful the book was, but inexplicable sorrow too because the book has come to an end? Such is Alex Bell’s beautiful, haunting contemporary fairy tale, Jasmyn.

Jasmyn is a 27-year old widow, her beloved husband of less than a year having just passed away by sudden aneurysm. Jasmyn’s world is thrown into darkness with Liam’s death, leaving her alone and lost in the world. And that’s when the strange things begin to happen – at Liam’s funeral, six black swans fall dead out of the sky. Jasmyn starts to feel that she is being watched by a shadowy figure, and a few weeks after the funeral, a strange pushy man shows up at Jasmyn’s home, completely unaware of Liam’s death and claiming to have known him through work. With the help of her brother-in-law, the strangely spiteful and cruel Ben, Jasmyn uncovers a whole secret life Liam kept from her, leading her down a path into a fantastic world filled with cursed swans, star-crossed love, and shocking revelation. Jasmyn learns that Liam has meddled with some potent magic, and more importantly, that Liam is not at all the man who she believed him to be.”

What Ana Says: Thea’s review of Jasmyn made me almost regret sending the book to her instead of reading it first: Jasmyn, the book, travelled all the way from the UK to LA and back before I was able to read it, almost an exact imitation of the journey that Jasmyn, the character, undertakes in the book.

Starting in the UK, the 27 year old recently widowed albino woman tries to live through the grief of losing Liam, the man who was not only her husband, but her soul mate, her childhood sweetheart. Ever since that day, in primary school and he walked to her and instead of voicing the usual cruel taunt of “are you a ghost” he asked “are you a snow princess”, he has been her safe port, her best friend and Jasmyn is overtaken with loneliness when she loses him.

Then strange things begin to happen , starting with black swans falling from the sky on the day of the funeral and her wedding photos, all of a sudden showing her face twisted in agony instead of the happiness she remembers feeling – to an around the world race for answers – about Liam and who he really was.

Jasmyn is one of those books where the STORY itself outshines everything else and I simply loved reading this book – regardless of how I sometimes felt about Jasmyn and her lack of self-confidence. Regardless of the fact that I felt like punching Ben, Liam’s brother, in the face. Regardless that sometimes, the writing was tentative and the lack of detail about the background fairytale left me wishing for more. The fact remains, that from beginning to end I was completely captivated by Jasmyn’s story – it is everything a fairytale should be: difficult and sad sprinkled with bits of horror and heartache but with such beauty that was almost painful for me to read.

This is at its core a love story and it has a most rewarding happy ending but beware: two things you need to know before starting to read it

1)This is a contemporary fairy tale, which means that all that happens in the book happens in a world like our own and people believe in stuff like fairies and magic swans. There is no point in reading it if you are going to question the magic behind it or to question how people can believe in those things. It is a fairy tale: to question these here would be akin to reading Snow White and asking: “what do you MEAN there is a talking mirror?”

2) I cannot stress this enough: Don’t start this book unless you mean to finish it. As difficult as it may be especially with Jasmyn and Ben’s frustrating behaviour in parts, the pay off only comes when you read till the end – this is one of those books where the ending rewrites the whole story and it’s all the more poignant for that.

I will end with Jasmyn’s opening words:

“You have never heard a story quite like this one. I can hear you protesting already but, the fact is, it doesn’t matter how old you are, how many books you’ve read, how many things you’ve seen…this story will be new to you. Maybe it will even haunt you a little. Because what happened to me….well, I don’t think it’s even happened before.
(…)
This story (..) has the ribbons and the glitter and the magic. But it also has the blood and the sacrifice and the twisting evil – for this is a real fairy tale, not the sugar-coated imitation. It is a story of love, loss, illusion, castles, hatred, seduction, ice palaces, adventure and knights.”

And what a story this is. If it isn’t clear enough: I totally loved this book as much as Thea did and wholeheartedly second her recommendation.

Rating: 8 Excellent

The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Margaret K. McElderry (US)/Simon & Schuster Children’s (UK), June 2009, Hardcover 336 pages

Original Review June 2009
Original Rating: 8 (leaning towards a 9) – EXCELLENT

What Ana Said:

“The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink.”

The Demon’s Lexicon starts with this opening line and it’s a great beginning because it serves the book well. This line is significant in the way it shows how the “abnormal” coexists with the “normal” in this world. Right there and then, I am taken. And this feeling only increases as I read and every single time I had to put this book down, I felt its absence. Much like an umbilical cord between myself and it, there was a calling, something that connected me with to it; I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading, mostly theorising about the main character and what it all meant. I am in a way, a few days after reading The Demon’s Lexicon, still hooked in its characters, still thinking about them but mostly still overflowing with admiration for the author. For what she did, for what she dared, for how she constructed the characters, the world, but mostly for how she showed a wondrous dark world and amazing, wonderful feelings such as sensitivity, devotion, fondness and sacrifice through the eyes of a character that feels none of these very same feelings and who is, at every turn and all the time, conscious of this…lacking.

