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.


Find Demon Road on Goodreads

The Dying of the Light by Derek Landy

 

 Series: Skulduggery Pleasant
Author: Derek Landy
Page Count: 605
Published: August 28th, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
  5 Stars ★★★★★ 

Darquesse is on the loose and is planning to end the world. Skulduggery is working to find her and stop her before it's too late. With his friends and colleagues, he searches for Darquesse with hopes to save Valkyrie as well, and to separate her from the evil that has taken over her. 

Will they find Darquesse in time? Will Skulduggery be able to save Valkyrie along with the world? Or will the world end, everybody dying with it?

I can't really talk about my feelings about this book, the ninth book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series, without talking about what I think about the series itself as a whole, and all of the other books within it. Every book moves the greater story-line a bit further along, with unique and exciting situations arising within each one. I think this combination of having different issues within each book along with a progression towards the concluding events of the series itself really makes this book special. 

What else makes this book, and series, special? Everything. Literally everything. The characters are amazing! Everything from their names to their backgrounds to their powers makes for an extremely entertaining read. This is the only series where I've found characters with epic names such as Valkyrie Cain, Ghastly Bespoke, Anton Shudder, and of course, Skulduggery Pleasant. There are evil characters, good characters, and lots of characters who fall somewhere in between. Some are serious, some are silly, and some find the perfect balance between humorous and solemn. I have liked every single character within this series, including every villain, because they are all just so interesting and entertaining!

Of course there are the personal relationships that form between these characters as well. There are business or work relationships, such as Valkyrie and Skulduggery's arrangement with the Sanctuary. Then there are friendships, such as the one that forms between Valkyrie and Skulduggery, Tanith and Valkyrie, and existing friendships such as that between Ghastly and Skulduggery. This series focuses a lot more on friendship than on romance, and as a reader I got to care about the characters in the same way that they cared about each other. This made me shed tears at times, for example times when Valkyrie thought she lost Skulduggery forever, or when various other characters found themselves in unfortunate circumstances. 

Considering this book in specific, I had put off reading it because until recently, everybody thought that it was the last book in this series. As a serious, long-time fan of this series, I really didn't want it to end. Then, Derek Landy announced that he'd be writing another book, and possibly more after that, so I finally picked this one up and read it. 

As usual with the other novels in the series, I was completely blown away. I cannot wait for the tenth book, and I really hope the author writes even more novels featuring Skulduggery and Valkyrie when he is finished that one. 

I think that everyone who loves stories about magic should read this book! If you like books with elements of horror and humor, including some emotional elements and amazing characters, this series is definitely for you. 

Find The Dying of the Light on Goodreads

The Book Fangirling Blog Award

So I have been nominated for The Book Fangirling Blog Award at The Reading Armchair! (An awesome blog...you should check it out!)

The rules:

- Create a post to accept your award. 

- Add the blog award button into your post and put it on the side of your blog as a widget. 

- Answer the questions I have above.

- Nominate between 5-10 book bloggers who you think also deserve this award. 

- Come up with your own 5 questions for your nominees.

- Link me to your post so I can see your answers.

aeriko001's questions:

1) How did you come up with the name of your blog? 

I came up with this name very easily, back when I was only blogging on tumblr (this blog was originally going to just be a tumblr blog, then I discovered google+). The name just popped into my head as I was looking at other book blogs. Literally, I didn't even have to think about it. I wondered about this name for a while, if this was really the best name for my blog.....then I decided that it reflected the theme of my blog well enough and that it could be taken as a bit snarky or dramatic too (a twist on the often dramatically muttered phrase,  "for the love of god"). Then, it was final! 

2) Do you really like a book that everybody else hates?

There have been a few instances where I have enjoyed a book which either had extreme hate alongside extreme fans, or that my friends simply didn't enjoy like I did. 

Fifty Shades of Grey would be an example of instance number one.  I quite enjoyed it (and the film as well) and there are many who absolutely hate it. I was even harassed and bullied on tumblr for a while because I like it! 

Twilight is another, less intense version of my experiences with Fifty Shades of Grey. I love Twilight, both the book and the movie, but I constantly see the series being bashed, especially online. ( I even wrote an article for school about it).

The last book I can think of is on a smaller scale. Nevermore (by Kelly Creagh) is one of my favourite books and I recommended it to a friend. While I absolutely fangirl over it (I've read it 5 times...) she absolutely hated it. 

3) For which author you're a complete fangirl?

Derek Landy, author of the Skulduggery Pleasant series for sure, also Kelly Creagh, the author of the Nevermore trilogy. I fangirl over lots of authors but these two are by far the ones I go the craziest over. 

4) Which book you can't wait to be published?

Oblivion by Kelly Creagh, the last book in the Nevermore trilogy. Also, Derek Landy's new book Demon Road looks AMAZING! 

5) Which book would you reread any time?

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh and the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy are books which I have, and would, continue to reread.  

My Nominees:

AJ @ ClairBooks

Sugar and Snark @  Sugar & Snark

Fiona @ A Girl Between The Pages 

Becky @ Book Bite Reviews 

Brett @ Demons Read Too 

My questions to my nominees....

1)  How many printed books do you own?

2) Which book do you have a love-hate relationship with?

3) What is the strangest/most unique book you have ever read, and why?

4) What is your favourite book genre?

5) What is the longest book you have ever read, and how many pages was it?