Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong

I liked my letter idea from the other day, so I think I am going to do it once in a while to mix things up a bit. I find with the reviews, I tend to never know what to say! This is a bit more personal, so I can just talk...

Globe and Mail and New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong follows No Humans Involved with a new, sexy, action-packed, Women of the Otherworld novel featuring a wickedly beautiful, supernaturally gifted heroine who may love danger a bit too much.

Sending readers into a dazzlingly entertaining world of danger, vice and romance, Kelley Armstrong’s phenomenal Women of the Otherworld novels mark her as a trailblazer of paranormal romantic suspense. Hope Adams, tabloid journalist and half-demon, looks like a Bollywood princess. Like full demons, she gets an almost sexual rush from danger and chaos–in fact, she thrives on it. But she is determined to use her gifts for good.

When the head of the powerful Cortez Cabal calls in an old debt and asks her to infiltrate a Miami gang of bored, rich, troublemaking supernaturals, she can’t resist the excitement. As she becomes dangerously entangled in the plot she has no choice but to turn to her crooked werewolf ex-boyfriend, and the heir to the Cortez Cabal, for help.

In typical Kelley Armstrong fashion, Personal Demon takes the reader on an energetic ride through the supernatural world and the human one, bringing them together to create one huge devilish adventure.

Dear Ms. Armstrong,

I am rather surprised that I picked up a paranormal book so soon after finishing one by Patricia Briggs. I normally like to have a bit of variety in my reading. I have several books sitting on my shelf unread by you, though, and you have even more books coming out! This means that it is about time that I work my way through your backlist because I do really enjoy your books! Personal Demon was no exception. I have to admit, though, I really should read your books in order because there are details that I am probably missing, but I will have to go back one day and read the series from start to finish.

I did read enough to know who Hope Adams was, though. I was very glad to see a return of her because she has been intriguing in previous books. Half-demons are not something that I see a lot of in other parnormal books, so it was refreshing to follow the story of a character a bit off the beaten trail. There were still witches, sorcerers, werewolves, etc, but she is something that is a bit different. That's my first good thing about this book, it offered some variety! It is also nice to see old characters like Elena reappear.

One of the central characters in this book is Paige. Some people may remember that I am not a very big fan of Paige. Actually, Dime Story Magic annoyed me so much, I almost did not continue on with the series. It was not until I decided to jump a couple of books and encounter a couple fresh characters that I was able to get over my extreme dislike of her, actually. Paige has not gone away, though, obviously. Her husband, Lucas, was very important to the progression of this book, so she was of course along for the ride. I am happy to report that while I will likely never reread Dime Store Magic, I have come to the conclusion that Paige is not as bad as I first thought she was. I know people that love her, and all the power to them, but there was something about her in the beginning that made me want to, well, stop reading about her! She has grown up, though, so I suppose that means no more grumblings about her.

The story was told from Lucas' perspective and from Hope's perspective. I liked the changing back and forth of the story because it offered more angles. If just one of them had told everything, readers would have found that they were missing out on things. It is better to be in the heat of the moment, I think, than having it recapped later all the time. So, the changing back and forth of point-of-view worked quite well for me. This is a novel about struggles, too. Hope is struggling with her supernatural gifts and Lucas is struggling with the power that his father wants to give him and he is not interested in. It makes the book very readable, wondering how things are going to turn out.

I have to say, you write very readable books. I am glad that you came out with a story about Jeremy so that I became interested enough in your books again to give them another chance! Like I said above, I had some misgivings for a while. I am also happy that I have more books by you to read, I strongly suspect that I will enjoy them, and I look forward to your future offerings! You are another author that I strongly recommend to people, but I also don't think I really have to, because most people have already given you a chance and many people enjoy your writing! I see reviews of your books all the time.

Thanks for another great read,

Sincerely,

Kelly

My thanks to Random House for sending me this book!