The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Definitely an interesting take on Angels and Demons.



I'd say that this book is pretty complex and refreshing. Oliver really did well in the world-building department. It's 2018 and the world is all going to hell. Literally. It seems that there are so many little details, I'm surprised that she got all of them in there. Or at least, so many of them.



It's hard to go back and recall each and every thing that I liked about this one. There were a lot of good points. Riley's a tough character and I really loved that she could hold her own in a fight, but at the same time be a totally normal girl. She was very grown up also, which was refreshing. She had to deal with so much loss and at the same time had to worry about bills. Beck is also one of my favorites now. He was very complex and I feel like there's so much more we have to learn from him. I'm interested to see how things develop between him and Riley. They're more like family right now, but I have a feeling that's going to change.



The only few things that I disliked about this book were the pace, the easy fix ups, and the small stereotypes. The pacing seemed a bit off. It was slow in parts that should have been more meaningul, but left you wondering when you moved on. And then when action DID hit, it would all be over in a flash. The final battle was so fixed and quickly done, I'm not quite sure what happened or why. It really annoyed me that one moment Riley's in this life or death battle with a freaking Geo-fiend and the next she's all safe in the cemetery. I mean... what. just. happened? And the stereotypical way that the demons looked was a little annoying. Big furry monsters, not very intelligent, horns, claws, red eyes, fire, etc. I didn't see a lot of originality there.



Over all, I really liked this book. I thought it was an interesting new take on the angels and demons genre that seems so popular lately. I will read the next book simply for the characters that I enjoyed so much, but I hope that some of these pacing issues and short conflicts will be better in the next go-around. On to the next one, folks!



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Captive by Lisa Kumar

Captive by Lisa Kumar

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What can I say?



This is not my usual cup of tea. For one, it's a short story. Secondly, it's an adult fantasy romance. For three, it's about elves.



And it's very, very good. I'd take a refill of this new tea, please!



I would like to add that this is definitely an adult short story and probably wouldn't recommend it for young readers. However, once said readers are of a more mature age, I would definitely advise giving CAPTIVE a shot.



I like to think that I know Ms. Kumar fairly well. She's in my group Goodwriters for Goodreads and has always been kind, VERY creative, and from what I've read thus far and CAPTIVE has proved quite tremendously, a tremendous writer. I absolutely loved her use of vocabulary in this short story. Her use of description was also just lovely. I have no doubt in my mind as to her ability to control language.



As for the characters, I thought they were also very well written. Emma was a well-rounded woman held captive by an arrogant, yet complex Elvin Lord. Why wouldn't you want to read about these people? Cian (Emma's captor), proves to be a tough mystery for Emma to solve. One minute she detects a tenderness to him that she can't help, but be drawn to and the next he's ordering her around and referring to her as his 'human pet'. The plot was simply captivating! Pun intended, but nonetheless true!



So why not give it the whole five stars? Because it's a short story. I felt like CAPTIVE was more of a preview, like it simply couldn't be this short! It's a full-fledged story cut down to the most important and intense scenes. I would've really loved seeing those inbetween scenes! I wanted to make this journey with Emma from the very first step. Basically, in all my greedy appetite I'm saying I want more. I want a novel! It's simply too good to condense.



However, if there cannot be more then I will finish the review and give CAPTIVE four stars. It's a beautiful story about love and trust. The fantastical element of Elves gives it something unique (I would really love to learn more about Kumar's fair folk in general) and there seems to be so many good opportunities to expand. Ameon for example. The wilderness for another. The whole prospect of the story that lies behind this short story just generates so much anxious excitement in me!



So, anyone who hasn't read this yet, please do so. And then help me enlist an army to petition for more of Emma and Cian! Absolutely lovely and quite fresh!



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