What Thea Says:

Ana has been trying to get me to read The Demon’s Lexicon practically from the second she started the book. I’d received countless emails from Ana about the darkness of the main character, the compelling plot, the strong writing and the humor of the novel, and was instantly intrigued. So, when I picked up Ms. Brennan’s debut novel for myself, I had some pretty high expectations, given Ana’s enthusiastic endorsement – and I’m pretty happy to say that I really liked this book.

The Demon’s Lexicon is told from the third person perspective, but with insight to the protagonist, Nick’s thoughts. Right from the beginning of the novel it is clear that Nick isn’t all that much like his kind and sympathetic brother Alan, and it rapidly becomes clear that Nick isn’t much like anyone else, either. Nick’s defining trait is his strange coldness; he doesn’t understand the motivations that fuel other people around him (like his brother Alan protecting two strangers, to the point where he takes on two demon marks willingly), nor does he get why people are so quick to emote, touch each other in comfort, or talk so much about anything and nothing. And I think Ana describes Nick best when she says:

Nick is a character that makes it hard for the reader to connect with – it is so very hard to feel sympathy for Nick but it is impossible NOT to feel for him.

Ms. Brennan does a ballsy thing by writing a character that is angry, cold, distant and almost alien – but it’s impossible NOT to care for him. Even though he doesn’t ever think or say it specifically, we know that he feels protective of Alan because he loves him (at least, that’s my interpretation). Nick might not identify with our concepts of love, but much like Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter, I think that he subconsciously knows and feels this. Maybe not in the way that “normal” people feel love…but it’s there, and he expresses it in his own way. In short, I loved Nick. He’s a very different character from the norm, and being privy to his thoughts, reading how he interprets (or fails to interpret) the people around him is fabulously different and insightful. Most YA novels tend to take the perspective of the everygirl/everyboy and look at the scarier, different characters from the outside – but Ms. Brennan flips convention through the eyes of a very different anti-hero protagonist. I cannot stress enough how much I loved that Nick was not written as a badass with a heart of gold – NO ONE in this book is what they seem. Besides Nick, Alan is another character that surprises with hidden depth. It is Nick as a character, and then the bond of brotherhood between Nick and Alan that makes The Demon’s Lexicon such a fabulous read.

My only problems with the book had to be the uneven start and some of the writing. In the early chapters especially, the odd descriptions of movements and repetitive details read very much like a debut author trying to write her debut novel – which isn’t really bad, and doubtless will improve in subsequent books (as it is, by the end of The Demon’s Lexicon, Ms. Brennan finds her voice and smoothly tells her story). My other quibble would be with some of the humor – Jamie’s jokes, endearing to Ana felt forced and awkwardly un-funny to me – and with a level of predictability with the plot. There are many not-so-subtle hints strewn throughout The Demon’s Lexicon concerning The Twist – but to the book’s credit, even though you KNOW what’s coming from a mile away, it doesn’t really matter because the story is so dratted compelling!

Basically, with only a few reservations I really enjoyed this book – and I cannot wait for the next in the series! Also, I just have to quote one part that gave me the goosebumps because it was that flipping awesome:

Nick threw his head back and let himself laugh. It was a slow, delighted laugh, rolling cold as the sea and washing through the whole room. He’d used the laugh before to make people shiver and turn pale…

“What?” [he] snapped, and then, as the low laugh continued, his nerve broke and he shouted, “What?”

Nick leaned forward in the dark and whispered, “You don’t know my brother.”

He was still speaking when the first shot was fired.

Rating: 7 Very Good – and Ms. Brennan is clearly an author I need to keep my eye on in the future!

Reading Next on What She Said:

Ana: Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

Thea: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Title: Mark of the Demon

Author: Diana Rowland

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Bantam
Publishing Date: June 23, 2009
Paperback: 384 pages

Stand Alone or series: First in a planned series

Summary: Cop and conjurer of demons, she’s a woman in danger of losing control—to a power that could kill….

Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac’s small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head…

Why did I read the book: I first heard about the book when Kmont blogged about upcoming books. Then, the author contacted me offering a review copy and I said hell yes.

Review:

Mark of the Demon is at its core a crime novel, following Detective Kara Gillian in her investigation of a series of murders committed by The Symbol Man, a serial killer who is back on a killing spree after a 3 year break. Each body found shows that each victim has been horrendously tortured and all of them have a mark, a symbol, hence the killer’s moniker. Three years ago, several victims were found , but the culprit was never caught, resurfacing now with a vengeance. Kara is a rookie, only recently made homicide detective, but her knowledge of the case places her as the lead of the task force. Her familiarity with the case stems from a secret she carries: she is a summoner of demons , and she recognises the killer’s mark for what it is: an arcane symbol, a sign that the killer may well be a summoner himself.

“Why now” , why did the killer surface now, is one of the main questions Kara asks herself and as any good crime novel, every clue points to something great that connects all the dots in this story. Including her own part in the puzzle.

The interesting aspect of this novel is the well balanced combination crime novel and Urban Fantasy , both aspects overlapping but never overshadowing the other.

