Demon Road by Derek Landy

Series: Demon Road
Author: Derek Landy
Page Count: 507
Published: August 28, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
  4.5 Stars ★★★★

Amber's parents are a little weird, and she isn't very close with them. One night, she discovers why: they're demons, and they are going to, quite literally, eat her. They made a deal with a demon years ago, and part of the deal includes blood tributes, which involves slaughtering their young. Amber barely escapes.


Her life has changed forever. Amber can now shift into demon form, she's on the road with a man she doesn't know at all, and her parents and their friends are searching for her. A cat and mouse chase across the United States puts Amber's life on the line, unless she can make a deal with a demon, too. But things can't be so simple for a demon girl with psycho parents, can they?


So this book was literally almost perfect. I read the first hundred pages in one day, and then I binge-read the rest of the book the next day. I could not stop reading!


Derek Landy returns with his humorous yet dark writing style, perfectly balancing funny moments with terrifying ones. I was really pleased to find the writing similar to that from his Skulduggery Pleasant series! He has such a unique writing style, and it made the book an easy, gripping read.


His characters were fascinating, as usual. Amber herself is relatable, with her body image issues, her attachment to her family despite their demonic mission, and the discoveries that she makes about herself. Amber's parents were despicable villains who I hated, yet loved to read about. Amber's companions on her journey brought mystery and humor to the story, with me wondering about their backgrounds and hoping that they'd survive the ordeal.


A lot happened in this book. While there was the main issue, Amber trying to escape her parents, there were smaller conflicts within the plot that made the book even more exciting. Amber and her companions have to fight a tiny serial killer and a town of vampires, all while dealing with the bigger issues. Despite this, the book never seemed to sway off course.


My only issue was the way that Amber seemed to accept things a little too quickly. Maybe it's just me, but I'd probably lose my mind a lot more than she did upon looking in a mirror and seeing that I've transformed into a demon.


I absolutely recommend this, especially to fans of paranormal books with no to little romance. If you're interested in a book that's both funny and dark, Derek Landy's books are a great pick.


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Thirst No.1 by Christopher Pike

Series: The Last Vampire
Author: Christopher Pike
Page Count: 594
Published: August 7th, 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse
  4 Stars ★★★★

In this bind-up, readers get the first three books of Christopher Pike's series, The Last Vampire. This series features a five thousand year old vampire named Sita, or "Alisa", living in the modern world. The first book starts with Alisa discovering that somebody is investigating her, and after she promises a dying man to look after his son, she meets Ray. Alisa is drawn to Ray, but there is more at stake than friendship and love. Her life may be in danger, along with the lives of those around her.

As with many of the books I own, I found this at a thrift shop. I'd enjoyed Christopher Pike's Remember Me, so I could not resist buying myself a copy of Thirst. After reading six of his books - three in the Remember Me bind-up and now another three in this one - I have come to the conclusion that Pike's stories are addictive. 

While his writing style isn't the best writing that I have ever come across, once I start reading it, I find it hard to stop. This was true for Thirst, as I gave the first book only three stars, but the next two went up to four stars. His writing got better and better as I went along. 

The main character, Sita, or "Alisa", was absolutely captivating. Written in first person, the reader gets to hear all of her thoughts, memories, and fears, and I think that the author did a marvelous job of putting me in the head of a five thousand year old vampire! She was extremely intelligent, with a nice mix of ruthlessness and compassion mixed in. She was truly a bloodthirsty vampire, though she held on to pieces of her humanity. There was nothing boring about the main character.

The origin of the vampires in this book was very unique from what I've read in other novels. There is an interesting mix of Indian mythology and religion in Sita's past, and it made for a very memorable read! This was a nice change from the usual vampire myths and legends.

The characters around her, from other vampires, to the humans she gets to know, were interesting as well and all played important roles in her story. My only issue is that sometimes, the author wrote the characters' dialogue too much like Sita's. For example, some of the main teenage characters spoke like our five thousand year old protagonist at times, which got on my nerves. This did get better as the books progressed.

