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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
3.5
This was a fun urban fantasy (maybe paranormal romance); hard to know exactly where the line between the two is sometimes. I liked that Danica was smart and resourceful. She was mouthy and angry a lot of times, but managed to avoid it coming across as her whole personality (as sometimes happens in such books). I appreciated having Samael’s POV and thought he was sexy. I sense it’ll be a good pairing in future books.
However, here in this book, I don’t feel like we were given enough interactions between him and Danica to feel more than we’re told in exposition, certainly not get to know you sort of interactions. So, the ‘romance’ aspect of the book fell pretty flat for me. (I felt more spark with Vas, simply because she spent more quality time with him.) Also, while we’re told Samael is super powerful and scary, and we see him unleash that on enemies at times, he’s so soft around Danica that it undermined the whole ‘big, bad alpha a-hole’ persona the reader is supposed to believe he carries.
The world and history was interesting, but I don’t feel like we were really given more than an outline of it. Honestly, the whole book felt like a second book, where I should be finding the first for all that world-building. (Edit: Apparently there is a .5 prequel, [b:Fool the Demon|58423891|Fool the Demon (Deals with Demons, #0.5)|Stacia Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624642134l/58423891._SY75_.jpg|91671523]. I just didn’t know before reading this book.) All in all, I had some complaints, but I’ll be happy to continue this series.
This was a fun urban fantasy (maybe paranormal romance); hard to know exactly where the line between the two is sometimes. I liked that Danica was smart and resourceful. She was mouthy and angry a lot of times, but managed to avoid it coming across as her whole personality (as sometimes happens in such books). I appreciated having Samael’s POV and thought he was sexy. I sense it’ll be a good pairing in future books.
However, here in this book, I don’t feel like we were given enough interactions between him and Danica to feel more than we’re told in exposition, certainly not get to know you sort of interactions. So, the ‘romance’ aspect of the book fell pretty flat for me. (I felt more spark with Vas, simply because she spent more quality time with him.) Also, while we’re told Samael is super powerful and scary, and we see him unleash that on enemies at times, he’s so soft around Danica that it undermined the whole ‘big, bad alpha a-hole’ persona the reader is supposed to believe he carries.
The world and history was interesting, but I don’t feel like we were really given more than an outline of it. Honestly, the whole book felt like a second book, where I should be finding the first for all that world-building. (Edit: Apparently there is a .5 prequel, [b:Fool the Demon|58423891|Fool the Demon (Deals with Demons, #0.5)|Stacia Stark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624642134l/58423891._SY75_.jpg|91671523]. I just didn’t know before reading this book.) All in all, I had some complaints, but I’ll be happy to continue this series.
3.75 Stars - Kindle Unlimited
Very fast, very fun read, with a Kate Daniels vibe.
In her search for her mother's murderer, Danica's lack of impulse control gets her bound to a high demon after she's caught standing over the remains of one of Samael's party attendees. Tasked with finding, and killing, a demon killer, if she fails, she'll be bound to him for the rest of her life. The best news? She's got two weeks to find a killer, while trying to take care of her day job, and follow leads on her mother's murderer.
Danica is the type of heroine I really like. She is all action and little forethought, and she has a mouth that never seems to shut up. She is pretty badass and isn't intimidated by the menacing paranormals standing between her and her objectives. While some of the plot felt a little unoriginal, most of the unpinning structure was interesting enough for me to pick up the next installment.
Very fast, very fun read, with a Kate Daniels vibe.
In her search for her mother's murderer, Danica's lack of impulse control gets her bound to a high demon after she's caught standing over the remains of one of Samael's party attendees. Tasked with finding, and killing, a demon killer, if she fails, she'll be bound to him for the rest of her life. The best news? She's got two weeks to find a killer, while trying to take care of her day job, and follow leads on her mother's murderer.
Danica is the type of heroine I really like. She is all action and little forethought, and she has a mouth that never seems to shut up. She is pretty badass and isn't intimidated by the menacing paranormals standing between her and her objectives. While some of the plot felt a little unoriginal, most of the unpinning structure was interesting enough for me to pick up the next installment.
adventurous
dark
The more I read, the less I liked this book. At first, I thought it was the narrator who bugged me. And yes, I didn't really care for the narrator. Not the worst, but not anywhere close to the best. But I soon realized that what was really bugging me was the writing, which felt juvenile, a bit wattpady.
I also felt that the characters were one-dimensional, particularly Samael. Samael was possessive, overly dominant, and controlling, and yet had no redeeming qualities. I love a bad boy, but I need there to be something redeemable about him, something to root for, for him to grow and become the hero. The way Samael was set up, there's limited, if any, potential for growth, and I didn't see anything redeemable about him. He was a tyrant who coerced, threatened, and bulldozed everyone around him to get his way.
