“You’re telling me that this book is supposed to create zombies?” -Brynn Meyers
Lawyer turned novelist, Rosalie Lario is a relatively fresh-faced author entering the genre of urban fantasy crossed with paranormal romance. Her latest novel, Blood of the Demon, begins its inter-dimensional tale with Keegan, a stunningly handsome demon, and his three (equally drool-worthy) half-brothers. As bounty hunters for the Elden Council, the four brothers are given the task to capturing their father, Mammon, and also stopping his plans to begin an apocalypse.
Of course, there is always a starring lady. Enter beautiful Brynn Meyers, an art gallery owner who is able to read memories embedded in objects and whose simple touch can drain people of their life force. Unbeknownst to her, until otherwise informed, her abilities indicate demon ancestry and a past that makes her the key to unlocking the powers from an ancient zombie-raising book. To stop Mammon from imprisoning Brynn and summoning said zombies, Keegan and his brothers must work to protect her by any means necessary.
I am pleased that Loria wrote Brynn as a strong female character, regardless of the overdone concept of being tossed into a precarious situation where new worlds, demons and the things that go bump at night exist.
Another good point in the book is the character interactions, particularly in regard to the brothers. Their sibling squabbles and friendly discussions were entertaining; it all leaned heavily towards bromance, and reminded me at various points strikingly of Dean and Sam Winchester — entirely charming, to say the least.
Keegan is a mix of Dean and Sam in a tall, dark and handsome package. He has the older-brother-must-protect syndrome, combined with unnecessary emotional angst towards finding love and moral rights. Part demon, part dragon. Similar to his other brothers, each of whom are part demon, part something else.
Also in this book’s favor are the compelling action scenes, although they were far too few. But what little action scenes there were — more so near the end — were good enough to make me wonder why Lario didn’t include more of this kind of thrilling adventure into her paranormal tale.
But my main problem with this otherwise entertaining novel, ignoring the clichéd plot, is the level of hotness of each character. They are all depicted as beautiful, sexy, steamy — well, you get the point. Not that I have an issue with beautiful people — it just gives the characters a level of vanity I could do without. This coupled with several cheesy lines gave me a good laugh. Case in point: “Would she taste just as sweet?”
In all, Blood of the Demon follows a typical plotline with no elaborate twists or turns. Boy given task to protect girl from evil parent, boy and girl lust-love each other, boy fights parent, girl kills boy’s parent, boy and girl end up together. Lario writes an entertaining novel that is a good, easy read for when days are long and you want to cuddle up with a blanket and cup of tea.
And I must admit that I am curious to read the second book in this series, slated to be released only a month after this one, featuring this time the romantic entanglement of Keegan’s brother, Taeg.
Snap. Flash. Smile. 