Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Review: The Demon Trapper's Daughter, by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter
by Jana Oliver

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: February 01, 2011 (US)
Series: The Demon Trappers
Genre: YA, Urban Fantasy
Pages: Paperback, 340
Source: LibraryThing, Publisher
Rating: 5/5 (Avg 4/5)
Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…

Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.

But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?

I'll go ahead and say that the first of the book was a little disheartening for me. If you're a Daddy's Girl to the hundredth power like I am, then when you read this.. you'll understand. Once I got over that part, the book literally flew by for me. There was so much going on through the book that I found myself flipping through as hurriedly as I could, trying to figure out what would happen next. I don't talk about this much in my reviews, but the setting couldn't have been more perfect for the book. It's the year 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. I think the setting worked because I'm actually familiar with the place, so it was easy to picture the scenery.

Riley was a good, strong female lead. I loved that she could kick ass, yet she wasn't perfect - she made mistakes, but her tenacity kept her going. Beck... confuses me. I actually really like his character and the fact that he's a pretty strong character himself. He still remains a little too mysterious for me, I feel as though I don't know him that well. I think there's a little too many hot guy characters that seem to be vying for Riley's attention, but it's playing out fairly smoothly so far. Oddly enough, I'm not so much of a fan of the one that Riley has chosen presently... even though he is a sweet character. He just seems more like the friend type rather than boyfriend material.

Despite over 300 pages, it seems like this book only scratched the surface of what's to come in the series. Don't let that discourage you though, this one has plenty of action and story that will keep you reeling until the next in the series comes out. The ending is strong and makes a good lead for the next book to start up. Overall, this was definitely an enjoyable urban fantasy book that older adults will like just as much as young adults.


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5 comments:

Savannah said...

I loved this book. Poor girl went through everything. The plot rock. Nice review!

Anedia said...

I just finished this yesterday! Great review :)

Misha said...

The book sounds exciting! I haven't read a lot of urban fantasy, but I would like to read The Demon Trapper's Daughter. Thanks for the review!

Anonymous said...

I need to read these! They are on my TBR list, but I'm thinking I should read them sooner rather than later :)

PS - Awesome blog!

Midnight Bloom said...

I'm so glad to see you enjoyed The Demon Trapper's Daughter... I still have it on my bookshelf waiting to be read one day... :)

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