From the opening sequence to the very ending, Mark of the Demon never loses its pace and its atmospheric feel. There is a noir quality that is ever present with the bleakness and violence of the murders and with the procedural side of the crime investigation with the forensics analysis, autopsies and discussion of possible leads – it all sounded realistic to me, a realism which is firmly based in the good dialogue. Everybody in the book actually sounds like REAL people, from her fellow police people to Kara herself. I never once lost the interest in the investigation and when the culprit was revealed close to the climax of the novel, I was very surprised as I did not see it coming.

And the Fantasy aspect only adds more richness to the plot. Early in the book, we learn that demons inhabit in a sort of parallel dimension and some people (the summoners) are able to call on these demons and strike deals with them. Information, power, anything as long as they can pay back the demons for their help. Instead of a black-white, evil-good, depiction of demons (no heaven-hell discussion here) , we have a multi-layered world where there are several levels and the demons are shows as brilliant, clever and powerful. They are above all, self-serving but there is an intricate system of honour which they all follow and which allows their (somewhat) safe contact with the summoners.

I thought that the most interesting aspect of summoning though is the fact that Kara does it because she can. That speaks greatly of who this character is: someone that has a great power that only two people in her life know about ( her Aunt Tessa, also a summoner and Ryan, the FBI Agent who joins her task force) and which sets her apart from almost everyone which obviously results in a very lonely life. This lonely life and some issues from a few months spent in a foster home (I hope this will make a return in a future instalment) possibly explains some low self-esteem issues when it comes to her physical aspect and why she tries to excel at both summoning and being a cop. Kara is extremely smart and a great narrator for this story and I really liked her.

For everything I like about the book, I did have one moment of befuddlement with Mark of the Demon. This is a spoiler but a minor one since it happens really early in the book. Kara is doing a routine summoning of a low-level demon to help her in her investigating when someone way more powerful appears. His name is Rhyzkahl and he is a demon LORD and when he appears in her basement , the first thing Kara realises is that how immensely powerful he is. The chances of a demon lord being summoned and accepting it well are as a low as Brad Pitt walking into my office right now asking me out on a date. It is not a surprise that her first reaction is to think “oh shit, I am dead”. Her fear is so palpable it freaking leaps from the pages. YET, something really odd happens. Not only Rhyzkahl lets her live but he also seduces her and right there and then there is a sex scene. MY first reaction at this was to rant at the book: what the hell? Are you kidding me? Two seconds ago the woman was terrified. Plus, she knows that nothing good could ever come from this. I thought of this:

as well. I will honestly say that at first I thought this was a gratuitous sex scene. But as I kept on reading (and furiously hoping for an explanation, any explanation for it) it became clear to me, with not only the good writing the plotting but mostly with the complex characterisation that it was not gratuitous at all. There is an explanation at both ends -why would the demon do this? Why would she accept it so easily – for this equivalent of a one night-stand. It partly goes back to the central plot but partly refers to Kara’s loneliness as well. It is very helpful to keep in mind that good and evil are mostly human concepts in this world. Although this division seems to be not so clear for summoners: I can’t help but to wonder is if this close contact with demons and their way of living hasn’t somehow rubbed against these humans that deal with them as their own concept of good and evil becomes quite flexible.

A couple of characters seem to be more than ok with using demons for revenge something that clearly points toward vigilantism . And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if at certain point of her way, Kara decides to break away from the Law. I would actually embrace that – although the tension between being a cop (where good and bad NEED to be very clear) and being a summoner (where this tension is much more elastic) can also make for great angst.

I would be a bad reviewer if I didn’t mention what was most definitely one of the greatest strengths of the novel; the budding relationship between Ryan ( the FBI agent) and Kara. They have great chemistry, even if for the time being they are mostly, friends.

Taking everything in consideration, Mark of the Demon is a very solid debut and I can definitely see a bright future for both the author and the series. Recommended.

Notable Quotes/ parts:

“The next several days were spent doing the most exciting police work I ever thought I would be involved with.
Not.
I sighed and popped another VHS tape into the VCR and settled back onto my bed, hitting the play button on the remote. They never showed this stuff on TV, the endless hours of searching through surveillance video on the mere hope that maybe possibly hopefully some glimpse of something that might occasionally point the investigator to a lead could be found. “

And this bit between Ryan and Kara n the subject of summoning and what demons get from it:

(…) it depends on the demon. Some of the smaller ones like chocolate or beer. Others like books. Some want information. Others merely want the summoner to spill his or her blood to show their commitment to the summoning. It depends on the demon”
“Okay,” Ryan drawled. “And what would our Symbol Man have offered this demon in exchange for his help?”
I dragged a hand through my hair. “Power, of some sort. Certainly not in this sphere, because that would be worthless to a demon below the level of a lord, but most likely a chance at power in the sphere of the demons.”
“Ah. Sort of like the Klingon method of promotion”
I stared at him blankly. “The what?”
Ryan’s eyes went wide. “You can’t be serious. As over the edge as you are, you don’t watch Star Trek”?
I scowled. “I’m not over the edge, and I do so watch Star Trek. Did. A couple of times”
Ryan rolled his eyes dramatically. “And here I thought you were my perfect match”.

Verdict: Solid debut with a noir-ish atmosphere. The main character has a great voice and the plot and pacing are very good.

