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Kara Gillian #5
Touch of the Demon
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Paranormal Fantasy (2013)Kara Gillian is in some seriously deep trouble.
She’s used to summoning supernatural creatures from the demon realm to our world, but now the tables have been turned and she’s the one who’s been summoned. Kara is the prisoner of yet another demonic lord, but she quickly discovers that she’s far more than a mere hostage. Yet waiting for rescue has never been her style, and Kara has no intention of being a pawn in someone else’s game.
There’s intrigue to spare as she digs into the origin of the demonic lords and discovers the machinations of humans and demons alike. Kara is shocked to discover that she has her own history in the demon realm, and that the ties between her and the demonic lords Rhyzkahl and Szerain go back farther than she could have ever imagined. But treachery runs rampant among all the lords, and she’s going to have to stay sharp in order to keep from being used to further their own agendas. The lords have a secret that dates back to earth’s ancient history, and it could have devastating repercussions for both worlds.
Yet more than anything else, Kara’s abilities as a homicide detective will be put to the test—because this time the murder she has to solve is her own.
She’s used to summoning supernatural creatures from the demon realm to our world, but now the tables have been turned and she’s the one who’s been summoned. Kara is the prisoner of yet another demonic lord, but she quickly discovers that she’s far more than a mere hostage. Yet waiting for rescue has never been her style, and Kara has no intention of being a pawn in someone else’s game.
There’s intrigue to spare as she digs into the origin of the demonic lords and discovers the machinations of humans and demons alike. Kara is shocked to discover that she has her own history in the demon realm, and that the ties between her and the demonic lords Rhyzkahl and Szerain go back farther than she could have ever imagined. But treachery runs rampant among all the lords, and she’s going to have to stay sharp in order to keep from being used to further their own agendas. The lords have a secret that dates back to earth’s ancient history, and it could have devastating repercussions for both worlds.
Yet more than anything else, Kara’s abilities as a homicide detective will be put to the test—because this time the murder she has to solve is her own.
440 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2012
92 people are currently reading
3528 people want to read
About the author
Diana Rowland
28 books2,855 followersDiana Rowland worked as a bartender, a blackjack dealer, a pit boss, a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant, which means that she's seen a lot of weird crap. She won the marksmanship award in her Police Academy class, has a black belt in Hapkido, has handled numerous dead bodies in various states of decomposition, and can't rollerblade to save her life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 507 reviews
January 9, 2013
I realize I’m in the minority on this, but IMO this book was a mess. This installment shifts from urban fantasy to high fantasy. I wouldn’t mind that if it was well done. Instead this book meandered all over the place, abolished previously established rules and introduced a slew of new characters. The first half of the book consists of descriptions, and little else, in the mass world building. I was so bored reading about the way all the different demons look, talk etc. Also about the castles and flowers and birds and walls and mountains and seas… And don’t get me started on the sigils, rituals and potencies which were delved into at great detail. The descriptions just went on and on; pages and pages of zero dialogue, nothing at all happening. Which brings me to my issues with pacing. What little plot there was, it was stilted and unbalanced. Parts of this book were honestly tedious to read.
The character assassination was somewhat expected, but said character is made into over-the-top deranged lunatic. On the other hand the NEW LORD ends up coming across as a perfect knight who says and does all that is perfect (in the second half anyways). Meh…boring. I was told he’s mysterious and scary and broody, but I was not shown anything to make me believe it, or get on his band wagon. Him not having a frank conversation with Kara after he summoned her was an obvious plot device. It made little sense, even after he explained his inane reasons. He was a poor carbon copy of any hero in a paranormal romance book. This series already had one very boring male lead – Ryan. Do we need another one?
Finally, my biggest problem - Kara. What happened to this woman? She was such an original heroine in the first couple of books. Mature, real, logical and analytical what you’d think a detective would be. Now she is an impulsive and very crude 16 yr old trapped in a grown woman’s body (and every male wants her). She is all powerful, yet needy and most of the time helpless. I would say she has morphed into a hybrid of a typical UF heroine. Gone is all that made her different. In general, this book was not fun to read, I don’t care what happens next, everything is pretty predictable. In short, I’m done with this series, a real shame for me, since it was one of my favourites.
The character assassination was somewhat expected, but said character is made into over-the-top deranged lunatic. On the other hand the NEW LORD ends up coming across as a perfect knight who says and does all that is perfect (in the second half anyways). Meh…boring. I was told he’s mysterious and scary and broody, but I was not shown anything to make me believe it, or get on his band wagon. Him not having a frank conversation with Kara after he summoned her was an obvious plot device. It made little sense, even after he explained his inane reasons. He was a poor carbon copy of any hero in a paranormal romance book. This series already had one very boring male lead – Ryan. Do we need another one?
Finally, my biggest problem - Kara. What happened to this woman? She was such an original heroine in the first couple of books. Mature, real, logical and analytical what you’d think a detective would be. Now she is an impulsive and very crude 16 yr old trapped in a grown woman’s body (and every male wants her). She is all powerful, yet needy and most of the time helpless. I would say she has morphed into a hybrid of a typical UF heroine. Gone is all that made her different. In general, this book was not fun to read, I don’t care what happens next, everything is pretty predictable. In short, I’m done with this series, a real shame for me, since it was one of my favourites.
January 9, 2013
1.5 stars
Even now, hours after I read it, and I already slept on it, I still felt VERY BITTER about this book. So forgive me, because this is not going to be a proper review. This is going to be A RANT. Plain and simple. It is also VERY SPOILERY. You've been warned.
----
Three words: Frustrated. Disappointed. Pissed-off.
HATED IT. HATED IT. HATED IT.
Those are the feelings I have for this book. I have never been this pissed off and annoyed with a PNF/UF series before. Even the ones I gave up (because I can't remember giving any of those books below 2-stars). BUT, it must be done. I can't even force myself clicking the 2-stars (my standard rating for books I dislike). Oh, book, how I hate thee? Let me count the ways:
+ The combination of well-grounded police procedural and urban fantasy that I love from previous 4 books? GONE. Instead, this book is switched into high fantasy in the demon realm. Do I care about the castles, the courtyards, the sigils, the grove, etc, etc. NO! Do I care about all those demons with hard-to-pronounce names? NO! Do I care about the ryeza, the syraza, the faas, or whatever bloody level of demons they are?! FRICKING NO! I love Kara when she is among his team: Jill, Ryan, Zack, Cory... and they are nowhere to be seen, except for what, the last one chapter?!
+ Kara, the level-headed female detective from the previous 4 books? GONE. So yeah, I know that Kara has the seed of being horny woman (she did have sex immediately with Rhyzkahl the first time she summoned him)... but OMG, here, instead of using her head to be in the game (you have been KIDNAPPED, WOMAN!) she uses her vagina to make her decisions.
Seriously, Kara, SERIOUSLY?
So Mzatal tortures her, she runs away to Rhyzkahl and have sex with him (Yep, that is what Kara is thinking, and I quote "I wanted to have sex not watch lords, Chapter 13"), then Rhyzkahl betrays her, and she goes back to Mzatal. Let's have fight because Rhyzkahl is evil. OOOh, we win!! Oh, Mzatal, you look handsome. So let's do celebration with sex. YAY! WTF!!
+ The slow friendship with Ryan and the possibility with that kiss in the last book? GONE. Ryan is just an after-thought here. Kara thinks, "Oh Ryan kissed me and I kissed him, he said he loved me, what did I feel about him?" ... but then OOPS, there goes that handsome demon lord. I better have sex with him, because hey, that's the only way I can get laid in this demon realm, isn't it?? F*CKERY!
+ Not impressed with all the past-life-what-evers-sequence of it about Elinor too. Don't bloody care.
And considering the ending here I can say that I am done with this series. DONE. Because yeah, after being kidnapped and tortured, Kara thinks it's a FANTASTIC idea to return to demon realm, to experience TRAINING for 6 months and to resign from the police force. Bye bye Ryan, Zack, Jill, Tessa, I'm off to another SEX sessions with the demon lords!!
Sorry, I can't take another 5 books planned for this kind of wtf-ery. I regret that I didn't 'read' this fast enough so I can return the Kindle content back to Amazon (within 7 days) and demand a refund.
Adios, Kara Gillian!! It's been a nice beginning, wonderful middle-part, and such cr*ppy ending of our relationship.
PS: The only reason I can still give an extra 0.5 stars? Some of the secondary characters are still fun to read. Like Idris, the human summoner, and of course Kehlirik the popcorn-loving demon from book #2 makes an appearance. But since they're "secondary" and the whole issue I have is with the main character, they cannot save the book.
Even now, hours after I read it, and I already slept on it, I still felt VERY BITTER about this book. So forgive me, because this is not going to be a proper review. This is going to be A RANT. Plain and simple. It is also VERY SPOILERY. You've been warned.
----
Three words: Frustrated. Disappointed. Pissed-off.
HATED IT. HATED IT. HATED IT.
