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A review by yazaleea
The First and Last Demon by Hiyodori
3.0
3.75 stars, I really liked this, and loved the premise, but a part of me wishes it had delivered better on what the blurb promised.
Char wakes up from a 50-year stasis sleep, ready to achieve the same mission she's been tasked with for centuries: protect her country. But after millennia of existence, and actually living 25-ish years of that time dedicated to defending her nation, her memories start to erode. She is the Host to a demon, Vesper, who has always been her ally. She woke up in a city she sealed off and by doing so she'd doomed its inhabitants to death. Then why is Vesper hell-bent on killing her now? As long as Vesper lives, her death is only temporary, but the demon had never been gratuitously violent towards Char. What has she forgotten to make her one companion turn against her, to become the demon's captive in the deserted city?
I really liked the concept of an eternal Hero that is put to sleep until the "country needs her", and her demon bondmate. The friends to enemies to lovers was interesting, and they were actually at each others' throat. The big reveal was also satisfying.
I have two things I didn't like:
1. Even if the author says this can be read as a standalone, I started reading the book 33% before I felt like I was missing a big part of the context, especially the lore and worldbuilding. Reading the author's other books took care of that, but I didn't like how reliant on the other books' lore this one was. Yeah, you can understand without all the information and background, but it's so much more complicated to get into and follow what's happening.
2. Directly tied to the first point, and I am probably the only person in the review section who feels that way, but I didn't like how big of a role Clem & Wist played? Again, this is supposed to work as a standalone but 2 out of the 4 characters are the main characters of the author's main series. I would have preferred if this book focused more on Vesper and Char and their confrontation. I do like Clem and Wist, but I am not sure I wanted to see them as much as they appeared here.
Anyway, I still really liked it and I am in love with the concept of the story. It just didn't deliver exactly what I wanted, but it's fine.
Char wakes up from a 50-year stasis sleep, ready to achieve the same mission she's been tasked with for centuries: protect her country. But after millennia of existence, and actually living 25-ish years of that time dedicated to defending her nation, her memories start to erode. She is the Host to a demon, Vesper, who has always been her ally. She woke up in a city she sealed off and by doing so she'd doomed its inhabitants to death. Then why is Vesper hell-bent on killing her now? As long as Vesper lives, her death is only temporary, but the demon had never been gratuitously violent towards Char. What has she forgotten to make her one companion turn against her, to become the demon's captive in the deserted city?
I really liked the concept of an eternal Hero that is put to sleep until the "country needs her", and her demon bondmate. The friends to enemies to lovers was interesting, and they were actually at each others' throat. The big reveal was also satisfying.
I have two things I didn't like:
1. Even if the author says this can be read as a standalone, I started reading the book 33% before I felt like I was missing a big part of the context, especially the lore and worldbuilding. Reading the author's other books took care of that, but I didn't like how reliant on the other books' lore this one was. Yeah, you can understand without all the information and background, but it's so much more complicated to get into and follow what's happening.
2. Directly tied to the first point, and I am probably the only person in the review section who feels that way, but I didn't like how big of a role Clem & Wist played? Again, this is supposed to work as a standalone but 2 out of the 4 characters are the main characters of the author's main series. I would have preferred if this book focused more on Vesper and Char and their confrontation. I do like Clem and Wist, but I am not sure I wanted to see them as much as they appeared here.
Anyway, I still really liked it and I am in love with the concept of the story. It just didn't deliver exactly what I wanted, but it's fine.