by Kim Alexander
Series: Powers of the Air #1
Pub Date: May 19, 2015
Publisher: Booktrope/Patchwork Press
Pages: 404 (approx)
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
My Rating:
Sultry Scale:
Explore the world beyond in this charming fantasy debut from Kim Alexander. Perfectly combining romance and humor with pure imagination, The Demon Door is a must read for all fans of modern fantasy!
The demon Prince of Eriis has turned out to be something of a disappointment. Rhuun is crap at magic. He can’t fly, can’t even shoot flames from his hands. His poor girlfriend has just about had it with him. It’s no wonder he drinks. All Rhuun really does is daydream about visiting the other world, the world without magic—the human world of Mistra. No one has been there for a generation, but Rhuun knows all about the humans. He’s got a book. It’s the only human book on Eriis, and he’s been studying it his whole life. The fact that his book is a bodice-ripping romance novel, well… it’ll make his adventures in the human world a little more complicated.
Tip #1 – Human women do not generally like to be called “wench.”
In Mistra, Lelet va’Everly could use a little magic herself. Parties and boys have lost their luster, and she’s desperate for an adventure. When a bizarre, exasperating, extremely good looking – and hot (literally) stranger shows up, he might be the person, and purpose that she had been waiting for. But why does he keep calling her a wench?
Sometimes love doesn’t just change your own world… it changes all of them.
So this book was different from the ones that I normally read. I'm not sure how to classify it really, so I will stick with fantasy. Based on the blurb, I was expecting a humorous fantasy romance. However there is no romance in this book until the very end, and not even the hint of romance until around 85% in. So if you are looking for a romance, you will be disappointed. (I do not consider what happened between Rhuun and Aelle a romance - it was cold, unemotional and painful.)
This book was mainly ALL world-building and character development and back story. I am guessing it was a set up for the rest of the series. The are two worlds, Eriis (the demon realm) and Mistra (the human realm). The book starts off with Hellne, the future queen, and her human lover so we get the story of Rhuun from his conception. Rhuun is a half-human demon, as you can probably guess, and he has a very hard life growing up in Eriis. Rhuun's difficult life has made him obsess about humans and visiting the human world. We witness his whole life (20 demon years equate to 100 human years). Sounds like a long time? It is and growing up with Rhuun made the book very slow-paced. I considered abandoning the book at several points, but my OCD kept me reading and I was rewarded with a little romance at the end. However I think a big chunk could have been taken out or summarized and I would have enjoyed the reading more.
Now the very end of the story established or began the romantic relationship that was hinted at in the synopsis - I think I might actually enjoy the rest of the series. I think Rhuun and Lelet will make a good pair, and Lelet will become a more likable character now that she cares for Rhuun and her softer side shows. Lelet will convince Rhuun that he is not the beastly ugly duckling that he believes from his upbringing in Eriis. This will cause Rhuun to become more confident and become the savior that Eriis needs. One question that needs to be addressed more clearly, however, is how Rhuun got free from Scilla. The glossing over of that feat seemed very odd given the detail of the book.
So I will keep reading, I want to see if Rhuun and Lelet can saved the worlds. However I hope we are almost done w/ the world building at this point, and that the author allows us more of the romance and relationships moving forward.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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