Rating: 7 – Very Good

Reading next: Green by Jay Lake

“Inspiration and Influences” is a new series of articles in which we invite authors to write guest posts talking about their …..well, Inspiration and Influences. The cool thing is that the writers are given free reign so they can go wild and write about anything they want. It can be about their new book, series or about their career as a whole.

Today’s lovely guest is Sarah Rees Brennan, debut author of the fabulous The Demon’s Lexicon (reviewed by Ana here which has a most intriguing main character: a boy named Nick.

The Demon’s Lexicon is Sarah Rees Brennan’s first novel , the first in a trilogy, and here is what she has to say about writing it.

Inspiration and Influences: Sarah Rees Brennan

Here we have Ed Westwick, smouldering like a napkin placed on a hot stove and playing Heathcliff later this year,

Toby Stephens playing Rochester in the latest Jane Eyre,

and of course the inimitable, the irresistible, the slightly damp Colin Firth as the One True Mr Darcy.

‘Well, we appreciate the pictures of handsome men and everything, Sarah’ you might say, ‘But we were under the impression you were here to talk about your book?’

And I am! These three fictional guys have had a profound influence not only on my book, but on ALL books. Think about how many dark, mysterious and silent, bad-tempered but extremely foxy strangers we see in romance, in fantasy, in historical novels and in space.

I thought of them, and then I wondered what was actually going on inside the head of one of those tall dark strangers. So I decided to write from inside the head of That Guy – surly, silent and… in keeping with the tradition… English. (Since I’m from Ireland, it really wasn’t much of a stretch.)

One of the very first things I learned inside Nick’s head was, of course, that he found everyone else was as mysterious as they found him. (Also, he wondered why they all talked so much.)

Another thing about the source material heroes is that they were really edgy. The modern versions might just be concealing their inner pain, but the original type was honestly mad, bad and dangerous to know. Darcy, well, he was just sulky at parties, but Heathcliff hanged puppies. And as for Mr Rochester, even if you overlook the whole ’secreted first wife in the attic’ business, I was always a bit concerned about the cross-dressing.

Nick is not into puppy hanging or cross-dressing, I promise, but I did want to make the point that guys who behave like this – well, they’re messed up. Heathcliff could certainly have done with therapy. Loving a boy like this is hard to do. ‘Your love is like a knife, baby,’ you would say to him. And then: ‘Oh no, wait, that actually is a knife. Oh my God, PUT THE KNIFE DOWN.’

And yet, even now, those heroes are compelling. The Big Three started a Tall Dark and Handsomely Withdrawn movement that shows no sign of faltering more than a century later. I wanted to portray a guy like that unflinchingly, taking him apart from the inside out, and still… with luck… create a character who compelled readers.

More traditional influences than hot guys: books, plays, and mythology! The world of The Demon’s Lexicon is a contemporary England, with run-down houses and overgrown back gardens – and a darker world lying side by side with ours. I wanted to make the world layered, and convincing, so I combed through myths and literature to find ingredients to use. I read the Hexenhammer, an old German text which warns about witches, and the deals they make with devils.

I found out that in Elizabethan times people thought demons were made of air, and so Ariel of the Tempest would have been recognised by an Elizabethan audience as a demon – in ancient Sumer, they thought demons were made of fire and humans were made of earth.

And I’ve always been annoyed by the phantom incomes that some people in books have – they work as a bouncer and can afford a roomy flat in the city, things like that, and yet the heroes of my story need weapons to fight off their enemies. Weapons are expensive. So I figured that if magicians really existed, there’d be a resistance – and there would also be a black market of magical objects, and I mixed the two, and had the market named after Christina Rossetti’s lovely poem of a market selling dangerous, magical fruit.

Signposting all of this via a hero who doesn’t read is a little tricky, though. At one point Nick is bored by the mention of ‘the beautiful poetry of Christina Risotto.’

My other influences were, I admit, wish fulfillment. I studied fencing in school, and I’ve always loved dancing. I am profoundly and terribly bad at them,.

So my hero can’t sing, can dance, and can handle a sword more than a little. And both dancing and swordfighting are an intrinsic part of the book. I’m sly like that…

Thanks very much, book smugglers, for having me!

________________________

Thanks very much, Sarah, for saying yes and for the fascinating article!

Now for the giveaway:

Sarah Rees Brennan is generously offering five copies her book The Demon’s Lexicon and a goodies bag with: the audio book, a sterling silver knife charm, and different-coloured bookmarks with quotes from different characters on them.

To enter, just a leave a comment on this post, answering: What is your Favourite Book Character? The contest is open to all and will run till Saturday 13th June. We will (randomly) pick six winners and announce them on our Sunday Stash. Good luck!

Title: Salt and Silver

Author: Anna Katherine (they are actually TWO writers under the name of Anna Katherine)

Genre: Officially, Paranormal Romance but reads more like Fantasy or Urban Fantasy.

Publisher: Tor
Publishing Date: April, 2009
Paperback: 368 pages

Stand Alone or Series: It is stand alone but I would not mind if this was actually the start of a new series. Not at all.

