Sandy M’s review of The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox
Contemporary Paranormal Romance released by Love Spell 29 Jul 08

This is a cute book. It has its moments.  Yeah, there’s a but.  I tried to let that “but” go, not pay any attention to it whenever possible.  Sigh.  Not even that helped.

Lizzie Brown is turning 30 and her world gets turned upside down.  She’s about to meet the maternal grandmother she’s never known, something she’s always wanted.  However, Grandma Gertie isn’t quite what Lizzie expected.  She wears leather and rides a hog.  And she’s a witch.  To top it off, Gertie tells Lizzie she’s a demon slayer and that’s when all hell breaks loose. Demons are invading her home and she’s tossing around magic like she’s done it all her life.

Running for their lives, Lizzie and grandma, along with Lizzie’s dog Pirate, who she can now communicate with, end up with Gertie’s witch friends where Lizzie finds more trouble than she can handle.  And this is where the “buts” come in for me.  But this is a different “but”! — let’s talk about the hero first.

Dimitri is the typical hero, tall, dark, broad shouldered, honorable, and the most handsome man Lizzie’s ever seen.  He’s also a griffin.  And her protector.  Grandma and her cronies, however, advise Lizzie not to trust him.  Thank god she doesn’t listen to the old biddies.  Though he is keeping a little something from her during their time together, he’s a sensitive man and his heart is in the right place.  And I didn’t like any of the old biddies.  This is definitely where the “but” comes into play.

Lizzie is a preschool teacher, a good person.  She’s honest and wants honesty in a relationship.  From the moment she meets her grandmother and her friends, they do nothing but stonewall her, lie to her, and treat her pretty shitty.  When reading those scenes, and there’s a lot of them, all I got was negativity vibes the whole time.  Oh, there’s times when one of the cronies will smile or do something to help Lizzie out very grudgingly, but those were few and far between.

I can deal with grudging respect and a surly attitude from a character or two, but nearly every character in this book acts this way.  And I got tired of it.  Even Lizzie’s mother makes and appearance an she’s no better than the rest of them when it comes to Lizzie.  I don’t care how much they say they love her. Show her!  And then act like it!  The only one who ever did was Dimitri, and then when his secret comes out, Lizzie walks away from him faster than anything. But she sticks with her grandmother and those crazy friends.  Sorry, it should have been the other way around.

And it’s all too bad because the writing is good, the humor is great, the idea is terrific, and the hero and heroine go well together and I liked them.   I also liked one or two secondary characters.  There’s a couple of werewolves who were stand-up folks and it’s too bad we didn’t get more of them.  Even Pirate, Lizzie’s dog, is a hell of a lot better than Lizzie’s family or her new so-called friends.  He’s always glad to see her if she’s been gone for a while and he lets her know it.

So my “but” is there’s too much negativity.  Even with a dire situation there can be some levity, there can be more honest characters than one or two, affection can be expressed in better ways.  Grandma and the biddies can learn a lot from Pirate.  At least he’s genuine.

Grade: C

Summary:

Straight-laced preschool teacher, Lizzie Brown, never lies, never cusses, and doesn’t really care much for surprises. When her long lost Grandma Gertie shows up on her doorstep on a neon pink Harley Davidson wearing a “Kiss My Asphalt” t-shirt and hauling a carpet bag full of Smuckers jars filled with road kill magic, Lizzie doesn’t think her life could get any stranger. That is, until her hyper-active terrier starts talking and an ancient demon decides to kill her from his perch on the back of her toilet.

Lizzie learns she’s a demon slayer, fated to square off with the devil’s top minion in, oh about two weeks. Sadly, she’s untrained, unfit and under attack. Grandma’s gang of seventy-something biker witches promises to whip Lizzie into shape in no time, as long as she joins them out on the road. But Lizzie wants nothing to do with all this craziness. She simply wants her normal life back. When she accidentally botches the spell meant to protect her, she only has one choice – trust the utterly delicious but secretive man who claims to be her protector.

Dimitri Kallinikos has had enough. Cursed by a demon centuries ago, his formerly prominent clan has dwindled down to himself and his younger twin sisters, both of whom are now in the coma that precedes certain death. To break the curse, he must kill the demon behind it. Dimitri needs a slayer. At long last, he’s found Lizzie. But how do you talk a girl you’ve never met into going straight to Hell? Lie (and hope she forgives you). Dimitri decides to pass himself off as Lizzie’s fated protector in order to gain her trust and guide her towards this crucial mission. But will his choice to deceive her cost them their lives, or simply their hearts?

Read an excerpt.

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox is coming in August.

Leah Hultenschmidt, Dorchester editor par excellence, sez: “You know editors are always nattering on and on about ‘voice’? Well, Angie’s got it. This is one of those books where every time I read the opening lines, I got sucked in all over again and just wanted to keep reading.

“The book itself is a wildly fun paranormal along the lines of Katie MacAlister, Stephanie Rowe or Michelle Rowen. In fact, Stephanie and Michelle were kind enough to read the book early and gave it fantastic quotes.”

Keep reading…

It’s never a good day when an ancient demon shows up on your toilet. For Lizzie Brown, that’s just the beginning. Soon her hyperactive terrier starts talking, and her long-lost biker-witch Grandma is hurling Smucker’s jars filled with magic. Just when she thinks she’s seen it all, Lizzie learns she’s a demon slayer—and all hell is after her.

Of course, that’s not the only thing after her. Dimitri Kallinikos, a devastatingly handsome shape-shifting griffin, needs Lizzie to slay a demon of his own. But how do you talk a girl you’ve never met into going straight to the underworld? Lie. And if that doesn’t work, how dangerous could a little seduction be…?

We sez: This has Laura J written all over it. And since Stephaine Rowe liked it so much Lawson might like it. I gave it a look over but quickly passed. It is the funnay! It doesn’t like me. This makes me sad. But I keep trying .

Read an excerpt here and you can check out her contest here.