A Demon Does It Better

Hex #6

by Linda Wisdom

After more than a century, Doctor Lili Carter, witch healer extraordinaire, has returned to San Francisco and taken a job at Crying Souls Hospital and Asylum, where something peculiar and wicked his happening. Patients are disappearing, and Lil wants to know why.
AND DOUBLY DANGEROUS FOR A DEMON...
Lili finds herself undeniably attracted to perhaps the most mysterious patient of all-a demented but seriously sexy demon named Jared. What's behind the gorgeous chameleon demon's late-night escapades?
Before long, Lili and Jared are investigating each other-and creating a whole new kind of magic.

Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Demons, Magic, Urban Fantasy, Witches

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

I'm a multi-published author since 1979 and now writing paranormal romance or what I like to call witch lit. 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover came out this past March and Hex Appeal comes out in November with Halloween promotion and will also be carried in Target.

My witch series has also been optioned to be shopped around as a TV series or movie. So here's hoping!

Reviews

[Liz at Fictional Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before starting this book I expected to read something that was witty, humorous, fun, and of course paranormal. I wasn’t disappointed at all. This book was every bit of what I’ve come to expect from Linda Wisdom and more.

This book is about Lilianna, Lili for short. Lili is one of the witches banned from the Academy in 1313 (along with Jazz, Blaire, Thea and some others). She is a healer and a doctor – not to mention a very powerful witch. She has just begun a new job at Crying Souls hospital. Sounds like a creepy place, right? You have no idea! She is on the search for her friend Sera, whom disappeared without a trace while working at the hospital. Worse yet – she’s not the only one. But for some reason, no one is taking notice.

While working there she is assigned to work downstairs, home to the mentally ill in the paranormal world. There are seven patients and all are deemed to be very dangerous. Of course they are, that’s why they have two giant ogre guards watching them around the clock, right? These two ogres are a real piece of work, definitely not beings you’d want to meet in a dark alley… or heck, even a light alley. But Lili isn’t scared of them. Lili isn’t outwardly scared of anyone. She is a very strong female character, and that’s what I loved about her. She was compassionate and caring, and made friends easily.

She also meets the other patients, including one referred to by Dr. Mortimer as only Patient 1172. There is instant attraction there, and it is definitely heated. The thing is, Lili has seen Patient 1172 before. Patient 1172 is a shadow demon named Jared. Jared is every bit the paranormal lead character you hope to find in these books. He is strong and caring, seductive , dark and mysterious. And he knows what he wants.

I really enjoyed reading about Lili and Jared, watching their impossible situation grow and flourish. The scene on the Ferris wheel was enchanting. I could easily picture the twinkling lights below, the warm air, the heated presence of Jared next to Lili. I felt his fear of heights, and how that diminished and the acknowledgement of his feelings – even if only to himself – endearing.

“Lili’s eyes widened at his one-word declaration that vibrated with demon power the way it hadn’t when he said the word on the Ferris wheel. While she didn’t know a lot about demons, she did know what just happened.”

The passion between the two of them was hot and yet very tender and romantic. It definitely made me eager to turn every page and want to read more.
But let’s not forget who almost stole the whole show here. Cleo… otherwise known as Cleopatra. Yes, THE Cleopatra. She is witty, seductive, caring and a bit of a party cat. Wait! Did I just say cat? Let’s just say that once you see Cleo in action, especially when she gets loaded on cat nip wine, you will never look at felines the same again. I really loved her character. She often broke up the tension, or lent a soft spot when things were getting rough. She is definitely a scene stealer, but helped make this story everything that it was.

Something else I really enjoyed was how the other witches were mentioned in this book. If there is one thing I go crazy for (other than super hot alpha males) is crossover characters. It really helps build the whole world, not just for a scene or even a book. And Linda Wisdom does it wonderfully. I’m really hoping that all of the witches will get their own book eventually.

Halfway through the book and I made the note in my notebook that I was in no way disappointed with this book. I was wishing Lili and Jared could make more of a connection quicker than they did, yet the build up was wonderful. There were several plot lines opened up in this story, and I was a bit worried how everything would come together. But seriously, that was just silly of me to worry. The author handled everything perfectly, and there isn’t a single thing I would change about this story.

A Demon Does It Better is number 2 in the Demons series by Linda Wisdom. I haven’t read number one yet, but I knew that it was about a different witch. I had no trouble understanding the timeline and felt that this book could easily stand alone. But of course, I am definitely going to get my hands on Demons Are A Girl’s Best Friend (Demons #1) just as soon as I can!

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 3 out of 5]

A while ago, I read a novella called Intern With The Vampire which I loved because of the combination of medical drama and paranormal creatures. When I read the blurb for A Demon Does It Better I snapped it up eagerly hoping for something similar.

Set in a hospital for preternatural creatures, A Demon Does It Better is a paranormal romance with a touch of mystery and humour. Lili, a witch, healer and Doctor, gains a job at Crying Souls Hospital to investigate the disappearance of a friend and fellow healer, Sera. Though an ER doctor, Lili is tasked with assisting Dr Mortimer in the dungeon-like ward for the mentally ill. She is startled to recognise the first patient she encounters - Patient 1172. Jared is a Shadow Demon who was incarcerated after being forced to ingest vampire blood hundreds of years ago, yet Lili had spoken to him just days before in the Inderland market. Determined to solve the puzzle Jared presents, Lili begins to suspect that the well regarded Dr Mortimer is failing to treat his charges and may also be the reason behind the disappearance of staff members from the hospital.

Naturally enough for a paranormal romance, the relationship between Lili and Jared tends to be central to the action and Lili is too easily distracted by the handsome demon to actually think things through. Don't get me wrong, I liked Lili, I just think there was a potential with her character and abilities that was never fully explored. Jared is remarkably sane for a demon who has been abandoned and subjected to almost daily physical abuse for hundreds of years. The insta-love between the pair is a bit of a stretch, particularly since Jared is branded insane, unwashed, scarred and trapped in a cell most of the time, but I was willing to go with it.
While I am not sure I buy Queen Cleopatra as a finnicky and spoilt cat, I did enjoy most of the supporting characters, especially the dragon shifter nursing head, friendly store keeper wizard and were leopard nurse. I also appreciated the smaller subplots regarding a ghostly girl looking for her mother, a young boy coming into his abilities and a mage draining his girlfriend of her powers though none of them really support the main storyline.
I thought there were a few holes in the story also, for example I never figured out exactly how Jared was able to change appearance when he temporarily escapes the ward. If it's a form of astral travel then he how is he solid enough to sleep with Lili and if he physically leaves the room then shouldn't he look as unkempt as he does in the room? It's a puzzle that is never really answered so I guess the answer is simply 'magic'.

Despite some flaws I was entertained by A Demon Does It Better, and although it doesn't quite have the combination of elements that I so admired in Intern With a Vampire, I am sufficiently satisfied and could be tempted to read the first in the series, Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend

[Carmel (Rabid Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

I adored Maggie's in-your-face personality in Demons are a Girl's Best Friend and expected there to be another similar kick ass character in this second installment. Regrettably, Lili didn't quite live up to my expectations. The first book was action packed while as this one is all about the romance and the main protagonist is a healer instead of a fighter. Two very different stories. I found A Demon Does it Better to be a bit of a letdown after such a solid kickoff to this new series in volume one. It was an enjoyable read nonetheless but it just wasn't what I had envisioned.

