Title: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter
Author: Jana Oliver
Release Date: February 1st, 2011
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…
Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.
But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?
Summary from Goodreads.com
My Review: When I first saw The Demon Trapper’s Daughter I thought it had everything I look for in a book. Paranormal creatures running around, a heroine who can look out for herself, adventure and a little romance. With all the right ingredients I thought this would be a book I would love, but the overall story fell a little short of my expectations.
Let’s start off talking about what I liked about this book, first up is Riley. She was a strong character and went through some very difficult emotions during this novel. The toughest being losing her father after she lost her mother three years prior. That cannot be easy to deal with, but somehow she did. She dealt with her grief as well as could be expected and I genuinely felt for her as her story unfolded. She was a believable character and handled things the way someone her age would and I appreciated that.
I also enjoyed the narration for this story and the different point of views it was told from. This is something you do not see very often in young adult, but it is style of writing that I am fond of. I always find it interesting to see the world through multiple characters eyes because the reader then has a well rounded perspective of the world they are immersed in, not just one characters point of view.
I also relished the father/daughter relationship between Riley and her father. It was a brief glimpse, but it did help to have that information and background on how they interacted together. Then when he is no longer with her, you understand why she is hurting and can sympathize.
So now what I didn’t love about this book. The pace of the story moved a littler slower than I would have liked. There were so many things happening in Riley’s world, but it was a little too much talking and not enough action. The paranormal also seemed to be more of a background element and not necessarily the highlight of the book. Which is fine, just not for me. The Demon Trapper’s Daughter read more like a contemporary novel with paranormal elements to it rather than a fantasy. I actually almost didn’t finish the book a couple of times because it was dragging in the adventure department. I wanted to know how everything would come together, but if there is not enough going on in the plot my attention will wander. This book kept my mind wandering.
Overall, Jana built a fascinating world filled with interesting characters and intriguing mythology, but it was a little slow moving. I think all the elements are there, it just did not come together well. I am intrigued by Riley and the world she lives in, but I do not think I will be picking up the next book in the series. If you are a fan of paranormal I would still give this book a shot and see what you think, maybe you will fall in love with Riley and her world.
FTC: I received this ARC as a part of Library Things Early Reviewer Program.
I agree, this one was heavy on the build up and introduction. But I was intrigued enough by the concept to consider reading the next. It won’t be a priority but I’ll likely get to it at some point.