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kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Fourth in the Kara Gillian urban fantasy/police procedural series revolving around a demon summoner/cop in Louisiana.
My Take
DO NOT read this book unless you also have Touch of the Demon on hand to read immediately after!!
Yup. Tension and drama. All through the story along with Kara's own questions as to Rhyzkahl's purpose in coming across, the affection he shows her, the lovemaking she adores. The additional demons he says he's bringing with him!
Oh, what a crack up! Seem Eilahn is the very proud new owner of Fuzzykins. She's also getting very absorbed in such human customs as decorating for Christmas.
Okay, I'm intrigued. Kara's been investigating Ryan's past and...it's good. She's discovering two completely different people. One is the truths she's learning about the demon lord Ryan really is and two is every bit of history you'd expect to find for a human from school records to photographs.
If you enjoy police procedurals and urban fantasy, you will adore Kara Gillian. It's simplistic but with a major twist on demon-human interaction and incredible characters albeit some with greater depth than others. I certainly have enjoyed some of the demons Rowland depicts with their tremendous sense of honor as well as a sense of humor. I've loved all her stories to date, and yet, I think this one takes the cake.
The Story
A demon lord is trying to summon Kara and she either has to remain behind the very strong wards of her home or she and Eilahn have to place protective wards on all the main structures where Kara works, lives, and plays. And be exceptionally careful when traveling between!
It's Eilahn who comes up with an option---a quashing bracelet that will suppress her own power. It leaves her vulnerable, but also prevents her being "found".
That may take care of the more metaphysical side of her life, but she also needs to concern herself with the fact that something is targeting the people in her past who have done her wrong.
The Characters
Detective Kara Gillian works for the Beaulac PD by day and is a demon summoner by night. Eilahn is a syraza demon assigned as Kara's bodyguard. Fuzzykins is Eilahn's new kitty and she loves the smell of demons, but hates the smell of practitioners. Aunt Tessa is also a summoner, Kara's teacher, but it seems she's lost the desire to summon. Carl is a morgue tech, a null, and Tessa's boyfriend.
Members of the special FBI unit include:
Special Agent Ryan Kristoff knows of her abilities and has requested her presence on his task force on an as-and-when basis. Demons hate him, calling him kiraknikahl, oathbreaker. Seems he's a former demon lord himself. Special Agent Zachary Garner is also a demon, Ryan's partner, AND his guard. He also knows what Kara can do.
Fellow Beaulac cops include:
Jill Faciane is CSI, Kara's friend, and Zach's lover. And she's pregnant. Drew Blackall is new to the Beaulac CSI. Detectives Boudreaux and Pellini are still jerks. Chief Robert Turnham is stern but on Kara's side. Sergeant Cory Crawford is very supportive of Kara and he knows the woo-woo she's capable of using. Doctor Jonathan Lanza is the forensic pathologist for the parish. Sergeant Scott Glassman is a great street cop. Officer Tracy Gordon is now official. Officer Tim Daniels is very helpful, poor guy.
Mayor Peter Fussell is still out to get Kara. He must still be pissed about events in Secrets of the Demon...snicker.
Lord Rhyzkahl is a Demon Lord Kara must summon once a month for several years. Votevha is a nyssor demon who can assess if someone is a summoner. I did enjoy his reactions to the people around him! Kehlirik is a twelfth level reyza demon Kara has summoned in the past (see Mark of the Demon and Blood of the Demon). He's an excellent example of why you should respect the people (and demons!) around you.
People out of Kara's past include:
Barry Landrieu is an ex-con and Kara's best friend's older brother when she was a kid. Roman Hatch, a former linebacker at LSU, a commentator for ESPN, and an ex-lover of Kara's. Evelyn Stark is the drunk driver who killed Kara's dad. Thomas "the Turd" Chartres is an ex-boyfriend; you can imagine the kind of sweetie he'd been.
Raymond Bergeron is a surviving son of one of the couples who died in Peter Cerise's great summoning decades ago (see Mark of the Demon).
The Cover
The cover looks more like an image for a graphic novel. It's shades of gray with tentacles coming from everywhere to grab a black-clad Kara in a cleavage-revealing red bra and down-to-here top as she attempts to shoot backwards at it. Her detective's badge is hooked to her belt, along with a set of flying handcuffs. And a skull that is lit from within is grinning hideously as its tongue whips around under Kara's jaw.
I'm not sure if the title should be Sins of the Demon so much as Sins of the Summoner!
