For someone who has trust issues and is presented as a bright and with-it woman, Dante Valentine is a poster child for women who pick the wrong men. Demon lovers? Deals with the Devil? What is she thinking? She has trust issues, but so would I if my lover was a demon.
While the action is fast paced, the weaponry is fierce, and the monsters are kind of cool, this book left me wondering why I should care about a woman who whines at her demon Japh, "'Just give me a minute, okay, and tell me why. That's all I'm asking. That's reasonable, Japhrimel. It really is. Just fucking tell me. I need to know.'" As though demons are ruled by rational thought.
And then I realized that in the end that my expectations were wrong. I approached this as a horror fantasy novel, but it's not. This is a romance novel, plain and simple. A little rougher around the edges — with magic, demons, and imps abounding — than your typical Harlequin selection, but generally the same. Girl falls in love with tall dark stranger, gives up humanity, makes deals with the devil, and still worries about whether she's being lied to and when he's coming home. I expect more from my bounty hunter protagonists!
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
Interesting review. It's funny how some genres blur the lines so easily. Thanks!