I having a semi-difficult time with this review. The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox has been getting a lot of great reviews, especially in the paranormal novel group that I am in. As such, when I saw it in the grocery store, I decided to pick it up instead of waiting for the library. I finished it two days ago and I still have some mixed feelings about it.
The story itself surrounds Lizzie who just turns 30 and finds more surprises for her birthday than she was expecting. Between demons, a biker witch grandma, and a gorgeous man who runs to her rescue, she’s thrown into the middle of a fight without any knowledge. All she knows is she’s the destined demon slayer.
The story is good and the premise has a lot of potential, however, there is one aspect of Lizzie’s personality that I didn’t really click with. I’m not a fan of my heroines being trampled all over and that seems to happen a lot to Lizzie. With most urban fantasy novels, the heroines tend to have some backbone and Lizzie really doesn’t develop hers until the end of the novel. This doesn’t make the novel bad or anything, far from it. I actually did enjoy the story and was engulfed in it the entire time. Even when I knew I had things to do, I wanted to continue reading and see what happens next. However, my first impression stayed with me throughout the book and I didn’t enjoy it as much as some reviewers have. I didn’t laugh through most of it, it wasn’t hysterical; but I do see the potential for that to happen. All the characters have what it takes to be hilarious. Pirate the dog, Grandma Gertie, all the biker witches – all the comedic aspects are there, but if you get hung up on one detail, then it can destroy the mood…which is what happened with me.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Accidental Demon Slayer. The plot was good and had an unexpected twist; the characters were developed enough for their uses, although I can’t wait to see more of Pirate; and I loved the whole romantic element. I want to say, I don’t think my head was in “reading mode” during this novel and that’s why I haven’t reacted to it like a few others. So I am going to read it again to see if my opinion changes. I think it will, but I am going to wait a little bit so my head is completely cleared when I pick it up again. Angie has already said there is a second novel in the works and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Also reviewed by:
Darque Reviews
Bitten by Books
Sidhe Vicious
Danette’s Chatting Lounge
Genre Go Rounds Reviews
Blogcritics
Wendy’s Minding Spot
Read Order:
The Accidental Demon Slayer – excerpt
The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers – excerpt
A Tale of Two Demon Slayers (1/26/10) – excerpt
The Last of the Demon Slayers (2010)
— SPOILERS WARING — SPOILER WARNING —
Okay, so now that the main body has been dealt with, time to get some things off my chest. One thing that has been really bugging me is the easy acceptance every one has. The heroine has never met her grandmother and then she shows up on her 30th birthday and it’s all “Grandma!”. I just can’t see that happening in real life. Plus, everyone Lizzie comes into contact with automatically expects her to know what is going on. Considering she had no clue about her biological family before meeting her grandmother, I don’t see how that would be possible. No one ever asks her how she’s handling everything or if she’s okay. Whenever she does something wrong, and half the time she doesn’t know she’s doing it wrong because she DOESN’T KNOW, they get on her case like she’s made the biggest mistake ever. I understand they are fighting a demon, but Lizzie was just introduced to the whole magical community, so how can they expect her to know something when no one will tell her anything?
One thing that I absolutely loved was her reaction to Dimitri. The gorgeous man who happens to be her protector and saves her when she is in trouble just happens to be a complete con man. By the time they sleep with each other, Lizzie is already half in love with him, but when she learns that he was seducing her so he could use her, she completely leaves his ass and takes a little revenge as well. Now that was just beautiful.
I’ve just bought this book – it does sound like a great read. I will be interested to see if I feel the same way as you did about the heroine as I like my girlies a bit more kick-arse. We will see. Thanks for the review :)