I received an advance review copy for free thanks to the author and Book Sirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own!
I'm a fan of the genre known as isekai, a Japanese word that describes someone who is thrust into some sort of new world (Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, and The Chronicles of Narnia would all be versions of an isekai story). It is incredibly clear that the author of Judicator Jane is also intimately familiar with the genre and its tropes, as one can find so many of them transported to the pages of this story. I think other isekai fans will recognize and delight in these tropes as I did!
That said, the genre is not always known for its quality of storytelling or depth of character. Judicator Jane tread the line on whether it might tip over into something sparkling, but instead the one-dimensional female lead and supporting characters fail to arouse deeper feelings and definitely fit more into the stereotypical nature of the genre.
Jane herself really seems to waffle between hapless fear and judgmental asides (to be fair, the former fitting the genre, and the latter fitting the "class" Jane chooses). There are also some weird inconsistencies: Jane remarks on how chivalrous and noble the men in this new world are, and compares them unfavorably to the apathetic men of Austin, Texas; yet shortly after there are multiple occasions of assault with the thinly veiled threat of rape in this "chivalrous" world. Jane specifically and pointedly is mentioned to find all shapes and types of life as precious, but then has no qualms with slaughtering animals. (This is not necessarily incompatible, but the way it is presented makes it seems like it is.) There is also the element of slavery, and whether or not the "demons" are fully sapient beings or not, that is disturbing in the lack of moral decisiveness on Jane's part.
That said, these are very, VERY common factors in the genre as a whole (yes, even the slavery aspect, if you're not familiar), and as such it's very much like reading any other isekai series where I don't expect much from the narrative in terms of characterization or depth. Judicator Jane is absolutely fine as a sort of English-speaking introduction to isekai, with all the humor and power-fantasy thrills as well as the problems and moral quandaries that entails. However, this author had some great potential in the characters to be something beyond meeting the standard of the genre, something with more substance and life, and therein lies my disappointment. As there seem to be more books forthcoming, hopefully a second book will tap into some deeper qualities, and raise it from a "good enough" isekai to something really special.