I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
The Accidental Demon Slayer
by
Angie Fox
It is part of the , series and is a urban fantasy in Paperback edition that was published by Love Spell on July 1, 2008 and has 292 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers
First in the Demon Slayer urban fantasy series.
My Take
I can’t figure out if this is supposed to be a caricature or is simply awful. It was a struggle to keep turning the pages and continue reading it was so incredibly ridiculous. I’d like to think I have a great sense of quirky humor but this really pushed that particular envelope…right on over the edge.
To be fair, what really drove me nuts was how everyone treated Lizzie. She finds out about her magic in a flood of purple flames as an imp is about to grab her and then everyone just keeps grabbing at her and expecting her to know what to do without letting the girl catch her breath or without telling her what’s going on. They lob threats at her, beat on her, and jam deadlines on her. WTF! It drove me even more nuts that she didn’t just shut down and yell right back! What a wimp! And s-t-u-p-i-d. So, if you believe you can step back from this behavior, you will probably enjoy it.
Fox did catch my attention with her first page, I’ll give her that. And it is funny. Until it’s all put together. I’ll try the second in the series in case of first book jitters, but if it’s as bad as this one, I will stop reading.
The Story
Ryan Harmon was supposed to be Lizzie’s present at her 30th birthday dinner but the bad guys had other ideas. Right along with Grandma who stated it was for her own good. It seems that Lizzie has always had this magic but it was tucked away and hidden until now. And now is when the demons, imps, and other bad guys are comin’ after her but Grandma is here to save the day. Hah.
A Grandma Lizzie never knew existed let alone that magic existed. Or that Grandma was a witch. So, if your idea of saving the day is drag your granddaughter off on the back of a Harley with no notice with a dog that suddenly starts talking to ya, ya gots the right story!
Naturally, there are attacks along the way to the tumbledown Red Hats biker bar where she’s expected to just take it all in along with the Beast Feast [cooked roadkill] and tiger-striped black leather pants along with someone else’s underpants that reads “My vibrator has two wheels”.
Granny’s coven just keeps using and using Lizzie expecting her to figure it out between fireballs. The only one who seems to want to help Lizzie is Dimitri. And even he has his own agenda.
The Characters
Lizzie Brown is a teacher at the Happy Hands Preschool. Pirate, a Jack Russell terrier, is her totally useless but lots of fun-to-chat-with watchdog. Cliff and Hillary are her cold, adoptive parents. Phoenix is her mother’s name; her twin was Serefina.
Grandma, a.k.a., Gertie, is a rad’ Harley-ridin’ biker chick and part of the Red Skulls coven of bikers including Ant Eater who practices the “WWE style of diplomacy” [personally, I think that’s sugar coating her style]; Betty Two Sticks; Sidecar Bob who’s trapped in a wheelchair; Scarlet; and, Crazy Frieda who dresses like a Vegas stripper. Dimitri Kallinikos is Greek. And a shapeshifting griffin. He’s also Lizzie’s protector. Great-great-aunt Evie was the last demon slayer.
Vald is a demon who has been after Grandma for a long time. Even better if he can get Lizzie. Rex is the challenging werewolf and Fang is the leader of the wolfpack. Andrea is the wolf sucking up to Rex.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a red-on-red striped background with the stripes radiating out from a central point with a deep gray flowery scroll superimposed at the center. It shows Lizzie’s lower half wearing a very short black dress and slouchy black suede boots with a collection of bangles on her left wrist while her right hand rests atop her sword which points into the ground while poochiekins sits at her foot looking up at her.
The title refers to the fact that Lizzie has absolutely no training nor a clue as to how to slay demons. She truly is The Accidental Demon Slayer, winging it the best she can.
