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kathydavie's review
3.0
Second in the Demon Slayer (or Biker Witches) urban fantasy series revolving around Lizzie Brown, a newbie demon slayer desperately trying to learn what she needs to know to stay alive.
My Take
The last book, The Accidental Demon Slayer set us up with the primary series characters. This installment provides us with Lizzie's backup crew as well as providing Lizzie herself with a bit more confidence in herself and her friends.
It still drove me a bit nuts — yeah, it's funny — it's also deep in Lizzie trying to shed her OCD need to be totally prepared for everything. Oh man, is she in the wrong line of work! She can't keep her mind on the task at hand — too much time with those preschoolers!? And she tends to whine a lot, and I get enough of that at home. Then there's the early encounters between Max and Dimitri. Can you say testosterone overload?? Good thing Sid's on their side!
The licensing bureau seems like everybody's idea of a DMV nightmare.
It's definitely a Keystone Kops routine of screw-ups and dashing about with little thought and no depth to the book nor is there much tension. Fox gets her characters into all sorts of trouble and magically gets them out again without worrying about how…hey, it's just words. And words can do anything.
Although, we do finally find out who is responsible for all those brownouts and blackouts…
The Story
It's bad and about to get worse! Uncle Phil is being targeted by a succubus, and Lizzie and the Red Skulls have got to save him! Naturally, nothing can be that easy, for Lizzie and her Grandma discover that Serena is after more than just Uncle Phil's life energy. She's using him as part of a plot to bust open a gate from Hell.
Did you know Vegas hotels have a supernatural floor? Yup, it's the thirteenth floor…woo-hoo-hoooo.
The Characters
Lizzie Brown, a teacher at the Happy Hands Preschool, accidentally turns out to be a demon slayer. A very rare species of human who didn't discover her abilities until she turned 30 and her Grandma busted down her front door. Pirate, a Jack Russell terrier, is her totally useless but lots of fun-to-chat-with watchdog with all sorts of delusions and ambitions.
Dimitri Kallinikos is a Greek shapeshifting griffin who discovers he's not quite so full-blooded anymore. He's also Lizzie's protector even when Lizzie has to turn around and protect him. Max Devereux is a hunter. Half-demon, half-slayer with a unique way of taking down a succubus. He fits right in with this crew in that he just keeps pushing away at Lizzie, never giving her time to figure out what's happening. To be fair, he's thinking she actually has some training.
Grandma, a.k.a., Gertie, is a rad' Harley-ridin' biker chick and part of the Red Skulls coven of bikers including Ant Eater; Betty Two Sticks; Sidecar Bob who's trapped in a wheelchair and is bonding with Pirate; Scarlet; Spinebreaker, a.k.a., Jan Elkins, a.k.a., the Library Hag; Battina who specializes in acquiring the hard-to-find ingredients for spells; and, Crazy Frieda with an even crazier wardrobe — I'm still trying to figure out those pink, zippers-everywhere leather pants!
Uncle Phil Whirley is Lizzie's fairy godfather — literally — and Lizzie discovers he's been involved in every aspect of her life — a lot more than her adoptive parents! Skeeps! I want one! They're pulsing balls of light that will run errands and get you anything you need! Ezra is a bellhop ghost at their hotel while Joe is a long-dead engineer who still keeps an eye on the Hoover dam through its tunnels.
Senior Officer Reynolds seems to be in charge of the Greater Nevada Department of Intramagical Procedures (DIP) office. Thank god! If we had to wait for the Dragon Lady to pass Lizzie…we'd all be grilling our weenies in Hell. Although, he only seems good for introducing Lizzieto, in a roundabout way, Officer Sid Fuzzlebump, who is a fairy, grumblingly giving Lizzie aid.
Serena is the succubus who is seducing Uncle Phil into helping her with her "break open Hell" plan. And man, does she have a history!
The Cover and Title
The deep but bright purple cover is getting pretty rowdy for Lizzie. That girl is goin' to the hogs with her black leather miniskirt and zip-up fitted vest. She's straddling a motorcycle with Pirate perched behind and checking us out from under Lizzie's outstretched arm as she holds what looks like a mini, extremely elaborate pike.
The title is all about the book Lizzie plans to write. The 1936 copy the Las Vegas licensing bureau is handing out just doesn't cut it as The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers!