Those are the feelings I have for this book. I have never been this pissed off and annoyed with a PNF/UF series before. Even the ones I gave up (because I can't remember giving any of those books below 2-stars). BUT, it must be done. I can't even force myself clicking the 2-stars (my standard rating for books I dislike). Oh, book, how I hate thee? Let me count the ways:
+ The combination of well-grounded police procedural and urban fantasy that I love from previous 4 books? GONE. Instead, this book is switched into high fantasy in the demon realm. Do I care about the castles, the courtyards, the sigils, the grove, etc, etc. NO! Do I care about all those demons with hard-to-pronounce names? NO! Do I care about the ryeza, the syraza, the faas, or whatever bloody level of demons they are?! FRICKING NO! I love Kara when she is among his team: Jill, Ryan, Zack, Cory... and they are nowhere to be seen, except for what, the last one chapter?!
+ Kara, the level-headed female detective from the previous 4 books? GONE. So yeah, I know that Kara has the seed of being horny woman (she did have sex immediately with Rhyzkahl the first time she summoned him)... but OMG, here, instead of using her head to be in the game (you have been KIDNAPPED, WOMAN!) she uses her vagina to make her decisions.
Seriously, Kara, SERIOUSLY?
So Mzatal tortures her, she runs away to Rhyzkahl and have sex with him (Yep, that is what Kara is thinking, and I quote "I wanted to have sex not watch lords, Chapter 13"), then Rhyzkahl betrays her, and she goes back to Mzatal. Let's have fight because Rhyzkahl is evil. OOOh, we win!! Oh, Mzatal, you look handsome. So let's do celebration with sex. YAY! WTF!!
+ The slow friendship with Ryan and the possibility with that kiss in the last book? GONE. Ryan is just an after-thought here. Kara thinks, "Oh Ryan kissed me and I kissed him, he said he loved me, what did I feel about him?" ... but then OOPS, there goes that handsome demon lord. I better have sex with him, because hey, that's the only way I can get laid in this demon realm, isn't it?? F*CKERY!
+ Not impressed with all the past-life-what-evers-sequence of it about Elinor too. Don't bloody care.
And considering the ending here I can say that I am done with this series. DONE. Because yeah, after being kidnapped and tortured, Kara thinks it's a FANTASTIC idea to return to demon realm, to experience TRAINING for 6 months and to resign from the police force. Bye bye Ryan, Zack, Jill, Tessa, I'm off to another SEX sessions with the demon lords!!
Sorry, I can't take another 5 books planned for this kind of wtf-ery. I regret that I didn't 'read' this fast enough so I can return the Kindle content back to Amazon (within 7 days) and demand a refund.
Adios, Kara Gillian!! It's been a nice beginning, wonderful middle-part, and such cr*ppy ending of our relationship.
PS: The only reason I can still give an extra 0.5 stars? Some of the secondary characters are still fun to read. Like Idris, the human summoner, and of course Kehlirik the popcorn-loving demon from book #2 makes an appearance. But since they're "secondary" and the whole issue I have is with the main character, they cannot save the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2012
I mean...talk about a left turn at Albuquerque. This is an amaze-balls followup to the last 4 books. The last 4 were really good urban fantasy with procedural stuff, but this book throws that formula into demon-town and is even more interesting for it. I was awestruck at the twists and turns and the, "Oh MAN why didn't I see that before!" So...yeah. If you like the series you gotta read this, and if you haven't read the series start in, because this series is top-notch in the genre. Gritty and dark, this is really good reading!
January 13, 2013
I'm conflicted about this one. While I did really enjoy finally getting answers to all the questions from the previous books & learning more about the demon realm & all the arcane mechanics I REALLY missed the cop/investigation/case procedural element from previous installments. Also it felt like there was WAY TOO MUCH downtime & all the characters I had grown attached to barely make a cameo appearance. All that did allow me to relate more to Kara's state of mind because as the reader I was missing her home, friends, family & life just as much as she was but that also left me just missing everything I like about this series & I found myself losing interest. I found that I had to force myself to get through the book when I normally would have torn through it. So I guess it breaks down to I'm happy to have gotten answers but sad that it was at the cost of all the things I love about the series & now I'm dreading the direction the series is going but I hope I'm wrong.
January 17, 2013
Edit...Update:
You mean I stalked one of my favorite author's Facebook page, website and twitter for THIS? To have Rowland pull a Hamilton out of left field and wave goodbye to Kara Gillian and hello to Anita Blake? Oh hell no. Hated seeing another one of my all time favorite characters reduced to spreading her legs and flashing her magic kitty box all around the demon realm. Come on. I'm all for edgy but this is ridiculous. As usual, Rowland shows us a world in vivid, splendid detail(how she got 3 stars)...but that's not why I invest my money and my time in books. It's the characters, the relationships, and the whodunit-ess that I fell in love with, not the scenery. I'm really, really hoping that instead of Hamilton she's pulled a KMM instead and she'll blow my mind with the next one. I have faith in you, Ms. Rowland.
2013? Are you friggingggggg crazy? I can't wait a whole year. Evil woman!
You mean I stalked one of my favorite author's Facebook page, website and twitter for THIS? To have Rowland pull a Hamilton out of left field and wave goodbye to Kara Gillian and hello to Anita Blake? Oh hell no. Hated seeing another one of my all time favorite characters reduced to spreading her legs and flashing her magic kitty box all around the demon realm. Come on. I'm all for edgy but this is ridiculous. As usual, Rowland shows us a world in vivid, splendid detail(how she got 3 stars)...but that's not why I invest my money and my time in books. It's the characters, the relationships, and the whodunit-ess that I fell in love with, not the scenery. I'm really, really hoping that instead of Hamilton she's pulled a KMM instead and she'll blow my mind with the next one. I have faith in you, Ms. Rowland.
2013? Are you friggingggggg crazy? I can't wait a whole year. Evil woman!
November 3, 2017
OMG I'm actually surprised just how much epic fantasy is packed into this novel.
I mean, seriously, we're meant to expect police procedural in Louisiana with a taste or two of demon summoning, but instead, we get a full-blown epic in the Demon world (that seems rather nice, to be honest,) and tons of leveling up for Kara.
Is this what people think when the series goes sideways? Give me more!
We're leaving Earth for a brand new sidewise world! Heck yeah!
The best part is when Kara learns that her paramour can't be trusted. Big surprise? Maybe not. But it definitely makes for some excellent reading. Maybe even reboot-Kara worthy. This is some perfection when it comes to backstory and build when it comes to getting Over-Powered. :)
Maybe I'm just a sucker for all this stuff.
Correction. I AM a sucker for level-ups. No doubt about it.
So now we have tragic backstory and reason for training in the Demon Realm. Awesome. Totally Awesome. :) :)
Gotta love tragic knives and all. :) Climbing towers, making floating 2D sigils? Getting BEAST at least in terms of Earth Summoner terminology? I DON'T CARE. I LOVE IT.
Honestly, this is my favorite Kara novel. It has tons of new locations, new characters, new level-ups, and new motivations that aren't Earth-based. Do I really want something so far-flung? Yeah, perhaps I do, especially after having such a solid grounding already. :)
I mean, seriously, we're meant to expect police procedural in Louisiana with a taste or two of demon summoning, but instead, we get a full-blown epic in the Demon world (that seems rather nice, to be honest,) and tons of leveling up for Kara.
Is this what people think when the series goes sideways? Give me more!
We're leaving Earth for a brand new sidewise world! Heck yeah!
The best part is when Kara learns that her paramour can't be trusted. Big surprise? Maybe not. But it definitely makes for some excellent reading. Maybe even reboot-Kara worthy. This is some perfection when it comes to backstory and build when it comes to getting Over-Powered. :)
Maybe I'm just a sucker for all this stuff.
Correction. I AM a sucker for level-ups. No doubt about it.
So now we have tragic backstory and reason for training in the Demon Realm. Awesome. Totally Awesome. :) :)
Gotta love tragic knives and all. :) Climbing towers, making floating 2D sigils? Getting BEAST at least in terms of Earth Summoner terminology? I DON'T CARE. I LOVE IT.
Honestly, this is my favorite Kara novel. It has tons of new locations, new characters, new level-ups, and new motivations that aren't Earth-based. Do I really want something so far-flung? Yeah, perhaps I do, especially after having such a solid grounding already. :)
August 11, 2016
The one was a bit of a disappointment for me. The installment takes a turn toward high fantasy, which bogs down the first half. I also didn't find the mid-point pivot as satisfying as some other readers did. The elements that ultimately drew me into this series--the police procedural, the Kara-Ryan interplay, and a very grounded urban fantasy world--were largely absent. The descriptions, dialogue, and characterization remain wonderful however.
As some readers suggest, this may be a necessary "game-changer" to keep the series fresh through a 10-book run (and perhaps carry out what the author intended all along). Immediately after reading, I find myself wishing that Kara's story hadn't changed direction so boldly and instead wrapped up by a book 6 or 7, something I never expected to say about one of my top three favorite series.
After a simmer and re-read, I'll reevaluate whether to leave this at only two stars because it just feels wrong to have a two-star Rowland. But right now, I can't honestly say that I liked this book.
