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whatthefridge's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Did I enjoy this book? Yes.
Did it have almost no sex scenes? Also yes.
Obviously I’m not here just for the sex, and I should be grateful that the novel wasn’t forced into a predictable formula. Except I can’t help feeling like Patrick needed a bit more intimacy in the ending than he got.
As for the plot, overall it’s fine, but the mechanism for it to work is nagging at me. I understand that for the events in the story to escalate, there needs to be free rein for the baddies to attack. However, I’m not buying the excuse that the cops have zero probable cause to arrest people who are hosting demons. Legit, there should already be some sort of law against being a demon host that would get people arrested or at least forced into an exorcism. Find a mage or priest or whoever to check the person’s aura for black magic. In the early books, there was a big emphasis on cleaning souls that came in contact with hellish energy, so why not now? Why does a werewolf pack accused of housing demons not get penalized for that? This is where my suspended of disbelief is threadbare.
Also, maybe it’s me, but if Ethan was trying to setup Patrick with the murder of Youssef, that means Ethan already figured out that Patrick is still alive. It’s just never explained when and how. He couldn’t use the twin power if he didn’t know they were twins. So that’s bugging me as well.
I do still want to see this through to the end. There’s some really interesting worldbuilding, and no matter what gods are introduced, it never feels like jumping the shark. Plus the relationship building is solid across the board. That takes skill.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, War, Gore, Murder, and Violence
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