While I found Danica a little more fleshed out, she was still rather bland. She went from hot to cold, getting mad at Samael and then wanting to jump him. I felt the author was trying to make her spunky and fierce; however, that failed when time after time Danica went to stand up to Samael but then once again controlled her. Maybe that's a turn on for some, but I'm ready to move beyond that male entitlement BS. It wasn't a healthy relationship at all. Maybe if there had been a slow burn, building up to something more tangible. But honestly, I didn't get Samael's possessiveness and the only reason ever given was because "that's how he is." Okay, no. That doesn't work because Danica already established pretty early in the story that Samael just killed those who crossed him. And yet, despite her saying (way too many times) that Samael would kill her, he didn't. And no reason was given other than he found her interesting. Okay, why? Hints were given, clearly building up to the larger story of her origin that is only hinted at in this book. But it's not enough to keep me reading this series.
And why the switching POV? The few chapters that were Samael's POV added nothing to the story.
The world-building was interesting, which is what drew me to pick up this book in the first place. And yet, the world-building could have been fleshed out a bit more too, particularly since this plot revolves around the history of this world. As for the plot, it was predictable and I didn't find it well laid out. Honestly, I'm flabbergasted at all the high ratings as I'm questioning whether we read the same book.
Anyway, every book has an audience, I'm just not the audience for this one.
I also felt that the characters were one-dimensional, particularly Samael. Samael was possessive, overly dominant, and controlling, and yet had no redeeming qualities. I love a bad boy, but I need there to be something redeemable about him, something to root for, for him to grow and become the hero. The way Samael was set up, there's limited, if any, potential for growth, and I didn't see anything redeemable about him. He was a tyrant who coerced, threatened, and bulldozed everyone around him to get his way.
While I found Danica a little more fleshed out, she was still rather bland. She went from hot to cold, getting mad at Samael and then wanting to jump him. I felt the author was trying to make her spunky and fierce; however, that failed when time after time Danica went to stand up to Samael but then once again controlled her. Maybe that's a turn on for some, but I'm ready to move beyond that male entitlement BS. It wasn't a healthy relationship at all. Maybe if there had been a slow burn, building up to something more tangible. But honestly, I didn't get Samael's possessiveness and the only reason ever given was because "that's how he is." Okay, no. That doesn't work because Danica already established pretty early in the story that Samael just killed those who crossed him. And yet, despite her saying (way too many times) that Samael would kill her, he didn't. And no reason was given other than he found her interesting. Okay, why? Hints were given, clearly building up to the larger story of her origin that is only hinted at in this book. But it's not enough to keep me reading this series.
And why the switching POV? The few chapters that were Samael's POV added nothing to the story.
The world-building was interesting, which is what drew me to pick up this book in the first place. And yet, the world-building could have been fleshed out a bit more too, particularly since this plot revolves around the history of this world. As for the plot, it was predictable and I didn't find it well laid out. Honestly, I'm flabbergasted at all the high ratings as I'm questioning whether we read the same book.
Anyway, every book has an audience, I'm just not the audience for this one.
2.5 stars....
Stark hooked me in with the world-building and the plotlines but she lost me at the romance. :(
We follow our FMC around as she completes her day job as a bounty hunter and does a demon she's bonded to's bidding by night, until those two goals align. Danica is a complex character with secrets in her past that she has yet to learn about and they keep popping up during her investigations throwing everything she thought she knew into a tizzy.
As said, I loved this aspect. The estranged sister, the secret lock on her powers, the mystery of how her mom died, the various races living in the realm working together, and other races against others. I really struggled with the romance because it was insta-love basically.
While our FMC fights her feelings and wants to keep her life to herself, our MMC is a domineering alpha-ahole. (Sorrry to hate on the morally grey, tall, dark, and handsome, but.... he just makes me cringe
Stark hooked me in with the world-building and the plotlines but she lost me at the romance. :(
We follow our FMC around as she completes her day job as a bounty hunter and does a demon she's bonded to's bidding by night, until those two goals align. Danica is a complex character with secrets in her past that she has yet to learn about and they keep popping up during her investigations throwing everything she thought she knew into a tizzy.
As said, I loved this aspect. The estranged sister, the secret lock on her powers, the mystery of how her mom died, the various races living in the realm working together, and other races against others. I really struggled with the romance because it was insta-love basically.
While our FMC fights her feelings and wants to keep her life to herself, our MMC is a domineering alpha-ahole. (Sorrry to hate on the morally grey, tall, dark, and handsome, but.... he just makes me cringe
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
The cover is actually terrible and I have seen similar plots in at least 5 other books but I was entertained and aside from the main character saying 'yo' a lot I liked her