---Update 08/11/13---
Yea, this is a two-star book. When you read this novel, you would never realize that Kara is a cop (and a good one, as we're led to believe in previous installments). The later sex scenes seem there just for the sake of having sex; the alleged emotional connection between those characters is completely forced. I also have a difficult time believing Kara would so easily forgive that the people she's now aligned with summoned her for the sole purpose of . Can you imagine Kara And "Let's go boss"? Really? Ugh.
As some readers suggest, this may be a necessary "game-changer" to keep the series fresh through a 10-book run (and perhaps carry out what the author intended all along). Immediately after reading, I find myself wishing that Kara's story hadn't changed direction so boldly and instead wrapped up by a book 6 or 7, something I never expected to say about one of my top three favorite series.
After a simmer and re-read, I'll reevaluate whether to leave this at only two stars because it just feels wrong to have a two-star Rowland. But right now, I can't honestly say that I liked this book.
---Update 08/11/13---
Yea, this is a two-star book. When you read this novel, you would never realize that Kara is a cop (and a good one, as we're led to believe in previous installments). The later sex scenes seem there just for the sake of having sex; the alleged emotional connection between those characters is completely forced. I also have a difficult time believing Kara would so easily forgive that the people she's now aligned with summoned her for the sole purpose of . Can you imagine Kara And "Let's go boss"? Really? Ugh.
January 8, 2013
I will probably be the only person that gives this book a 1 star review but I have my reasons. To start, the first 100 pages were like a complete waste of time. NOthing really happened! It was maddening to me. So many times I started to put the book down. When Kara finally escaped to Rhyzkahl was when things got interesting. Rhyzkahl is mysterious, enigmatic, mysterious and nefarious. He has all the qualities to be a great anti-hero. Now after having readers get invested in the relationship between Rhyzkahl and Kara through four books she decides out of the blue to make him a sadistic bad guy. I did not like this at all. It almost felt to me as if she knew that she should be wrapping up this series but to keep it going she had to come up with some kind of twist. Yes, I realize Rhyzkahl is a demon and all of them are untrustworthy and have hidden agendas but the way that he has been with Kara in previous books as well as the beginning of this book made me feel this was way out of character for him. And then her reasoning for Rhyzkahl to go to such extremes was to make Kara a thrall and use her to retrieve Szrain's blade. Couldn't he have gotten her to do that without carving her up? I think so. Secondly, if he was just using her then why was he acting so damn jealous and possessive when anyone touched her, especially Mzatal? I believe that Rhyzkahl does have some real feelings for Kara. Speaking of Kara, she really got on my nerves in this book. She acted so clueless and so damn helpless while still talking smack.I wanted to tell her to shut up. This brings me to Mzatal. I don't like him and I am not buying that he and Kara are into each other all of a sudden. Their romance feels as forced to me as the one between Kara and Ryan. Kara belongs with Rhyzkahl. Mzatal and Ryan do nothing for me. I also didn't like this book because I felt the author went too in depth with descriptions of the demons and the arcane stuff. It bored me. The whole Elinor/Kara essence connection was okay but I felt it would have been better if Kara was her descendant and that was why all of the lords wanted her. Not only for having a potential for great power but also because they'd loved her ancestress.The reason I have read the series for so long is because I became emotionally connected to the relationship between Kara and Rhyzkahl. Now that his character has been completely assasinated, this will probably be the last Kara Gillian book for me.
January 15, 2020
4.5 (the .5 is because it completely baffled me)
There's a huge, huge plot twist at about 35%.
I would have never, ever expected
I have to admit, I love books with things that manage to surprise me. I mean, after a while, everything becomes intuitive, you know who the good guy and who the bad guy is, you know how the story will end, you know what will happen.
But I have to admit that I did not expect this one!
Who would have thought that
I love it though, and it's better this way. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people will hate the change, but eh, who cares!
Whoopee, go go Diana Rowland!
There's a huge, huge plot twist at about 35%.
I would have never, ever expected
I have to admit, I love books with things that manage to surprise me. I mean, after a while, everything becomes intuitive, you know who the good guy and who the bad guy is, you know how the story will end, you know what will happen.
But I have to admit that I did not expect this one!
Who would have thought that
I love it though, and it's better this way. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people will hate the change, but eh, who cares!
Whoopee, go go Diana Rowland!
March 13, 2012
Good lord, someone needs to create a 'text, call, email, tweet, pinch and shake me' app for notifying us salivating fans for the MINUTE this book is released. I do love my sleep, but would cheerfully wake up in the middle of the night to purchase this book.
September 11, 2017
I just finished Sins of the Demon and, uh, how the hell am I supposed to wait a year for Touch of the Demon? The demons in this series may not be evil, but whoever's making me wait until 2013 for the next book sure is.
Nine likes were for the comment above.
Finally got back to this series (see what happens when I have to wait a year for the next book?) and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Kara's pissing me the fuck off.
It’d been a couple of years since I read the last book, but something made me decide to pick the series back up. There are spoilers for other books in the series in this review.
This book picks up at the end of the last one, with Kara having been summoned to the demon realm against her will. What does the person who summoned her want and will Rhyzkahl be able to save her, assuming she can’t save herself?
I’m not going to go into every aspect of the book, but Kara was summoned by another demon lord, Mzatal, in order to get Szerain’s blade. Of course, it’s not going to be easy or pain free for Kara, as per the usual. Fortunately she figures out a way to escape and then the real fun begins.
There were a whiplash inducing amount of twists and turns in this book. Some of them even caught me off guard and, while I’ve always been Team Ryan, . We were introduced to a few new characters; humans, demons and demon lords. All of them were pretty well fleshed out for all that was going on and some really grew on me.
Whatever the opposite of growing on you is, that's what happened with Kara for me in this book. After saying she loved Ryan as she got summoned to the demon realm, she continues . All the while, she is 100% convinced that everyone will be fine with it. Not only fine, actually, but happy for her. Yeah, she says that at least twice in the book, they’ll be happy for her. She’s turned into such a demon lord slut that it makes me want to barf. Can’t the girl keep it in her pants?! Vahl was with someone Kara knew and, while they may not have been exclusive and the girl may not have cared, we don’t know that and it seemed a shitty thing to do. And this whole it-transcends-romantic-love bs? Gag. Ugh.
Skankiness aside, has Kara learned NOTHING?! These demon lords are out for themselves and will do whatever they can to get their way. She’s acting like a stupid idiot and keeps doing one dumb thing after another. I really hope she gets her shit together in the next book. Another thing related to this that’s driving me nuts is that everyone wants Kara, despite her flabby butt and whatever else she says about herself, she’s apparently super special and completely irresistible; I’m just waiting for one of the gay lords to decide, “Yeah, I’d hit that!” and make his move. One guy was even convinced they’ll work out just because she hugged him out of gratitude. Uh-huh. And, Kara, please stop understanding why everyone does what they do and not being or staying pissed at most of them. They're assholes and deserve it!!!
A couple of other things I need to complain about are the names of these demon lords and demons…how the hell am I supposed to know how to pronounce them? I was talking to my sister about this book and kept stumbling over Mzatal’s name and she said, “Oh, Matzo Ball?”, so, now I keep calling him Matzo. I applaud the author’s attempt to make up completely new names, but… Another thing is all the summoner work going on. Way too much on the sigils and stuff. It’s hard to picture and the way the lines connect, why something works or doesn’t, just don’t make much sense to me and there was too much of it in the book. It’s nice that Rowland switched everything up a bit and had , but I hope the next book isn’t the same. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
So, overall, I liked this book and will read the next one, but Kara is really becoming a character that I’m not a fan of, something which I really, really, hope turns around in the next one in the series.
Nine likes were for the comment above.
Finally got back to this series (see what happens when I have to wait a year for the next book?) and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Kara's pissing me the fuck off.
It’d been a couple of years since I read the last book, but something made me decide to pick the series back up. There are spoilers for other books in the series in this review.
This book picks up at the end of the last one, with Kara having been summoned to the demon realm against her will. What does the person who summoned her want and will Rhyzkahl be able to save her, assuming she can’t save herself?
I’m not going to go into every aspect of the book, but Kara was summoned by another demon lord, Mzatal, in order to get Szerain’s blade. Of course, it’s not going to be easy or pain free for Kara, as per the usual. Fortunately she figures out a way to escape and then the real fun begins.
There were a whiplash inducing amount of twists and turns in this book. Some of them even caught me off guard and, while I’ve always been Team Ryan, . We were introduced to a few new characters; humans, demons and demon lords. All of them were pretty well fleshed out for all that was going on and some really grew on me.
Whatever the opposite of growing on you is, that's what happened with Kara for me in this book. After saying she loved Ryan as she got summoned to the demon realm, she continues . All the while, she is 100% convinced that everyone will be fine with it. Not only fine, actually, but happy for her. Yeah, she says that at least twice in the book, they’ll be happy for her. She’s turned into such a demon lord slut that it makes me want to barf. Can’t the girl keep it in her pants?! Vahl was with someone Kara knew and, while they may not have been exclusive and the girl may not have cared, we don’t know that and it seemed a shitty thing to do. And this whole it-transcends-romantic-love bs? Gag. Ugh.
