Forsaken (The Demon Trappers, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jan 26, 2011 Chelsea rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, uf-pnr, demons

This review was originally posted to Vampire Book Club.

Riley Blackthorne is training to be a demon trapper. Just like her dad. It’s a tough gig capturing hellspawn. As if being the kid of a famous master trapper wasn’t pressure enough, Riley is the first girl to be allowed into the Trappers’ Guild. And not all the guys are happy about it.

But for reasons unknown, the demons are particularly interested in Riley. She’s sent to capture a level one demon, the kind that are more nuisance than malevole This review was originally posted to Vampire Book Club.

Riley Blackthorne is training to be a demon trapper. Just like her dad. It’s a tough gig capturing hellspawn. As if being the kid of a famous master trapper wasn’t pressure enough, Riley is the first girl to be allowed into the Trappers’ Guild. And not all the guys are happy about it.

But for reasons unknown, the demons are particularly interested in Riley. She’s sent to capture a level one demon, the kind that are more nuisance than malevolent force, and a top-level demon is on site who knows her by name. All the demons know her by name. And when tragedy strikes, she’s at a loss with grief while the demon’s continue to strike out more viciously throughout the city.

Most of the novel is written in Riley’s point-of-view, but we also get to shift over to Beck. He’s also in training to be a trapper, though much further along. He’s not too much older than Riley, but as he’s technically an adult and close with her dad, he sees it his role to protect her. This means she thinks he’s kind of a jerk, albeit a hot jerk.

Jana Oliver captivated me with her refreshingly new demons and the Guild members who hunt them. It’s easy to step in the shows of main character Riley Blackthorne. Her choices, while frustrating at times, feel so very right and she’s just generally likable.

However, I spent the first half of the book constantly thinking of how much The Demon Trapper’s Daughter reminded me of Lili St. Crow’s Strange Angels. The unique world was great, but for the first half the plot didn’t have me wanting to stay up all hours to read on.

Luckily, a little over halfway through The Demon Trapper’s Daughter things kicked into gear. The shifting all the focus away from standing vigil at a grave site (and its implications) to character interplay — especially the romance angle — made The Demon Trapper’s Daughter pick up the pace and things finally became so good I couldn’t put the novel down. Oddly, I didn’t fall for the boy Riley ends up dating. (No spoilers!) I’m hoping she’ll end up doing a little smooching in the next novel with a certain trapper. Fingers crossed.

Bottom line: Between the unique world and the super strong finish in The Demon Trapper’s Daugther, I’m definitely up for reading more of the Demon Trapper’s series.

Sexual content: Kissing. ...more

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Sep 09, 2010 Wenj rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, read-2011

Review provided by Black Lagoon Reviews:

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter, the stellar first novel in Jana Oliver’s Demon Trappers series, is a thrilling YA geared more towards older readers. Filled with mystery, suspense, action and romance this novel also explores the darker topics of loss and finding your place within the world. Wonderfully written and utterly enthralling, I highly recommend this novel to any fan of YA lit or demons in general.

The futuristic world created within this novel is blea Review provided by Black Lagoon Reviews:

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter, the stellar first novel in Jana Oliver’s Demon Trappers series, is a thrilling YA geared more towards older readers. Filled with mystery, suspense, action and romance this novel also explores the darker topics of loss and finding your place within the world. Wonderfully written and utterly enthralling, I highly recommend this novel to any fan of YA lit or demons in general.

The futuristic world created within this novel is bleak and unlike anything that I have read in the past. This futuristic landscape is not so unlike our own as the world finds itself in a long standing depression where metal and fuel are commodities hard to come by. This unsettling atmosphere makes for a wonderful back drop to a world where demons roam throughout the city, hunted by Demon Trappers and Rome’s Demon Hunters. The atmosphere mirrors the backdrop: grungy, dilapidated and down trodden, which all seem to soak into the very bones of the characters creating a plight that is on the verge of oppressive. The demons of this novel are not the ones we have come to expect from other series, the humanoid and alluring beings who are more seductive then nefarious, but the demons represented in this series are monstrous refugees from hell. Creatures bent on destruction that are beyond dangerous and cunning in their own animalistic way. However, what I really liked about this novel are the varying levels of demons. The higher levels are exactly what you would expect a demon to be while the lower ranking hell spawn are actually pretty cute if not amusing. But, the demons aren't the only source of strife within this novel as reanimators, or necromancers who bring back to life the dead and sell them as slaves to the wealthy, play quite a despicable role as well. However, like everything else within this world that Oliver created there are varying degrees of unseemly behavior within this group as well.

Characterization was beyond wonderful in this series as well. Riley is a pretty typical teen aside from the fact that she is an apprentice Demon Trapper. She's quite gutsy, if not reckless, in her bid to become a Demon Trapper with a determination that is admirable. But, she's also really pretty resilient given all the curve balls that she has to contend with within the novel. I know if I had to endure half the things she does I'd be a sniveling wreck curled up in a ball in the corner of the room. This makes me love her simply for the strength that she exhibits in the face of adversity. Of course, that's not to say that she doesn't have those inconsistent moments, but that can only be expected from a teen as she struggles with finding her place within the world and ultimate battle to find out who she really is. But, Beck was without a doubt my favorite character within the novel and I can only hope we see more of him in the future. Older then his years, he is a veteran of the armed forces carrying a large weight within him. He has flaws and some serious emotional issues that are nicely explored, but despite this he comes across as a strong, caring man bent on protecting Riley even if that means from herself. But, having issues seems to be the norm within this bleak and semi-oppressive world and the other Demon Trappers are not immune. Harper, Riley's new master, is not without his intense flaws, but there is so much going on within his character. Honestly, at the beginning I really despised him thinking that him being in charge of Riley's training would be nothing if not deplorable. And while I was right to a degree, he has his lucid moments when you have to wonderful what is beneath his prickly facade. And then of course there is the romance between Simon and Riley. How sweet can you get? This alter boy actually makes for an interesting compliment to Riley's less then angelic character, but it's the friction that this creates with Beck that I truly found interesting. This is definitely something that I can't wait to see explored within future novels to see if Beck can continue to fool himself into thinking that he is only looking out for Riley's well being, not because of any emotional tie that he has for her. But, likewise I am eager to see how long Riley can be happy with the 'good boy' when her heart keeps turning towards Beck.

But, truly the best part about this novel was the writing. There's a wonderful narrative style to this novel with a shifting point of view between Riley and Beck that give great insight into the world and the characters. The differences between the styles of the characters, the way they think and the things that they observe was truly interesting and really enveloped me into the story. While dual point of views isn't something new, this novel definitely did it in a way that was beyond appealing. Especially as the emotional quality within this novel wasn't quite was I was expecting. The POV's really explore the differences in the way people deal with loss and the different types of loss and struggles that we go through. It was quite intense at times and often had me tearing up.

Overall, this was a surprising novel that I truly enjoyed reading. Creative, edgy and wonderfully original there's still so much to be explored within the world and the characters. I really can't wait to see what happens next within this addictive series and eagerly recommend this to older YA readers as this deals with some pretty deep, dark and intense themes.

...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Naomi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Definately the best book I have read this year by far!!

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Aug 11, 2010 Amber marked it as to-read

Shelves: first-in-series

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Oct 20, 2010 Courtney marked it as to-read

Shelves: machalo-august-2016-tbr-challenge

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Oct 27, 2010 Ashley ~twisted_illusions~ marked it as to-read

Shelves: series-to-read, angels-to-read, demons-to-read, 1st-in-ongoing-series, urban-fantasy, series-starting-with-d, young-adult, fantasy, paranormal, magic

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