Soul Thief by Jana Oliver [Review]

3.5 out of 5 Robots!

  

Soul Thief by Jana Oliver
Series: Trappers #2

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal/Fantasy

Release: August 30, 2011

Hardcover: 339 Pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:
Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them…

Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad.  With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether. 

But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever…  (Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon's Thoughts:

I was really hoping to enjoy the second book, Soul Theif, more than the first, Demon Trapper’s Daughter.  I felt there was some real potential here.  Things were heating up and getting exciting. Riley had just survived a massive attack on the Trapper headquarters and saved her boyfriend’s life by making a deal with Heaven.  Despite Riley’s best efforts, her dead father was reanimated and had shown up at the headquarters just moments before the attack to warn her.  A mysterious demon hunter, named Ori, had shown up in Atlanta as well and was taking an interest in Riley.  And she had just stumbled upon a Holy Water forgery ring.

Whew!  All the chess pieces were lined up and I was ready to see where it was all going.  But, unfortunately, the problems that bothered me in the first book were even more glaring in the second. And despite all the “action”, I never really felt like there was any!  I felt most of the time we are just following Riley around town while she picks fights with everyone and continuously makes bad decisions and drinks hot chocolate.  

The fighting between her and Beck (her father’s protege) is super obnoxious to me.  After two books of them going back and forth, I am ready to see more development in their “friendship”.  You can only have the same argument so many times.  I also have problems with the outdated notion that trappers should only be men.  I know there are still professions where this is true.  But it just rubbed me the wrong way.  There are two more books in the series, but I think I am done.  

If you really liked the first one and think Beck is awesome, then you will like Soul Theif.  I just don’t connect with the characters and with so many other things bothering me, I had a hard time keeping interest.

Books in this series in the order they should be read:

.5. Retro Demonology

1. Demon Trapper's Daughter

2. Soul Thief

3. Forgiven

4. Forsaken (expected publication August 2012)

Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver [Review]

4 out of 5 Robots!

   

The Demon Trapper's Daughter
By Jana Oliver

Series: Demon Trappers #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy Young Adult

Release: February 1st, 2011

Paperback: 340 Pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

My Copy: BEA 2011

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

Demon Trapper Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself—and that’s exactly what Lucifer is counting on…

It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. 

Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell

Shannon's Thoughts: 
I’m torn on this one.  Because I like Demon Trapper's Daughter.  I really do.  BUT, there is something holding me back from saying I love it.  I think the story is fun.  Demons on the loose and all that.  I like that there are different levels of demons ranging from “fairly harmless” to “bad news bears”.  There is some great demon characterization!  And I like how the author plays with the idea of how a tanked economy in the very near future looks.  It is close enough to how we live now, without going full blown dystopian/post-apocalyptic.  I also like how demons, magic, etc is all out in the open.  At times I felt like I was reading a demon version of Ghostbusters.  And trust me, this isn’t a bad thing.


So here is what I have problems with.  First of all, I felt very little connection with the characters, with the exception of Riley.  Everyone else seems to be a caricature.  I especially felt this with love interest Simon and friend/protector Beck.  And speaking of Beck - I find his dialogue grating.  I know the author is trying to make him come across as a “country boy” but it is distracting...”ya” instead of “you” and “yer” instead of “your”.  A little bit of that kind of stuff goes a long way to get the point across without having to have it in every sentence he speaks.  I'm also not super keen on the love triangle - square? - that starts to develop.  It feels a little forced to me.  

And lastly, I also don’t like how the other trappers look down on Riley because she is a girl.  I could understand if it is her youth, but really, her gender?  It’s 2018 and we’re having this discussion?  I get that there are still professions out there that have that Good Ole Boy Club attitude, but I feel it is a little unrealistic.  I would have a hard time believing Riley is the only girl in all of Atlanta that would want to be a demon trapper.  Just sayin'. 


So while I found Demon Trapper's Daughter on a whole interesting, fun, exciting.... I just wanted to feel more for the characters.  The story just doesn’t grab me as much as I hoped it would.  But, I do want to read the next in the series.  I am intrigued by a late edition demon hunter.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Books in the series in the order they should be read:
1. Demon Trapper's Daughter 
2. Soul Thief
3. Forgiven