Skankiness aside, has Kara learned NOTHING?! These demon lords are out for themselves and will do whatever they can to get their way. She’s acting like a stupid idiot and keeps doing one dumb thing after another. I really hope she gets her shit together in the next book. Another thing related to this that’s driving me nuts is that everyone wants Kara, despite her flabby butt and whatever else she says about herself, she’s apparently super special and completely irresistible; I’m just waiting for one of the gay lords to decide, “Yeah, I’d hit that!” and make his move. One guy was even convinced they’ll work out just because she hugged him out of gratitude. Uh-huh. And, Kara, please stop understanding why everyone does what they do and not being or staying pissed at most of them. They're assholes and deserve it!!!
A couple of other things I need to complain about are the names of these demon lords and demons…how the hell am I supposed to know how to pronounce them? I was talking to my sister about this book and kept stumbling over Mzatal’s name and she said, “Oh, Matzo Ball?”, so, now I keep calling him Matzo. I applaud the author’s attempt to make up completely new names, but… Another thing is all the summoner work going on. Way too much on the sigils and stuff. It’s hard to picture and the way the lines connect, why something works or doesn’t, just don’t make much sense to me and there was too much of it in the book. It’s nice that Rowland switched everything up a bit and had , but I hope the next book isn’t the same. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
So, overall, I liked this book and will read the next one, but Kara is really becoming a character that I’m not a fan of, something which I really, really, hope turns around in the next one in the series.
January 10, 2013
I have been a HUGE fan of this series from the start! I hated the ending of the last book because it left the reader hanging and waiting for more. Maybe the anticipation had me expecting to be blown away and thoroughly in love with book five. I'm very saddened to report that I wasn't!
This book began with me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next. And while there were a few 'oh my God!' moments for me there were also a lot of 'Oh heck NO!' moments!
As a dedicated fan I am invested in these characters and so when a betrayal takes place as the reader who feels invested I too feel betrayed. Not only betrayed by the character but by the author as well!
I felt the author took it way too far. I'm not reading horror and I don't need to read such vile things to be entertained. I'm looking for a little less gruesome and just something different that takes me out of my world and sets my imagination souring.
What I feel I got in this installment was negative in every way. I don't recall a single feel good moment. Even when Kara triumphed she did with little umph for me because it meant another character I'd invested in did not triumph.
And then we have my perception of Kara. I felt she changed from a woman who invested in relationships to one that simply slept around (or would with a little prodding anyway) with every man that looked at her!
And really - what is up with all of a sudden EVERY male having the hots for Kara? Is it just me or were others scratching their heads over that one? I thought this woman wasn't a looker? I know her personality isn't the drawing factor!
And was I the only one that did NOT see Idris had the hots for her too? All of a sudden it was Kara talking to Mzatal about it.. what? And then where did the Mzatal feelings come from? One minute it's friends the next it's naked?
And for me personally I have to say I still don't feel that there has been any time or effort put into her relationship with any of the male characters other than Rhyzkahl. I haven't any idea who Ryan (aka Szerain) really is and I never felt the buildup to warrant the ‘I love you’ at that end of the last book. Even so, the author felt it necessary to introduce yet another man with the SAME ISSUE!!!! It's as if Diana has no clue how to build relationships in her books! I'm not sure why it wasn't as big of an issue before but now it's just glaringly obvious and I find it very off putting!
I feel as if there are all these new characters and they all just fall flat! I know what they look like physically but that’s about it.
Bottom line is - we need more ANSWERS and far LESS loopholes!
Am I the only one that was left scratching my head thinking what the hell? And if I had to guess I’d say the next book plot is going to be (at least in part) about getting Idris back? And possibly his lineage? Yet Idris is another character we haven't invested in and know nothing about? Yeah, can’t WAIT to read THAT one!
I'm at a cross roads: I LOVED LOVED this series before this book but I'm not sure I even WANT to read book six. I'm going to put that decision on the back burner and wait until the description of the next book comes out. Who knows?
Overall – my opinion is this may be one to skip! Just because you didn't see something coming and the author manages to shock you - does NOT mean it's a good thing! This author took a great risk - like standing too close to the edge of a cliff -in her effort to produce shock value. Well she did it! Unfortunately it went all downhill from there! Sorry Diana - this was a free fall!
My opinion - the other books were 5 stars for entertainment but this one I could have done without!
This book began with me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next. And while there were a few 'oh my God!' moments for me there were also a lot of 'Oh heck NO!' moments!
As a dedicated fan I am invested in these characters and so when a betrayal takes place as the reader who feels invested I too feel betrayed. Not only betrayed by the character but by the author as well!
I felt the author took it way too far. I'm not reading horror and I don't need to read such vile things to be entertained. I'm looking for a little less gruesome and just something different that takes me out of my world and sets my imagination souring.
What I feel I got in this installment was negative in every way. I don't recall a single feel good moment. Even when Kara triumphed she did with little umph for me because it meant another character I'd invested in did not triumph.
And then we have my perception of Kara. I felt she changed from a woman who invested in relationships to one that simply slept around (or would with a little prodding anyway) with every man that looked at her!
And really - what is up with all of a sudden EVERY male having the hots for Kara? Is it just me or were others scratching their heads over that one? I thought this woman wasn't a looker? I know her personality isn't the drawing factor!
And was I the only one that did NOT see Idris had the hots for her too? All of a sudden it was Kara talking to Mzatal about it.. what? And then where did the Mzatal feelings come from? One minute it's friends the next it's naked?
And for me personally I have to say I still don't feel that there has been any time or effort put into her relationship with any of the male characters other than Rhyzkahl. I haven't any idea who Ryan (aka Szerain) really is and I never felt the buildup to warrant the ‘I love you’ at that end of the last book. Even so, the author felt it necessary to introduce yet another man with the SAME ISSUE!!!! It's as if Diana has no clue how to build relationships in her books! I'm not sure why it wasn't as big of an issue before but now it's just glaringly obvious and I find it very off putting!
I feel as if there are all these new characters and they all just fall flat! I know what they look like physically but that’s about it.
Bottom line is - we need more ANSWERS and far LESS loopholes!
Am I the only one that was left scratching my head thinking what the hell? And if I had to guess I’d say the next book plot is going to be (at least in part) about getting Idris back? And possibly his lineage? Yet Idris is another character we haven't invested in and know nothing about? Yeah, can’t WAIT to read THAT one!
I'm at a cross roads: I LOVED LOVED this series before this book but I'm not sure I even WANT to read book six. I'm going to put that decision on the back burner and wait until the description of the next book comes out. Who knows?
Overall – my opinion is this may be one to skip! Just because you didn't see something coming and the author manages to shock you - does NOT mean it's a good thing! This author took a great risk - like standing too close to the edge of a cliff -in her effort to produce shock value. Well she did it! Unfortunately it went all downhill from there! Sorry Diana - this was a free fall!
My opinion - the other books were 5 stars for entertainment but this one I could have done without!
September 29, 2012
Touch of the Demon by Diana RowlandMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
REVIEW:
Well folk, Kara has stumbled into the worst time of her life in this book, for those that read Sins of the Demon (book #4) of this series and screamed like I did at the horrible cliffhanger ending, this should help a bit.
Kara finds herself betrayed, imprisoned, and used as a pawn in struggles that began long before she was born. For those of you that love angst, pain and torture; you will get your fill, for those (like me) who want revenge, uh, justice, you will get that in ways you never expected (I mean it, you NEVER expected). Let us not forget the bit of passion and near erotic nature of previous novels, yep, that is here also, what’s not to love?
You should be forewarned that this book is going to be more of an independent novel in comparison to the previous books and I suppose it was needed to keep the series from becoming stale. The changes here will breathe fresh air into an already exceptional series for several more novels.
The myriad plots and subplots that Ms Rowland throws out throughout the book keep you guessing and also provide enough action for her to do some new world building and fill in some history of this new world without boring the reader. Additionally, revelations concerning instances of Kara’s own recent history previously hidden will be revealed, almost NOTHING is as it seemed.
RATING:
This is a well crafted novel that serves the purpose of soothing readers that were less than happy about the ending of Sins of the Demon (book #4) and taking the series off in new directions while holding the same level of excellent writing exhibited in previous novels. Fans of this series are going to love this, there may be some stress and concern in the early and middle portions of the book but you will cheer the ending …… trust me :)
5 Stars easy and more great novels in this series still to come!
Series reading order at this link:
http://www.dianarowland.com/index.html
View all my reviews
November 15, 2015
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A copy of Touch of the Demon was provided to me by DAW/Penguin Group (USA) for review purposes. Thank you!
Diana Rowland's Kara Gillian series has been a favorite of mine from the very beginning, but with 'Touch of the Demon' she's truly taken this series to a whole new level and as Kara is so fond of saying, "Shit just got real." ‘Touch of the Demon’ truly mixed things up and allowed this series to remain outstanding for many more installments.