Summary: When trust fund baby-turned-waitress Allie and her friends accidentally open a Door to Hell in the basement of Sally’s Diner, they don’t realize the havoc it will wreak on their Brooklyn neighborhood. Of course, the upside to murder-happy demons coming through the Door all the time is that Allie gets her own sexy and mysterious demon hunter: the dark-eyed, leather-clad, Stetson-wearing Ryan.

Now Allie and Ryan have to travel through Hell, literally, to try to stop Hell from taking over the Earth. They may not survive the trip, but Allie is about to discover something very important: Mortal peril is a total turn-on.

Why did I read the book: I was offered a review copy by the publisher. I thought it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

Review:

Three truths: Salt binds. Silver heals. This book took me by surprise.

I had no expectations about Salt and Silver. I did not see this book around the blogosphere , I had not read any reviews (although there are a few around) . With only the back blurb as a guide, I embarked on a journey that was by all means, fun, fast-paced and really, really good and it is mostly down to a charming narrative voice and to a trip to nine dimensions of Hell.

6 years ago, Allie lost everything after her mother took off ( to Rio, with tennis instructor Rio) with the family money leaving her destitute. Once a spoiled rich kid, who had everything and who lived the wild life of parties, drugs and sex, Allie finds herself having to find a job and a place to live. On the day she gets a job as a waitress at Sally’s Diner, she decides to celebrate with her two best friends Amanda and Stan. They get drunk in the basement of the diner and end up doing what has gone down in the History of their lives as a Really Stupid Thing. They made a spell up and opened a Door to Hell. Six years later, Allie, now the manager of the diner lives a completely different life. The Door to Hell, now part of her daily routine, has made her become an adult – simple as that. Catapulted into a life that most mundanes (ie, us) have no clue about, Allie has learnt how to be poor and how to fight. She realises she has made many mistakes in her life, the greatest of them being obviously the Door but she doesn’t begrudge it for two reasons: the lessons she learnt and Ryan.

Ryan, the demon hunter that appeared at the very moment the Door opened to guard its gates and prevent the demons that occasionally cross it, to go into the streets. Her protector, her friend and her mentor. He has taught her how to fight (vampires, demons, etc. Not zombies though. Zombies are not real) and how to heal their wounds as well by using silver. Although Allie would love to be something more to Ryan as it is clear that she loves him and that he has feelings for her as well.

Anyways, our story kicks-off when her Door disappears. Parallel to that other Doors start to spontaneously appear all over town. Ryan has no clue about what is going on, nor do other hunters or even their leader, the psychic witch Narnia. What they do know is that if Doors keep appearing like that, there won’t be enough hunters to keep demons at bay and the world will surely collapse in Earth and Air. They have to come up with a plan pronto. And the only thing they can think of is: they need to cross one of the Doors and go to Hell to ask for help from one of the Gods that inhabit the underworld. The problem is that once they cross a Door to Hell, they must go through nine dimensions of the underworld before they are allowed to leave and there is not saying who will survive or not. A team of hunters is gathered and together with Allie and Stan (they need their blood because the Doors recognise their imprint) they go on this perilous journey. Not all of them will make it.

Salt and Silver is narrated in first person (and present tense) by Allie and her voice is vivacious and light. I really liked Allie – how she comprehends completely that her life prior to the Door was a complete waste (and how her two friends Amanda and Stan carry on the same way as before and how that is a reminder and a mirror to her past) and how her priorities have changed. She takes full responsibility for what has happened but sometimes she forgets she was not alone. I loved how she thought about Ryan and how she hoped to be the one that made it possible for him to change: Ryan is one of those heroes with a Past and who prefer to keeps the heroine at bay for their own sake. The tension between the two is tremendous – not only sexual. They know each other – although not that much because Allie knows nothing about his past, and they don’t know each other’s real name – in a basic level. There is understanding , sympathy and companionship. And heat, so much heat: Allie’s memory of the one kiss they exchanged in the past 6 years is hotter than a jalapeño pepper with chilli on top.

The “we want-but we can’t” build up is one that usually drives me insane but in this case, it worked very well , because Ryan’s reasons where well in the way of being reasonable. In any case, even though the book is listed as Paranormal Romance , the romance is not as central as one usually gets in the genre even if it is ever presence in Allie’s mind.

What is central is the plot regarding the Doors and as a Fantasy reader I could not have been happier. I read that the authors have a background in Religious studies, folklore and Greco- Roman magic studies. It shows. The story is filled with smart references to various mythologies and popular beliefs, in particular after they cross the Door into Hell. The idea here is that each dimension is different, structured different, organised different and able to do different things to each person. There is also the fact that Hell is what you bring with you. That made for riveting reading, folks. I enjoyed every single minute spent there – in the Sumerian Hell, Greek Hell, Catholic Hell (incidentally the most terrifying one). As I read it, I was part fascinated with the content from an exclusively geeky way but also terrified at some of the Hells they visit. The encounter with the Lamia was absolutely horrific.

