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Allay #2

Demon Underground

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Half-human and half-demon, Allay has finally warmed up to her new life feeding off the customers at her downtown bar whens he finds herself brokering a truce between New York City's most powerful demons. But when she senses assassins around every corner, Allay hides out of sight and underground-until combatants in the growing war tempt her back above the surface...

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 28, 2010

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297 people want to read

About the author

Susan Wright

37 books95 followers
See also S.L. Wright

Susan Wright (aka S.L. Wright) is a USA Today Bestselling author of more than two dozen novels and nonfiction books. She writes New Adult Contemporary Romance novels, as well as Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Science Fiction and Star Trek novels, and has been published by Pocket Books, Penguin Group, St. Martin’s Press and Kensington.

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5 stars
47 (21%)
4 stars
77 (34%)
3 stars
81 (36%)
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13 (5%)
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5 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Julia.
2,517 reviews72 followers
January 13, 2011
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
www.allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com

DEMON UNDERGROUND was a solid second installment in the Allay series, deepening the development of Allay herself as well as bringing major changes to her world. Wright takes the entire series in a direction I hadn’t expected at all, making me very excited to follow up with the next book in the series (and very nervous that I couldn’t find hints of the next book on-line).

The Allay series world mythology centers around demons preferring to feed on a particular emotion, and therefore acting in a way, consciously or unconsciously, to elicit this emotion in others. Wright is phenomenally consistent in how she applies this framework, and it is fascinating to watch the interplay of demons, using their names as an extra clue to decode their motives. The demons themselves do this, a sort of cultural reality show where everyone compares notes and makes predictions about other demons’ actions and motivations. I felt like I was right on the couch next to Allay and Bliss, passing the popcorn and shouting out guesses. In this way, DEMON UNDERGROUND comes into its own, a more thorough and satisfying dip into the demon world than CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON was able to offer.

Then again, Wright had a lot of ground to cover in her first book. Very little time passes between the end of CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON and the start of DEMON UNDERGROUND, and I enjoyed picking up where I left off. It would not be impossible to read DEMON UNDERGROUND as a stand alone, but I do think you’d miss out on the character nuances and back story from book one (and who would want to do that?). Allay’s relationship with Ram develops significantly in this installment, with the extra complications of Bliss and Mystify thrown in to the mix. It was interesting to see Ram’s old school attitudes clash with Allay’s newly developing sense of “demon right and wrong.” Wright strikes a good balance of conflict and compromise, keeping things interesting without being unnecessarily dramatic.

In DEMON UNDERGROUND, Allay truly begins to come into her own as a mover and shaker in the demon world. While it is not clear if her decisions are good ones, they are at least novel (for a demon). My favorite part of the book was when Allay realized that, despite her human origins, she is as much defined by her demon nature and name as any of her peers. I look forward to seeing how this epiphany will affect her decisions in the future.

Sexual Content: Explicit sex scenes, mentions of sex acts and rape

Profile Image for Jenny.
1,150 reviews6 followers
September 6, 2017
Ok, here's the deal. The first wasn't bad, and I liked the storyline enough that I decided to read Book 2, even though the characters were fairly one dimensional. I thought that Book 2 of the series would flesh them out and really expand on the ideas of the book. However, it just felt like a second, extended ending for Book 1. There was some minor growth in some secondary characters, but overall, I didn't get overly into it.

I haven't decided if I'll read book 3 when it comes out. That being said, it still deserves a three star rating (for me, three is a solid, "Good book, enjoyed it" with four being "great book!" and five being "OMG LIFE CHANGING AND/OR JUST FREAKING AWESOME GOTTA TELL ALL MY FRIENDS."
Profile Image for Michelle.
110 reviews
November 22, 2018
This second book started out nicely but become a tornado with the heroine right in the eye of the storm and everything around her just changing and becoming unpredictable. It was still a great read but I actually wanted the heroine to continue her low-key bar life just for a while longer rather than the unexpected twist that developed. The author really knows how to make the reader doubt and be confused and uncertain about who to trust and what is the right choice in her series. It really keeps me on my toes and I decided that I can't trust anyone in the book to stay long or who are her true friend and just follow the heroine solely.
Profile Image for Shelley.
5,602 reviews489 followers
February 26, 2012
*Rating* 3
*Genre* Urban Fantasy

*Review*

Demon Underground (Allay # 2) pretty much begins where Confessions of a Demon (Allay # 1) left off. The head of Allay’s demon line (Vex) has been killed by Ram, and now the demon world is in turmoil trying to figure out who is in charge, and what they should do about Allay who has become a target for nearly every demon in NYC.