Touch of the Demon picks up right where the last one left off with that dreaded cliffhanger that I think had us all pulling our hair out. Kara finds herself in the demon realm and she's being held against her will by the demonic Lord Mzatal. Unclear as to why he's keeping her but positive that it's not for anything good she finally manages to escape and get to Rhyzkahl but she finds herself in any even worse situation. It’s a complex story that has Kara spinning in confusion trying to figure out how to get out of this situation and finally get home, to Earth.
The best part of this story was the imagery Diana created. Her depictions of the demon realm were meticulous allowing you to visualize it completely. From details of the palaces she stayed in to the trees to the various different demons that she had never encountered before. Each additional detail really added something distinctive to making this story highly creative. There are so much more that could be said but there were so many intricate aspects to this story-line that each detail is essentially a part of the spoiler… and I would hate to ruin this for anyone. If you’ve been a fan of this series though, you will definitely love this one.
Touch of the Demon is hands down the darkest, grittiest installment yet, and it was absolutely fantastic. The cliffhanger lacking ending was music to my ears and still managed to set in motion potentially awesome storylines. I can’t wait to see where Diana Rowland takes us next on this brilliant endeavor!
A copy of Touch of the Demon was provided to me by DAW/Penguin Group (USA) for review purposes. Thank you!
Diana Rowland's Kara Gillian series has been a favorite of mine from the very beginning, but with 'Touch of the Demon' she's truly taken this series to a whole new level and as Kara is so fond of saying, "Shit just got real." ‘Touch of the Demon’ truly mixed things up and allowed this series to remain outstanding for many more installments.
Touch of the Demon picks up right where the last one left off with that dreaded cliffhanger that I think had us all pulling our hair out. Kara finds herself in the demon realm and she's being held against her will by the demonic Lord Mzatal. Unclear as to why he's keeping her but positive that it's not for anything good she finally manages to escape and get to Rhyzkahl but she finds herself in any even worse situation. It’s a complex story that has Kara spinning in confusion trying to figure out how to get out of this situation and finally get home, to Earth.
The best part of this story was the imagery Diana created. Her depictions of the demon realm were meticulous allowing you to visualize it completely. From details of the palaces she stayed in to the trees to the various different demons that she had never encountered before. Each additional detail really added something distinctive to making this story highly creative. There are so much more that could be said but there were so many intricate aspects to this story-line that each detail is essentially a part of the spoiler… and I would hate to ruin this for anyone. If you’ve been a fan of this series though, you will definitely love this one.
Touch of the Demon is hands down the darkest, grittiest installment yet, and it was absolutely fantastic. The cliffhanger lacking ending was music to my ears and still managed to set in motion potentially awesome storylines. I can’t wait to see where Diana Rowland takes us next on this brilliant endeavor!
January 2, 2013
I spent the first third of this book constantly saying to myself, "OMG I just want to get back to Louisiana!" but I am pretty sure that was intended. Kara goes through so much, and I was good and over with the demon world once a specific demon lord-who-shall-not-be-named-to-avoid-spoilers is done with her. I am SO GLAD his true colors and intentions were revealed because I have always HATED that guy! UGH. But then, another demon lord really rises to the occasion *ahem* and he totally won me over. Love him. I devoured this book, and at the end I felt DEEPLY satisfied!! We got some answers I have been wondering about for a while now, and the setup for book 6 is super exciting. Now, I am going to go sit in the corner and whine and bitch (to MYSELF ;)) about how long it will be until book 6, grumble grumble.
Want to read
September 21, 2012Chapter 1 - http://dianarowland.com/TOTD_chapter_...
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If that's not a freaky cover, I don't know what is.
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Sins of the Demon ended in such a cliffhanger! I seriously need to get my hands on this book right now. I was pretty confused with the ending of the previous book. I need information on this Lord and Summoning Chamber! Plus! I want more Rhyzkahl! please give me more Rhyzkahl, I felt thoroughly deprived of him in the previous book =(
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If that's not a freaky cover, I don't know what is.
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Sins of the Demon ended in such a cliffhanger! I seriously need to get my hands on this book right now. I was pretty confused with the ending of the previous book. I need information on this Lord and Summoning Chamber! Plus! I want more Rhyzkahl! please give me more Rhyzkahl, I felt thoroughly deprived of him in the previous book =(
January 6, 2013
Just finished the book had to wait for my pay check. All I have to say is holy fucking shit! ....now the long and grueling task of pining away for the next installment DAMN IT!!!!!!
April 15, 2024
The one made my jaw drop. I fucking love every minute of this book. The twist and turns are just wow. I can't wait to read what comes next.
March 23, 2013
I'm not sure what other people's reaction is to a book that was highly anticipated. I have different reactions myself: sometime I gobble it down without breathing and sometimes I look at it in wonder and can't even open it.
Sin of the Demon had ended with such a high peak (and a cliff-hanger) that I was leery of reading this one. I pre-ordered it, got it on kindle for New Year, re-ordered the paperback (I love this series) and then went to wait. (Don't ask, I don't know why I do act this way.)
As I noted with Naysa a few days ago in a comment, every one is gleefully useless in their happiness over a book, but every one else hates it for a different reason. So I tend to agree on this book rating, but for my own reasons.
I did not mind the game-changing, I did not mind the switch to fantasy, I did not mind losing the procedural for a book. But God I did mind all the rest.
Pace: the book was pretty intense for the first half, then as soon as she went back to Mazral, boom, it went downhill and stopped. Half a book of almost nothing was a bit too much. There are plenty of books made this way and I do not mind when the plot is good (it was good). But stopping it midway is like having a car wreck while speeding. The damage is bigger.
Characters. Ok I get that the demon lord R had to go. But having him going mental was really over the top. He could simply be the demon Lord with his own agenda ready to screw her over. Nope he had to be lunatic all of a sudden.
What happened to Kara? Where's the logical cop? The strong minded heroine? I loved her snark, yes, but here she was only that, Miss Snarky. I get that she is powerless and scared. I understand she's masking her fear. And yet...
And yet she has been betrayed, tortured, betrayed again. And nothing happens to the character. Trust is such a delicate flower. Once shattered, it takes years to have it grow back. Here, it snaps back as one of the demons in the story...
There was no place in this book for sex. Sex is trust and you do not have sex (after a near death experience) with a guy that has betrayed you exactly like the one who tortured you in the beginning. Or maybe you can have sex, but not the rest (friendship, kinship, again (I'm a broken record today) trust).
I'm kind of flabbergasted. (Except for a few panic attacks it would really seem nothing bad had happened to her....)
And what of Ryan? What was the reason for the his romantic involvement? For all the Elinor back story there's no real explanation of that thread.
January 1, 2013
Wow! This is an awesome book! Crazy ride from the start. Some questions you had are answered and of course more questions pop up. The betrayal in the middle was just horrible I didn't see coming and left me in shock. But once you get over from the shock and close your damn mouth that was hanging open it does make sense if you think about it. This book takes place in the demon realm, but the last two chapters happen back on earth. So there was no cop stuff in this book but I liked that it changed things up a bit. I enjoyed the little bit of romance there at the end hopefully we will get a little more of that in the next book. Great book can't wait for the next one!
January 5, 2013
WARNING SPOILERS
I haven't figured out how to spoiler mark on the mobile app yet!!
I really wanted to love this book. I did. I love Kara Gillian but in this book she was weak, irritating and apparently every single lord wants to do her. She betrays Ryan with the new lord in her life and just generally behaves like she has a magical vagina. The girl needs to keep her legs closed.
That said, Kara is naive and needy during the entire novel. She runs To the wrong lord, gets tortured..by someone she shouldn't trust in first place..and then runs back to The Lord she ran from and trusts him completely instead?? What the hell? Strong and independent Kara now makes me want to slap her and tell her to stop being so weak. Ugh.
The elements I liked were missing - down to earth urban fantasy, the strong female main character, and the cop work. Even the relationship between Ryan and Kara is fizzling. The actual story is going to fantasy component of the urban fantasy and Kara not only has a magical vagina she must share with everyone but she's also special enough to have grove affinity that gives her lord like powers, control over a lord's blade and thanks to the magical vagina some weird connection to a lord she shouldn't have boned in the first place.
I'm very disappointed in this book, and Alittle sad I pre-ordered it. I was expecting the old Demon series - not fantasy. We need the aspects that make this series great: ass kicking cop who is a summoner on the side. The writing is still superb, but unfortunately didn't help the book at all for me.
I haven't figured out how to spoiler mark on the mobile app yet!!
I really wanted to love this book. I did. I love Kara Gillian but in this book she was weak, irritating and apparently every single lord wants to do her. She betrays Ryan with the new lord in her life and just generally behaves like she has a magical vagina. The girl needs to keep her legs closed.
That said, Kara is naive and needy during the entire novel. She runs To the wrong lord, gets tortured..by someone she shouldn't trust in first place..and then runs back to The Lord she ran from and trusts him completely instead?? What the hell? Strong and independent Kara now makes me want to slap her and tell her to stop being so weak. Ugh.
