Review: Personal Demon

Reviewed by Jen
 

I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of Hope. It's not that I dislike her, but I just can't quite connect with her enough to enjoy her as the narrator of a book. It helps that the book volleys back and forth between her and Lucas, but this one is still one of my least favorite Otherworld books. That's not to say it was bad... far from it. It just didn't grab me the same way that some of the other stories did.

Hope is a half-demon who thrives on chaos. She was first introduced in the short-story "Chaotic," so if you didn't read that one, you may feel like you missed something. During that story, she incurred a debt to Benecio Cortez and now he's come to collect. He wants Hope to infiltrate a gang of supernaturals who oppose the cabal to see what they're planning. Karl is out of the country... not to mention, he and Hope are on the outs, so she goes in undercover, alone.

Hope makes fast friends with the gang. In fact, she gets extra-friendly with one of the men, Jaz. But that budding relationship is short-lived, when Karl returns. The two of them are unable to fight their feelings any longer and they finally become a couple. In the meantime, members of the gang start disappearing and dying.  And the threat extends itself to members of the Cortez family, forcing Lucas into a role in the cabal that he has spent his life avoiding.

The big reveal behind the mystery was quite a surprise... and making it an even greater feat, it still made sense and worked inside the confines of pre-existing world-building. Kudos to Kelley Armstrong. There are some pretty substantial developments for Lucas and Paige, so this is a pretty important book. But it was missing something... maybe I just couldn't get invested enough in Hope. Almost 4 stars.

Personal Demon

by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: March 5, 2008

Publisher: Bantam Books