I liked unraveling the mystery surrounding patient 1172 a.k.a. Jared. He's a demon who's been locked-up in an asylum and the head doctor claims that he's extremely dangerous. Lili is skeptical about her superior's prognosis and opts to dig into the issue until she discovers the truth. Which turns out to be way more than she bargained for! I'm not going to lie, in the beginning I thought that Jared was deceiving the lovely Dr Carter. I kept expecting him to show his cards but it didn't happen. He's actually a good demon. Go figure! My suspicions stopped me from going gaga over the leading hunk until later on in the story. I think this is one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy this book as much as its predecessor. The lack of a swoon worthy male from the get-go caused me to want more action out of this read than what Linda had planned to deliver. I suppose that it's my own fault for refusing to give Jared the benefit of the doubt but what can ya do?

Oddly enough, it was one of the side characters that ended up being my favorite and the same thing happened in Demons are a Girl's Best Friend. Wisdom has a knack for creating awesome sidekicks! In this case I couldn't get enough of Cleo who turns out to be Queen Cleopatra herself but in a cat's body! It's immediately apparent that this feline is used to getting her own way but when she argues with Lili over things like Fancy Feast it became impossible for me to suppress my chuckles. Despite Cleo's finicky temperament, she proves to be a very useful resource for Lili whenever mysterious magic problems arise. She might be furry but she's older than dirt and knows her stuff!

All this to say that I enjoyed A Demon Does it Better quite a bit. I think I sabotaged myself on this one; if I hadn't doubted Jared's character nor expected Urban Fantasy quality action out of a Paranormal Romance I would have a higher opinion of this book. Sorry Linda! I accept the blame on this one. Wisdom even uses the book's title as a catch phrase a few times which I found very clever! A Demon Does it Better is a sassy, sizzling read with an adorable kitty sidekick who adds plenty of giggles to this romantic tale. No news on the next installment yet but regardless, it's going on my wishlist!

[Christi Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review:

I really, really liked this book. It's an interesting story-line set-up. Intrigue is definitely the word for this book. Lili is a doctor and a witch and has come to work at a paranormal hospital because her friend who used to work there disappeared without a trace ten months ago. While working there, she meets a demon, Jared, who is in the psych ward. The strange thing is...she saw him just a few days ago while shopping. He caught her attention then and now she is even more intrigued after she discovers that he is locked in the psych ward supposedly without a way to get free.

The psych ward of this hospital is more like a dungeon than anything medical. There are only 7 patients there and the doc in charge has complete control of their care. He is definitely a proponent of the Victorian era way of doing things and to say that these patients are being mistreated and abused is an understatement. The problem is that the doc in charge is in charge of the entire hospital and highly respected. Lili can't go in and just start causing problems, no matter how much she wants to do so. That will only result in her getting fired.

I completely connected with Lili and Jared. Lili is tough and very assured of her powers as a witch and as a doctor. By the same token, though, she knows her limitations and is really good about backing down when she knows that she is about to get into a situation that she can't handle. I enjoyed that honesty. Jared's character is a little bit more complicated. He has been declared legally insane and has been horribly abused while in the hospital. Within the confines of the hospital, he is dirty and volatile, but when Lili sees him outside of the hospital, he is clean and completely charming. There is a ton of mystery around his character....what is exactly going on with him? How did he end up in this position? What is the doc using him for?

I would really label this book as paranormal suspense. There is a GREAT mystery story line with the main doctor and what exactly is happening at this hospital. It's hard to see how it's all going to work out for Lili and Jared when she is a doctor and he is a patient...a psych patient at that. I loved the vulnerability that their positions put them in...it made for great and entertaining reading. Exactly the kind of book that I love. There was lots of paranormal fun too. The hospital and the village where Lili lives are built for paranormals of all sorts. It's filled with magick. She herself is a powerful witch. She has a close friend who is a Were shifter and a talking pet cat who is actually Cleopatra reincarnated.

Like I said, I completely enjoyed this book. This is book #2 in this series, but I haven't read book #1 and never missed any information because of that lack. This is a completely stand-alone novel. That being said though, I am off to the bookstore today to buy book #1, Demons are a Girl's Best Friend, simply because I did enjoy this book so much. I want to read more along this line.

[All Things Urban Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

A DEMON DOES IT BETTER takes place at Crying Souls Hospital where magical beings come to be healed. Much of the comedy in this book came from the antics, patients, and hospital staff at this ‘magical being-only’ hospital. The comedic moments were necessary to balance some of the disturbing and intense events which occurred in the prison-like hospital ward. While Lili tried to unravel the mystery of several disappearances at Crying Souls, the one mystery that held most of my attention was Jared’s imprisonment.

I like it when characters face an actual struggle to be together, proving to me that there is an actual investment in the relationship. Lili’s and Jared’s connection was all the more powerful for the obstacles in their way. Scenes between these two sizzled with chemistry, though underneath their romance was a note of tragedy. Every move Lili made to free Jared seemed to fail, dooming their happy ending. I enjoyed the clever way Wisdom got around this very difficult imprisonment to create a realistic evolution in Lili and Jared’s relationship.

Above and beyond the romance, I particularly enjoyed Lili’s therapy cat, Cleo. Cleo is the reincarnation of the Queen of the Nile. There were many hilarious scenes with this sassy cat either doing something crazy or saying some incredibly sarcastic remark. Throughout the book I kept trying to figure out how Cleopatra became a cat and I hope that story becomes some sort of novella someday because I would love to read it.

A DEMON DOES IT BETTER mixes a dash of comedy and an intense and fast paced plot with complex and sexy characters. I loved the mix of smart humor in a otherwise dark plot and the unique type of romance that takes place. This is the second book in Linda Wisdom’s Demons series and I can’t wait to see what magic she can bring in her next book.

Sexual Content:
Explicit sex scenes.

[Aerulan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one felt like it took too light a view of what should have been a fairly dark storyline. All the magical stuff was fluffy and light and goofy. And then you have the conflict part of the storyline which has the inmates of the hospital asylum being severely abused and experimented on by the doctors and staff.
Add in the main character Lili being an idiot who fumbles her way through the whole story and completely fails to bridge the two aspects and things just don't mesh well.

This could have been a good dark paranormal if most of the magical stuff had been less cute and fuzzy and happy feelings.
Or it could have been a nice light funny paranormal romance if the parts with the asylum had been something significantly less dark. None of the descriptions were as graphic as it could have been, it's mostly 'off stage' as it were. But hinting pretty obviously that one of the patients has just been beaten and raped by the guards isn't actually any better than coming out and saying that is what happened in terms of making it clear this is a really awful situation. As it was, the cuteness of the magic and the shopping trips and talking cat was jarring against the torture, abuse, and blood sacrifice that made up the other part of the story. Is it supposed to be funny? Or what?
Because going from patients being tortured in a secret ward to Cleopatra reincarnated as a cat bitching about not getting more expensive cat food and giving Lili advice about her sex life..... I don't know, I'm all for gallows humor but that wasn't what this was, it was just weird.

[Veevee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up randomly in a second hand store and decided to give it a whirl since it was for cheap. I hadn't read any of the previous books in this series so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Unfortunately, even though I didn't have any serious expectations, this book still managed to surpass them... in the wrong direction.

The things I didn't like:

1) First and foremost, I really disliked the writing. It was stilted and weirdly old fashioned in some parts and just downright confusing in others as it switched between POVs. There was weird word choice and weird pacing and conflicting information. I nearly dropped the book within the first chapter because of this, but naively hoped that it would get better as the story picked up (spoiler: it did not).