Although sometimes the light tone of the narrative did not agree with the darkness of the content (it made Allie appear somewhat detached from her surroundings), the result was one I was completely satisfied with. I devoured the book and I was riveted with every single detail such as:

Allie’ s keen sense of smell (like she notices how Ryan smells like sandalwood because he steals her sandalwood soap, which she buys from the Indian market because it’s cheaper) ; like how “her pheromones want his pheromones; like how Ryan talks with his eye-brows and she decides she can now speak eyebrow-ese although she doesn’t understand what he means when he kisses her; how she muses that Ryan tastes like everything she ever wanted and nothing she ever had; Even the way she freaks out that they forgot the condom when they finally have sex; How all of them had had Avatars for protection while in Hell and how each Avatar was part of who they were ;how they had silver cauter scars ; that and more, so much more made this a fabulous read that I am happy to recommend.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: when I tried to pick one quote for this section I realised I ear-marked the entire book! I think this one is a good one, to show the narrative voice. Ryan and Allie are getting into the subway and realise there are demons around.

“I don’t want to get on the train, though. I really don’ t want to. It’s not like I can hear a Door whispering or anything. I just….don’t want to get on the train. I feel like I did in the hospital hallway. This is a bad idea.
Ryan takes my arm and gently tugs until I step through the open doors, and I hang on to him, put my face in his chest. He doesn’t smell like blood anymore; he must have showered in my apartment above the dinner when I was dreaming about werewolves. He smells like sandalwood.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see shadows with wings, and I swallow back the bile that rises in my throat.
“Ryan”, I whisper urgently.
“I see them”, he says calmly. Too calmly. “They won’t come near us. You still smell like the dead one.”
He murmurs quietly to me about demons and animals and the importance of smell identification to largely nocturnal creatures. It sounds like garbage, but it’s comforting. When the subway stops, we get out, even though we’re not at our stop yet. We get into a different car. This one feels wrong too, but there are no winged shadows, so I just stand with my face in Ryan’s chest, and breathe in the smell of sandalwood.”

Additional Thoughts: Go check out the author’s website. They have information about the magic they mention in the book (including a link to Ryan’s Delicious.com page) and even a couple of recipes from Sally’s Diner.

I also thought really interesting that one of the most important clues they got in Hell (hey, their journey was a Quest, wasn’t it?) involved a Canadian story about the Hand of Franklin. I had never heard of it, but thought it was very cool.

Verdict: a fantastic heroine with an engaging narrative voice, some lovely romance and a fascinating trip to Hell. Highly recommended.

Rating: 7 – VERY GOOD

Reading Next: The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

Title: The Demon’s Lexicon

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: YA/UF

US Cover
UK Cover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s (UK) /Margaret K. McElderry (US)
Publishing Date: June 1, 2009
Paperback: 432 pages (UK) / Hardcover: 336 pages (US)

Stand Alone or series: first in a planned trilogy but this book stands well on its own. No cliffhanger.

Summary: Nick and his brother Alan are on the run with their mother, who was once the lover of a powerful magician. When she left him, she stole an important charm – and he will stop at nothing to reclaim it. Now Alan has been marked with the sign of death by the magician’s demon, and only Nick can save him. But to do so he must face those he has fled from all his life – the magicians – and kill them. So the hunted becomes the hunter…but in saving his brother, Nick discovers something that will unravel his whole past…

Why did I read the book: our good friend Karen Mahoney has been raving non-stop about this book. And you know what? she was RIGHT.

Review:

“The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that Nick kept his favourite sword under the sink.”

The Demon’s Lexicon starts with this opening line and it’s a great beginning because it serves the book well . This line is significant in the way it shows how the “abnormal” coexists with the “normal” in this world. Right there and then, I am taken. And this feeling only increases as I read and every single time I had to put this book down, I felt its absence. Much like an umbilical cord between myself and it, there was a calling, something that connected me with to it; I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading , mostly theorising about the main character and what it all meant. I am in a way, a few days after reading The Demon’s Lexicon, still hooked in its characters, still thinking about them but mostly still overflowing with admiration for the author. For what she did, for what she dared, for how she constructed the characters, the world, but mostly for how she showed a wondrous dark world and amazing, wonderful feelings such as sensitivity, devotion, fondness and sacrifice through the eyes of a character that feels none of these very same feelings and who is, at every turn and all the time, conscious of this….lacking.

16 year old Nick is the main character – 3rd person narrator of the story, the only character with a point of view. He lives with his crazy mother Olivia and his older brother Alan. They try to live a normal life as much as they can but there is nothing normal about them. Olivia is a magician, a human born with magic and with power. Mostly with the power to communicate with demons, beings that live in a world they hate and who will do anything (possess, promise, seduce) to get into ours, to get even a small measure of what is like to be human. Magicians who want more power will open circles to bring them in and they help them possess and mark humans. Once you get three marks, that’s it, you are dead.

