Sunday, May 31, 2015

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver


It's 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia and things aren't great; the economy is bad, metal is stolen of the street for money, school classes meet in abandoned buildings, and demons are popping up everywhere. Riley Blackthorne is the only female apprentice in the demon Trapper's Guild, following in her father's footsteps. When a straightforward job trapping a Level One demon goes horribly wrong, it is only the start of a series of problems. After tragedy strikes, Riley will be forced to make decisions about what she truly wants, how she can make it happen, and whom she can trust.

The Demon Trapper's Daughter is the first book in the Demon Trapper's quartet, followed by Soul Thief, Forgiven, and Foretold.

This was a really interesting urban fantasy story that crosses just a bit into the futuristic/sci-fi world (though it isn't quite dark enough to be a true dystopia or post-apocalyptic story). The only thing that bothered me a bit is that, even though there is quite a bit of action, the overall story arc felt a little bit slow and a lot of the plot points were left open for the sequels (in the first book). The rest of the series does tie up most of the loose ends and keep the action moving. Although it's written in third person, the story alternates between following Riley and following Beck (a fellow trapper and Riley's father's apprentice), and the "voice" telling the story is amusing and compelling. I would recommend this series to older fantasy fans who like urban fantasy stories and strong female heroines.

Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski


Devi is a high school senior, looking forward to college. At least, she was, until Bryan - her boyfriend of three years - broke up with her and she realizes that her whole life was planned with him in mind. While at the mall, Devi accidentally drops her phone in the fountain and suddenly it only dials one number: fourteen-year-old, freshman Devi. Once they get over the shock, senior Devi realizes that she has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reorganize her life the way she wants it, if only she can convince her younger self to go along with the plan. But as her world literally changes around her, Devi starts to wonder what she actually wants, and what she's willing to do to get it.

I really enjoyed this story, which was an nice twist on the classic idea of "what you would tell yourself if you could go back in time." The way that the author handled the time distortion was interesting, since "senior" Devi could witness the changes, but hadn't experienced the time in between "freshman" Devi's actions and her reality. Overall, I liked the characters and found them very realistic, and I thought that (aside from the magical temporal paradox), the situations were also extremely realistic. So far as I know, this is a stand-alone book, and it had a fairly satisfying ending. I would recommend this book to fantasy fans who enjoy magic that happens in the real world.