The First Demon

Cards of Death #1

by Tamara Geraeds

Caught in a magical world he never knew existed,
Dante has only one choice: fight or die.

Things haven't been easy for sixteen-year-old Dante Banner. Abandoned by his father, he has been dealing with his mother's unexplained fits on his own. He has always coped. Until now.

After he inherits a haunted house, a pair of demonic cards appears on his doorstep. A mysterious voice urges him to ‘save him or all will be lost’. His search for the meaning of those words just begins when things spin out of control. Demons are coming to kill him and the ghosts residing in the home can only protect him so much. He has to do what the voice tells him, or he will lose everyone he cares about.

But danger lurks around every corner. Even those closest to him can't be trusted. Will he be able to fight off the monsters trying to stop him, or perish along with the rest of humanity?

A gripping novel for fans of Supernatural, Charmed and Anna Dressed in Blood.

Genres: Fantasy

308 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Tamara Geraeds was born in 1981.
When she was 6 years old, she wrote her first poem, which basically translates as:

A hug for you and a hug for me
and that’s how life should be

She started writing books at the age of 15 and her first book was published in 2012. After 6 books in Dutch she decided to write a young adult fantasy series in English: Cards of Death.

Tamara’s bibliography consists of books for children, young adults and adults, and can be placed under fantasy and thrillers.
Besides writing she runs her own business, in which she teaches English, Dutch and writing, (re)writes texts and edits books.
She’s been playing badminton for over 20 years and met the love of her life Frans on the court. She loves going out for dinner, watching movies, and of course reading, writing and hugging her husband. She’s crazy about sushi and Indian curries, and her favorite color is red.


Ik werd in 1981 geboren in het Zeeuwse dorpje Arnemuiden. Al op mijn 6e schreef ik mijn eerste gedichtje:

Een knufje voor jou en een knufje voor mij
en zo gaat het leven voorbij.

Op mijn 15e begon ik aan mijn eerste (jeugd)boek ‘Achtervolgd door de Dood’, dat ik in 2005 in eigen beheer uitgaf, onder het pseudoniem Jayda Rosa. Ook liet ik in dat jaar een bundel met gedichten drukken: ‘De tijd staat even stil’.

Jarenlang bleef ik dromen van een carrière als schrijfster en in 2011 kwam die droom eindelijk uit. Bij Karakter Uitgevers verscheen de bundel Bergen Bloedt, met daarin mijn spannende verhaal Elf November. Via Tenpages.com kwam ik vervolgens bij Kluitman terecht, die begin 2012 mijn debuut Nergens uitbracht. Mijn eerste Young Adult Jasper werd in 2013 door Uitgeverij Zilverspoor uitgegeven. Daarna volgde bij Uitgeverij Kramat de serie Christopher Plum , die nog steeds loopt, en daarna een aantal korte verhalen, waaronder het als boekje gepubliceerde Tegenwereld. In 2017 verscheen mijn allereerste boek voor volwassenen: Echo bij uitgeverij Kabook.

Inmiddels heb ik me volledig op het schrijven gestort. Begin 2011 startte ik mijn eigen bedrijf: Tekstbureau Charizma. Ik volgde de opleiding voor Docent Creatief Schrijven aan de HVA en geef nu cursussen.
En daarnaast schrijf ik natuurlijk verder aan een aantal nieuwe boeken!

Reviews

[Sabien Blewanus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing! I loved the story and can't wait to read the next book!

My review after reading all books:

This series was a rollercoaster. A very fun one. I just finished the last book and I need some time to recover. This story just captured me whole. I absolutely loved the whole series and it's sad that it came to an end... I wished there would be more books, so I could keep living in this world with Dante and his friends! I highly recommend reading this series, cause I loved every piece of it ❤️

[Ursula Visser · Rating 5 out of 5]

The First Demon by Tamara Geraeds is a real pageturner, when I started reading, I was immediately sucked in by the story and wanted to know how the story went on.

Dante seems to be an ordinary boy who, because of his mother's illness, barely has time for anything but to take care of her. When the school holidays begin and his friends all travel to countries like Italy, he is forced to stay home because of his mother.
But things change for Dante, when he inherits a house, and Demon cards appear on his doormat. The house houses more than just cobwebs and old furniture. What else could be in there that has the power to change his life? You have to discover that for yourself!