Nick, Alan and Olivia have been on the run all their lives – Olivia once stole a talisman from a very powerful magician who has been trying ever since to get it back. Nick and Alan’s father died protecting them, in the same night that Alan got crippled. Nick is the main warrior of the family, he fights demons with his sword and knives and will do anything, anything to keep Alan safe. Alan is not powerless though – he is a mean shooter, and he never ever misses. Together these two work to keep their mother safe – although Nick often muses that they would be better off if she just died. Yes. That’s right, the kid often thinks and sometimes speaks to Alan that their mother should just die. It is not so difficult to understand why though – since Olivia seems to truly, deeply hate Nick: she doesn’t even look at him.

Not that it matters to him – I don’t think I ever read a book from the point of view of such a cold, angry, harsh character. Nick’s narrative is bleak and joyless although not humourless. Sometimes all he can think of is to kill and to maim. He seems to be able only to understand lust .This anger becomes even greater and almost overwhelming when his brother Alan is marked by a demon. Alan, who is smart, sweet, selfless, is trying to help two kids – also siblings – Jamie and Mae. Jamie has two marks and his death is certain as soon as he gets the third (a matter of “when” not “if”) and Alan helps him by absorbing one of the marks. A fact that utterly dismays, mystifies, puzzles Nick. Why in the world would his idiotic brother puts himself in danger like this? Alan carries a crush on Mae and that is perhaps part of it but Alan has had many crushes for Alan has been trying to be loved for such a long time. So, what is it? What is it that makes Mae do anything to keep HER brother safe? Or Alan want to help their undeserving mother so much?

He is completely unable to understand any of these feelings as much as he is incapable of understand written words (he is dyslexic) . He only understands that Alan needs to be saved at all costs even if the only think that can save him is the death and blood of a magician. All of a sudden the hunted become the hunger as the brothers go after who were after them. Alan is the brains of the operation and Nick is the fighter.

Nick is a character that makes it hard for the reader to connect with – it is so very hard to feel sympathy for Nick but it is impossible NOT to feel for him. Because (and this is the strength of this book and of this writer) through his eyes , through this mind that lacks….something, we see this world of connection, this world of feelings and we as readers, KNOW exactly what he doesn’t know and what he is missing. Whenever Alan says something or touches Nick and Nick is puzzled, we just know that it’s love that is moving Alan. As is love that movies Mae to help Jamie. This book is about brotherly love and devotion and it is awesome. Every single character that lacks a point of view comes into life via Nick’s observations and it is another sign of this writer’s talent that all of them are so well developed. Jamie is a sweetheart , the funny guy in the midst of such terrible things; Mae, the resilient one (and possibly a wrench between the brothers – oh-oh a triangle!) and Alan, the one that carries the world on this shoulders. After the (incredible, ass-kicking, beautiful, sad, surprising, jaw-dropping) climax of the book, Alan comes away as one of the most strong and giving characters I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.

And I beg of you, don’t let the bleakness and the (seemingly) endless anger that Nick feels put you off this book. It is sometimes, a difficult book to read but in the end there is recompense because everything has a reason. Because there is lacking yes, but there is something in the lacking. I did have moments of doubt (would a teenager be SO angry all the time?) but as soon as I realised where it was going, and when I read where it did went (could I be any more obscure? But trust me, you don’t want this spoiled),I could not help but to be unequivocally astonished.

The characters shine in this book. But the plot is equally strong and so are the details of the world. Sarah Rees Brennan is Irish and the story is set in the UK and there is insight into everyday life (at school or for example run-down houses and their shabby lace curtains, that is SO true) over here and this is one of the reasons why I like it so much. And I am not even going to talk about the Goblin Market and the Dancers. That’s for you to discover yourself.

And don’t be surprised if The Demon’s Lexicon makes my top 10 of 2009.

Notable Quotes/ Parts:
I LOVE this interaction between Nick and Alan:

“I know you’re worried” Alan said. “Don’t be. How many people with first marks have we seen? How many first marks have you removed? How is this different?”
Nick turned his gaze from the window to Alan.
“This is different”, he said. “This is you”
Alan looked terribly pleased for a moment, and Nick realised that his brother had taken this as one of the ridiculous, sappy things Alan was used to saying all the time. Nick had only meant what he’d said. It had never been his brother before.
Thankfully Alan did not make a fuss about it. He could believe Nick had said any stupid thing he wanted, so long as there was no scenes.
All he said was, “Here, have your dinfast. Then we can start packing”
“Dinfast”, Nick repeated.
“Dinner and Breakfast!” Alan said triumphantly. “Like Brunch”.
Nick subjected him to a long, judgemental stare. “There’s something very wrong with you,” he said at last. “I thought you should know”.
Undaunted or perhaps just unsurprised by this news, Alan began to do the dishes. He pushed Nick’s sword away with sudsy fingers to make room for a wet frying pan.
“Where do you fancy living next?”
“London, ” said Nick, because he thought that Alan would like it.
Alan looked pleased, and he saw he’d guessed right.

Verdict: Undoubtedly one of the best YA books I have ever read. If you like Melissa Marr, you can’t miss this one.

Rating: 8 (leaning towards a 9) – EXCELLENT

Reading Next: Darkborn by Alison Sinclair

ETA: SARAH REES BRENNAN HAS JUST ACCEPTED OUR INVITATION FOR A GUEST POST ON HER INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES. HER ARTICLE IS GOING TO BE PUBLISHED NEXT MONDAY AND THERE WILL BE A GIVEAWAY!!

