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A review by leopardsummer8
The Demon World by Sally Green
4.0
I can't tell if this novel suffers from second-book syndrome or if the series just isn't living up to my expectations.
While The Smoke Thieves felt like preparation for the next book, I still think that The Demon World felt like it was setting up for the next book.
Did I read it in one day? Yes. But once again, it felt like so much and so little happened at the same time. I actually found the first half to be more interesting than the second, as it felt more urgent and dangerous. While I liked that all of the POV characters got together only to split up again, I got annoyed once again by some POVs that were useless or boring. Let me explain:
Ambrose and Catherine are one of the pairs that have POVs almost always involving each other...and there's only so much I can take. While I can tolerate Catherine and her intelligence, Ambrose doesn't grow at all as a character. His thoughts are constantly just "Catherine, Catherine, Catherine" and he literally does nothing helpful...ever.
I liked Tash again, and I like that she's a solitary character with a handful of "found family" friends. I'll be interested to see how her character arc plays out in the next book.
In the first book, Edyon and March were my favorites but honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of them in the sequel. Edyon never stopped flirting, which wouldn't be a bad thing if he, y'know, was better at it. He uses the same pickup lines over and over again... And March just wallowed in self-pity and failure to make smart decisions the whole book. In the first book, they faced a lot of danger but in this one, it felt significantly less urgent, and honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I intend to finish the series eventually, but it's not at the top of my priorities.
The Demon World is the second installation in The Smoke Thieves series, and it expands the world established in the first novel while also setting up for an epic finale.
3.75/5
Link to Libby Annotations
While The Smoke Thieves felt like preparation for the next book, I still think that The Demon World felt like it was setting up for the next book.
Did I read it in one day? Yes. But once again, it felt like so much and so little happened at the same time. I actually found the first half to be more interesting than the second, as it felt more urgent and dangerous. While I liked that all of the POV characters got together only to split up again, I got annoyed once again by some POVs that were useless or boring. Let me explain:
Ambrose and Catherine are one of the pairs that have POVs almost always involving each other...and there's only so much I can take. While I can tolerate Catherine and her intelligence, Ambrose doesn't grow at all as a character. His thoughts are constantly just "Catherine, Catherine, Catherine" and he literally does nothing helpful...ever.
I liked Tash again, and I like that she's a solitary character with a handful of "found family" friends. I'll be interested to see how her character arc plays out in the next book.
In the first book, Edyon and March were my favorites but honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of them in the sequel. Edyon never stopped flirting, which wouldn't be a bad thing if he, y'know, was better at it. He uses the same pickup lines over and over again... And March just wallowed in self-pity and failure to make smart decisions the whole book. In the first book, they faced a lot of danger but in this one, it felt significantly less urgent, and honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I intend to finish the series eventually, but it's not at the top of my priorities.
The Demon World is the second installation in The Smoke Thieves series, and it expands the world established in the first novel while also setting up for an epic finale.
3.75/5
Link to Libby Annotations