Reviews

The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas

litsleaze's review against another edition

2.0

Book was just alright. I found myself skipping over the description of the imagery a ot because it was redundant. None of the characters stuck with me. The story had a lot of potential.

madiemayhem's review against another edition

4.0

So very interesting. Very odd concept but not bad. Felt like it could have been flesh out more. Chapters could have been longer with more character development. Some parts inconstant but more in the beginning didn't noticed it near the end. Near the end I couldn't put it down either, wanted to know how it ended.

siavahda's review against another edition

2.0

I loved the concept a lot more than I did the execution, so I'm not sure how much of my 'meh' is actually reflective of the book's quality rather than my disappointment that it wasn't what I'd hoped for. To me it read as shallow and choppy, poking at half a dozen different Issues without giving any of them the depth and development they deserved, with a very jerky plot that was just too predictable to be very interesting. A lot of the 'twists' happened very abruptly, jumping from problem to resolution (or mystery to reveal) with nothing in-between - I knew each one was coming, but only because of course it was, rather than because the story built to each one organically. Very little made any kind of sense (I still don't understand whether the Paradise Society was resurging or not, or what it meant if they were. They didn't do anything??? It was like they were just there to be a vaguely scary prescence waaay back in the background. Way back. So far back they're basically invisible.) and the answers we did get came at the very last minute, told instead of shown.

And a lot went unanswered entirely. If demons are afraid of God does that mean He exists? Are demons evil or not? Where do they come from? Demons fuel magic somehow? But other people do magic without demons? The Wish Man is unkillable except for how he isn't? How did Kevin know the symbols and how does that help anyone decode them? What was up with Clea? Something about the town draws the occult, but Wish House can be anywhere? So what makes this town special?

Okay, no, I'm docking another star, because I finished this just a few minutes ago and the more I think about it the more it annoys me. There was so much that was Needlessly Mysterious or B-movie horror-esque (Mathis removing her glasses: of course she has a dead blind eye behind them. Of course she does. Because this is That Kind Of Story.) or just randomly handwaved. It's very quick and easy to read, but only because there's no real substance to it.

It's depressing to consider how great this could have been versus what we got instead.

freyagee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.5

withthebanned's review against another edition

4.0

Well, this was a very good book. The Good Demon is a tale about a girl and the demon that was taken from her. She’s willing to do anything to get Her back and this is the story of how she does just that. Dark, but not horrific, The Good Demon is one of the most unique novels I’ve ever read. It takes you down twisting paths and makes you look deep inside yourself. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.

vklover's review against another edition

4.0

I think this was a pretty solid book. I was a bit disappointed with the ending, but not mad. Not everything can be happy ya know? Some things felt unexplained. Overall though, I think it was a good read.

katelynmr's review against another edition

4.0

The whole wanting her demon back made be very uncomfortable, especially the climax scene. That was hard to read.

capellini's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

cadeunderbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

11.8.23

sci_mom's review against another edition

2.0

2.5 stars - I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. I was intrigued by the concept for this story when I first read the synopsis. It is a clever and creative idea and I had high hopes for the finished product. While I wasn't totally disappointed, the story didn't quite live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, it is well-written and there is sufficient character development...all of the functional stuff is there. For me, the bigger issue is that it lacked a real hook, a reason to go on reading, and there wasn't enough tension to keep me invested. I knew where it was going almost immediately and the horror part of the story, where the author could have upped the ante and made it super scary, faded away before it was even given a chance to develop. I mean, you have this whole secret society and they should be doing everything in their power to stop Clare, but, other than putting feathers above their doors, they do nothing? They don't chase her, they don't try to stop her, they don't threaten her family...nothing. So much potential there and it was completely dropped. Overall, great idea, good writing, sub-par storytelling.