Author: Jory Strong
Genre: Urban fantasy, paranormal, romance
Source: Borrowed from Pat as part of her new Borrow My Books Tour ~ Part 1
I have been on the look out for this book for a while now. The plot line just intrigued me. (From the author's website) In a post-Apocalyptic world where supernaturals have emerged from hiding, wealthy humans delight in decadence while the religious gain power through temptation. For the masses, fear reigns from birth to death, and the afterlife holds beings that only the bravest can summon—or dare to desire…
In other words...not only are we dealing with a post-apocolyptic society and all the foibles therein, but we now have a large gaping whole between the classes, and all those paranormal things we've been afraid of turn out to be true. Awesome! That is why I was looking forward to this book.......well that and the cover. OHmygoshdidyouseethecover!?! Pure, beautiful awesomeness.
What I liked:
1. The main character, Aisling, is a brave, strong girl who is doing her best to get through the situations she's been put in, save lives, and save her family. She adjusts easily to new situations, but for the most part doesn't let them overtake her. That being said she's willing to dive head first into any problem.
2. The male lead, Zurael, is a demon. I like him because he walks a strange line between being the alpha male and being completely taken with her.
3. The ferret! More leading ladies need a magical pet/friend of some kind and it is wholly appropriate for Aisling's to be a ferret.....this time.
4. Seriously hot sex scenes. I wasn't expecting these. I don't know why, but I just wasn't. Yes, in some cases they were a bit gratuitous, but they didn't interrupt the flow of the story. Actually, I'd be willing to say they added to it by further backing up the growing relationship between Aisling and Zurael. Oh and btw....hot!
What I didn't like:
1. The whole story/mystery part gets wrapped up to neatly and too quickly at the end. There was a lot of build up, a lot of obstacles to overcome, and then *poof* things just get wrapped up. It's a bit hard to believe even when all the tangles are clearly undone.
2. Gratuitous sex scenes. There were only a couple of times where I felt that the characters were edging towards this. Specifically with Zurael. Demon boy can't keep it in his pants. It appears that when he's apart from Aisling (as in worlds away) he's fine and capable of thoughts, but anywhere near her (i.e. her world) he's a raging ball of D/s hard-ons. I won't go into a lot of detail, but it did get a bit tiring to hear about him wanting to bend her over the counter again and again and again.
Overall, I'm still extremely happy that I had the chance to read this book. I loved it. Devoured it. I'm currently adding Ms. Strong's other books to my TBR list.