2) I got the sense that the world was an interesting one, unfortunately the author didn't bother to give us much more that a confusing taste. We weren't given much information on the human-magic people dynamic, what sort of magical creatures were out there, how people moved between planes, or even how long witches usually live (or any other being). Instead random disjointed tidbits were thrown at us at convenient points to move along the plot.

3) The vibe of this book was overall confusing. One moment the characters would be joking and the talking cat would be sassing and the next there would be a scene depicting or discussing serious abuse. Not to mention the bad guy was seriously creepy and seriously evil. The two differing aspects of the book felt like they clashed rather than meshed, so instead of finding the jokes funny they just felt in bad taste.

4) The FMC... was bleh. While she did some minor sleuthing, it never really felt like she was actively doing anything. I wanted to see more from her. Part of my issue is that since the powers of witches and mages were never properly defined, it was hard to tell why the FMC couldn't sneak past the bad guy's spells or what not.

5) The romance was boring insta-lust and the MMC was cardboard. Nothing to rave about there.

6) The final 'battle' was anti-climactic as hell and just overall kind of silly?

The things I liked:

1) The fact that I'm done reading it and can move on with my life.

Overall? I didn't care for it. The only reason I bothered to finish it was because I spent money on it.
Will I read more by this author? No.

[Jolene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Lili Carter is a witch with great healing abilities. She has returned to Crying Souls Hospital to investigate the disappearance of a close friend, Sera. As Lili arrives in Inderman; the magical plane outside of San Francisco, Lili discovers that Sera's suspicious disappearance is not the only one and sets out to play detective. As she arrives at the hospital for her first day at work, she's notified that she will be working with the mentally ill patients in the asylum underneath the hospital. Lili is shocked and disgusted about the treatment of these patients and vows to help them. Especially patient 1172. The one she feels a connection to and the the one that may be her future, if she can unravel they mystery and protect him.


The story takes off as Lili arrives in Inderman with her cat Cleo. Cleo was a unique character and I say character because she almost stole the show. I couldn't have imagined this story without her. She was sassy, spunky and so much fun. Cleo had the "I am God, you must worship me" attitude that I would expect all cats to have if they could talk. I looked forward to any and all interactions that included Cleo. Though I don't want to give too much away on who or what Cleo is, her name pretty much gives you a good clue. There were some aspects of Cleo I wish would have been delved into. There was a good number of supporting characters and Cleo was pretty much at the top. There was so much about her that I wanted to know that was never explained. She never wanted to talk about how she became a cat and it seemed to bother her. I wonder if Cleo will have more page time in another book and we haven't seen the last of, or if just part of her character wasn't developed enough. Whatever the case, she was great to read about.


The hero of this story, Jared, also referred to as patient 1172, makes an early entrance in the story as Lili arrives in Inderman. They share some intense eye contact and an intimate touch with the application of perfume down her neck before he vanishes, just to mysteriously show up in her living room later that night while she's thinking about him. Lili voices that she needs to strengthen the wards around her house and this is when we hear the book title phrase that's said by Jared "Witches are gifted, but a demon does it better". I think this would have made more of an impact for me, if it wasn't used several more times through out the book. I get that it was there "thing" maybe an inside joke, but I was kind of getting sick of hearing it.


After Jared vanishes from her house, Lili comes across him again, in the dungeon of horrors, as the hospital staff calls it, filthy, beaten and bruised, not at all how she saw him last. Confused on how he could escape with no one knowing and even more confused with why he would come back to the dungeon, Lili is determined to get answers. I enjoyed delving into what Jared is and why he was in the asylum. The shadows that surround him and are so much a part of who he is, that when he shows up in the story, the shadows really take on a life of their own and that was one of the aspects I liked about his character


I had a pretty good idea who the bad guy was from the second he walked on to the page. I didn't like anything about him, but spent most of the book trying to figure out what he was up to. This is where my feelings on the book are a little confusing. As the book started off, I felt an almost disconnect with the characters and the story itself. Something wasn't coming together for me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I actually stopped where I was and started over, still struggling through the first few chapters. Luckily, it picked up a little bit for me about midway. The connection between Lili and Jared was there, but I didn't really feel it or see it till later on. At first it almost felt forced, like the author was telling me it was there, but I wasn't feeling it. Once these two finally came together, I was sold. Even in their feelings came on strong and fast, I was that much more invested in them.


Though I have mixed feelings about this book, the mysteries is what kept me going and wouldn't let me walk away from it. Will Lili find her friend Sera and what happened to her? What happened to the little ghost girl Amy and why is she stuck down in the asylum? What was it that Kevin saw and what is after him? What is really going on with Jared that he can't remember? What exactly is the bad guy up to? There was plenty of supporting characters in this book and those that I just mentioned had enough page time to catch my interest and invest me in their outcomes. I was just as anxious as Lili to figure out what was going on, but I was so disappointed not to have all my questions answered. Just as I was curious about Cleo, my questions about Amy and Kevin were left unanswered and never revealed. What was it that Kevin saw and why was it after him? I have no idea so why did it seem like it was an intricate part of the story? I have my ideas, but it's just speculation. Do they all coincide together to what was happening in the asylum? I'd like to think so, but I also like to work with the facts I am given by the author, and in this case, I wasn't given much. Another thing that was brought up was the death and murder of Lili's mom. It had such a deep impact on her and I felt it was important to her character. I felt almost cheated as the reader by not being let into the details of her pain. I wanted to know about her loss and what had happened, but all I got was the fact she was dead and it brought Lili to tears. I feel like there was so much more that could of been brought to the forefront and would of given me a deeper understanding on Lili. Where she came from and how it made her the witch she was today.


I will say that I have not read the first book, and this is book two in a series. Would I have felt more connected to the story if I had read the first book? I have no idea, but that is a intriguing thought :) Maggie was introduced briefly in this story. She found her happiness in the first book, Demons Are a Girls Best Friend. I have to say I thought her character was tough and wicked and I enjoyed the brief introduction to her tattoo :) She definitely has piqued my interest. I would give this book three stars because it was so up and down for me. I would like to check out the first book and if I enjoy it, possibly giving this one another go

[redmamameka · Rating 2 out of 5]

X. Ummmm, I’m not even sure where to start on this one. The ONLY thing that kept me coming back to read this novel was the whodunnit-ness of it. I was curious about the evil Dr. Porkchop errr Mortimer. The insane asylum vibe was strong & gave the story a creepy edge that appealed to my sense of mystery. The prisoners & jailers had interesting evil vs captor horror conflict that was intriguing.

However, the romance was a complete fail. Dr. Lili basically had repeated sex with & fell in love with what? a ghost or astral projection of the demon Jared.....dontcha think a demon would need to be in full blood in order to be bonded? I get it, he is a “shadow demon” and all but his true form wasn’t really engaged AT ALL and I found that tasteless. I don’t know but the love story in this book was just off. It was bizarre, too quick to progress and too easy without any real struggle between the characters.