I highly recommend this book. It has excitement, magic, mystery and much more. This will be a top series!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

The First Demon van Tamara Geraeds is een echte pageturner, toen ik eenmaal begon werd ik er direct ingezogen en wilde weten hoe het verhaal verder ging.

Dante lijkt een gewone jongen, die vanwege de ziekte van zijn moeder nauwelijks tijd heeft voor iets anders dan voor haar te zorgen. Als de schoolvakantie begint en zijn vrienden allemaal afreizen naar landen als Italië, is hij genoodzaakt om thuis te blijven voor zijn moeder.
Maar dan erft hij een huis, en verschijnen er Demon-kaarten op zijn deurmat. Het huis herbergt meer dan alleen maar spinnenwebben en oude meubels. Wat? Dat moet je zelf ontdekken!

Ik raad dit boek ten zeerste aan. Het heeft spanning, magie, mysterie en veel meer. Dit wordt een topserie!

[Caroline Noe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dante has a tough time as a teenager. His father left him to take care of a mother plagued with violent fits. Then he receives a strange letter and a whole new life explodes: a haunted house full of ghosts that insist they're his shield. From what? And what's up with his friends?

This is a delightful YA fantasy written from the point of view of its befuddled teenage protagonist as he navigates his ever-changing world. The ghosts are well drawn and swiftly create the sense of family that Dante craves. I wasn't quite convinced that the fate of our world hung in the balance, but there was enough plot to drive the reader to book 2.
Recommended. 

[Yori Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book, i really got sucked into the story and i’m really curious to see what the next 8 books bring

[Jay Wagemans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the world that Tamara Geraeds has set up with the Cards of Death series. It reminded me of Beautiful Creatures with less gooey romance and drama, and more scary monsters and excitement! There is enough to enjoy while reading this story, but there were some clichés I struggled with.

What I didn’t like as much:
- The first few pages, title, cover and Dante’s name led me to believe that The First Demon might be filled with clichés, but that is definitely not the case! It was much better than I expected. I do believe that that first picture I got in my head about the books could have captured the vibe and storyline better.
- Saving Maël kind of feels like it’s there to fill up the story, but on the other hand: that scene does get into strengthening bonds between characters en helping the reading create an idea of the magic system.
- I hate visions haha, can’t help it. It gets kind of confusing distinguishing between illusion, vision, dream and reality. That’s probably the point, but I personally just don’t like that.
- I also don’t really care for the angels versus the devil (I can handle demons tho haha).

Still, The First Demon is interesting enough to keep me engaged! I knew from the Soul Jumper short stories that I love Tamara Geraeds writing, and I’m really happy that I started reading the Cards of Death as well.

What I really liked:
- It’s very original (at least I haven’t read something like it yet) to read about Dante’s mother who deals with mental illness. She doesn’t let it get in her way and as a reader, you get involved in her story and want to see her get better. I actually worry about her haha. It also ties in with the fantasy aspect of the story, and I’m definitely interested in seeing how that angle plays out.
- Even though Dante has to perform some magical rituals, he stays down to earth. He feels like he’s easy to get along with and doesn’t get all hippy or intense about it. That makes the magical aspects of the story easier to process.
- Dante has such a heartwarming bond with his Shield (which is a pack of ghosts, awesome). It just makes me really happy and warm inside.
- That is because Tamara Geraeds creates such awesome characters that feel real and are easily distinguishable from each other. They could be actual people.
- The characters also develop quite nicely and get me hooked with their secrets and backgrounds.
- The fight scenes are awesome.

Something I’m on the fence about:
A lot goes down in this first book, which needs to happen in order to set up the rest of the story of course. But: I have so many unanswered questions after reading this! I get the general idea (stopping the world from being destroyed, as usual), but there are a lot of side stories waiting to unfold, a lot of information that I don’t know what to do with yet. I totally get why everyone keeps telling Dante that he’s not ready to know everything yet ;) In short: on the one hand it’s mildly frustrating that there’s so much up in the air, but on the other hand I am quite excited to read the next book!