Allay has mostly accepted the fact that she’s no longer truly human and now needs to kill another demon every 200 years in order to survive. Allay feeds on people’s sweet elixir of life and their emotions giving them a release from their fits and rages while owning and operating a bar called Den on C.

Allay is also forced to make some difficult choices along the way to becoming comfortable with herself and her situation as a demon. Unfortunately for Allay, her friends dwindle by the minute after she knowingly exposes demons to the human world.

Shock is a real disappointment for me especially since she pretty much shoved Allay into feeding off another demon in order to live. She ends up treating Allay as though she is a danger to her, and the rest of the demons in the city, and their friendship abruptly comes to an end. I really can’t find fault in Allay’s actions for decisions which were based on saving those she cared about, which included Shock at the time.

She also has an offspring named Bliss. Like every other demon offspring, Bliss has the memories of her progenitor Allay. Bliss is a succubus demon who feeds off sexual emotions. Bliss is also firmly in Allay’s camp as a supporter after Shock decides she can’t handle what is Allay is becoming.

Ram, the oldest demon in existence, is still on the loose after killing Vex. Ram enjoys killing demons that hurt humans or attempt to harm Allay. The only real question where Ram is concerned is whether or not he truly loves Allay, or is he using her like the other so called love of his life Hope who was also a possessed human like Allay.

I think one of the more interesting demons was Mystify who clearly has the emotions of his progenitor Ram when it comes to Allay. Mystify plays important roles throughout this novel, and I really thought that Allay and he would make a play at each other.

If you’re like me, you will not take the books description seriously. Yes, part of the book does take place underground with Allay, Mystify, Bliss and Crave, but not a lot of it. The part that does take part underground is well done, and is well descriptive of the life homeless people choose as a way to survive.

The ending of Demon Underground leaves questions on whether or not this series will be continued. Since this book came out in 2010, and it’s 2012, I highly doubt it will.

Profile Image for Scooper Speaks.
604 reviews28 followers
March 5, 2011
Confessions of a Demon introduced us to Allay and S.L. Wright's demon world set in New York. Demon Underground takes us to the day after Confessions of a Demon. If it's been awhile since you read book one, you may want to pull it out and refresh your memory before reading Demon Underground.It's a nice addition to the series.

On a side note: I think the description on the back of the book is slightly misleading as only about a quarter of the book actually takes place underground. There are plenty of other ways demons are underground, but as in actually living underground--Allay never lives underground.

This book will make you take a new look at Allay's allies and will have you reconsidering the idea of demons coming out to the human world. It's not a feel good book, although the final page had me quite pleased with the direction of the series. It's a world where demons consume and betray each other as the norm. Good thing Allay is not a normal demon.

Ram, Mystify, Bliss, Shock and Crave all have large roles in this book. But when Allay takes a drastic step toward the future their roles in her life becomes shadowy. Will they stick by her side? Will they follow her lead? Are they really on her side?

Were you left wanting to know more about Ram in the first book? Well this book demolishes the walls that barred his secrets from Allay. Want to know what his life is and was like before Allay? This book will tell you.

My final thoughts: When I turned the last page of the book I wasn't left with a warm or fuzzy feeling. I felt like there were tons of anvils waiting to fall on Allay in the future. I was satisfied but still felt tense. Demon Underground is a dark urban fantasy with a satisfying romantic thread, the demise of several possible plot directions, and tons of a hint at the consequences which will need to be explored in the next book.
Scooper Speaks
Profile Image for Bill Swears.
Author 4 books11 followers
March 10, 2012
Should probably be considered the second section of one story. Starts up the moment the first volume ended, and develops the ongoing action. The heroine (Allay) is a demon, but what are demons? They aren't all evil - in point of fact, the heroine seems to consider them to be worse than they actually behave. I'm uncertain if that is unreliable narration, or if the author wants them to be more evil than she's actually writing them.