Overall: this book was just all over the place and lacked a foundation of solid backstory to anchor the reader. Once the villain was finally (ie it was very drug out) caught; it was a no biggie event to take him out. I wanted more of a power struggle, more of a conflict with that scenario. A lackluster romance between witch & demon in a creature filled world with nasty wizards and masochistic trolls in a underworld style hospital....definitely not my favorite.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perplexed Me A Bit
As a powerful witch-healer, Doctor Lili Carter knows she is uniquely qualified to get a job at Crying Souls Hospital and try to figure out what happened to her good friend Sera. A new nurse at the hospital, Sera had been excited about her job. She and Lili had communicated almost every day, Sera trying to talk Lili into transferring and working there with her.

Then the calls and mail stopped. Abruptly.

When Lili got concerned and called the hospital after not hearing from her friend for days, she was told Sera didn't work there any longer, that apparently she'd failed to report in to work one day and no one had heard from her since. Now Lili is back at the hospital she once worked at decades ago. And it doesn't take long for her to figure out that something isn't at all right at Crying Souls.

After meeting the head of the hospital and getting her first look at the mental ward in the basement, Lili has a pretty good idea where to start her investigation. It's a dark, ominous place reminiscent of the worst madhouses in history. And the head of the hospital oversees it directly. It's painfully obvious some of the creatures down there are being mistreated. One of them, though, shocks Lili to her core.

She can barely believe her own eyes, but she's seen the prisoner more than once. Out of the hospital. First in Inderman's magickal plane, then again in her own house. But the sexy, charming demon who had mysteriously slipped through all her wards in no way resembles the filthy, battered creature in the dungeon-like cell. He'd been clean, first of all, and his clothes hadn't been rags. Oh, yeah, and he hadn't been criminally insane, either.

Shadow demon Jared knows he isn't going to be leaving Crying Souls anytime soon. Not after his own kind had been convinced he was mentally unstable. Still, he survives the torture and pain of incarceration, living for those minutes and hours when the shadows can spirit him away from his cell, slipping him out into the real world until his energy wanes and they pull him back.

He'd met the pretty witch on one such jaunt. Jared still wasn't sure how he ended up in her home the second time, but he's not complaining. He likes the feisty little healer. Really likes her. And even though he knows it's hopeless, Jared loves how determined she is to get him out of there.

But Jared knows the truth. No one is ever released from the dungeon under Crying Souls hospital. Not without dying first.

~*~

Given how I enjoyed the first book in Wisdom's Demons series, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, the plot was a little chaotic and the characters didn't appeal to me as much as Maggie and Declan did in the first book. I didn't dislike Lili or Jared, really. They didn't do anything particularly annoying...well...other than Jared's habit of reminding Lili that demons do it better - that got old for me relatively quickly. They didn't stumble across any of my lines, though, or push any of my big character no-no buttons, so that was good. I just didn't connect with them and didn't think their chemistry was particularly strong. Nor did their romance seem based on anything more substantial than a physical chemistry that I couldn't quite feel.

The plot was another issue. There were several elements that lacked sufficient explanation for me. Little things, really, but the sum of them impacted my ability to just relax into the story. Why when Jared shadow located did he show up all clean and in nice clothes, unmarked from the abuse he suffered? Why, when Lili had proof of wrongdoing in the hospital, was she on her own to fight it? She hadn't struck me as a terribly powerful force, but she was intent on going against a very powerful force. Questions like that plagued me throughout the book.

Secondary characters had less of a role in this book that in the preceding book, and I didn't find them as varied and fascinating. The setting of the book was also, like the characters, just okay for me. I have no real complaints, but it just didn't appeal to me as much as the Guard compound and the house that Maggie had. The impression I was left with was that this book was just a little...smaller somehow...than the first book.

Like the first book, though, I thought the ending of the external conflict was a bit abrupt. Not as bad, but still a bit anticlimactic after the story elements that preceded it. What was there, though, didn't appeal to me. It seemed less an organic escalation of growing madness and nefarious intentions and more a bit contrived and forced to get the characters into the positions they found themselves in.

I was a little surprised that the second book had so little to do with the first. The only points connecting them in the series is the fact that both lead males are demons (which would explain the series title) and both heroines know each other as friends. The differences may appeal to some readers, but I was hoping for more from the Hellion Guard and some of the characters I met in the first installment. For those starting the series at this point, though, this book reads perfectly well as a stand-alone.

The good thing for me is that it's clear after two books that Wisdom can write creative, entertaining narratives. This one just didn't strike the same chord in me as the first did. I may not have been wowed by the elements in this story, and some of them weren't pleasing at all, but there is a style and sophistication in the way Wisdom puts her words together and creates story that does appeal to me. I really want to see if the next book is more to my tastes in character and story.

Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in Demons, the spin-off series from Sixth in the Jazz Tremaine, a.k.a., Hex. This series focuses on, well, what did you expect? Demons with Dr. Lili Carter and Jared.

Although, to be honest, when I started writing this review, I thought this was the start of yet another series spin-off. It'll be interesting to see where Wisdom takes us.

My Take
Whoa, Wisdom really sets up an intricate story here. The basics are a bit clichéd, but it's the detail and where Wisdom takes us that makes this a fabulous story. I just loved this and I hope she goes further and turns this one into its own series or at least allows us to visit more with Lili and Jared. For one thing, I want to know more about what happened with the vampire clan and why Jared wiped 'em out. NOTE: It seems that clarity showed up after I posted this review. It is part of the Hex, a.k.a., Jazz Tremaine, series.

With all the magickal spells and possibilities, why doesn't Lili set up a video feed of some sort to show the Council what's really happening?

I do love this switch on the prison escape and that Jared is able to leave so easily. Even if he also is so easily pulled back. I am surprised that Lili does so little to ensure her protection.
The Story
Lili is going undercover at her old job at Crying Souls Hospital to discover what happened to Sera. There's no way that Sera would just leave like that, and Lili is determined to find her.

It doesn't take long before Lili discovers just how bad things are under Dr. Mortimer and just how right they are with Jared.

And she has a rip roaring time teaching the receptionist and a few others the true meaning of healthcare.

The Characters
Dr. Lili Carter is one of the witches banished back in 1313 when they all refused to point the finger. She's made a good life for herself as a witch-healer extraordinaire of othernaturals. At the end of the story, she's the hospital's new director. Cleo is her cat, an incarnation of Cleopatra herself. And as a therapy cat, she's very good with sick children, if a bit snarky with Lili. Maggie O'Malley is part of the Hellion Guard and quite capable of taking on the bad guys; Elle is her black widow sidekick (see Demons are a Girl's Best Friend ).

Jared, a.k.a., Patient 1172, is a shadow-demon. Betrayed and imprisoned at the mercy of Dr. Mortimer in the insane basement of Crying Souls. Luckily, his particular ability allows him to escape now and again. His mother, Sinsia, is on the Demon Council. Amy is a child ghost who has been haunting the asylum for centuries.

Other inmates in the psych ward include:
Panabell, a pixie addicted to rose dust; Dermod has a brain fever; Orkey has been locked up for the past 600 years; and, Pepta has suffered great trauma. And how anyone could expect them to heal in this place...

Co-workers at Crying Souls Hospital
Deisphe is a wereleopard shifter nurse and becomes friends with Lili. Arimentha Garrish is the director of nursing and a dragon-shifter. The nurses call her the Dragon Lady. Dr. Hieronymus Mortimer is in charge of the hospital, but spends most of his time in the insane ward. Well, actually, he spends most of his time in the past, butchering people. Whitechapel and Jack the Ripper was him. He's kidnapping the nurses and taking them into the past and leaving them there. Turtifo and Coing are the corrupt ogre guards who do their best to make everyone's life a misery; Sismin and Zeno are their brothers. Dr. Heron is a gnome; Dr. Erbe. Calla, Sasha, Annis is an elf nurse, and Vanna are other nurses.

