Demons (Devil's Reach, #2)

by J L Drake

[Eve1972]

 
 
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
NO...NO you did NOT just leave me hanging like that?? WTF?? NO!! I'm suddenly feeling the need to go all MISERY on this author's a$$. (lol) I can't...I just can't. Ugh...SERIOUSLY??!! OK, I am going to try to rein in my need to hunt Miz Drake down and tie her to a bed until she hands over the next book and get on with my review. Needless to say I LOVED this book just as much as I did book one. WOWZA...was this an amazing read. The writing was FAN-F-CKING-TASTIC. The pace was perfect. The plot was super engaging. There are twist and turns galore. There is torture and blood. There is love and betrayal. There is heartbreak and hope. All wrapped up in another frigging cliffhanger. WHY Miz Drake...W-H-Y you do me like that??


~HERO~
TRIGGER...Lord did I love this man. It helps that all I can picture while reading about him is Josh Mario John (rawr). But man did he drive me NUTS in this one. I kept yelling at my tablet "use your words, big guy." It was clear to everyone BUT him that he loved Tess. I also loved the slightly softer side of him that we would get peeks of now and then. But make NO mistake Trigger remains a majorly f-cked up character.  I cannot WAIT to see him hand down retribution to those that have betrayed him in book three.


~HEROINE~
TESS...Tess is one of the best heroines I have ever had the pleasure to read. She is strong. She is broken. She is feisty. She has a huge heart. We get more insight into her background in this one and it is completely heartbreaking. Despite that background, she took a chance on Trigger. I loved that she handed down some retribution of her own. I hope she gets a chance to hand down even more in the next book. I LOVED her and I can't wait to see where the author is going to take her character next.


 

~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
Both books one and two have been pretty rich in secondary characters. This is one of those series where there is A LOT going on outside of the main characters.  I love all the guys in the MC. I love Fin. I love Brick. I LOATHED Tess's mother and Clark. There are a lot of side characters that have various levels of importance. I'm hoping we will see some of them get stories of their own. I also hope we will see some of them get what is coming to them. All of them (good or bad) added a lot of depth to the story. 


~HEAT LEVEL~
Medium. The sex scenes in this one were suitably hot. There wasn't a ton of them but the frequency felt organic to the story. 


~ANGST LEVEL~
High. This is a pretty angsty series so far. But I wouldn't say that angst came from the main couple or their relationship. There wasn't much push or pull between them. It took a while for feelings to be accepted. One of them coming to grips with it earlier than the other. That caused a bit of angst. Most of the angst comes from the baddies and what they want to do. There was a smidge of OW drama. I was happy to see Trigger kept it in his pants during their separation (although admits he did kiss OW). And I was confused by a photo that the heroine sees of him apparently getting a BJ just before he decides to come and bring her back. I am guessing it wasn't what it appeared to be unless he subscribes to the notion that BJ's don't equal sex since he told her that he hadn't slept with anyone when they were apart (lol). Tess never brings it up so I guess we will never know. There is also some OM drama. Tess is pretty much forced to kiss OM and they touch her a bit, but no sex. 


~IN THE END~
I am LOVING this series so far. The writing is fantastic. The plot is well developed and engaging. The characters are intriguing and likable. I am hooked and I really hope we don't have to wait another year to get book three. Therefore yours truly is going to give this one two HUGE thumbs up. P.S. Better keep that mace handy Miz Drake because I am coming for you Kathy Bates style! -- I'm just kidding. I am totally sane...honestly (lol).