My Take
The last book, The Accidental Demon Slayer set us up with the primary series characters. This installment provides us with Lizzie's backup crew as well as providing Lizzie herself with a bit more confidence in herself and her friends.
It still drove me a bit nuts — yeah, it's funny — it's also deep in Lizzie trying to shed her OCD need to be totally prepared for everything. Oh man, is she in the wrong line of work! She can't keep her mind on the task at hand — too much time with those preschoolers!? And she tends to whine a lot, and I get enough of that at home. Then there's the early encounters between Max and Dimitri. Can you say testosterone overload?? Good thing Sid's on their side!
The licensing bureau seems like everybody's idea of a DMV nightmare.
It's definitely a Keystone Kops routine of screw-ups and dashing about with little thought and no depth to the book nor is there much tension. Fox gets her characters into all sorts of trouble and magically gets them out again without worrying about how…hey, it's just words. And words can do anything.
Although, we do finally find out who is responsible for all those brownouts and blackouts…
The Story
It's bad and about to get worse! Uncle Phil is being targeted by a succubus, and Lizzie and the Red Skulls have got to save him! Naturally, nothing can be that easy, for Lizzie and her Grandma discover that Serena is after more than just Uncle Phil's life energy. She's using him as part of a plot to bust open a gate from Hell.
Did you know Vegas hotels have a supernatural floor? Yup, it's the thirteenth floor…woo-hoo-hoooo.
The Characters
Lizzie Brown, a teacher at the Happy Hands Preschool, accidentally turns out to be a demon slayer. A very rare species of human who didn't discover her abilities until she turned 30 and her Grandma busted down her front door. Pirate, a Jack Russell terrier, is her totally useless but lots of fun-to-chat-with watchdog with all sorts of delusions and ambitions.
Dimitri Kallinikos is a Greek shapeshifting griffin who discovers he's not quite so full-blooded anymore. He's also Lizzie's protector even when Lizzie has to turn around and protect him. Max Devereux is a hunter. Half-demon, half-slayer with a unique way of taking down a succubus. He fits right in with this crew in that he just keeps pushing away at Lizzie, never giving her time to figure out what's happening. To be fair, he's thinking she actually has some training.
Grandma, a.k.a., Gertie, is a rad' Harley-ridin' biker chick and part of the Red Skulls coven of bikers including Ant Eater; Betty Two Sticks; Sidecar Bob who's trapped in a wheelchair and is bonding with Pirate; Scarlet; Spinebreaker, a.k.a., Jan Elkins, a.k.a., the Library Hag; Battina who specializes in acquiring the hard-to-find ingredients for spells; and, Crazy Frieda with an even crazier wardrobe — I'm still trying to figure out those pink, zippers-everywhere leather pants!
Uncle Phil Whirley is Lizzie's fairy godfather — literally — and Lizzie discovers he's been involved in every aspect of her life — a lot more than her adoptive parents! Skeeps! I want one! They're pulsing balls of light that will run errands and get you anything you need! Ezra is a bellhop ghost at their hotel while Joe is a long-dead engineer who still keeps an eye on the Hoover dam through its tunnels.
Senior Officer Reynolds seems to be in charge of the Greater Nevada Department of Intramagical Procedures (DIP) office. Thank god! If we had to wait for the Dragon Lady to pass Lizzie…we'd all be grilling our weenies in Hell. Although, he only seems good for introducing Lizzieto, in a roundabout way, Officer Sid Fuzzlebump, who is a fairy, grumblingly giving Lizzie aid.
Serena is the succubus who is seducing Uncle Phil into helping her with her "break open Hell" plan. And man, does she have a history!
The Cover and Title
The deep but bright purple cover is getting pretty rowdy for Lizzie. That girl is goin' to the hogs with her black leather miniskirt and zip-up fitted vest. She's straddling a motorcycle with Pirate perched behind and checking us out from under Lizzie's outstretched arm as she holds what looks like a mini, extremely elaborate pike.