Asmeth is a wizard and a great friend of Lili's. He runs a clothing store for witches and wizards in Inderman. Sera is a nurse and one of Lili's friends. Rea and Adam are old friends of hers. An empath and a water witch from her days in San Francisco. Eurydice is the head of the Witches' Council and had to be talked into allowing Lili's undercover venture. Rissa is an empath Lili finds to help Amy.

Kevin turns out to be a half-breed with particular issues with which Asmeth can help him and his mama, Cassie. Vonnie is a talented witch with bad taste in boyfriends. Zane is a second-rate mage with delusions of better ratings.

The Cover and Title
The cover is quite colorful with its yellowy oranges, lime greens, and reddish oranges all toned down by hefty amounts of brown. It's a colorful laboratory with beakers and alembics in which Demon looks on as Nurse tosses sparkly bits of light.

The title is a taunt Jared loves to toss at Lili, that A Demon Does It Better. It's working title was Undercover Demon.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a stand alone, which from reading others reviews, was probably a good thing. It was a good read and highly entertaining. However, I did feel the ending was a bit rushed, like the author just wanted it to be done. The whole book built up and built up; then SURPRISE its all over in a few 'happily ever after' pages.

Also, I did not appreciate the unnecessary 'he left me' drama thrown in (literally in the last chapter). The author should have taken that silly piece out and dedicated those last few pages to a more fulfilling ending.

[Books Lucy King · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
I will miss this serie and the amazing, funny witches. However, this last one was not that good as I expected it to be. I fell in love with the characters, Lili and Jared were a nice couple, Lili as a witch well incredible but the main plot did not convince me at all. It was okay, fine, nothing special, easily predictible.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summer read. Enjoyed the premise.

[Dallass · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good read. I enjoyed the characters and the plot was intriguing.

[Doreen Vibert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love reading this! Now I have to get the rest of the series.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Release Date: January 1st, 2012
Summary:

Nurses keep disappearing from the supernatural hospital; one of those nurses was Sera, one of Lilli’s good friends. Lilli is a gifted witch and healer and was once a physician at that hospital, so she decides she can easily return and try to figure out where her friend disappeared to, she knows Sera didn’t just take off. When she arrives she realizes things may be more difficult then she anticipated. Jared is a rare Shadow Demon, the first time he sees Lilly he knows there is something special about her, but knows he is in no position to do anything about his strong attraction. The first time Lilly sees Jared he looks like he is straight out GQ. He is tall, put together and about the most gorgeous man she has ever seen, to say she was attracted would be an understatement. The next time she sees him he just appears in her living room and she finds herself intrigued yet annoyed he could get past her wards. The third time she sees this man it’s on the floor in a cell in the mental ward of the hospital, filthy, covered in cuts and bruises from the orderlies brutal treatment. Jared has been declared homicidally insane by his demon clan and the current Dr. in charge. Lilly is now even more intrigued, how can he be a locked up in the mental ward, yet appear out in the world looking like a million bucks, plus she knows he’s not insane?... As a healer she can sense all types of illness including mental illness and she doesn’t sense any mental illness in Jared, so why is he locked up? The more time Lilly spends in the mental ward with the patients the more she realizes there is more going on than there should be; could this all be connected to the disappearances in the hospital? The more things don’t add up the more curious she gets. Jared is trapped in the “dungeon” but his shadows allow him to bust out of the place for short amounts of time, until Lilly, it was the only thing that kept him sane. The more time he spends with Lilly the more his spirit heals and the more he realizes there are big gaps of his memory missing from his time in the mental ward. As his beatings increase and more memory is missing he realizes he may not make it out of the “dungeon” alive.

Review:

I adored this book! I was pulled in from the very beginning, and was up most until 3am finishing it. I love me some witches especially the healers. How can you not love a healer!? The mental illness added something different to the mix, hospital themes are not uncommon but they usually do not deal with the mental illness side of the medical profession. It was a refreshing change, one I welcomed whole heartedly. I really liked Lilly and Jared together, sometimes when there is an instant attraction and no angst or trying to fight the feelings it can seem fake, but with Jared’s captivity it added the necessary obstacle to overcome so it wasn’t too easy. There was A LOT going on in this book, there was something new with every page turn, but it all flowed seamlessly. You will not be bored that is for sure. As with the previous book in this series the side characters only add to the story rather than detract. I loved Lilly’s cat companion (not to be confused with a familiar) Cleo (as in Cleopatra former Queen of Egypt), she has plenty of sass and personality and I was quite fond of her. I found myself laughing often and almost shed a tear, so you really get pulled into the emotions L. Wisdom successfully tries to display. I highly recommend this read and will probably be rereading it again in the near future, I have a feeling this will be one of those books that sticks with me for a while. This book can be read as a standalone or as part of the series. You do get a visit from Maggie from the first book “Demons are a Girl’s Best Friend”.

*This book was provided for an honest review through NetGalley.

[Pamela]

I’m kind of thinking that I just wasn’t in the right mood for this book. Other reviews for it are glowing, but I absolutely could not get into the story. At all. I felt no emotional connection to the characters, the prose was clunky and off-putting, and by page 100, I still had no idea what the main plot thread would be. Let’s break this down into things that annoyed me:

The Characters
I just wasn’t interested in the protagonist, Lili, at all. There wasn’t any kind of emotional connection between me as the reader and Lili as the main character. I know I was supposed to feel bad for her that her mother died and her best friend is missing, but I didn’t. In fact, I really didn’t get any kind of emotion off of Lili when she mentioned those two big life events. I was told she was feeling sad and worried, but I never got a sense of it. She was just… there, and I could never get a feel for her.

The love interest, demonic Jared, was the same. He’s described as sexy and mysterious, but I just couldn’t ever muster enough interest in him to care who he is, why he’s locked in the magical hospital’s psych ward, or what the amazing chemistry is between Jared and Lili. Even that felt perfunctory: there will be a romance between these two characters, therefore they are suddenly and inexplicably attracted to each other. Meh.

The majority of the supporting characters were cardboard cutouts: the bitchy head nurse, the creepy old doctor, the sweet and supportive best friends, the sexually adventurous new friend. The only supporting character with real potential is Cleo, Lili’s cat friend who used to be Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. I like the idea of Cleo, but the execution was lacking. To me, Cleo is that stock sassy friend character who says, “GURL!” a lot to the protagonist and nudges her into the romance.

The Prose
Infodumps, ahoy! I’m wondering how I would feel about the infodumps if I had read the first book in this series (nothing on the Amazon page indicates that it’s book 2, so I went in flying blind). As someone without any background in the universe, I was annoyed that I was dropped into a world and had little, incongruous nuggets of information dropped on me randomly. If I were familiar with the world, I might not need those nuggets of information, but I still think that they really do nothing to enhance my enjoyment of the world.

The Plot
There are just too many plot threads brought up haphazardly. Lili has started her new job at the magical hospital. She sees the sexy demon dude. She’s feeling regret over her mother’s death. Okay. By this point, I’m not sure where the story is going (other than that Lili and Jared are eventually going to hook up), but I’m willing to stick around and see. At around page 70, Lili suddenly thinks about her best friend who used to work at the magical hospital but mysteriously quit her job and disappeared. Huh. It seems like that’s something that Lili would have thought of sooner, since she’s in the hospital all day. You’d think that would bring up memories of her friend or something. At page 100, yet another new character, the bitchy headmistress of Lili’s old witch school, suddenly shows up to chat.