The books were very short, and it took me very little time to get through them. While it was nice to have some short reads after getting through some longer books, I think that the books could have been a little longer. Some things happened too fast, particularly this sort of insta-love with Ray. While I don't always mind this instant love or attraction, the author didn't do a great job of writing it so it got on my nerves. Their romance didn't seem that believable. Other situations could have been a bit more drawn out as well, this would have added more tension and suspense to the stories!

Overall, I enjoyed this and I'm glad I picked it up. I'll definitely be continuing the series, and I hope to read more books by Christopher Pike in the future. 

I recommend this book to readers looking for unique vampire stories. If you're interested in a bind-up containing short novels with a very interesting main character, this book is for you.

Find Thirst No.1 on Goodreads

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

Series: The Demon Trappers
Author: Jana Oliver
Page Count: 355
Published: February 1st, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
  4 Stars ★★★★ 

Riley Blackthorne is training to become a professional demon trapper, just like her father. The job can be dangerous, and it soon becomes even more dangerous when the demons start to take an interest in her over the other demon trappers. She doesn't know why, and neither does anyone else, but she knows that she has her father to count on. That is, until tragedy strikes. 

Now Riley has to make ends meet her own way, taking dangerous risks, both possibly costing her her life or her heart. As discoveries come to light, she doesn't know who she can trust. 

First, I have to mention that I love the demons that the author included in this world. I was expecting sexy monsters and a paranormal love triangle, but that wasn't what I got at all. Instead, I got scary demons with seriously evil plans, along with a few smaller, harmless ones. I could only imagine the fear that Riley felt living in this world, where demons could wreak havoc in libraries, malls, schools, and in addition, having to be the one to trap them. 

Aside from the great take on the demonic side, the romantic aspects were also well done. There were hints of a love triangle, but nothing concrete, although I do suspect that this will change in the next book. Simon, Riley's eventual boyfriend, was extremely sweet and I could understand why she would want to be with him. Besides the romantic aspects, her relationship with her friends, Beck and Peter got complicated at times, which was also interesting. She seems to have a love-hate relationship with Beck, one moment they were arguing, the next she was thankful to have him in her life. As for Peter, he was a loyal friend who cared a lot about her, and worried about her too. I thought that they were great characters to have within the book, and although they weren't main characters in the sense that Riley was, I think they were definitely fleshed out enough to seem as real as she did.

I've read many books where those in paranormal situations are rich or at least well off. When things get tough for Riley, she has to support herself in a horrible economy and a world plagued by demons, which is completely opposite what I'm used to. I liked this because it merges real life issues, like young people dealing with stress and low income, with fictional ones, such as demon trapping. I love when books do this because it gives me more to focus on, more problems that the characters have to face, and it makes the whole situation all the more believable. Jana Oliver succeeded in this book!

My only issue with this was the explanation, or lack thereof, of the world that Riley lived in. It seems like some kind of alternative world where people are just used to having demons around....there wasn't much explanation as to how the demon issue became so bad, or even came to be in the first place. If this world had been dealing with demons forever, the author still could have added a mention of some sort to convey this to the reader, but I feel like this wasn't effectively explained and I still find myself unsure as to whether there was some kind of event concerning the demons or if it is just a natural part of this world. 

Overall this was a very enjoyable novel with an interesting take on demons and great characters. While the world-building had something missing, mixing up real life problems with paranormal problems made Riley's situation seem all the more believable. 

I recommend this book to YA readers interesting in books about trapping or hunting paranormal creatures. If you want a book with great writing, interesting characters, and demons, this book is for you.

Find The Demon Trapper's Daughter on Goodreads

Something by Shelby Lamb

 

Series: Wisteria

Author: Shelby Lamb

Page Count: 304
Published: March 7th, 2017

Publisher: Grunge Bookz

  4 Stars ★★★★

 I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Aubrey is what many would consider 'damaged': she's obsessed with her ex-boyfriend, she's depressed, self harms, and deals with a lot of other issues. However, things start to get worse for her when she picks up a book titled 'Something'. As she shares passages from the book with others, strange occurrences take place and those around her start questioning their sanity. 

