Melanie's Book Reviews

I liked this book and the story but slightly less than the first. It’s hard for me to pin point exactly why I couldn’t immerse myself in the story because as with book one, it did have its merits. Again the characters are good, we have already met Blade from book one so it was nice to get his story, he came across as a determined, driven man after being given a new lease of life by Airie -half demon/goddess from book one- and has embarked on a journey after being crippled for over a decade which brings him to the village of Goldrush….. and in this village he’s about to witness the burning of a demon spawn aka Raven, who has been accused of enthralling all of the men folk and in particular her stepfather Justice. We find out what really happens is that she had spurned his advances by stabbing him the leg and he’s none too pleased so decides to teach her a lesson. Raven is a good character too, I liked her from the start, she’s spirited, determined and not about to die for nothing so when we first meet her she’s a desperate woman looking for someone to help her and when the help isn’t forthcoming, decides to take her life into her own hands by getting free and making a run for it. We know from the beginning that she is spawn, Raven’s mother had confessed to her husband so it becomes clear that a witch hunt will occur because Justice is not the type of man to be bested by a woman, he wants to break her and enslave her. Watching the events unfold is Blade and for some reason, he decides to help Raven even though she is spawn, seeing someone who is in similar circumstances that he was in and needing to help. So as they head off into the world in search of Raven’s friend & protector Creed at the assassins training ground, little do they know but Justice is heading to exactly the same place in search of her, knowing she would run to Creed. As Justice concocts his plans to use the Assassins to recapture Raven, she is mastering her demon, her demon father & Blade but we all know where it’s headed, to the final showdown…. Lets hope Raven & Blade are ready! The storyline was a good continuation, the world was easier to grasp this time around and we find out what happened to the demons following their run in with Airie & consequent banishing from the mortal world and because of that, the spawn are awakening…. And they’re not all good! I really enjoyed the beginning of this, I liked the ‘wicked’ step father angle and the escape but that turned into a LOT of travel and I got bored quite a lot. Things would get a bit more exciting as we discover more about Raven and what she can do, how her demon father is trying to worm his way back into the mortal world etc. but then back to the travelling again. I liked the relationship between Blade & Raven, it had its moments but I wanted more, more heat too because I couldn’t ‘feel’it, it was just happening. I liked all of the events regarding the assassins, Justice’s manipulations, Creed’s faith and I loved seeing the opposite side of the demon spawn situation… there are bad ones aswell as good and it’s surprising what some have done or will do. So, whilst I did like most of the story it still fell flat for me, the pacing was too slow and again, the setting bored me and whilst I did like most aspects those just couldn’t keep me totally involved in the book which is a shame, maybe if it was a more modern, current world scenario then I would have liked it better.