As an unreliable narrator, Allay is very interesting. She seems to be falling in love with a very old demon, but the question is out there, is she in love, or is he manipulating her into being addicted to him?

I also think it's interesting that the demons use that label on themselves. Are there angels? Are demons another species?

The story is very personality driven. Allay, her offspring Bliss, Ram and his offspring Mystify are emotionally fleshed out, and that seems more important to Allay than what is actually happening in the world.

The story has been examining what the world does as demons, who are immortal and can look any way they please, are discovered to be real. I'm sure it intends to continue down that path. I'll be reading it when it does.

The weakest point to the books, as far as I am concerned, is that the writing doesn't carry me along, waiting for the next thing. I keep going back, but I'm very able to put the books down for about two-thirds of each book, then I get swept up in the end. I'd like to be dragged along for more of the book.
Profile Image for Marsha.
3,053 reviews58 followers
December 18, 2010
I've been anxiously awaiting this installment of the Allay series. It is hard to believe that a reader could enjoy and cheer for a demon; but that is exactly the case here. In Demon Underground, Allay is struggling to come to grips with her protectiveness for her new offspring, Bliss, her feelings and trust issues for Ram and Mystify's (Ram's offsrping) pursuit of her affection. These are only the minor issues Allay must deal with. In addition to this, she has a demon turf war to steer clear of all while trying to dodge various attempts on her life.

In this installment we are introduced to the world of the underground where the homeless of New York seek shelter. Allay, Mystify and Bliss enter a new dimension and must learn to overcome their distaste of the unclean world the homeless must endure. Allay has never been afraid of a challenge and she gains a inner strength and determination she lacked in the first book. She manages to do what others could not and expose the demon world and make it seem non threatening to humans. Unfortunately in doing so, she makes enemies, loses friends and is left feeling abandoned and alone. However, her success reveals who she truly can trust and who she must let go of in her life. She gains valuable knowledge regarding Ram's background and first wife. Does he really love her or is he just transferring feeling for Hope to Allay. Read it and find out. It is a great read.
Profile Image for Ships.
354 reviews17 followers
January 10, 2011
This is book two following the excellant Confessions of a Demon where it begins from the aftermath of the day before and the end of the last book. Half human half demon she does not know where she stands with the other demon fractions, police are on her doorstep, she has new responsibilities demon sitting, & her best friend and her are having a very strained relationship. Assassins abound, she's being manipulated in the worst way from friends & foe, from people who she sees as her allies, so she has not really got a chance in hell regarding her enemies. But hey they are demons what does she expect?
~Allay our protagonist goes through hell & back or so it seems & gets tougher & more secretive. She can't trust Ram, even though she goes to mush when he is near. Allay does something desperate that sends shockwaves through the demon world, that will have huge ramifications.
A true urban fantasy with threads of romance, brilliantly penned & looking forward to the next installment.
My only niggle & it is only small is, it is easy to get confused on which demon is who at times, & I had to read back to double check.

Otherwise an enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Star.
1,290 reviews61 followers
August 13, 2016
Allay's finally done what it takes to ensure her survival and also had some painful truths revealed to her. Now she's got people (human and demon) trying to kill her at every turn and she's forced to make a startling revelation of her own. She wants to trust again, but it seems she's losing everyone she cares about. Will Allay be forced underground for the rest of her long life or will she make a stand for what she believes is right?

This is a great second book in this series. At times, I wanted Allay to fight when she chose not to, but she didn't let me down in the end. I read this in one sitting and was glad to be transported back into Allay's world - where demons feed on human emotion and no one is what or who they seem. I loved the newer characters that were introduced in the last book, but get fully fleshed out in this one. There were parts that made me laugh out loud (for which I received strange looks at times) and parts that were heartbreakingly poignant. If you haven't yet picked up this series, I highly encourage you to do so - and soon!