And I still have no idea where the plot’s going. I try to be a forgiving reader; I’ll often give a book way more time than I should to draw me in. But with this one, I just couldn’t go on. If within the first hundred pages, I haven’t been given an inkling of what the main plot thread is going to be, I have to give up.

Rating: Did Not Finish

[Scooper Speaks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Lines: “She mentally rehearsed opening dialogue if they had just “happened” to bump into each other. Oh, hello. Do you happen to know where Rangel’s Harvest Foods might be? Excuse me, but don’t I know you from somewhere? Actually, I know I’d remember you if you had been a patient of mine. No forgetting a body like that.” (p. 11-12, egalley)

Book two in Linda Wisdom’s series about demons was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting much, but boy did she deliver a story unlike any I’ve read lately. Demon Does it Better is what I want from paranormal books: a good plot and great characters. There was some predictability, but the idea behind the story really worked quite well for me.

I don’t’ want to spoil the surprise (I’ll let someone else do that.), but the hero’s situation came out of the blue. At least it happened early. Early enough to make the entire story interesting. The bad guy was obvious, but figuring out how to save the hero took some doing and it was refreshing to read a story which revolved around a heroine saving her hero.

Don’t get me wrong. The hero is a male demon capable of taking charge and solving problems. However, he is plagued by some major baggage. Baggage that often results in him getting the crap beat out of him. His salvation comes in the form of a witch who was expelled from “witch school” in the 1300s.

Lili is looking into the mysterious disappearances of nurses from Crying Souls Hospital. The hospital cares for the preternatural community and houses an asylum for those creatures in need of mental care. Lili’s duties take her into the dungeon to care for those with questionable mental issues. Throughout the story Lili is an advocate for all in need. Not just the preternatural, but humans too. She does not believe in turning her back on patients or reverting to the 1600s when Bedlam was considered the place to go to for medical aid. She’s strong and smart enough to ask for help when she needs it. In other words, she is a worthy heroine.

Demon Does it Better is a romance, but I was more interested in the action taking place. I wanted the heroine to solve the mystery and save her hero. I really didn’t care about their romance despite the attention given to it. The story revolves around the couple. They have a sizzling attraction for one another, yet I really didn’t care because the story as a whole was good. To be honest, I actually like this book better than book one (Demons are a Girl’s Best Friend). It was much darker than the introductory book in the series and had less fluff. A couple of characters from book one make an appearance in Demon Does it Better. It connects the stories without confusing those who have only read book two.

I’ll admit to being slightly confused for the first chapter of Demon Does it Better. I felt like I was dumped into a situation. The situation wasn’t explained until further in the story. As soon as I realized what was happening, I was cool. I wanted the heroine to succeed. No, I never made an emotional connection with the book. (So unlike me.) I still managed to enjoy the book more than the average story.

Scooper Speaks

[Lori {Romancing the Dark Side} · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, sexy and fun!

Liliana is a witch and doctor who specializes in healing. When her friend Sera who worked at the Crying Souls Hospital and Asylum suddenly goes missing, Lili vows to get answers. To do that, she takes a position at Crying Souls, hoping to learn what happened to her friend and others who've gone missing. What Lili finds while working with the secretive Dr. Mortimer is a "dungeon" of mentally ill patients under the worst conditions. It's there she meets patient 1172, Jared, a demon and the "most dangerous" inmate at Crying Souls, according to Dr. Mortimer. Lili isn't afraid of Jared, in fact she's extremely attracted by the sexy demon. The more time she spends treating Jared, the more she realizes not everyone is who they seem at the hospital. Soon Lili finds herself trusting the one person she was told to stay away from and thrown into a dark world of secrets and magick she never imagined.

I was enthralled by Linda Wisdom's supernatural world from the first page. The story wastes no time in jumping right into the action. The mystery surrounding the sexy demon Jared had me hooked, I couldn't read fast enough to find out more about him. He comes off as if he has ulterior motives with Lili but you soon learn he's just a demon with a heart! Jared was a refreshing new hero who wears his heart on his sleeve and isn't less of an Alpha for doing so, I love his charisma, his seductive ways and selflessness.

Lili is a strong and opinionated heroine who sometimes lacks the extra confidence to speak her mind but is still brave when the moment calls for it. Lili and Jared make a great couple and I enjoyed watching their relationship blossom instead of the instant love you sometimes get in books. They bring out the best in each other and their passion is both sexy and romantic. The book also has some great supporting characters you can't help but love, like Cleo, Lili's familiar who happens to be Queen Cleopatra incarnated in a cat! Cleo is feisty and moody but always comes to Lili's aid and gives her some great advice when it comes to matters of the heart.

A Demon Does It Better is a noteworthy paranormal romance with tons of emotion and a little dark side. The characters are well developed and the world building is quite original and intriguing. It's the kind of book you go into thinking you'll enjoy but just can't seem to put down once you start. It's difficult not to become invested in the characters and story with Linda's vivid and emotional writing. It's not usual for me to read a series out of order but I was able to follow the story without any holes or questions. After reading A Demon Does it Better I'll be adding book one and all others to follow onto my list!

{ebook courtesy of NetGalley}

Original Romancing the Darkside Review:
http://romancingthedarkside.blogspot....

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lili is a witch who uses her healing magic to be the best doctor she can be. She has returned to Crying Souls Hospital to investigate the disappearance of her close friend Sera who was last seen working there. Lili quickly realises that Sera isn't the only nurse to have vanished and she is determined to discover what became of them and try to locate her friend. When she is asked to work with the mentally ill patients in the dungeon asylum underneath the hospital she is horrified to discover how badly they are treated and the conditions they are forced to live in. The biggest mystery of all is Jared, a patient in the asylum but someone she also keeps bumping into outside the hospital. How is he getting out and why was he locked up in the first place?

Although I liked A Demon Does it Better I have to admit that it didn't wow me. I think that is at least partly because I picked it up without realising it was the second book in a series so was therefore unfamiliar with the world. I hate to read a series out of order and the fault is completely mine for not checking properly before I started reading. Although I believe each book in the series focuses on different main characters I still felt like I was missing something.

The main focus of the story is the romance between Lili and Jared and I felt things developed a little too quickly between them. It meant I found it hard to believe in their relationship, especially at the beginning when I wasn't sure if Jared could be trusted. Lili is a sweet character but there was nothing about her that made her stand out as a memorable heroine and I kind of felt the same about Jared. We were told how hot and sexy he was but I didn't really feel it and I didn't find myself routing for them as a couple.

There are several side stories that could have been really interesting but most of them weren't explored as fully as they could have been. For example there is a young ghost girl in the asylum that Lili wants to help move on, a big question is raised about how she could have ended up at the hospital in the first place but that seems to be forgotten about and we are never given an answer. Even the mystery of the disappearing staff doesn't have much focus until nearly the end of the book when everything wrapped up a bit too quickly and easily. I could give more examples but I don't want to give spoilers.

The story was quite humorous though and I liked most of the side characters even though they could have been fleshed out more than they were. The author has created an interesting world populated with all kinds of shifters, witches, wizards and demons and I'm interested to find out more. I will probably go back and pick up the first book in the series (Demon's are a Girl's Best Friend) at some point and I will keep an eye out for future releases. I think if you're looking for a more light hearted and fun paranormal romance then it would be well worth giving this series a try, if you're looking for something more action packed and with a deeper mystery then this probably won't be enough to satisfy you.