This book explored some of the real-life issues people might face, with some paranormal creepiness thrown in. It was a great combination and it worked very well! While written in third person, the author told the story of the chaos that ensues after reading passages from the mysterious book 'Something' from the perspectives of multiple characters, including the depressed Aubrey, teen mom Kendra, ex-boyfriend Nathan and aspiring porn star Bella. 

I wasn't too sure what to expect, considering how unique the idea seemed to me. I have never read anything like this book before, and I'm sure I won't read anything similar for a long time. Including real-life issues alongside paranormal ones is something I really like in a book and this one delivered on this for sure. 

I liked reading about the different characters and their personal situations. I can't say that I actually liked all of the characters, but their problems were intriguing and sometimes heart-breaking. Aubrey's self-esteem, self harm and related issues were realistic to me, in that they're something that I see a lot in real life as well, and I thought that this made the book more believable. Bella's hopes and dreams to become an adult entertainer seemed to make her determined and despite her mean-girl streak, I found myself cheering her on and hoping that she'd achieve her goals! Kendra appeared to be quite sweet and I think that she tried looking on the bright side of things even though she was dealing with motherhood at such a young age. As for Nathan, I felt some sympathy for him, having to deal with Aubrey's obsessive behavior. 

The paranormal aspect was enjoyable and mysterious. I often wondered if maybe the characters were slipping into madness, and that there wasn't really anything other-worldy going on at all. I must admit that at some times I found myself a bit confused because I wasn't really sure what was going on, some situations were a bit unclear to me. 

Another issue was the grammar, there were enough changes in word tense and spelling errors that at times it felt a bit disruptive. Because this is an ARC, I'm hoping that the book will be edited again before its actual release to fix these mistakes, however I can't ignore the way that these mistakes disrupted my reading experience, because it affected my enjoyment of the story.

In conclusion, I can say that this book was really, well, something. I want to know what happens next and I will probably read the next book when it comes out. If you like new adult paranormal mysteries, you might enjoy this. Readers who like books that mix real life issues with other-worldy intrigue will like this novel as well. 

Find Something on Goodreads

The Creatures of the Night

I saw this tag at The Book Goddess and thought I'd give it a shot, it seems interesting and I love paranormal books.

1. Vampires

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber, The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine, Evernight by Claudia Gray and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer are 4 series which I very much enjoy, I love the unique takes on the vampire myths and legends. Night World by L.J Smith is also a great series which includes vampires, but I'm not listing it under any specific category because it equally includes and focuses on everything from vampires to shape shifters to witches, so it appears to fall in a category of its own, in my opinion. 

2. Werewolves

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is the book which first got me interested in werewolf stories. Twilight also qualifies for this category.  

#3. Zombies and #4. Super-powered Human

I haven't read many zombie books or books centering on people with superpowers, but the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy covers both of these categories perfectly. 

#5. Ghosts 

I really enjoyed the book Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. I found that it brought a new twist to the monster / ghost hunting theme. Absolution by Gail Gallant was also an enjoyable ghost read.

#6. Witch/Warlock/Spellcaster

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl explores the idea of magical beings in a unique way. Straying from the 'paranormal boy, human girl' trend, it was bound to be a hit. The Sweep series by Cate Tiernan also includes magic and witches, however it takes a religious, Wiccan approach, mixing reality and fantasy.  Skulduggery Pleasant also qualifies for this category.

#7. Fairy/Fae

Two of my favourite fairy/fae series' includes the Faeriewalker series by Jenna Black and the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. Both take unique approaches to the world of the fae and both are equally mesmerizing and unforgettable. 

#8. Demons

I don't think I've read a book which focuses primarily on demons, but the Halo trilogy by Alexandra Adornetto contains some great demon characters, especially in book two, Hades. 

#9. Angels

While Halo also qualifies for this one, the Fallen series by Lauren Kate and Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick were the two series which introduced me to angel fiction, and, along with Twilight, to paranormal romance in general.

#10. Aliens

The only alien book I have ever read is Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout. I have a few on my to-read list, but as of now, this is the only one I have actually read.  

I hope you all enjoyed this tag! It was very fun to complete. If you make your own post based on this tag, please leave a link in the comment section.