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book. It is well written and very well put together. Despite the dangerous and supernatural creatures that appear in this story, the story remains human and you empathize with the main character and with those he wants to protect. It's a young adult book because Dante is sixteen years old and you can see that reflected in the search for his place in the newly opened world when he inherits a scary haunted house. But he also falls in love with a very attractive woman for the first time. Everything is right about this story. Questions arise and answers come, but they lead to new questions. I couldn't put the book down and read chapter after chapter because I wanted to know what happened next. Yet I could just keep breathing, the tension and the actions are nicely interspersed with new riddles and discoveries, emotions that have to be processed, and humor. That's what makes this supernatural story so human and so valuable. As a reader you are drawn into the world and never do you think that what is happening could not be true. A new world opened up for Dante, because a veil was lifted, but that certainly also applies to me as a reader. Tamara knows how to hold the reader's attention very well. I immediately started reading part two and want to read this whole series. I think I can learn a lot from it. Not only about ghosts and demons, but also about friendships and emotions, tension and actions. Awesome!

[Katlyn Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique! This paranormal fantasy is unlike one I’ve ever read. It is not cliche and left me wanting more! It is a great start to the series!

[W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was captivating from beginning to end.

[Maricel Cañete]

The first few pages of the book needs getting used to but afterwards I was swept in the story. Love the storyline. Can’t wait to read part 2.

[Jeroen Dejaegere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dat Tamara Geraeds al succesthrillers of jeugdboeken kon voortbrengen wisten we in het nederlandstalige gebied al langer dan vandaag. Maar met deze eerste telg in de gloednieuwe Cards of Death-reeks, bewijst ze met heel wat bravoure, dat ze dat kunstje ook in het Engels kan herhalen voor een Young Adult publiek. Met de First Demon zet ze een heel toegankelijke verhaallijn op papier, dat met laagdrempelig taalgebruik ook leesbaar is voor wie niet meteen het Engels als moedertaal beschouwt. Met een originele plot die het beste van Jonathan Stroud weet te combineren met de verslavende elementen van series als The Ghost Whisperer en een vleugje Grimm, laat de schrijfster heel wat harten sneller slaan. De vergelijking met de voorgaande successeries op tv is overigens niet toevallig gekozen, het verhaal leest weg als een avondje bingewatchen van je favoriete fantasyserie en Geraeds weet uiterst treffend elke setting te beschrijven. De personages worden levensecht neergezet, met hun gebreken en menselijke verlangens en elk wordt van een passende hoeveelheid diepgang voorzien die overeenstemt met hun rol binnen het verhaal. Deze eerste titel in de reeks levert ons een inkijkje in de leefwereld van het hoofdpersonage en eindigt niet alleen op een climax, maar levert door de grote hoeveelheid onbeantwoorde vragen ook een rechtvaardiging voor heel wat meer dan één vervolgdeel. Doorbreken op een internationale markt is nooit makkelijk, maar dat zal zeker niet te wijten zijn aan de topprestatie van de auteur. Wat ons betreft mag de verovering van de literaire wereld beginnen. En nu ongeduldig afwachten tot het tweede deel verkrijgbaar is.

[Sahar Hamidavy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book which was a gift by the writer, amused me a lot and I finished it in no time despite having 311 pages. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the book. The plot is so interesting and you find yourself getting lost in reading this fantastic novel. It’s a real page turner. The language is easy to follow and understand.
The book takes us in to the world of magic, super natural and the shadow.
Dante the protagonist who is a 16 years old experiences new things and we can see his character develops through varieties of unbelievable incidents.
Dante’s family is not a normal family, the father has abandoned them and the mother is suffering from an unexplained fits and so Dante has to deal with all of these all alone.
And after that he receives a mysterious letter claiming he has inherited a home from his recently dead father. Then after visiting some ghosts, a voice asks him to save him or all will be lost. you must read it to find all the details out.

It is a great book to entertain you and takes you out of the real world .

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book though I felt Dante was a bit Mary Sue-ish. There is plenty of action and typical angst of a teenager: why me? Though he is more mature than many his age because of dealing with his mother's situation. The ghosts are more clearly defined in character than their physical being in the story. Garaeds has created an unusual ghostly power of combing their talents to create a Shield for Dante. It would be interesting to see if she gives a bit more detail about this in the next book. There are plenty of unanswered questions in this book but it doesn't feel like a real cliff-hanger.