The elements I liked were missing - down to earth urban fantasy, the strong female main character, and the cop work. Even the relationship between Ryan and Kara is fizzling. The actual story is going to fantasy component of the urban fantasy and Kara not only has a magical vagina she must share with everyone but she's also special enough to have grove affinity that gives her lord like powers, control over a lord's blade and thanks to the magical vagina some weird connection to a lord she shouldn't have boned in the first place.
I'm very disappointed in this book, and Alittle sad I pre-ordered it. I was expecting the old Demon series - not fantasy. We need the aspects that make this series great: ass kicking cop who is a summoner on the side. The writing is still superb, but unfortunately didn't help the book at all for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2013
It's taken me a few days to put together a review for this book, but I can't - not the way I usually write one. The following will have to suffice as it's the only way I can put into words what I think about "Touch of the Demon" as they pop into my head.
- Did I love it? No! Did I hate it? No!
- What the FUCK!
- Holy crap! How many demons, reyzas, faas, and everything else under the demon sun are we supposed to keep track of? Mind you, I did love Faruk, Jekki and Gestamar.
- Don't even ask me for the names of all the lords and demons because there are just way too many.
- Where the hell is Ryan? Zac? Jill? Tessa? On that note, what happened to planet Earth? Do you still have a job or do you need to bring in a note to explain your absence?
- Swearing is one thing Kara, but seriously, give your mouth a rest. You sound like an immature, over-dramatic teen.
- You're a detective. Why are you not using your skills? You're an idiot.
- Rhyzkahl, you SUCK! SUCK! SUCK!!! You broke my heart. How could you? I've been rooting for you since book 1. You piece of shit!
- Kara, what is going on in your head? You're screwing Rhyzkahl while you're going on about your love for Ryan. Really? Then you turn around and screw Mzatal? By the way, I knew you would eventually but the way it happened, not really romantic. I mean you come back from your umpteenth bath and he's there in the bedroom and what, he just looks at you and that's it, you screw? Then you give Ryan a deep, passionate kiss at the end? You can't fool me. Everyone knows you're going to screw Mzatal if not once, a hundred times while you're with him.
- I was so excited after reading the last book in the series. What a cliff-hangar. I couldn't stop thinking about it. But what the hell? To wait all this time for the new book only for Kara to stay stuck in demon hell for pretty much the entire book?
- I'd like an explanation as to why she's getting power from the grove.
- What the hell does Elinor have to do with Kara? I don't understand the connection.
- Kara, your gut-feelings suck. Pay attention! Get a clue!
- You quit your job?! What the hell? How do plan on making money?
- Will I be reading the next book? Yeah, most likely. I just hope it's better than this one.
- Shit! Now I'm wondering why I gave it three stars. Okay, I'll be generous and give it 2-1/2 stars.
You know, I should do all my reviews like this. Maybe I'm onto something.
- Did I love it? No! Did I hate it? No!
- What the FUCK!
- Holy crap! How many demons, reyzas, faas, and everything else under the demon sun are we supposed to keep track of? Mind you, I did love Faruk, Jekki and Gestamar.
- Don't even ask me for the names of all the lords and demons because there are just way too many.
- Where the hell is Ryan? Zac? Jill? Tessa? On that note, what happened to planet Earth? Do you still have a job or do you need to bring in a note to explain your absence?
- Swearing is one thing Kara, but seriously, give your mouth a rest. You sound like an immature, over-dramatic teen.
- You're a detective. Why are you not using your skills? You're an idiot.
- Rhyzkahl, you SUCK! SUCK! SUCK!!! You broke my heart. How could you? I've been rooting for you since book 1. You piece of shit!
- Kara, what is going on in your head? You're screwing Rhyzkahl while you're going on about your love for Ryan. Really? Then you turn around and screw Mzatal? By the way, I knew you would eventually but the way it happened, not really romantic. I mean you come back from your umpteenth bath and he's there in the bedroom and what, he just looks at you and that's it, you screw? Then you give Ryan a deep, passionate kiss at the end? You can't fool me. Everyone knows you're going to screw Mzatal if not once, a hundred times while you're with him.
- I was so excited after reading the last book in the series. What a cliff-hangar. I couldn't stop thinking about it. But what the hell? To wait all this time for the new book only for Kara to stay stuck in demon hell for pretty much the entire book?
- I'd like an explanation as to why she's getting power from the grove.
- What the hell does Elinor have to do with Kara? I don't understand the connection.
- Kara, your gut-feelings suck. Pay attention! Get a clue!
- You quit your job?! What the hell? How do plan on making money?
- Will I be reading the next book? Yeah, most likely. I just hope it's better than this one.
- Shit! Now I'm wondering why I gave it three stars. Okay, I'll be generous and give it 2-1/2 stars.
You know, I should do all my reviews like this. Maybe I'm onto something.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2012
With such an thrilling beginning, it will be no surprise to find that the first half of TOUCH OF THE DEMON is a complete game changer for Kara Gillian. Swept away into the demon world, at the mercy of beings whose motives and manipulations she can barely comprehend, Kara is operating outside of everything known and comfortable.
This degree of change was disorienting to read, but I’m glad I stuck through the initial deluge of demon names, magical techniques, and political machinations. TOUCH OF THE DEMON is a pivot point for this series, opening up a long term plot line that builds off of hints from past books. The first half of the book felt a little slow for me, especially as I anticipated the twist at the story’s halfway point, but that made it no less satisfying when the story changed direction. Some of the magic still seems vague (and I still can’t tell a syraza from a savik from a reyza, demon-wise) but Kara’s friendships, relationships, and personal growth more than carry the story for me.
Though a slow start kept me from giving 5 bats, this book is both strong Urban Fantasy and a killer mid-series offering. It’s hard to believe that any book could create as much anticipation as the climactic end of SINS OF THE DEMON, but TOUCH OF THE DEMON opens up a whole new world, mythology, and love life for Kara, leaving me dying for book six.
Sexual Content: Sex scenes.
This degree of change was disorienting to read, but I’m glad I stuck through the initial deluge of demon names, magical techniques, and political machinations. TOUCH OF THE DEMON is a pivot point for this series, opening up a long term plot line that builds off of hints from past books. The first half of the book felt a little slow for me, especially as I anticipated the twist at the story’s halfway point, but that made it no less satisfying when the story changed direction. Some of the magic still seems vague (and I still can’t tell a syraza from a savik from a reyza, demon-wise) but Kara’s friendships, relationships, and personal growth more than carry the story for me.
Though a slow start kept me from giving 5 bats, this book is both strong Urban Fantasy and a killer mid-series offering. It’s hard to believe that any book could create as much anticipation as the climactic end of SINS OF THE DEMON, but TOUCH OF THE DEMON opens up a whole new world, mythology, and love life for Kara, leaving me dying for book six.
Sexual Content: Sex scenes.
September 29, 2016
I know this review is a little late, but wanted to start number 6, wish I hadn't now
the Kara Gillian book we're amazing to start, you got a lot of insight onto different demons and their realm and the heirachy in which they are placed, from biggest to littlest, strongest to weakest, I really liked how she was juggling being a cop to being a summoner and the highs and lows of many people, from having stress and no money, (we can all relate to that), but when starting book 5, I was also a little disappointed, the story just started to get weird,
Kara was summoned to the demon realm, where she found out her sexy demon lord, didn't want her for her, but what she can do for him, (we all missed it at the start lol), but then it just went downhill for me, the one she thought was the bad guy turned out to be the good guy and vice versa, (a bit cliche to me), I genuinely thought it was a series that would last the full hog, but no it was sadly not to be, it's just sad that a good series to start just doesn't last.
hope to find the next series does last
the Kara Gillian book we're amazing to start, you got a lot of insight onto different demons and their realm and the heirachy in which they are placed, from biggest to littlest, strongest to weakest, I really liked how she was juggling being a cop to being a summoner and the highs and lows of many people, from having stress and no money, (we can all relate to that), but when starting book 5, I was also a little disappointed, the story just started to get weird,
Kara was summoned to the demon realm, where she found out her sexy demon lord, didn't want her for her, but what she can do for him, (we all missed it at the start lol), but then it just went downhill for me, the one she thought was the bad guy turned out to be the good guy and vice versa, (a bit cliche to me), I genuinely thought it was a series that would last the full hog, but no it was sadly not to be, it's just sad that a good series to start just doesn't last.
hope to find the next series does last
September 5, 2013
oh my god. I read all four books in three days and I am currently at the point of withdrawal. To put it less subtly, WANT MOAR.
*edit 9/13*
Okay, it took me a very long time to read this book, despite my love of the previous books in the series. Every review talked of the genre shifting to high fantasy, said they missed the policewoman aspect, that this book wasn't as good without Kara being on Earth.
I. TOTALLY. DISAGREE.
Now, I'll admit that recently I have been reading more fantasy, but I don't believe that coloured my perception. I actually thought all the demons popping up on Earth was silly. But, going to the Demon realm, it's far less hellish than one would imagine. It's downright beautiful.
The Demon LORDS however, are far more treacherous than I wanted to believe. I rooted for Rhyzkahl in 1-4 and he just had to go and fuck it all up.
