Review of Demons at Deadnight by A.E. Kirk

 

Title: Demons at Deadnight Author: A.E. Kirk  Pages: 404 Publication Date: Jan. 7th, 2012       Source: Received from author for review

Back Cover

For seventeen-year-old Aurora Lahey, survival is a lifestyle. 

DEMONIC DESTINY 

Aurora has the crappiest superpower on the planet. And it’s just unleashed a hit squad from hell. Demons are on the hunt, salivating to carve her carcass into confetti. 

CHARISMATIC KILLERS 

The Hex Boys—mysterious, hunky, and notorious for their trails of destruction—have the answers Aurora needs to survive. But their overload of deadly secrets and suspicious motives makes trusting them a potentially fatal move. 

LETHAL ALLIES 

The battle to save her family, herself, and stop demonic domination may cost Aurora everything worth living for, and force her to reveal her own dark secrets. But no worries. She needs the Hex Boys to pull this off, and, chances are, teaming up with these guys will get her killed anyway.

First Lines

"Someone's car was totaled and it wasn't my fault. But who's going to believe a teenager?"

In a Sentence

Demons at Deadnight was an entertaining debut with a few glitches, but well-worth the read!

My Thoughts

The first line of Demons at Deadnight immediately drew me into the story. Good thing, too, because Aurora Lahey and I almost instantly hit it off. She's fun, brave, innovative, and has a sense of humor that kept me laughing off and on throughout the book. Aurora is a very entertaining protagonist, and I loved reading the story from her point of view. To get a little taste of what I loved about her, check this out:

"His fingers dug into my flesh and pulled my upper body forward. I wondered with vague panic why I wasn't pushing away from the kiss he was about to pull me into--when his torso tightened and he flung me into the air. Hmmm. Read that one wrong." (p. 9).

This is just one of the many passages that had me cracking up with a serious case of the giggles. Also, at one point in the book, Aurora uses the word "trollop," which, as an English major, instantly earns her major cool points in my book.

Though it started off strong, I felt like the book lost a little of its steam around pages 16-76. This is where the exposition mainly occurred, so it's understandable. After all, introductions to characters, settings, plot devices, etc. are all necessary. I guess this isn't exactly a negative thing, because establishing background is key to any good book, but I did find the book easier to put down during this section. It did pick back up again relatively quickly (in about 50 pages), and once it hit around page 150 or so, it was darn near unputdownable.

I also have to say that I enjoyed the way the plot was laid out in Demons at Deadnight. The authors did a great job with revealing bits and pieces of the story...enough to keep you interested, but they also didn't give away everything right at the beginning. While Demons at Deadnight definitely falls within the paranormal romance genre, it also has an element of mystery to it, which helped to keep me turning pages to find out what happened next. 

I know this has already been mentioned in several reviews, but I can't help but mention it again. I have to give Demons at Deadnight props for including an involved family unit that actually functions as part of the story. For those of you who know me well, you've heard this before, but I think the category of young adult literature is incredibly notorious for finding ways to ax or write off the protagonist's family members in order to make the story line more convenient. While I would have loved to see even more of Aurora's family in the book, it was obvious that they were an important part of her life, and not the stereotypical clueless dolts that have no idea about what's going on under their own roof (which I always found to be terribly unrealistic. Then again, none of you have my mother).

As far as the Hex Boys go (and if you haven't heard of them yet...you're obviously not buddies with Missie or Melissa, who are a skip hop and a jump away from declaring an all out war over who gets the rights to the boys once they hit that magical **cough**LEGAL!**cough**age), I have to admit that I was a little hesitant about the idea of them going in. I usually find books with more than its fair share of hot, mysterious, powerful boys to be lacking in characterization and overcompensating in the girly wish-fulfillment department. However, I'm happy to say that I didn't find this to be the case with Demons at Deadnight. Each guy had his own personality and character traits that made him unique.

Though I enjoyed the introduction of the Hex Boys and Aurora's family to the book, I would have liked to see a little more character development in this department. Don't get me wrong, they weren't poorly characterized by any means, but I would have enjoyed hearing a little more about them as individuals. Then again, this is only the first book, and I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of these characters in the future.

 Overall, I would say this book is worth your time and money if you're looking for an entertaining read. Did I also mention that you can get it for your Kindle or Nook for only $2.99? That's a bargain, kiddos! As for me, I'm waiting for news of book two. To A.E. Kirk: you better crank up that writing time, ladies! You know us book bloggers don't like to wait! :)

Links

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Rating

Giveaway (International!)

Thanks to authors Alyssa and Eileen Kirk, I'm able to offer you guys a great giveaway today! Fill out the form below to win your very own copy of Demons at Deadnight. The winner can choose from either a paperback or an Amazon e-book copy. Giveaway ends 2/16/12 at 11:59 CST.

Wait! It gets better! You can also win a Kindle Fire!

To enter to win the Kindle Fire you need to know the secret phrase given out one word at a time by each blog tour host. Put the words together in sequential order and you'll eventually have the secret phrase! Right now you can Tweet and Follow on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page to get points but starting March 9 (at the end of the tour) you can enter the complete phrase on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page and earn BIG entry points! Your Kindle Fire will also include your choice of a DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT Skin. Either from the cover, or a Hex Boy group shot or individual "Team" skin of your favorite Hex Hunk!

And the first word in the secret phrase that sends you on your way to winning a Kindle Fire is...

 "IN"

To view the entire list of blogs on this tour, click the banner below!