Infiltrated by Demons

by Kathryn Blanche

"The humans are not going to take this quietly. They've treated Vampires with suspicion ever since The Event. We have to deal with this now, before we have a civil war on our hands." The scene looks like a wild animal attack--humans butchered in their homes and left for their neighbors to find--but rogue Vampires are far more dangerous than any animal. Special Agent Laila Eyvindr and her team at the Inter-Realm Security Agency are overworked, understaffed, and struggling to track down the Demons. Aside from the murders, other problems are brewing. Protests and riots increase as elections draw near, a distracting rivalry grows between Laila's current and ex-lover, and a potential traitor in the office jeopardizes the team's security. When Laila and her partner Darien are thrust into the cutthroat world of Vampire politics, they discover that the homicides are just the beginning of a far more sinister plot.

432 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2019

About the author

Kathryn Blanche writes novels in her favorite local cafes when not indulging her love for travel. Aside from exploring the world, this California native may be found designing for the theatre, reading, fencing, or teaching. Caught by Demons is the first novel in her Laila of Midgard Series.

Reviews

[Areli Amaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished copy provided to me by the author in exchange for my honest review.
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Laila's life has turned chaotic; working for the Inter-Realm Security Agency and attempting to keep the riots and protests in check has been overwhelming as of late, the new power that courses through her is begging to be released, and her love life has taken an unexpected turn.
After a series of homicides that are as mysterious as they are gruesome, Laila and her team stumble upon a jarring reality, one that could leave her city and its inhabitants in ruin. But Laila is a born and trained warrior who will do whatever is necessary to restore balance to her world, even if the potential outcome is death.
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Before I begin my review, I would like to thank author Kathryn Blanche for sending this beautiful signed and personalized copy of Infiltrated by Demons my way; Kathryn, it means the world to me!
Now, where do I even begin? I suppose the most important thing you should know is that the Laila of Midgard series is one of my favorites of all time. Each book is packed with action, magic, insanely good banter, realistic characters and some of The Best romance I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. Kathryn's books are so near and dear to my literary heart that they feel like coming home - my sister can attest to this as I have not been able to stop talking about the perfection of this series.
In case you don't know, Infiltrated by Demons is the third installment in the Laila of Midgard series and it has some of my favorite elements: a real life setting doused in Greek and Norse mythology as well as amazing magical elements, a protagonist who is as bad-ass as she is sweet and caring, and a plot that not only kept me on the edge of my seat but constantly left me in shock because holy mother of destruction, I didn't see some of it coming.
This particular book broke my heart in the best possible way (if there is such a thing), and I actually had to take some time to collect my thoughts because although there are so many things I could say and generally gush about, there's so little I can actually reveal without divulging some of the most important aspects of the narrative.
Suffice it to say that something I had suspected came to pass in this volume and while it makes me feel giddy with excitement to know I was right, it also made me a little sad because I have come to care about every single character so deeply. Every character has a distinct personality and I can tell you that while the heroes of the story are fantastic, the villains managed to intrigue me to the point of no return.
While some of the plot twists were expected, there are certain features I didn't see coming but fit so perfectly into the story, I am eager to find out what is going to happen next.
The romance, in true Kathryn Blanche fashion, was slow-burning and everything I wanted. It torn my heart in opposite directions and made me wish that they would just kiss already, damn it! It is honestly so good I am excited for all of you who plan on taking the wonderful and satisfying ride that is this series.
Which brings me to the ending: if I had to describe it in one word it quite obviously would be "Perfect". It broke my heart and made me sob for at least five minutes, but it was exactly what the storyline needed.
If you have been hesitating to give this Dystopian/Urban Fantasy series a try, I implore you to just do it. I guarantee you will fall in love with it!
Infiltrated by Demons deserves all the stars.

[Justine Barr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laila has battled monsters summoned through portals, has been trapped in a gladiatorial ring, and has died multiple times. However, in this third installment of the Laila of Midgard series, she has met her match in a love triangle!! While investigating serial murders, handling the continued presence of the Di Inferi, and being tormented by Greater Demon Marius, Laila has to manage her new relationship with dragon shifter, Frej, and with the unexpected return of Jerrick.

More than the others, Infiltrated by Demons is about navigating personal relationships while working in a dangerous job. Characters make a lot more mistakes in this book, decisions that were more clouded which led to disastrous endings.

The story telling is still fast paced, the fight scenes are exciting and well put together, and the crime mysteries are intriguing. This book ends with a lot more questions than answers, but I am excited to find out where this story goes next.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Thank you to the author for this book in exchange for an honest review

I am so glad that Kathryn contacted me randomly out of the blue to review her book, because I have found a series that I love.
Laila is living a completely chaotic life as she continues to work for the Inter-Realm Security Agency which are battling against riots and protestors and mysterious and horrifying homicides start popping up.
One of my favourite things about this series is that it features more than one type of creature. Too often these days fantasy books are based around a specific breed of creature and snippets of other kinds of creatures. It’s like the author forgets the basic principle that is one fantasy creature can exist, so can others. Blanche has the hindsight to incorporate multiple breeds of creatures in her books which is amazing and something to be inspired to.
And I should also mention that I love her writing style!! Blanche’s writing style is black and white, there isn’t any grey area that leaves you questioning the story or the characters. You get what you get with this book And she doesn’t spare any details when it comes to building this world and creating these characters.
I’m a Blanche fan and I will always be a Blanche fan. We should get badges! You should realise that the old elements that made fantasy books soo good, has been recaptured and modernised into this book and y’all need to read it!

[Jenni R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this series. Finished the entire series in a week, and wish there was more. I had the pleasure of meeting this local author at a party / book signing event, where I learned about the series for the first time, and I am so glad I decided to become a reader.

The Laila of Midgard Series takes place in a post-zombie apocalypse Los Angeles, where supernatural beings now live freely amongst humans - and somebody needs to keep the peace! A separate police force was created to deal with Supernatural-involved crimes, and Laila, our hero, is on the force and just the elf for the job!

I read the ebooks, and the later books (book 3 and the mini-book between books 3 and 4 especially) could use some more careful editing. This doesn't take away from the creativity of the story, and this series has incredible character development and world building. I would love to see it made into a TV series or interactive video game.

Highly recommend this series to fans of the fantasy genre. Especially recommended to Angelenos, who will recognize the settings.

[Kimberley Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved the series... Now can't wait for more, because it obvious its not over.