[Anna López Dekker · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know a book has caught you when you forget the characters and events are not real, and Tamara Geraeds has achieved just that in her first installment of the “Cards of Death” series.
This high paced, engaging y.a. urban fantasy, will drag you into the story and will not let you go until the last page (and beyond). Despite being utterly impossible, the events feel quite believable, as do the characters.
A fun read for sure, which will force me to buy more books yet, because I fully expect to want to read the full series.

[Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review

I really liked this book, it was a unique and very entertaining read, with lots of light hearted humorous moments that made me smile. I loved "chapter 13" and I loved the characters, they are all very human and relateable (Jeep is my Favourite)

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book one of the Cards of Death series and follows Dante Banner from the last day of his junior year at high school, and facing a summer alone looking after his mother, while his four friends all go off to enjoy the break. His mother has been suffering from extreme bouts of fits, where she tries to destroy everything in her path and speaks in tongues. She has been doing it as long as he can remember and he has little memory of his father, who left him when he was a toddler. So, it is just him and his mother and he is very protective towards her. His friends are busy packing for the start of their adventures and he ends up with a surprise of his own. A strange letter appears at their door, addressed to him and reports that Dante has inherited a mansion in the better part of town! It was owned by his missing father, so whether this means he is dead or not, is still unclear.

What he doesn’t realise, is that his life is now going to change immensely. The old mansion is deserted and looks like it is unlived in, until he sees ghosts! He soon finds that they are what is known as his ‘Shield’, D’Maeo, Mael, Vicky, Taylar and Jeep. He has been able to see monsters since he was young, but now learns that they were actually demons! And his father had to leave him and his mother, to continue in his life as a demon hunter. The inheritance of the old mansion is just the first step into his new life and the powers that will soon be revealed from within him. But he is going to have to hurry up and figure them out quickly, or he and the members of his Shield will be dead before he gets started.

He receives two cards, which he is told are commonly known as’ death’ cards and his first task is to decipher what they are pointing to and who he is supposed to save. If he can’t work it out and save the life of this stranger, then the whole world could fall to the Devil himself. He can’t tell any of his friends what is happening to him, as they are all away, but that may not actually be true, as he sees two of them following the man he is tasked with saving! He has to deal with the fact he may not know the friends he has grown up with, quite as well as he thought, whilst also needing to find the courage to face death and battles, with little to no powers of his own yet. He has his wits and will be learning everything else on his feet!

A weak spot to this realm is about to be breeched, leaving more demons to be defeated. Dante is shocked to find out more about his father and his decision to leave them, as well as the battle he struggled with, that sent him mad. Lots of references to the brothers in Supernatural, in particular, as Dante and the members of his Shield get closer to each other and learn to work as a team. They have become the like a family to him and he will never leave one of them behind, like his father did. An interesting storyline, with so much more to come and a few books to follow as well. I look forward to reading them and see what Dante and his team face next. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked Dante and loved watching what happened to him as his summer began. It begins with a simple house he inherits from his father and leads to a paranormal adventure with ghosts, demons, weird cards, and a demon or two. It was fun to read and kept me entertained and reading tot he end just to see what would happen next and what his power would end up being and how he would find out what it was. All the characters were a blast and I had to keep reading to see what was up with his mom.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://perfecteburen.nl/review/cards...

[Laurel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book directly from the author through YA Book Stop (YABS) in Facebook in exchange for review and has not in anyway influenced my honest opinion.

The first few pages of this book didn’t read well for me. Too little background to go on for the main character Dante and his friends. Dante suddenly inherits an old house which is literally haunted by ghosts, then we get the “Harry, yer a Wizard!” line. It was also weird to read the parts where his mother is supposed to have been having weird episodes. After that the weirdness takes on it’s own life. A sentient being send Dante a letter and his task is to save someone or else the world will end which apparently what his dad was doing as well before he left them.

Dante then get’s into all sorts of scrapes with his ghost shield, sudden;y his mom didn’t have her “fits” anymore, and she finds out a couple of his friends might be like him. Dante also has this possible weird romance thing with one of his Ghosts.

Overall, it was an entertaining enough read but I was not that entertained enough to want to read the next books in the series. It’s needs a lot of work in the plot coherence and balance.