Personal Demon
Women of the Otherworld, Book #8
By Kelley Armstrong
ISBN# 9780553806618
Author’s Website: http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
Half demon reporter, Hope Adams, is working on a case when she is forced into a meeting to see the leader of the Cortez Cabal, Benicio. He wants her to use her talents and infiltrate a local gang that has been causing the cabal problems, and give him insight on what’s going on. Hope sees it as a chance to safely feed on the chaos she needs. And, being able to fulfill her and Karl’s debt without involving him? Even better!
Hope takes on a new identity, Faith Edmonds, and quickly makes friends with the other gang members. Including the handsome young Jaz, who seems to be the perfect ticket in forgetting how Karl left her. Things between her and Jaz heat up quickly as Hope proves herself to the gang, and even enjoys her less than legal enterprises within the group. But Karl gets wind of what Benicio has put Hope up to and, quickly comes to ‘rescue’ her, even if she doesn’t want it!
But when Jaz and his close friend, Sonny, disappear, Hope will do anything to see them home safely; even using Karl’s talents! But what they stumble upon is bigger than anybody could have imagined!
I really like Karl and Hope, so I was ready to delve into this book, even if I was a little hesitant since some of the books in the series haven’t been that great when they stray away from Clay and Elena. But my love for werewolves won out, and I always find Karl to be entertaining.
“Are you coming now?” Griffin snapped.
Karl glanced over at him and smiled. “What’s the magic word?”
Griffin stalked off, muttering a word under his breath.
“That’s not it,” Karl called after him.”
And, after we saw Karl’s protective side show up over Hope in the last book, I figured this book would be a sure thing! And the couple did NOT disappoint! I loved the banter between the two of themJ
“Too bad Guy interrupted,” I said as we snuck around the rear of the building. “Otherwise, I could have just walked you down here before you changed back.”
His look said he wasn’t dignifying that with a retort.
“I always wanted a dog,” I said, nearly running to keep up with his long strides. “My brothers were both allergic. Have I told you that?”
“Once or twice.”
“Maybe, someday, you could humor me and—
“Don’t finish that sentence.”
I instantly was drawn into this story, reading huge chunks of this book at a time, and not wanting to put it down. Learning Hope’s task and place within the gang was entertaining, as was the quickly developing rebound relationship between Hope and Jaz. Although I figured, it was setting Jaz up for major heartbreak when Karl came back on scene. Then, Karl did come back and everything really started getting steamy!
All these things were great … but… and there always seems to be a but … my biggest hang-up with this book is the Cortezes. Once Lucas and Paige come to help out with the case, the Cortez family seems to take over the entire book and it becomes another Lucas book! And, being a person that wasn’t a big fan of Paige and Lucas’s romance, this was a bit disappointing for me. I quickly got tired of the chapters from Lucas’s point of view, which got more plentiful as the book progressed and it seemed to make the book drag for me. I would have preferred to see some from Karl’s perspective instead, as I find him much more entertaining than boring Lucas!
But the romance in this story was great, even if it did get overshadowed with cabal business later on. I can only hope that we see more of this duo in the future installments … maybe some insight into Karl’s mind even? One can hope anyway!