My Take
DO NOT read this book unless you also have Touch of the Demon on hand to read immediately after!!
Yup. Tension and drama. All through the story along with Kara's own questions as to Rhyzkahl's purpose in coming across, the affection he shows her, the lovemaking she adores. The additional demons he says he's bringing with him!
Oh, what a crack up! Seem Eilahn is the very proud new owner of Fuzzykins. She's also getting very absorbed in such human customs as decorating for Christmas.
Okay, I'm intrigued. Kara's been investigating Ryan's past and...it's good. She's discovering two completely different people. One is the truths she's learning about the demon lord Ryan really is and two is every bit of history you'd expect to find for a human from school records to photographs.
If you enjoy police procedurals and urban fantasy, you will adore Kara Gillian. It's simplistic but with a major twist on demon-human interaction and incredible characters albeit some with greater depth than others. I certainly have enjoyed some of the demons Rowland depicts with their tremendous sense of honor as well as a sense of humor. I've loved all her stories to date, and yet, I think this one takes the cake.
The Story
A demon lord is trying to summon Kara and she either has to remain behind the very strong wards of her home or she and Eilahn have to place protective wards on all the main structures where Kara works, lives, and plays. And be exceptionally careful when traveling between!
It's Eilahn who comes up with an option---a quashing bracelet that will suppress her own power. It leaves her vulnerable, but also prevents her being "found".
That may take care of the more metaphysical side of her life, but she also needs to concern herself with the fact that something is targeting the people in her past who have done her wrong.
The Characters
Detective Kara Gillian works for the Beaulac PD by day and is a demon summoner by night. Eilahn is a syraza demon assigned as Kara's bodyguard. Fuzzykins is Eilahn's new kitty and she loves the smell of demons, but hates the smell of practitioners. Aunt Tessa is also a summoner, Kara's teacher, but it seems she's lost the desire to summon. Carl is a morgue tech, a null, and Tessa's boyfriend.
Members of the special FBI unit include:
Special Agent Ryan Kristoff knows of her abilities and has requested her presence on his task force on an as-and-when basis. Demons hate him, calling him kiraknikahl, oathbreaker. Seems he's a former demon lord himself. Special Agent Zachary Garner is also a demon, Ryan's partner, AND his guard. He also knows what Kara can do.
Fellow Beaulac cops include:
Jill Faciane is CSI, Kara's friend, and Zach's lover. And she's pregnant. Drew Blackall is new to the Beaulac CSI. Detectives Boudreaux and Pellini are still jerks. Chief Robert Turnham is stern but on Kara's side. Sergeant Cory Crawford is very supportive of Kara and he knows the woo-woo she's capable of using. Doctor Jonathan Lanza is the forensic pathologist for the parish. Sergeant Scott Glassman is a great street cop. Officer Tracy Gordon is now official. Officer Tim Daniels is very helpful, poor guy.
Mayor Peter Fussell is still out to get Kara. He must still be pissed about events in Secrets of the Demon...snicker.
Lord Rhyzkahl is a Demon Lord Kara must summon once a month for several years. Votevha is a nyssor demon who can assess if someone is a summoner. I did enjoy his reactions to the people around him! Kehlirik is a twelfth level reyza demon Kara has summoned in the past (see Mark of the Demon and Blood of the Demon). He's an excellent example of why you should respect the people (and demons!) around you.
People out of Kara's past include:
Barry Landrieu is an ex-con and Kara's best friend's older brother when she was a kid. Roman Hatch, a former linebacker at LSU, a commentator for ESPN, and an ex-lover of Kara's. Evelyn Stark is the drunk driver who killed Kara's dad. Thomas "the Turd" Chartres is an ex-boyfriend; you can imagine the kind of sweetie he'd been.
Raymond Bergeron is a surviving son of one of the couples who died in Peter Cerise's great summoning decades ago (see Mark of the Demon).
The Cover
The cover looks more like an image for a graphic novel. It's shades of gray with tentacles coming from everywhere to grab a black-clad Kara in a cleavage-revealing red bra and down-to-here top as she attempts to shoot backwards at it. Her detective's badge is hooked to her belt, along with a set of flying handcuffs. And a skull that is lit from within is grinning hideously as its tongue whips around under Kara's jaw.
