A review by sci_mom
The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas

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.