Title: The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers

Author:

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Love Spell
Publishing Date: April 28, 2009
Paperback: 336 pages

Stand Alone/ Series: Second book in the Demon Slayer series.

Why did I read the book: I read the first one and enjoyed it a lot and was happy when I received the second one from the publisher.

Summary: Seriously. Why does a new hair dryer have a twelve-page how-to manual, but when it comes to ancient demon-fighting hocus-pocus, my biker witch granny gives me just half a dozen switch stars and a rah-rah speech? Oh, and a talking terrier, but that’s another story. It’s not like my job as a preschool teacher prepared me for this kind of thing.

So I’ve decided to write my own manual, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, because no one tells me anything. Dimitri, my “protector,” may be one stud of a shape-shifting griffin, but he always thinks he can handle everything by himself. Only he’s no match for the soul-stealing succubi taking over Las Vegas. If I can’t figure out how to save him—and Sin City—there’ll be hell to pay.

Review:

It’s been two weeks since preschool teacher Lizzie Brown learnt she was the Exalted Demon Slayer of Dalea. In that short period of time, she found out she had a family, became a member of the Red Skulls (a coven of geriatric biker witches), hooked up with a man who was her protector and a shape-shifter griffin, had to learn how to use her powers, went to hell and back AND found out her dog Pirate can speak.

But is she allowed to take a break and enjoy some sunshine in Greece with her new steady boyfriend Dimitri? NO. Because as it turns out, her Uncle Phil – who by the way is her half-fairy Godfather – is getting married to a succubus demon in Las Vegas. Why would a succubus want to get hitched as this so does not sound like their modus operandi – is what worries Lizzie and her grandmother. On the way to Vegas more problems creep up: Lizzie finds out she actually needs a license from the DIM – Department of Intramagical Matters – to work as a Demon Slayer and has to pass a test to get it. A test which no one has told her about and regarding things no one thought about teaching her.

To make matters worse, Vegas seems to have more succubi demons than the DIM accounted for and only Lizzie can stop them for doing whatever evil plan they had which may or may not involve her uncle and a vigilante slayer called Max . Add to the equation the fact that succubi love to suck Griffins’ life force and even though, as a pure Griffin from an ancient lineage Dimitri is supposed to be impervious to them somehow they manage to deplete Dimitri’s strength and ever-reliable warmth and Lizzie is in serious trouble as she has to save Phil and get Dimitri out of town..

But this time, Lizzie is seriously pissed off and she speaks out: she won’t take the half-truths her grandmother throws at her or the fact that Dimitri wants to protect her at all costs. And this is how the Demon Slayer Lizzie initiates a process of soul-searching to find out what does exactly being a demon slayer mean and finally be able to get comfortable in the role. She even decides to write a manual, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers to help future generations.

The result: a more serious book, in tone and in plotting that its predecessor. The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers is less funny than The Accidental Demon Slayer but it is all the better for it. It still has many of its quirkiness and peculiarities that are a lot of fun to read about (I just love Pirate and how he is still only a dog even if he can speak) but Angie Fox takes Lizzie and the troupe in a new direction which I wholehearted hoped for when I read the first book.

There are great issues being dealt here. For starters, Lizzie was not even supposed to be the demon slayer. That was her mother’s path, not hers. For that reason, Lizzie doesn’t have the one thing that could mean a less solitary life for Demon Slayers : another slayer to rely on. You see, all slayers to this point, had twin sisters and therefore were a duo. Lizzie has to carry all this power on her own and be responsible for other people lives and that is a great burden. She has to make hard choices on this book in order to save people and above all she has to pin down the three Slayer’s truths: Look to the Outside, Accept the Universe and Sacrifice Yourself and what exactly do they mean.

There is also a great look into her relationship to Dimitri and the repercussions to what she did to keep him alive in book one (another reason why this series is good: there are always consequences to actions) and I truly warmed up to him on this one – I still would like to know more about the man and it doesn’t help that the book is narrated in first person by Lizzie so we don’t have Dimitri’s point of view, which is a shame. It seems I will have to wait for book 3 to get to know him better. A word of caution: although the series is marketed as Paranormal Romance, please don’t expect a lot of romance or sex. There is so much action and dangerous sequences in the novel , that the romance takes second place to everything else but I think it’s more realistic this way.

The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayer is a much more thoughtful book than the first one but with enough humor and action to make it still a light and quick read . I know I devoured the book in one go. I am, needless to say, a fan.

Notable Quotes/ Parts: I loved the final showdown and how action packed it was. Just like in the first book!

Additional Thoughts: Tomorrow Angie Fox will be guest blogging here and talking about Inspiration and Influences (our new author series!) and giving away some goodies. Be sure to stop by

Verdict: With a more thoughtful approach on this one, but still with a lot of humor and plenty of action sequences, this series is a winner and I can’t wait to see where Angie Fox takes her characters next.

Rating: 7 Very Good

Reading Next: The Secret Wedding by Jo Beverley