I'm not sure if the title should be Sins of the Demon so much as Sins of the Summoner!
dajoyofit's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this one. It was packed with juicy revelations. This book in the series is filled with information, which I enjoyed and didn't feel overwhelmed by. Kara's world is definitely precarious. Kara's hesitation over her feelings about Ryan, her relationship with her demon lord, her aunt, and I didn't see it coming, but the stirrings of Kara questioning her job, and the possible origins of Summoners. There's a lot of Big Secrets. I feel Kara's frustration. Her reasons for questioning her feelings for Ryan are much more valid after she discovers who Ryan really is (besides being an Oath Breaker). Without giving too much away, who really is Ryan? Or rather how much of the Ryan who Kara is falling for, is the "Real Ryan" verses "The Being who was the Oath Breaker"? That's a hard one.
witchylevy's review against another edition
5.0
Omg this was a great read. Dealing with another summoner, a bad one again, makes me wonder if maybe they're lucky if they turn out to not be mass murdering power seekers. I have theories on where the story will go, but I expect Szerain will regain his memories and a showdown with Rhyzkahl will follow. I have sneaking suspicion that Kara has been in the middle the whole time.
nuttkayc's review against another edition
4.0
argh! abrupt, cut off endings suck! now i gotta wait for next one. poopy.
bmg20's review against another edition
4.0
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Final Page Thoughts
*ahem* Excuse the language, but what the HELL kind of ending was that?! No, I’m sorry, that wasn’t an ending… that was more like a chapter ending, except my book must have been missing the subsequent pages. AHHH! What a cliffhanger. And now we have to wait a whole YEAR!? Is it available for pre-order yet?? Someone shoot me now. *Sobs*
Something that’s been ongoing in this series for a while, a bit of an issue with Kara, is resolved but not until the very flipping end of the book which made that ending that much worse but still made you happy that it nonetheless happened. Yes, I’m aware that sentence makes absolutely no sense.
I’ve attempted to collect my thoughts and form them into a worthwhile review without giving too much away. I do believe worthwhile should be replaced with ‘I’m going to ramble and forget to use periods occasionally so don’t mind me’.
The Storyline
The fourth installation in the Kara Gillian has finally arrived. Kara’s back and trouble seems to be finding her at every turn… but then again, what else is new? She’s dealing with her complicated relationship with Rhyzkahl and Ryan, people are dying who she personally knows and who she also has personally grudges with, someone is attempting to summon her to the demon realm, and on top of that her emotions are going straight haywire.
New Characters
I find that the further you delve into a series it’s usually a requirement to add in new characters to keep it fresh and new. Usually these characters end up being written in as useless characters that are easily disposed of. The few characters (mainly one) added into ‘Sins of the Demon’ were so well written and established in the story that I couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t a part of the story.
Eilahn is Kara’s demon bodyguard and roommate, put in place by Rhyzkahl when he realized that someone was attempting to summon her to the demon realm. Eilahn was hilarious and her sense of humor went extremely well with Kara’s normal snarkiness. (Is that not a word? My red squiggle tells me not, but it should be.)
Fuzzykins: Eilahn’s accidental cat. The presence of Fuzzykins led to some bust a gut with tears in eyes laughter. I think the scene that had to be my absolute favorite was the cat’s obvious dislike of Kara (and obvious love of Eilahn) when they were getting him in the car and the cat gives Kara a ’fuck you glare accompanied by a I-want-to-claw-your-face-off-hiss.’
”I do not wish her to grow upset,” Eilahn said, frown puckering her forehead. “I have heard that cats do not care to ride in cars. If I am in the front and she in the back, will she not grow distraught? Perhaps I should hold her in my lap.”
“Um, that’s a pretty darn big carrier to hold on your lap,” I pointed out.
She blinked. “I did not intend to have her in the carrier. Why can I not simply hodl her in my lap so that I can stroke her fur? Will that not calm her?”
I had a vision of a psychotic cat careening around the inside of the car – following by an image of my mangled death in the ensuing wreck.
“No,” I stated. Firmly.
Hahaha… Funny times.
So… I don’t believe I can say much more without giving anything away. This wasn’t a disappointing book at all and I still recommend this series highly… I’ve become a rabid Kara Gillan/Diana Rowland fan and I’m impatient as hell and the next book could not come sooner.
Final Page Thoughts
*ahem* Excuse the language, but what the HELL kind of ending was that?! No, I’m sorry, that wasn’t an ending… that was more like a chapter ending, except my book must have been missing the subsequent pages. AHHH! What a cliffhanger. And now we have to wait a whole YEAR!? Is it available for pre-order yet?? Someone shoot me now. *Sobs*
Something that’s been ongoing in this series for a while, a bit of an issue with Kara, is resolved but not until the very flipping end of the book which made that ending that much worse but still made you happy that it nonetheless happened. Yes, I’m aware that sentence makes absolutely no sense.
