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
Demon Mistress
by
Yasmine Galenorn
urban fantasy in Paperback edition that was published by Berkley on June 2, 2009 and has 285 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Hexed, Witchling, Changeling, Never After, Darkling, Dragon Wytch, Bone Magic, Night Huntress, Harvest Hunting, Blood Wyne, Courting Darkness, Shaded Vision, Shadow Rising, Haunted Moon, Night Myst, Night Veil, Night Seeker, Autumn Whispers, Night Vision, Night’s End, Priestess Dreaming, Panther Prowling, "Flight From Hell", Flight From Death, Souljacker, Legend of the Jade Dragon, Darkness Raging, Fury Rising, Murder Under a Mystic Moon, Ghost of a Chance, Once Upon A Curse, A Harvest of Bones, One Hex of a Wedding, Starlight Hollow, Moon Shimmers
Sixth in the Otherworld / Sisters of the Moon urban fantasy series revolving around the three D’Artigo sisters currently living Earthside in Seattle. The perspective is from Mennolly this time around with Roz and Vanzir pushing their own agendas with her.
My Take
It’s hard to say whether this series is urban fantasy or paranormal romance. The focus changes with each story. One book might be primarily from Mennolly’s perspective while the next might be from Camille’s or Delilah’s.
It certainly is a family affair in this series. The three sisters keep taking beings into their family circle with only some prejudice. Lots of action, as usual, both on the battlefield fighting a squid-like demon, a nasty group of evil humans, and ghouls as well as action…well, not necessarily in a bed.
I’m kinda missing why Mennolly would bother shaking out a rug if she’s doing it inside the house??? I could understand her being thoughtless after she got all the bad news dumped on her. The girls are getting a tiny bit quicker on the uptake. Previous stories have found them ignoring obvious clues; this time, it doesn’t take as long for them to make the connection. Thank god.
Galenorn does a nice job of starting this off and pulling it all together. I also like the warm, homey atmosphere she creates. I don’t know if I’m simply getting used to Galenorn or if her writing really is getting better! We do learn about Sassy’s loss of her daughter. And Morgaine makes the girls an interesting offer that just has to have too many strings hiding behind it.
Oh, what are they waiting for?? Why didn’t they just storm the house and hit the chanting idjits?? I don’t understand why they just had to wait, other than it was too soon to end the story. They certainly aren’t in much of a hurry as there is a lot of “in the morning”s being said.
Oh, brother, that article in the Seattle Tattler was just nasty. Talk about needing to boost their own self-esteem!
The Story
It’s an innocuous opening with the girls and their friends cleaning out the upper floors of the Wayfarer. There’s no point in letting the space go to waste and, with all the special projects the girls have going on, they could use the money. But the tidy up leads to a mystery about a missing elf and the inquiring minds want to know.
A good thing since it leads them down a path they might not otherwise have taken for someone is summoning demons and the events surrounding Sabele’s disappearance provide an important clue.
The Characters
The D’Artigo sisters are half-human, half-fae. Menolly is a brash, undiplomatic vampire who took over ownership of the Wayfarer Bar & Grill and is involved with Nerissa Shale, a werepuma belonging to the Rainier Puma Pride. Nerissa is being forced to run for office and won’t have as much time for Mennolly. They have an agreement about their sleeping arrangements.
Camille is a magically-challenged witch dedicated to the Moon Mother who owns the Indigo Crescent bookstore — she’s not there often enough to run it anymore, and she’s married to Smoky, the very possessive dragon, and Morio, a kitsune who is teaching Camille death magic. Once a month, she must run with the Hunt.
Delilah is a werekitty/panther/Death Maiden who has bonded with her silver sword Lysanthra. She has her own private detective agency and it seems she also has a dead twin, Arial, who died at birth (Arial’s were shape is that of a leopard). Chase Johnson is an FBH, a full-blooded human, who created the Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigations team, the fae version of CSI — and is also the chief of detectives. He’s been seeing Delilah but screwed up pretty bad in Night Huntress, 5.
