Oh boy. I started out liking this book at the beginning, despite the many obvious clichéd lines. But about 45% percent in, I was getting irritated with this book. The female lead was continuously acting dumb and stupider with every page. The maturity level was that of a petulant child instead of any kind of being capable of holding any position of importance or authority. It was even more irritating that a lot of issues could have been handled IF THE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY TALKED TO EACH OTHER. In the beginning, this main character knows that this vampire is trying to get in contact with her. Obviously to every read it must be really important that he'd risk getting caught and sentence for murder. So how come it took more than two attempts for this so called Wiccan to actually hear what he had to say? Oh, I'm tired and have paperwork to do so can it wait? Not now, I need sleep so is it so important that it can't wait until after work tomorrow? What the hell... No, it's really not THAT important. It's only a life and death matter, but it can wait. I can wait for you. Yeah, that black oily thing that’s trying to wrap its tentacles around you and siphon all your powers and most likely kill you in your sleep, well it can wait. And it's not really that important that you should TALK-TO-YOUR-NANA-AT-ANY-POINT-ABOUT-ANY-PART-OF-THIs-BECAUSE-IT'S-NOT-AS-IF-SHE-WOULD-BE-ABLE-TO-HELP-YOU-EVEN-THOUGH-SHE'S-AN-OLDER-WICCAN-AND-MUCH-WISER. No, she has nothing to contribute when it comes to binding a demon.
And then, as if the intelligence level of this female lead character couldn't get any worse, the way the story is written makes the character seem like she can't complete a single thought or just that people don't respect her enough because she is constantly being cut off. I admire writers who can use writing devices to perfectly deliver a line, but when a writer uses that trick over and over again, it getting annoying.
Examples:
"I don't... don't know anything, blahblahblah."
"Do you think... think it's okay for me to assume?"
"I don't... don't think this is such a good-" "Yes it is, woman. I beg you to listen to what I have to say"
Erg. There are countless lines delivered in this style. It subtracts from the story greatly.
And then there is this old three hundred year old vampire who at one point gets on his knees and begs this chick. BEGS... That just, well it just doesn't do anything for my image of this vampire. It so doesn't make me think powerful and dubious or crafty or silently says danger. Nope. I find it hard at times to think of this vampire as anything but a creep vulgar pervert flasher at times.
Finally, is this main character THAT powerful? I mean she unlocks cuffs at a mild level of focused concentration. She even manages to light a dozen candles or so- a task that is suppose to just be so very difficult to do... Feel my amazing admiration for her level of sorcery? Yeah. It did take a considerable amount of time to get rid of the oily goo in its second attempt to attack her. But, then again, she did half the help of the vampire with that one. I just don't feel that this character is that very powerful just because her nana and the old vampire say she is. SHOW DON"T TELL. Just having the character reciting a few incantations, also doesn't make the character seem any stronger?
Over all, at 47%, I called it quits before my irritation level hits a new height and I start taking my emotional state on the innocent Wiccans around me.