[Text Addict · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven't read any other books in this series - this one happened to be on the "new" shelf of the public library, and it's not clear from the cover that it's 6th in a series. [ETA: No, wait, on a second look, it's the 2nd of a series; the other 4 books on the inside cover are from a different series. Which at least explains the very different cover styles.] And that can be a problem for a reader, because the author sometimes assumes that laying in some of the basic background isn't necessary any more, which makes it tough for a new reader to connect with the characters.

But, that's only part of the problem I had with this book. Another part is subgenre mismatch - I like my paranormal romance with more of an 80/20 mix of paranormal and romance, which this doesn't appear to be. I admit it's hard be sure, since I didn't get past page 46; but I figure the way the two point-of-view characters feel instantaneous lust for one another is a strong hint of how the ratio is going to turn out.

I actually first put the book down at page 25, but then I got bored enough to give it a second chance. No go.

Fundamentally, the problem is that if I'm going to read another miscellaneous European mythology pastiche (and I read plenty of them, don't get me wrong), I want it delivered with more style. This is not the first book I've put aside because of problems with fundamentals, and it probably won't be the last.

One of the problems is the not-unusual Almost the Right Word Syndrome. On page 1, for example, the narrative refers to "the damp cold that permeated her heavy coat." Based on the context, the right word was "penetrated," not "permeated" - she's just stepped outside and the cold is trying to get through her coat. It's mildly annoying to keep running across such problems in a published book.

More critically, to my eye the book's pacing is off at pretty much every level. At the sentence/paragraph level, important details are tucked in too late (such as, the name of a character the POV character knows, page 2). At the scene level, the series of events portrayed through the middle of page 46 seem arbitrary, the scene breaks are mostly awkward, and the story doesn't have the natural flow that I look for in a novel.

And at the story level, we are eventually given to understand - on pages 16 through 18 - that Lili's whole reason for being in, umm, whatever place the story is set in (and working at this particular hospital), is that her dear friend Sera has mysteriously disappeared. On page 36, we learn that other people have also disappeared. Leaving aside the question of why this world apparently doesn't have any authorities to investigate (and whether any of the other as-yet-unidentified, vanished people have concerned friends or relatives), I can't cope with a book that doesn't actually focus on its basic plot and premise right up front.

There are other things I don't like about the book, but for me it's the word choice and especially the pacing issues that killed any interest I had in reading it. I'm just picky that way.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3*s

Lili Carter is a witch and her speciality is healing, she has just re-taken a position at Crying Souls Hospital run by the elusive Dr Mortimer whose speciality is the mentally ill. Lili isn’t there just to do her job, she is there to find out what happened to her friend Sera who went missing a while ago and no one has seen her since. What she finds when she starts working in the ‘dungeon’ is no less than barbaric but she is determined to change things, for the better. When she is specifically warned to stay away from patient 1172 her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers that not everything is as it seems down there and some professionals have their own agendas with regards to the patients. As Lili tries to do her job, help the mentally unstable, find out what happened to her friend, help a lost soul and get to the bottom of the mysterious man in her life- Jared. Has she taken on too much? Would it be a sign of weakness to accept help?

I enjoyed this book but not as much as the first, I didn’t know it was going to be about a different couple so that was a nice surprise. The characters were all likable. Lili & Jared made a lovely couple and I was routing for them all the way wondering how they were going to get past the obstacles in their way. Lili had a great support system and I found those characters really interesting and hope we get more from them throughout the series. Jared’s powers were quite unique and different too and I’m left wondering what is going to happen to them and him following the events of this book. The plot was good, you were left in no doubt as to who the ‘bad guys’ were but not exactly was happening. I sort of guessed some of it especially with the description of the Dr and the fact that we didn’t see much of him in the plot is explained along with the other things he’d been up to. I was left a little disappointed with Amy’s story and felt she had more potential as a character, her ending was over so quickly and I didn’t feel like it gave any really good insight into the plot- I wanted her back story and that just didn’t come. I would have also liked to have had more therapy sessions, they are a great way to get to know a character especially with the setting being a mental ward and there was a couple of characters there who would have been good to get to know and would have offered more getting to know you stuff with Lili & Jared.

It was lovely to see some of the characters from the first book make an appearance because it tied them together as a series rather than a stand-alone book, although this could be read very easily as one. I’m loving the world though, with all the new characters and the species being introduced and wondering who is next for some ‘Demon Loving’.

PS- I would love a Maggie & Declan follow-up book.

[Michelle Greathouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Demon Does It Better is a Paranormal Romance from Linda Wisdom from SourceBooks Casablanca.

Book Blurb:

A Madhouse Is No Place For A Curious Witch...

After more than a century, Doctor Lili Carter, witch healer extraordinaire, has taken a job at Crying Souls Hospital and Asylum, where strange and sinister things are happening. Patients are disappearing, and Lili wants to know why.

And Doubly Dangerous For A Demon...

Lili finds herself undeniably attracted to perhaps the most mysterious patient of all - a dangerously demented and seriously sexy demon named Jared. What’s behind the gorgeous chameleon demon’s bizarre disappearances?

Before long, Lili and Jared are investigating each other - and creating a whole new kind of magic.

My thoughts:

Lili Carter is a witch healer. She has worked in both the mundane and the supernatural world but now she has taken a job at the supernatural Crying Souls Hospital and Asylum. Lili has a couple of reasons for taking this job: she loves helping people for one thing and she is looking for a friend who’s gone missing - a friend who worked at the hospital.

Lili is hoping to find some answers.

What she finds is more questions.

Why does the head doctor have his mental patients locked away in the basement of the hospital? Where does he go when he unexpectedly leaves the hospital? What kind of ‘experimental’ magic is he using in his treatments?

Jared has been a guest of the good doctor for more than a hundred years. He has suffered the abuse of power, the mistreatment by the orderlies - and the loneliness of his ‘prison’ cell.

He has endured all of this by leaving as often as he can. Jared is a shadow demon and when he embraces the shadows, he is able to move - within a certain distance - from his confinement. An ability he has not shared with the good doctor.

When Lili sees Jared for the first time - she is immediately attracted. When she sees him the second time - she is completely confused. How can the beautiful man she saw while out shopping - be the same unkept patient in her hospital?

A Demon Does It Better is a very enjoyable read. I was instantly drawn into the plight of the patients at the hospital and eager to learn more. I like Lili and love Cleo. :)

I give A Demon Does It Better 4 out of 5 stars.


Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (1-1-12)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402236727
ISBN-13: 978-1402236723

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Demon Does it Better was a fun read that left me wanting more. Set in a hospital for all things paranormal, Linda Wisdom creates a spooky and dark setting where something is amiss. Lili comes to work at the hospital in search of answers for her friend that has gone missing with no trace. Instead she finds even more questions as she is brought to the underground, dungeon-like part of the hospital where the mentally insane are kept. There she meets Jared who is a demon that she just can't seem to resist. And soon Lili finds herself drawn not only to Jared but also to the secrets that the hospital seems to hold close. Because everything isn't as it seems...