Iris Kuusi is a Finnish house sprite who keeps house for the girls and works at the bookstore. She’s in a bad tangle with Bruce O’Shea, a leprechaun. Maggie is a baby gargoyle the girls are raising, and it’s time for Maggie to learn to eat meat…oh, boy. Vanzir is a demon who steals energy via beings’ dreams. He came over to the girls’ side, desperate to get away from a really nasty Rakshasa demon. Rozurial is a mercenary incubus who simply loves all women no matter their looks or their age.
Their Sidhe father, Lord Sephreh ob Tanu, rebelled against the drug addict queen and his side won the war. Now he’s a senior adviser to the new queen, Tanaquar. His fae assistant is Yssak ob Shishana whom they manage to offend quite deeply. Asteria is the Elfin Queen to who is keeping the Seals safe as the girls find them. She’s been a good ally and friend to the girls.
With the war at an end, there are more Supernaturals available to come Earthside and help in the demon war. Yugi, a Swedish empath, has been promoted to Chase’s second-in-command. Sharah is Asteria’s niece but works on the FH-CSI with Mallen. Shamas, the girls’ fae cousin, has been working for the Earthside police.
The Triple Threat are the three faerie queens: Titania of the Seelie Court, Morgaine will rule the Dusk while Aeval will rebuild the Unseelie Court. They are setting up their domains on Earthside and planning their coronations. Sabele Olahava was the operative who ran the Wayfarer before Jocko. Harish is her miserable fiancé.
Shadow Wing is a powerful demon overlord who plans to use the Seals to open the Gates of Hel and overrun both Earthside and OtherWorld. Harold Young was stalking Sabele back then. Now he’s leading Dante’s Hellions which include a wide range of beings.
Erin Mathews is being taught how to cope as a vampire by Sassy Branson, a wealthy socialite-vampire; Sassy’s housekeeper, Janet, is dying of cancer. The Guardian Watchdogs and Freedom’s Angels are vigilante groups who are anti-supernaturals. They believe in the “earth-born” and everyone else is a threat. Otherworld (OW) is the land of all the fae.
Tim Winthrop, a.k.a., Cleo Blanco, is a drag queen and computer geek who is working with the Supernatural committee. He and Jason Binds are getting married! Wade Stevens started up and leads Vampires Anonymous, a support group for the newly undead, where he and Mennolly met. He has, however, succumbed to politician-itis. Terrance is the owner of Fangtabula and Wade’s opponent in this campaign. Lucas is the current bartender at Wayfarer; he’s also a werewolf. Chrysandra is their best waitress, and Tahvah is the vampire gatekeeper for the portal at the Wayfarer — she’s not at all picky about what she eats. The Clockwork Club is the opposite of Fangtabula — it’s upscale and you have to have enough money AND an invitation to get inside the door.
Some new characters have been introduced whom I suspect will show up in future stories. Wilbur is a new neighbor and a powerful necromancer with a pet ghoul, Martin, who keeps escaping. He’s a bit of a jerk considering his pet keeps getting away from him, but I think he’ll mellow out. Roman is a powerfully scary vampire no one wants to cross. Carter is an even scarier demon equivalent who seems content to pursue his research. He has an adopted “daughter”, Kim.
The Cover and Title
The cover is another stone background — a pretty blue-green with a huge stone circle(?), seal(?), engraved into the wall behind Mennolly. This time she’s facing straight out at us, one jean-clad knee to the floor and the other at a 90-degree angle, her hands resting on thigh and knee — you can just see that she’s wearing a pair of her stiletto-heeled boots! Her golden-red hair is in a multitude of braids and she’s wearing an interesting peach top — it’s a low scoop neckline with a u-shaped cutout that showcases her cleavage as well as her black bra. I do love the light turquoise leather jacket she’s wearing!
The title should probably be plural as Mennolly is interested in both Roz and Vanzir — she’s their Demon Mistress.