Allay series: Confessions of a Demon (1), Demon Underground (2)
Profile Image for Ithlilian.
1,738 reviews25 followers
did-not-finish
July 24, 2013
So this emotion demon is after this feeling named demon and that one attacked this place but has an alliance with this one. We shouldn't trust this demon but that one is ok. I can't resist myself around this demon and I don't care if he tried to kill my only friend. That's what I got out of the beginning of this. We have to sort through the tangled mess of relationships and drama left over from the end of the last book before we can get into this one. It's like a fantasy book with 25 characters all introduced in one page, it's overkill. Even if I wanted to wade through all that to see where this leads I don't care enough about anyone here to keep me going. The emotion eating demons is a nifty idea and the whole underground gang church power struggle thing is ok I guess but there's nothing new here. It will be the same cast of characters doing the same basic things. The newness doesn't carry over and we are left with cleaning up the mess the last book made. I don't have the patience for it.
Profile Image for Cyle.
967 reviews143 followers
December 15, 2010
Loved the second book is this series! The main character Allay has to go through a lot in this book, and as in the last book she cant resist Ram. Once thought to be human Ram is an ancient demon who kills other demons. He may sound bad but he kills the ones who hurt humans, so its okay! Kinda. Allay has a lot of ups and downs trying to stay alive after the last powerful head demon Vex was killed, others are trying to become the head demon. With the addition to he new demon offspring and Rams demon offspring she has a lot of people to look out for, including herself. Its interesting to see the development with Allays character and sometimes I get a little overwhelmed with the odd names everyone has, but its clever because their names clearly tell their whole story. Cant wait for the next one!
Profile Image for Stacy.
1,335 reviews61 followers
January 4, 2011
Reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blo...

Sadly I found DEMON UNDERGROUND just as slow moving as CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON. Again I still enjoyed the plot and the characters. Allay has to make tough decisions again and loses people she thought would always be there for her as well as got support from people she didn't think she would. She really makes progress in finding out who she can trust. Enemies are made, Allies start to show themselves. There is a lot of development in Allay discovering who she is and what she wants out of her life. Mystify and Bliss really brought more to the story and we get to see a whole new side to Allay's New York. If you you liked CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON You wont be disappointing with DEMON UNDERGROUND.


I gave it 3.5/5
Profile Image for Laurla2.
2,614 reviews9 followers
Read
January 6, 2021
"you cant live your live to suit other people. that wont make anyone happy."

"you're afraid you'll lose her. you're afraid it will hurt your family. you're afraid the others will hate you and hunt you. which they're doing anyway by the way. and you're afraid he wont like you anymore."

"its not your fault. you're not the center of the universe. you're not responsible for everything. let people make their own choices. you concentrate on deciding whats best for you."
Profile Image for Tammy Kesteloot.
713 reviews32 followers
December 5, 2014
Wow! Book 2 picks up right where book 1 left off. Again things move very fast for Ally and her friends.

Another engaging and fast paced read!! I have become a huge fan of Ally. Susan Wright has a winner here in this story. I hope she continues to flesh out the demon world through Ally.
Profile Image for WillowBe.
431 reviews8 followers
July 4, 2011
Oh please- Obviously the UPNF genre has not just jumped the shark, but the dolphin, the whale, the deep sea bass, etc. Just an amalgam of hard to pronounce names, nonextistent world building, look, it was boring and made no sense. Nuff said.
Profile Image for Larry Magstadt.
3 reviews
February 20, 2011
It is ok, just need to read Confessions of a Demon first to get where the main character is coming from.
Profile Image for Renee.
345 reviews56 followers
Want to read
October 10, 2011
I'd just started this, when a book order came in. I can't help the lure of the shiny, so I will be putting this one down while I read a couple of others. Hopefully, I'll get back to this shortly.
Profile Image for David.
11 reviews
March 30, 2012
bleah. Poor characterization, plot was not driven by an rational goals, pretty much a randomly assembled collection of situation driven skits.
Profile Image for Andrea.
314 reviews17 followers
April 24, 2012
Just finished the book Demon Underground by S. L. Wright. It was not as good as the previous book in the series as it had alot of contradictions from the first one.
Profile Image for Fred.
580 reviews1 follower
September 18, 2013
Not as good as the first one. After Alley comes out as a demon the whole book falls apart. The story just slows down and in my mind gets uninteresting.
Profile Image for Gemma Dilemma.
17 reviews2 followers
March 30, 2015
Dunno if just not in the mood but just kept rolling my eyes at allay in this one.
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