"Not Really a Party Until Someone Brings the Surprise Zombies"

Great line, huh? Nick may be a demon who doesn't experience human emotions, but he can deliver one liners that will crack you up throughout The Demon's Covenant. It's just one of the many reasons that this book is more than a worthy sequel to The Demon's Lexicon.

The story picks up not too long after The Demon's Lexicon leaves off; Mae becomes worried about her brother Jamie being targeted by magicians from the Obsidian Circle, so she contacts magician fighting brothers Alan and Nick to come help her pull him away from the evil influence. Along the way, we discover that Nick wants to learn about human emotions and he enlists Mae to help him; Alan, frightened of what his brother is capable of, decides the wiser course might be to betray him; the Goblin Market becomes the scene of many confrontations; and Mae finds herself torn between Alan and Seb, a boy at school. There are no easy choices in The Demon's Covenant.

Rant time: What is up with that cover? Besides the fact that it features a minor character, it's just plain ugly. It makes Sin look like she's in her forties, not to mention those big feet. Whoever okayed that one needs to be pummeled repeatedly.

The rant aside, I was pleasantly surprised that a sequel could maintain the intrigue and depth of the first book. With its devastating wit and action, its relationship issues and the magic, The Demon's Covenant works on so many levels. I loved seeing the relationship between Jamie and Mae, and I loved that Jamie knows who he is and doesn't shy away from it. The world Brennan has created is intricate and compelling, and I'm already on board for book number three. Dark and disturbing at times, there's gore and menacing situations that put everyone in peril but will keep you turning the pages quickly. This one garners a solid 4.75 stars, kept from the full 5 by a couple of chapters that meandered just a bit. Excellent reading!

~taminator40

Evernight

I just finished Evernight by Claudia Gray for the Amazon Vine program; I'd seen it in bookstores but wasn't sure if I wanted to spend my money on it, so I was pleased when it was offered through the program. I'm also pleased to say that Evernight was indeed very good; I liked the world Gray created and I especially am a fan of the surprise she landed on me about halfway through (how did I not see that coming??). Set in modern times, we follow sixteen year old Bianca as she's forced to enroll in Evernight Academy when her parents take teaching jobs there. Immediately Bianca feels out of place since most of her classmates seem not only beautiful, but snobbish and cliquish. So of course she instantly falls for the rebellious Lucas, who though good looking, seems to be so much more normal than the other students. But Bianca's still not feeling a part of things, and odd occurrences start to make her realize that she's going to have to make some strong choices.

I liked this one well enough to recommend it; it's a good supernatural entry in the young adult category, with some interesting twists and turns. I did find a couple of the plot points a bit silly, but those can easily be set aside as overall, this is good first book in what I believe is a four book series that's planned. You can visit my more comprehensive review at http://www.amazon.com/review/RQB4WTRL6UXKF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm.

BTW, I have to express wonder at the fact that I posted a review of Juliet's Moon by Ann Rinaldi last Wednesday to Amazon, and it's yet to show up. I can't imagine what the hold up is, since it's a pretty tame Civil War young adult novel, while Evernight has some fairly bold sexual situations that I mention in my Amazon review. Who knows?

~taminator40