Monday, December 26, 2011

Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

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The Demon Lover
Juliet Dark
Release date: December 27th, 2011
by Random House Publishing Group

Goodreads / Purchase

I gasped . . . or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. . . . His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked in my breath and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of writing her bestselling book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. After all, Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she finds herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: He’s not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the incubus, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this demon lover from her heart.

*A copy was provided by Random House for review purposes*
When I first started The Demon Lover I was really surprised that it was not a YA novel. Not In the least. I guess it’s my fault for simply skimming the blurb and not taking in the “erotic dreams” part. Oops. Although it was fine by me since I was in need of an adult read soon. I seem to not be the only one surprised by this discovery as well. =) So this is my heads-up to you!

Even though I was never bored, once my surprise at it being an adult book wore off I started to wonder where the plot was heading. It takes quite a while for it to start moving along. However when it does, the multiple plot lines weaved together never ceases to captivate you. Although, it can get confusing at times, especially with the abundance of literary references which may even be overwhelming to some.

The Demon Lover brings out a really different paranormal being – the incubus. As my first book delving into this mythological creature, I was really intrigued by the legend of this peculiar demon. Consequently, the character both terrified and fascinated me. It was an entertaining plot brimming with great detail and obvious research, therefore giving us a wonderfully built world filled with all sorts of paranormal beings. The world building is by far the book’s best aspect. The imagery used in the book is also excellent. It left my mind filled with detailed scenery so that I could clearly see the story taking place.

As a protagonist, Callie was not my favorite. She never saw what was clearly in front of her. All the plot twists were obvious to me but Callie saw right through them. I realize the incubus had a strange effect on her which may have put her in denial, but it still stopped me from being able to connect with her personality. I found the Demon Lover to be the better and most interesting character in the book. I felt his emotions, sadness and longing, that I never got from Callie. Almost like I was cut off from her emotionally. However, this undoubtedly made the romance in the book quite engrossing. One second I had faith that Callie would and could exercise this demon, but the next second I deeply wanted her to fall under his spell no matter the consequences.

The Demon Lover is a mystery-filled adult novel with excellent world building and fascinating folklore. If you’re looking for something different, make sure to give this one a try!

3 Hot Espressos
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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12 Responses to “Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark”

  1. Amy

    I was looking at this book on Goodreads and wasn’t sure whether to give it a try or not. I think eventually I will. I’m overdue for an adult novel too. Thank you for the great review like always.

  7. Karen

    You’re the second person that thought it was a YA book. The cover certainly looks like a YA book to me so I think i would come to the same conclusion.
    It sounds interesting but Callie does sound a little annoying.

  8. Mimi Valentine

    Oh my gosh, I thought it was a YA novel too!! Thanks so much for the heads up, Giselle — I probably would’ve been scarred for life if I started this without that warning LOL! x) The whole idea of it seems really cool though, especially since I’ve been really intrigued by incubuses lately. They’re creepy but intriguing! 😉

    Awesome honest review, Giselle! 🙂 It sucks that you couldn’t connect with Callie like you wanted to, but I’m glad it never bored you! And I looooove the cover — it’s SO gorgeous! <3

  9. Book Sake

    I thought the same thing about it being a YA novel from the cover and (some) of the description. I’ve been hesitating on reading it because I wasn’t sure how well it was going to read. I think I’ll probably pass on it because I really need some 5 star reads about now!

    – Jessica @ Book Sake