The title is all about the book Lizzie plans to write. The 1936 copy the Las Vegas licensing bureau is handing out just doesn't cut it as The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers!
keberwick's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the book and felt that it was a great addition to the first book. I must say, when I read the first book, I wasn't as fond of Lizzie as I am now. Her preschool teacher ways have grown on me. She was an adorable, brave and admirable heroine. I would definitely recommend both books to whoever has spare time. They're entertaining and very funny (I usually don't like dogs, but Pirate is the most amazing creature ever), I loved the descriptions of everything and how detailed it was.
cheesygiraffe's review
4.0
Cute read. I really didn't know how she was going to pull it all off but she did it. And it's nice to have friends and loved ones to help out.
misswitch's review
4.0
I'm really enjoying this series. The first book was a bit rough, but this one I loved.
bookloverchelle's review
4.0
This was a great, fun, quick read for me. I picked this up in the wrong order, so even though it’s the second in the series it was the first I had read. I would recommend to new readers to go back and read the first in the series. There were a few points that I think I was a little unsure of that probably would have been cleared up if I started from the beginning. Other than that this was a great read. I loved our heroine, Lizzie. She was strong and quick thinking. Her talking dog, Pirate, was a hilarious addition to the cast of characters that provided laughs at just the right point. And don’t even get me started on Dimitri, Lizzie’s sexy shape-shifting griffin of a boyfriend. The sparks between these two were hot and their interactions were great. I loved reading about Lizzie’s growth as she tries to discover herself in a whole new world opened up to her. I would definitely pick up more by Angie Fox and hope to get my hands on the rest of the series sometime soon!
vikingwolf's review
2.0
Lizzie is a beginner demon slayer, still trying to work out what she is doing. Uncle Phil has been seduced by a succubus and is being used as part of a plan for world domination and only Lizzie, the biker witch gang and her griffin boyfriend Dimitri can save the world. Add in a cute talking Jack Russell and you have your plot.
The best thing about the book is the biker witches who don't get enough exposure. I'd rather have read more about them than Dimitri and his sex obsession when more important things are going on like 'we might die' and 'Uncle Phil is missing' and the fact that having sex drains his power...Well the biker witches were more interesting than all the time wasted on Dimitri's sex life.
Two stars is probably unduly harsh, 2.5 more appropriate or 6 out of 10. There was nothing really wrong with the book and I did finish it, but it was just missing that something to make me want to read the rest of the series. I didn't read book 1 but this didn't seem to matter much as we get a recap of the previous story and it didn't influence my opinion of the book. It is one of the better 'humour paranormal' books out there as believe me I've read some real trash. So not quite my type of book but this is worth a read if you like the genre.
The best thing about the book is the biker witches who don't get enough exposure. I'd rather have read more about them than Dimitri and his sex obsession when more important things are going on like 'we might die' and 'Uncle Phil is missing' and the fact that having sex drains his power...Well the biker witches were more interesting than all the time wasted on Dimitri's sex life.
Two stars is probably unduly harsh, 2.5 more appropriate or 6 out of 10. There was nothing really wrong with the book and I did finish it, but it was just missing that something to make me want to read the rest of the series. I didn't read book 1 but this didn't seem to matter much as we get a recap of the previous story and it didn't influence my opinion of the book. It is one of the better 'humour paranormal' books out there as believe me I've read some real trash. So not quite my type of book but this is worth a read if you like the genre.
blodeuedd's review
3.0
Must write a quickie since I should have written this one a week ago.
Plot:
Lizzy's uncle has been seduced by a succubus in Las Vegas and the gang set out to save him. But first she needs a demon slayer license and that will not be easy. And Dimitri sets out on his own. She has her hands full.
Characters:
Lizzy learned a whole lot of new tricks, Pirate was awesome, they found a new friend. Dimitri was rather elusive. The biker witches, oh they make this book. And the fairies were a nice touch to it.
Romance:
Not that much actually, but then when they finally get together it's wild.
Bad things:
I don't know really, perhaps too little Pirate in it, what can I say I just love him. Oh and more hunky boyfriend.
Good things:
I do like the biker witches, they are awesome.
Final thoughts:
It was cute and fun.
Plot:
Lizzy's uncle has been seduced by a succubus in Las Vegas and the gang set out to save him. But first she needs a demon slayer license and that will not be easy. And Dimitri sets out on his own. She has her hands full.
Characters:
Lizzy learned a whole lot of new tricks, Pirate was awesome, they found a new friend. Dimitri was rather elusive. The biker witches, oh they make this book. And the fairies were a nice touch to it.
Romance:
Not that much actually, but then when they finally get together it's wild.
Bad things:
I don't know really, perhaps too little Pirate in it, what can I say I just love him. Oh and more hunky boyfriend.
Good things:
I do like the biker witches, they are awesome.
Final thoughts:
It was cute and fun.