I’ve attempted to collect my thoughts and form them into a worthwhile review without giving too much away. I do believe worthwhile should be replaced with ‘I’m going to ramble and forget to use periods occasionally so don’t mind me’.
The Storyline
The fourth installation in the Kara Gillian has finally arrived. Kara’s back and trouble seems to be finding her at every turn… but then again, what else is new? She’s dealing with her complicated relationship with Rhyzkahl and Ryan, people are dying who she personally knows and who she also has personally grudges with, someone is attempting to summon her to the demon realm, and on top of that her emotions are going straight haywire.
New Characters
I find that the further you delve into a series it’s usually a requirement to add in new characters to keep it fresh and new. Usually these characters end up being written in as useless characters that are easily disposed of. The few characters (mainly one) added into ‘Sins of the Demon’ were so well written and established in the story that I couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t a part of the story.
Eilahn is Kara’s demon bodyguard and roommate, put in place by Rhyzkahl when he realized that someone was attempting to summon her to the demon realm. Eilahn was hilarious and her sense of humor went extremely well with Kara’s normal snarkiness. (Is that not a word? My red squiggle tells me not, but it should be.)
Fuzzykins: Eilahn’s accidental cat. The presence of Fuzzykins led to some bust a gut with tears in eyes laughter. I think the scene that had to be my absolute favorite was the cat’s obvious dislike of Kara (and obvious love of Eilahn) when they were getting him in the car and the cat gives Kara a ’fuck you glare accompanied by a I-want-to-claw-your-face-off-hiss.’
”I do not wish her to grow upset,” Eilahn said, frown puckering her forehead. “I have heard that cats do not care to ride in cars. If I am in the front and she in the back, will she not grow distraught? Perhaps I should hold her in my lap.”
“Um, that’s a pretty darn big carrier to hold on your lap,” I pointed out.
She blinked. “I did not intend to have her in the carrier. Why can I not simply hodl her in my lap so that I can stroke her fur? Will that not calm her?”
I had a vision of a psychotic cat careening around the inside of the car – following by an image of my mangled death in the ensuing wreck.
“No,” I stated. Firmly.
Hahaha… Funny times.
So… I don’t believe I can say much more without giving anything away. This wasn’t a disappointing book at all and I still recommend this series highly… I’ve become a rabid Kara Gillan/Diana Rowland fan and I’m impatient as hell and the next book could not come sooner.
aimeelio's review against another edition
4.0
I have to say, i liked this series more as it goes on. This one was fast paced, and had a great cliff hanger at the end.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
4.0
Omg, omg, omg, omg, omg! There I said it...I have to say more? But I already said it, omg! I raced through the whole book and then the end. I kicked myself for not having the next book, and then I ordered it at once. Now I have to wait DAYS, DAYS I tell you for it to arrive. I am dying here. I am dying for that ending was brutal. BRUTAL. If I was not a fangirl of Rowland I certainly became one now. And Kara Gillian turned into one of my fav UF series around.
Ok here is where I tell you something about the story line. But I have not really gotten over the ending yet. Now that was a cliffhanger, pure evil and good. It made me want the next book like crazy, it made me love the series. It made me come to some conclusions (I do not know if I am right but if, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!)
Story *thinks about the end again*. I can't, the end! Ok, pull it together girl! People are dying and the only connection is Kara. She needs to figure it out. We learn things. Someone is after Kara. There *thinks about the ending again*.
Ok just READ this book. Start this series now.
Ok here is where I tell you something about the story line. But I have not really gotten over the ending yet. Now that was a cliffhanger, pure evil and good. It made me want the next book like crazy, it made me love the series. It made me come to some conclusions (I do not know if I am right but if, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!)
Story *thinks about the end again*. I can't, the end! Ok, pull it together girl! People are dying and the only connection is Kara. She needs to figure it out. We learn things. Someone is after Kara. There *thinks about the ending again*.
Ok just READ this book. Start this series now.
jules_writes's review against another edition
5.0
Another great instalment, but it does come with a rather brutal cliffhanger- just as well I already have the next book.
So far the series doesn't show any sign of slowing down, Kara is definitely one of my favourite urban fantasy kickass characters.
So far the series doesn't show any sign of slowing down, Kara is definitely one of my favourite urban fantasy kickass characters.