How spooky does that sound??? I loved the setting that the author created with this book. It filled the book with atmosphere at times that was both creepy and dark. Lili was quite the opposite which fit really nice as she was filled with light and goodness. The atmosphere of the story contrasted nicely with Lili's character which really worked well in the book. The chemistry between Lili and Jared was almost immediate which caused me to instantly root for them. I would have liked to seen Jared's character explored a bit more though...I didn't feel like we got to fully know him like we did Lili. In the end it didn't matter, as I was just waiting to see that they got their happy ending :) The plot kept my attention throughout the story as Lili searched for answers to the various goings on at the hospital. And although the ending was a bit faster than I would have liked, I felt that it tied everything up quite nicely.

All in all, this was another solid read by this author! I'm looking forward to whatever she decides to write next as she is on my auto-buy list. And I really, really like the darker turn that her last two books have taken. I just can't wait for more! If you haven't tried this author yet, the great thing about these books is that you don't have to read them in any particular order. Characters from previous books are mentioned but it won't affect your enjoyment of each individual book. (I'd start at the beginning and read them all though if I were you :) Definitely recommended!

Bottom Line: Another must read from this author!

Disclosure: I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of this book from the publisher. My thanks!

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

originally posted at http://www.longandshortreviews.blogsp...

Lili is searching for a witch friend that just “disappeared” from the hospital she was working at, but what she finds is a demon in the dungeon below…

Ms. Wisdom makes her heroine a witch who heals and nurtures her friendships. Lili is kind, will defend her patients and friends to the death, and hasn’t had a love for a long time. The author really caught my attention with her demented demon. He’s a hunk that went a bit crazy from being bit by a vampire and the doctor running the hospital is using him for his own ugly purposes. He’s being tortured, they’ve blocked his mind from certain memories, and the ogre custodians love to beat on him. I could feel my hackles rise when I started reading about him. The author does a good job of making you care by sharing her characters' emotions with you.

This story is fast paced, has a nice mix of paranormal folks, and danger around every corner. You know the administrator has secrets, but you don’t learn just what kind until almost the end of the story. I especially enjoyed Lili’s friends. They may have all been paranormal, but they acted just like my good friends I have in my life. They always know more than you want them to, and they’ll pester you to get the truth. Ms. Wisdom must have a few of those in her life also because she writes so accurately about them.

The author uses historical references to enhance her depiction of the dungeon under the hospital and to indicate how aged the witches and demons of the story are. That’s a very nice touch. The story works and has enough detail to it to make it seem authentic, even if it’s a world we don’t live in.

I enjoyed this read and think you will, too, if you like fantasy. It has good action, you care about the characters and it’s the classic fight between good and evil. Where can you go wrong?

[Cadiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not as good as the first Demon book - Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend - and it's sadly not as good as the first four in the series (the Hex series) but that's not to say it's a bad read. It's fluffy romance with the usual sidekick characters who provide a quirky extra to the main witchy heroine.
Unlike other reviewers, I wasn't mad keen on Cleo, the former queen of Egypt now reincarnated as a cat, but she did have some really funny stand out moments.
I've also found the plots a bit lacking with the two Demon novels in comparison to the previous books where the "heroes" came from other supernatural backgrounds. It's not because they're not as interesting, I find the idea of a demon being anything other than "a demon" to be a good one but they don't seem to be fully fleshed out. We see far more of the other supernatural men's natures and abilities in the previous books than either of the two demons in these.
Still, our heroine Lili is a likeable enough girl, she's one of the 13 witches chucked out from witchy school back in 1313 and banished for 100 years (they get extra years added on each time they use their magic powers not for the "greater good" and that's added up to 700 additional timeouts) so she's had time to develop her powers, which lie in the field of healing.
The book plot has her revisiting somewhere she used to work, a hospital for supernaturals, and stumbling on to an archetypal "mad doctor" up to nefarious good in the basement. One of his patients is the shadow demon Jared and the narrative then meanders through various sub-plots, offshoots and minor characters to the rather rapid conclusion.

I like Linda Wisdom, I loved her first four books, I'm hoping as she carries on with this series we'll see more of a return to the style of those and more of a cross over with the stories of the remaining witches.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. Lili is a witch who takes a job at a paranormal hospital to try an find out what happened to her missing friend. There is a asylum under the hospital where they keep insane or dangerous patients. Among them is Jared a demon who has been there 100 years. Lili soon finds that he can leave his cell and that he isn't as dangerous as the doctor would have her believe. In fact it seems there is more going on than she thought. She teams up with Jared to find out what is going on and why people keep disappearing from the hospital.

This is the first time i have got to read a book by Linda Wisdom and I really enjoyed it. Lili is a powerful witch with healing abilities. You really get to see all side of her as she falls for Jared helps patients and interacts with her friends. She doesn't lay down and take things and takes charge when she can. A great female character that you will like. Jared can I just say Yummy and that would be perfect for him. Seriously he is a demon so you know he has a dark side and a dark past. When these two get together it is super hot. There is a lot of other characters Cleo being another of my favorites you really need to read it for Cleo alone. She can be a handful.

The story moves at a nice steady pace. You get a mystery that needs to be solved, a love match, paranormal creatures of all types, several funny scenes and so much more. It is the second in a series but I couldn't tell that I missed anything by not reading the first one. I will be going back and reading the first because I really like this authors writing style. It has a lighter feel to the paranormal world. I recommend this to anyone who likes a love story with a great story line and wonderful characters.

[Shan ~A~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just at this moment realized that this book is book 2. I figured it was part of a series, but didn't realize that it wasn't the beginning. Anyway, I suppose all of that is beside the point.

On to the review.

For the most part I really like this book. I know Lili and Jared was going to be good together right from their first face to face meeting. The plot was really unexpected in a good way. I wasn't expecting Jared's circumstances to be what they were (trying no to give anything away). One thing is for sure this story will take you on a ride you will definitely enjoy and leave you wanting to more.

Before, I realized this is book 2, I would have said that this sets the pace for the rest of the series, but I have to assume (since I haven't read book 1) that it is keeping the pace going.

I for one can't wait to see what's in story for all of those wonderful secondary characters that were mentioned in this story.

What I didn't like (and it's only minor) was the constant reminders that she is a witch and he a demon. We already know what they are we didn't need it to be constantly repeated. Now mentioning what the others were when they were introduced, yes, but to keep telling me over and over info that I already makes me want to stop reading the story. I am glad in this case that I didn't because even with that it was well rest it.

I will definitely be going back for book 1 and reading any others that are produced for this series. I am even looking forward to Nurse Garrish getting her HEA.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book in Wisdom’s Demon series and the first of hers I have read. The author has set up an open world for her story. The magical community isn’t hidden from the “mundanes” but they don’t really mix. There is an alternate dimension called Inlander’s Magical Plane where magical folk can live and shop.

Lili is a healing witch (doctor) that is searching for her best friend who has mysteriously disappeared while working at Crying Souls, a hospital for magical folk in San Francisco. She gets herself a job there to secretly investigate Sera’s and many others disappearance. What she finds is the disturbing treatment secretly taking place in the basement on the insane. One such patient is Jared, a smoke demon who is thought to be beyond help. Lili and Jared team up to uncover what is really going on down there.

I had a hard time finishing this book. It just didn’t hold my attention. The main and secondary characters didn’t have a lot of depth so I never felt invested in them. The author also wasn’t able to make me believe in the world she created. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the Lili and Jared. The deep connection between them seemed to come out of nowhere.

Lili has a talking cat, the reincarnation of Cleopatra who is supposed to be a source of humor,...
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