And that Mzatal guy (I may have spelt his name wrong... DEMON'S A HARD LANGUAGE, OKAY?!) he's one to watch.
*edit 9/13*
Okay, it took me a very long time to read this book, despite my love of the previous books in the series. Every review talked of the genre shifting to high fantasy, said they missed the policewoman aspect, that this book wasn't as good without Kara being on Earth.
I. TOTALLY. DISAGREE.
Now, I'll admit that recently I have been reading more fantasy, but I don't believe that coloured my perception. I actually thought all the demons popping up on Earth was silly. But, going to the Demon realm, it's far less hellish than one would imagine. It's downright beautiful.
The Demon LORDS however, are far more treacherous than I wanted to believe. I rooted for Rhyzkahl in 1-4 and he just had to go and fuck it all up.
And that Mzatal guy (I may have spelt his name wrong... DEMON'S A HARD LANGUAGE, OKAY?!) he's one to watch.
November 1, 2015
It's as if Diana Rowland has never heard of balance. Lol! The first books in the series were way cop procedural heavy and just when I was like of the series doesn't get more fantasy driven I'm out, she gives me this book which is 100% fantasy! It's as if the author couldn't figure out how to pull a kate Daniels and give us an investigation with lots of magic intertwined. I'm interested to see where this series goes. But, this book lived up to the artsy covers that this series has.
Though, Kara's relationship to men makes no sense to me. I'm not slut shaming but it's weed that she had the big I love you moment with one guy at the climatic ending of book 3, but then sleeps with two separate guys in book 4. Is she in love with the guy or not? She doesn't even have a moment where she considers not sleeping with the guys when there is a man back home worried shitless and grieving for her... Just strange.
Though, Kara's relationship to men makes no sense to me. I'm not slut shaming but it's weed that she had the big I love you moment with one guy at the climatic ending of book 3, but then sleeps with two separate guys in book 4. Is she in love with the guy or not? She doesn't even have a moment where she considers not sleeping with the guys when there is a man back home worried shitless and grieving for her... Just strange.
September 6, 2014
I am devastated that this series has taken a bad turn for me, I loved the detective aspect of these book and combined with the paranormal made the series addictive... and this time, the summoning that worried me in prior books has come to the forefront. I didn't like that this story remained in the demon realm, lots of descriptive writing and new characters and no detective murder/mystery.
I am going to leave this series as it is, which is a shame, but I'm sure others will love this book!
I am going to leave this series as it is, which is a shame, but I'm sure others will love this book!
July 11, 2015
I am struggling with my feelings right now — struggling with what to make of this book, which essentially turns the entire series on its ear. Is it good? Yes. Let me say that first. It is a good book. In fact, it reached me emotionally more than the ones that came before it. It is full of twists and turns and feelings and betrayal. I was on the edge of my seat and had my heart in my throat more than once. Diana Rowland is a gifted author.
But. The main character has been plucked from the world and circumstances she has inhabited for the first four books. She is dropped into an entirely different dimension and it changes everything. I felt like I was reading an entirely different series. What was once a police procedural with a paranormal element is now … Well, I don’t what it is anymore. Pure fantasy? Maybe? It’s entirely set in the demon world. No crime, no police, no urban half of the urban fantasy.
Not only is the setting different but so is the cast of characters. Yes, Rhyzkahl is there, but the nature of his relationship with Kara alters so drastically that he is almost unrecognizable. Ryan is on an entirely different plane, which is frustrating, coming off the big I love you reveal at the end of the last book. And then, to shake things up even more, is the introduction of the demon lord Mzatal. Just when it seemed like there was one too many love interests in Kara’s life, now there’s yet another.
Side note. I am not one for slut shaming. I love sexually empowered female heroines, but I have real trouble with the idea of Kara being in love with one man while having sex with others. I would have the same issue if she were a guy. It is the romance reader in me. Kara, herself, struggles with the issue and I appreciate that it’s not ignored. But I don’t like taking such a scenic route to the romantic HEA. It makes it hard for me to believe in a love when it can be set aside for some good horizontal action.
Anyway, with all of those issues aside, it was a captivating read. Rowland really puts Kara through the wringer and the things she sees and learns shake her very foundation. She has to endure a lot, which makes for some difficult reading at times, but it also made me emotionally invest in the character even more. Other than her extremely questionable romantic choices, Kara is quite an exceptional character. She is tough and she learns quickly. She respects the beings around her and… I just like her.
There are a ton of new characters and new species of demons introduced. I struggled at times to keep up with them all. But many, like Mzatal and Idris, are obviously big players in the future of these books.
I have no idea what the rest of the series will look like. I am mourning a little of what was lost, despite the fact that enjoyed the book, because I feel like we’re never going to be able to go back. I liked this book, but I liked what the series was before too. I guess I need to wait and see what happens next.
But. The main character has been plucked from the world and circumstances she has inhabited for the first four books. She is dropped into an entirely different dimension and it changes everything. I felt like I was reading an entirely different series. What was once a police procedural with a paranormal element is now … Well, I don’t what it is anymore. Pure fantasy? Maybe? It’s entirely set in the demon world. No crime, no police, no urban half of the urban fantasy.
Not only is the setting different but so is the cast of characters. Yes, Rhyzkahl is there, but the nature of his relationship with Kara alters so drastically that he is almost unrecognizable. Ryan is on an entirely different plane, which is frustrating, coming off the big I love you reveal at the end of the last book. And then, to shake things up even more, is the introduction of the demon lord Mzatal. Just when it seemed like there was one too many love interests in Kara’s life, now there’s yet another.
Side note. I am not one for slut shaming. I love sexually empowered female heroines, but I have real trouble with the idea of Kara being in love with one man while having sex with others. I would have the same issue if she were a guy. It is the romance reader in me. Kara, herself, struggles with the issue and I appreciate that it’s not ignored. But I don’t like taking such a scenic route to the romantic HEA. It makes it hard for me to believe in a love when it can be set aside for some good horizontal action.
Anyway, with all of those issues aside, it was a captivating read. Rowland really puts Kara through the wringer and the things she sees and learns shake her very foundation. She has to endure a lot, which makes for some difficult reading at times, but it also made me emotionally invest in the character even more. Other than her extremely questionable romantic choices, Kara is quite an exceptional character. She is tough and she learns quickly. She respects the beings around her and… I just like her.
There are a ton of new characters and new species of demons introduced. I struggled at times to keep up with them all. But many, like Mzatal and Idris, are obviously big players in the future of these books.
I have no idea what the rest of the series will look like. I am mourning a little of what was lost, despite the fact that enjoyed the book, because I feel like we’re never going to be able to go back. I liked this book, but I liked what the series was before too. I guess I need to wait and see what happens next.
October 29, 2015
Ugh. Part of me can't wait for this to come out and the other part, the one that hated a certain revelation in the second to last chapter of Sins of the Demon, isn't so thrilled.
Just one thing, PLEASE stop showing Kara's darn bra on the cover!
10/29/15
The three likes are for the comments above.
While I missed the format of the other books, Kara the cop solving crimes, even if they did involve the arcane, and being around her friends and family, the different direction this book took was a nice change, though I hope eventually Kara gets more time in her own realm.
So Kara’s been summoned to the demon realm and is quickly subjected to a whooooole bunch of shit, for reasons she doesn’t understand and for which Lord Dickhead, a.k.a. Lord Mzatal, refuses to tell her, which leads to a whooooole set of other problems. Basically, this book is about Kara coming to realize that there’s a whole lot of things that have been going on for ages and that the demon lords are aligning themselves in factions in order to bring about an ending that is desirable for them. Of course, Kara is basically kept in the dark about everything, as is the reader.
We get to meet all of the other demonic lords throughout the course of the book, and while some of them seem fairly cool, the majority of them are rip-roaring assholes and I wouldn’t trust any of them as far as I could throw them. Lord Mzatal wasn’t what he originally appeared to be, then again, what demonic lord is, I’m sure my opinion of any of them could change in a heartbeat, and I found him to be an interesting character. Though the hair. Ugh. What is it with these lords and their damn hair?! They’re either bald or have hair down to their ass which, despite what Kara insists, is not attractive.
Idris was a pretty good character, we get to see a different side of summoning through him, and at a different level, much higher than Kara and, like just about everyone else, there’s definitely more to him than meets the eye. Though the fact that, while Kara may have been steamed at him a little bit, she never completely went off on him for summoning her kind of annoyed me because, no matter what the reason, the way things were handled would’ve majorly pissed me off. I also liked that, through him and Mzatal, we learned more about Katashi and his relationship to the demon realm and summoners. Yet another very interesting storyline which has to be explored further at some point.
I liked pretty much everything about this book except for the part that dealt with Kara’s love life. Some major bitching and spoilage is going to take place in the next couple of spoilers, so read at your own risk. I loved Kara’s relationship with someone in this book. The student teacher thing worked out really well and I loved the close, platonic relationship they shared (how do I know it was platonic, because that kept being stressed). And I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like every guy wants Kara. She keeps talking about not exercising and being flabby from eating too much junk (despite what she looks like on the covers) but all of the straight males end up lusting after her and it’s getting kind of old.
