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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Review: The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver



Title: The Demon Trapper's Daughter
Author: Jana Oliver
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pub. Date: 2.1.2011
Genre: Paranormal YA
Keywords: Demons, Loss, Romance, Mystery
Pages: 340
Description (from Goodreads):

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 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?


Please Note:
THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER is the first book in the series here in the United States. The second book in the series, SOUL THIEF will be released August 30th.  The UK Edition of the series have different titles and covers. The first book is THE DEMON TRAPPERS: FORSAKEN and is available in the UK and Australia now. The second book, THE DEMON TRAPPERS: FORBIDDEN is due to be released early September. The UK edition is the same story with only formating and spelling differences (A lot more 'U's and 'Y's like in colour and tyres).

I'll be honest: I picked up THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER on a whim, but I wasn't very excited about it. I'm not the biggest fan of the cover (though I like it more after reading the novel) and, while the description sounded interesting, I thought it had the potential to be cliche. 

I was wrong. 

I simply could not put it down. Kickass main character? Check. Detailed world with unique paranormal elements? Check. Good looking boys? Double Check. It doesn't always happen that a novel has all three of these key elements and it didn't take long before I realized that Jana Oliver had blown these requirements out of the water.

I was extremely impressed with the paranormal elements of THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER. Oliver managed to provide plenty of detail and background without slowing the novel's pace down to a crawl. Thankfully, there weren't any spots within the novel that left me wondering when something was finally going to happen.

Riley's story wouldn't be complete without a love interest... or two. I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Simon... The only word I can use to describe him is 'blah.' Luckily, there another candidate for Riley's affections and he is the complete and total opposite of 'blah.' If Riley doesn't want him, I'll be more than happy to take him off her hands...

If you're skeptical about picking up THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER, I urge you to give it a chance. I've no doubt I'll be reading the continuation of Riley story in SOUL THIEF, which releases in the US in August.

Review copy provided by publisher.


38 comments:

  1. I loved it to, and hey that's fine I'm not a fan of simon either since he is quite bland, but who cares when you have Beck and Ori *swoons* Glad you enjoyed it! :)

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  2. Great reivew. I cannot wait to get my hands on this novel. I must have it on my bookshelf. Just look at that amazing book cover, must have. Thanks for the review. Entering your giveaway. :D

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  3. You're so lucky! I want to read this book so badly! I wonder what the other guy in Riley's life is like? Hmm...

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  4. Love the review, this book surprised me with how good it is. I agree with you on Simon, I think Beck is by far the best guy in the book.

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  5. i want to read this so much more now! *grabbie hands* :D
    great review!

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  6. I have been wanting to read this book so bad, thanks for your review it sealed it for me :)

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  7. I saw this at the book store but didn't pick it up... Ah!! *hits self*

    Thanks for the review :)

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  8. Thanks for the wonderful review. I wasn't sure about getting this book, but reading your review just made me want it 1000x more. Entering your giveaway. :)

    -Lexus Salvatore

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  9. This book sounds just like the kind of book I love to read! I'm so excited about it after reading your review!

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  10. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! This book has been on my TBR list for sometime now. Great review!

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  11. Thanks for the review, now i know I need to get this one!!!!!

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  12. Interesting review, makes me want to read it.

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  13. Great review, cant wait to get my hands on this book!

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  14. I totally need to check out this book. I love reading about a strong heroine.
    Thanks for the review.
    E

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  15. Great review. I want to pick this one up now. The premise sounds great!

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  16. Nice review. You've got me interested...

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  17. I'm really looking forward to this one - I have heard so many things about it, good and bad, and you have really peaked my interest! I think I would love the cover much more if they hadnt cut off her face at such an awkward angle.

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  18. I was on the fence about reading this book too.Your review has changed my mind.I will definitely check it out.
    Great review.

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  19. Thanks for the review - I wasn't sure aboutit either. To me, catching and trapping demons gave the impression of Ghostbusters, a fun film but I didn't want to read about it. Your description sounds more like something I'd be interested in.

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  20. I gotta admit, I've gotten a bit burned out on the UF genre but this ones sounds like I might have to give it a read.

    (\___/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
    http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/

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  21. This is definitely going on my TBR list. Love the cover!

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  22. This sounds amazing! I'll have to wait for my library to get a copy of it, because I really want to read it.

    I've had people tell me that I always seem like I have a really interesting book with me, and they ask me where I find them. I refer them here. Thanks for your reviews!

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  23. Thanks for the review. Sounds like a good read.

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  24. Thanks for the great review! I started to read this one in a rotating ARC tour but ran out of time to get very far due to a busy week that week! I was really sad to mail it off without finishing... That little taste got me excited about it!!!

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  25. This definitely sounds like a good book. I've only seen a few reviews for it. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but still the reviews I've read have been good. So needless to say I'm interested in reading it.

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  26. Great review... I have had this one on my TBR list for a while. It sounds like a good one!

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  27. Great review. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

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  28. I agree with what you are saying with the cover. I like the UK cover so much more. I will still read it, and hopefully enjoy it as much you did.

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  29. Thanks for your review. I've been very curious about this one for a while now. I like the US cover, but the UK cover is just awesome.

    I'm glad to know the story is great though. I really loved the summary for it, and now that I'm getting to see reviews it makes me even more excited! <3

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  30. Sounds great! Thanks for sharing your review :)

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  31. Great review! This book has totally intrigued me. I think it sounds like Supernatural with a female lead!

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  32. Totally perfect review. I finally got this book from my local library and it is amazing! Well, I confess that its not my fave, but it was pretty close. And yeah, Simon is bland. But not every character or person can be perf, right? I know I'm not!

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  33. I always love to read glowing reviews, especially when I'm somewhat skeptical about a book. The premise sounds almost too good to be true, and I've seen too many authors take a dynamic idea and squander it. I'm truly hoping this book lives up to its hype.

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  34. Ah, I thought the same exact thing about the book because of the cover (I'm so bad at not judging books by their cover, as long as I'm not like that with people right?). Glad you liked it and btw, you got me when you said that there's more than one love interest. I love love triangles. They make the world go round. Except in real life. Those suck.

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  35. I actually did like the cover but disliked the name, but I still want to read it. Now I wanna read it even more! And most of the other reviews loved it too.

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  36. This is the second review of this book I've seen. The first one sold me on getting it, but I simply forgot all about. Thank you for reminding me! Adding it to my to-read shelf on goodreads now. :) I love kickass characters and good looking boys. Who doesn't?!

    Ha.

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  37. I so want to read this book. The concept had me hooked from the first time I heard/read about it.

    I'm just glad it's as good as I hoped. ^_^

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  38. I definitely agree that the cover of this book isn't that great. Your review has me anxious to read this book anyway though.

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