Delaney Murphy has always known she's the Devil’s daughter. And although the title itself is a burden, she never expects to inherit all her father's infernal abilities. When her newfound magic begins to poison the people closest to her, Laney must make a choice. To protect the world from the worst she can do, she leaves everyone she loves behind and builds a new life for herself, alone, in a place where she can control the urge to give in to the magic living within her.
I received this book as an ARC from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When I saw this listing on NetGalley, I immediately wanted to read it. I'll often select a new book based on a combination review of both the cover and the story synopsis. This time, the cover drew me in before I had even read the synopsis. I'm generally a sucker for anything blue, and this was no exception. The combination of the hazy, almost gloomy, blue background and the super strong female central figure intrigued me. The defiant, "crazy-eyed" expression on her face just added fuel to the fire. Upon reviewing the synopsis, I figured that this story was completely in my wheel-house. Serial Killer + Demons = Awesome. Right? Well, mostly.
As soon as I started reading, I knew that something was off. Focusing on the story was difficult. I had tons of questions that just kept popping up, and none were getting answered by the text. The development of all ancillary characters was super slow while the main character, Delaney, blazed along at a speed that left too much to the imagination. One of my biggest issues was the timeline… or lack thereof. Thirteen chapters in and I was still wondering how much time had elapsed since Delaney lived in Hell. While this may not seem like something to derail a story; without it, I was in limbo. Not only could I not place when the story was happening; but I also couldn't assign an age value to Delaney. Many of the settings and situations she finds herself in depend on this type of classification, so I feel like that was definitely a "ball drop".
So, here I am at the end of this book and I am at a bit of a loss. It could have been so much more. The author is very skilled at painting romantic and steamy scenes, but her action sequences need some more growth and development. Also, the story has great bones but needs quite a bit more fleshing out. I want to find out what happens to Laney next, but I'm apprehensive that the next installation will only be an outline as well. I've decided to keep an eye on the author as this is both her first offering and the first installation in a series. For those looking for a quick light read, I'd recommend this book. However, for all my true fantasy buffs I'd say pass until this series is a bit more… meaty.
Last word: I LOVE Moose. He's my absolute favorite, and I laughed at many of his interactions.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be respectful when commenting. Comments containing foul language will be removed. Thanks :)