And I’m not quite sure I get the whole Ryan/Szerain thing. Szerain’s been shoved into a human? When and why (I mean, why not just suppress him the way we saw how it was done as a demonstration in the book)? How old was Ryan when this happened and does it affect him? I’m also still a little hazy on the whole Elinor essence thing too, like how it happened and what it means from here on out for Kara.
As always, the ending sets up the next book well and I’m sort of dying to find out what the hell everyone’s real motivation is, how Kara’s involved, what will happen to some of the characters who were in peril when this book ended and how Kara’s powers will evolve (and who the hell the baby is on the cover of the book after the next. It’s been a while since I’d read the last book so I was thinking someone knocked Kara up but Jill’s pregnancy, which I have zero memory of, can’t even remember who the father is, was mentioned as being important, so maybe it’s hers. Please let it be hers, if it’s Kara’s, I’m not going to be happy!). I’m just not sure I’m looking forward to reading about Kara’s personal life, because it really pissed me off in this book.
Just one thing, PLEASE stop showing Kara's darn bra on the cover!
10/29/15
The three likes are for the comments above.
While I missed the format of the other books, Kara the cop solving crimes, even if they did involve the arcane, and being around her friends and family, the different direction this book took was a nice change, though I hope eventually Kara gets more time in her own realm.
So Kara’s been summoned to the demon realm and is quickly subjected to a whooooole bunch of shit, for reasons she doesn’t understand and for which Lord Dickhead, a.k.a. Lord Mzatal, refuses to tell her, which leads to a whooooole set of other problems. Basically, this book is about Kara coming to realize that there’s a whole lot of things that have been going on for ages and that the demon lords are aligning themselves in factions in order to bring about an ending that is desirable for them. Of course, Kara is basically kept in the dark about everything, as is the reader.
We get to meet all of the other demonic lords throughout the course of the book, and while some of them seem fairly cool, the majority of them are rip-roaring assholes and I wouldn’t trust any of them as far as I could throw them. Lord Mzatal wasn’t what he originally appeared to be, then again, what demonic lord is, I’m sure my opinion of any of them could change in a heartbeat, and I found him to be an interesting character. Though the hair. Ugh. What is it with these lords and their damn hair?! They’re either bald or have hair down to their ass which, despite what Kara insists, is not attractive.
Idris was a pretty good character, we get to see a different side of summoning through him, and at a different level, much higher than Kara and, like just about everyone else, there’s definitely more to him than meets the eye. Though the fact that, while Kara may have been steamed at him a little bit, she never completely went off on him for summoning her kind of annoyed me because, no matter what the reason, the way things were handled would’ve majorly pissed me off. I also liked that, through him and Mzatal, we learned more about Katashi and his relationship to the demon realm and summoners. Yet another very interesting storyline which has to be explored further at some point.
I liked pretty much everything about this book except for the part that dealt with Kara’s love life. Some major bitching and spoilage is going to take place in the next couple of spoilers, so read at your own risk. I loved Kara’s relationship with someone in this book. The student teacher thing worked out really well and I loved the close, platonic relationship they shared (how do I know it was platonic, because that kept being stressed). And I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like every guy wants Kara. She keeps talking about not exercising and being flabby from eating too much junk (despite what she looks like on the covers) but all of the straight males end up lusting after her and it’s getting kind of old.
And I’m not quite sure I get the whole Ryan/Szerain thing. Szerain’s been shoved into a human? When and why (I mean, why not just suppress him the way we saw how it was done as a demonstration in the book)? How old was Ryan when this happened and does it affect him? I’m also still a little hazy on the whole Elinor essence thing too, like how it happened and what it means from here on out for Kara.
As always, the ending sets up the next book well and I’m sort of dying to find out what the hell everyone’s real motivation is, how Kara’s involved, what will happen to some of the characters who were in peril when this book ended and how Kara’s powers will evolve (and who the hell the baby is on the cover of the book after the next. It’s been a while since I’d read the last book so I was thinking someone knocked Kara up but Jill’s pregnancy, which I have zero memory of, can’t even remember who the father is, was mentioned as being important, so maybe it’s hers. Please let it be hers, if it’s Kara’s, I’m not going to be happy!). I’m just not sure I’m looking forward to reading about Kara’s personal life, because it really pissed me off in this book.
October 24, 2014
Mon avis en Français
My English review
What to say? I was really anxious before starting this novel … Indeed, there are widely different reviews regardless wherever the place where we read them and it is true that between a friend who was completely disappointed and one who completely loved it, I was not sure where my heart was going to swing. It remained for me to read it to know my verdict. And finally I was very surprised by this novel, and in the right way. It’s true, I also understand why some have a little more trouble. This book is very different from the others which we have been accustomed to, and I felt that the series took a big turning point in its history this time. But I must say it has completely convinced me for my part. I dare say that this volume is my favorite of the series. All I wanted to know since the first book was revealed in part. Of course there are a lot of events whose we remain totally shocked about. I had to reread certain passages to try to understand what was going on, to try to understand the reactions of certain characters or to see how the situation could change in such a short time. I think we can only be completely surprised by this novel, whether by what is going on or by this new plot that we follow.
Since the end of Volume 4, I could not wait to see what would happen in the demons realm. Who would not? We knew nothing of this place and I really wanted to learn and understand how it was governed. I must say that the explanations and information has exceeded my expectation. We learn so many things here, either about the characters, the world or the past of each person. Kara is in the hands of a Lord who makes her do many things. But despite appearances, the Lord does everything he can to protect his world and hers, and Kara is a threat. At first I was quite disturbed to see that she was not rebelling more compared to what she was going through, it was pretty strange to see her that way, but we understand very well that whatever she might do, nothing will change her state. However she does not remain there doing nothing, and she is waiting patiently for her moment to act and break free of her « chains ». She discovers that she has an affinity with this world she thought she did not know about and a mysterious past is revealed to her gradually throughout the novel. As I also said at the beginning, there are some quite unimaginable events and it’s pretty hard to understand all the actions. Kara is actually quite naive and trusts others rather easily, something that will put her in big trouble. There is an event that particularly shocked me, and we wonder throughout the book what happened, why everything turned this way and what really were the reasons. Our heroine has a pretty amazing effect on each of Lords and we wonder what will happen on the end and what skills she will develop.
There is perhaps one thing that bothered me a bit in the novel. When I started the series, Kara showed enough « suspicion » in relation to people with whom she had a relationship. Or at least it made her think a lot and I feel that she had forget about all that without a reason. And she does not need much. It’s not a lot but it’s true that I’m curious to see what Diana Rowland reserves us later to see what happens then. It was therefore a very good volume and a real surprise.
My English review
What to say? I was really anxious before starting this novel … Indeed, there are widely different reviews regardless wherever the place where we read them and it is true that between a friend who was completely disappointed and one who completely loved it, I was not sure where my heart was going to swing. It remained for me to read it to know my verdict. And finally I was very surprised by this novel, and in the right way. It’s true, I also understand why some have a little more trouble. This book is very different from the others which we have been accustomed to, and I felt that the series took a big turning point in its history this time. But I must say it has completely convinced me for my part. I dare say that this volume is my favorite of the series. All I wanted to know since the first book was revealed in part. Of course there are a lot of events whose we remain totally shocked about. I had to reread certain passages to try to understand what was going on, to try to understand the reactions of certain characters or to see how the situation could change in such a short time. I think we can only be completely surprised by this novel, whether by what is going on or by this new plot that we follow.
Since the end of Volume 4, I could not wait to see what would happen in the demons realm. Who would not? We knew nothing of this place and I really wanted to learn and understand how it was governed. I must say that the explanations and information has exceeded my expectation. We learn so many things here, either about the characters, the world or the past of each person. Kara is in the hands of a Lord who makes her do many things. But despite appearances, the Lord does everything he can to protect his world and hers, and Kara is a threat. At first I was quite disturbed to see that she was not rebelling more compared to what she was going through, it was pretty strange to see her that way, but we understand very well that whatever she might do, nothing will change her state. However she does not remain there doing nothing, and she is waiting patiently for her moment to act and break free of her « chains ». She discovers that she has an affinity with this world she thought she did not know about and a mysterious past is revealed to her gradually throughout the novel. As I also said at the beginning, there are some quite unimaginable events and it’s pretty hard to understand all the actions. Kara is actually quite naive and trusts others rather easily, something that will put her in big trouble. There is an event that particularly shocked me, and we wonder throughout the book what happened, why everything turned this way and what really were the reasons. Our heroine has a pretty amazing effect on each of Lords and we wonder what will happen on the end and what skills she will develop.
There is perhaps one thing that bothered me a bit in the novel. When I started the series, Kara showed enough « suspicion » in relation to people with whom she had a relationship. Or at least it made her think a lot and I feel that she had forget about all that without a reason. And she does not need much. It’s not a lot but it’s true that I’m curious to see what Diana Rowland reserves us later to see what happens then. It was therefore a very good volume and a real surprise.
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