Item: The Demon Lover
Rating: 4.00
Author: inlibrisveritas

by Juliet Dark

I gasped, or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked my breath in and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly sensual dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart.

“Vivid and enchanting . . . Dark’s letter-perfect gothic style is a satisfying tribute to previous gothic novels, and the paranormal elements, including incubi, fae, vampires, and witches, make this a stellar romance.”—Booklist (Top 10 SF/Fantasy)

“[Juliet] Dark develops a complex, detailed world where magic, reason, and gothic literature enjoyably intersect.”—Publishers Weekly

There is really no excuse as to why I took so long getting around to this one, and I regret not reading it sooner because I’m really wishing I had picked up the sequel now.

Demon Lover follows Callie, a author and lover of demon lore. She’s a woman of strength and drive, and I enjoyed watching her grow as the story unfolded. She has a great heart and really sets out to help some of the others around her, even when it’s not in her best interest to do so. The demon lover is mysterious and while he has some pretty steamy scenes with Callie he is not cast as the whole point to the story, which is definitely a plus. I really enjoyed the part he played in the overall story and thought it was great that Dark gave us more to focus on than just the incubus.

I loved the town of Fairwick, it holds a unique appeal and charm. The fact that it is home to switch and Fae makes it like no other place on Earth and many supernatural being migrate to the town. I grew to love many of the residents of the town, no matter how small their roles. They were really a tight-knit community and though some didn’t open their arms to Callie, I loved that most of them embraced her and sought to make her comfortable.

I really enjoy Gothic novels and the fact that this has that same feel to it, not to mention actually references other Gothic novels, made it that much more enjoyable. I will say there was something different about the style of writing and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It felt like it should be a more literary novel but had the flow of a fun paranormal fantasy.

This is a great book for those who enjoy a literary paranormal with a bit of spice, and I will say that I only recommend it for adults. I’m looking forward to reading The Water Witch, maybe I can get to it before the next one is released later this year.

I received this in exchange for an honest review.

The Demon Lover (Fairwick Trilogy, #1)

by Juliet Dark

Reviewed by inlibrisveritas on Mar 24, 2013

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