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rlbooks8 's review for:
The Demon of the Wood
by Willow Quinn
3.5 stars
My enjoyment of this book was a bit complicated and parts that didn't work for me were very much personal preferences. I thought the world building was interesting and the author had a good storytelling voice. Both main characters are so sweet and kind, but both have experienced abuse and unnecessarily harsh judgement by others. Melina (h) is basically a servant in her uncle's house and prevented from any enjoyment or connections because she was born out of wedlock. Kaemon (H) is a demon who lives in the woods after escaping torture by Hunters, who he was captured by when his family was attacked on a diplomatic visit and possibly killed. He blames himself for what happened and spends a lonely existence mainly in the woods. Kaemon rescues Melina one night when she is being assaulted by other villagers, bringing her home with him. They form a friendship and eventually fall in love. Written in third person, dual POV. No ow/om drama (the man who attempts to assault h does cause trouble but I didn’t think of it as om drama), h is a virgin, and H is not (little detail given for his history but no serious relationships).
Melina had great character growth from being subservient and having low self-esteem to really coming into her own, mostly thanks to Kaemon's encouragement and support. Kaemon had less growth in my opinion because he spent so much of the book blaming himself for what happened to his family, it was repeated too often imo. Melina and Kaemon also skirt around their attraction and deeper feelings for each other for most of the story (this is a slow burn) because both are afraid of crossing that line. Kaemon feels a mate bond forming but doesn't address it until forced to later. He also pushed Melina to live elsewhere for her "safety" following an incident. So while this story has lots of cozy elements and slice of life moments of them in the woods in a cabin, there are also heavier themes and there is a separation for the main characters where they see each other, but they're not together. This really bothered me for how long it lasts.
There are steamy moments in the book, demons go into something called a frenzy when around their fertile mate, and plenty of very cute and romantic scenes as well. I did wish there was a bit more lighter and humorous times, but that's a personal preference. I really liked the side characters, who typically provided that lightness. Kaemon has a like/hate friendship with a satyr in the woods and then a deeper friendship with two orcs in a nearby town, who all become friends for Melina as well. I also really liked another character who appeared later in the book who was feisty. Writing style wise, I do think this read slower in places and sometimes it felt almost too formal, but I think this is the author's debut so I imagine the writing style will grow and change with more published.
The story ends on a HFN that I think is meant to be more a HEA because I can't see the two of them being with anyone else, but I wanted more closure in this book for their epilogue. Specifically around where they were going to live and what their life would look like longterm. I think Melina and Kaemon will be side characters possibly in the next book in the series, but there was talk of them traveling to the continent that Kaemon was from and we don't get to see that or how it would affect their life.
Trigger warnings (also on the author's website): torture, violence, attempted sexual assault, talk of infertility
My enjoyment of this book was a bit complicated and parts that didn't work for me were very much personal preferences. I thought the world building was interesting and the author had a good storytelling voice. Both main characters are so sweet and kind, but both have experienced abuse and unnecessarily harsh judgement by others. Melina (h) is basically a servant in her uncle's house and prevented from any enjoyment or connections because she was born out of wedlock. Kaemon (H) is a demon who lives in the woods after escaping torture by Hunters, who he was captured by when his family was attacked on a diplomatic visit and possibly killed. He blames himself for what happened and spends a lonely existence mainly in the woods. Kaemon rescues Melina one night when she is being assaulted by other villagers, bringing her home with him. They form a friendship and eventually fall in love. Written in third person, dual POV. No ow/om drama (the man who attempts to assault h does cause trouble but I didn’t think of it as om drama), h is a virgin, and H is not (little detail given for his history but no serious relationships).
Melina had great character growth from being subservient and having low self-esteem to really coming into her own, mostly thanks to Kaemon's encouragement and support. Kaemon had less growth in my opinion because he spent so much of the book blaming himself for what happened to his family, it was repeated too often imo. Melina and Kaemon also skirt around their attraction and deeper feelings for each other for most of the story (this is a slow burn) because both are afraid of crossing that line. Kaemon feels a mate bond forming but doesn't address it until forced to later. He also pushed Melina to live elsewhere for her "safety" following an incident. So while this story has lots of cozy elements and slice of life moments of them in the woods in a cabin, there are also heavier themes and there is a separation for the main characters where they see each other, but they're not together. This really bothered me for how long it lasts.
There are steamy moments in the book, demons go into something called a frenzy when around their fertile mate, and plenty of very cute and romantic scenes as well. I did wish there was a bit more lighter and humorous times, but that's a personal preference. I really liked the side characters, who typically provided that lightness. Kaemon has a like/hate friendship with a satyr in the woods and then a deeper friendship with two orcs in a nearby town, who all become friends for Melina as well. I also really liked another character who appeared later in the book who was feisty. Writing style wise, I do think this read slower in places and sometimes it felt almost too formal, but I think this is the author's debut so I imagine the writing style will grow and change with more published.
The story ends on a HFN that I think is meant to be more a HEA because I can't see the two of them being with anyone else, but I wanted more closure in this book for their epilogue. Specifically around where they were going to live and what their life would look like longterm. I think Melina and Kaemon will be side characters possibly in the next book in the series, but there was talk of them traveling to the continent that Kaemon was from and we don't get to see that or how it would affect their life.
Trigger warnings (also on the author's website): torture, violence, attempted sexual assault, talk of infertility