Review: The Demon’s Song by Kendra Leigh Castle

Synopsis of The Demon Song

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. At least, that’s how it seems to Sofia Rivera when her attempt to help a friend ends in a blood-soaked confrontation with creatures that aren’t even supposed to exist. With a group of rogue vampires determined not to leave a single witness to their violence hot on her heels, Sofia finds herself saddled with an immortal bodyguard—Phenex, the fallen Angel of Song. 

 While the vampire king roots out the corruption threatening to take down his underworld kingdom, Sofia will have to deal with a fallen angel whose dark beauty is often at odds with his ornery nature. Slowly, Sofia and Phenex give in to the strange attraction neither can deny. And as the darkness closes in around them, Phenex begins to wonder whether even the wickedest Fallen might find his own happy ending…and his heart.

Excerpt Teaser

“We need to talk,” Sofia said.

Phenex raised his eyebrows and said nothing. He hadn’t expected her to be so direct. Probably he should have.

“About this morning,” she added.

“What part?”

Sofia’s mouth tightened ever so slightly. “You know what part.”

“Maybe.” He plucked out a melody absently, watching Sofia try to figure out how to deal with him. “There were a number of parts to this morning.”

“Only one part involved you almost biting me.” She paused, and then her voice dropped. “Among other things.”

Phenex stopped and tilted his head at her.

“Almost doesn’t count, last I checked.”

“I’m not used to guys with fangs. ‘Almost’ was too close for me.” Sofia took a deep breath and seemed to be gathering herself.

Phenex waited, curious, and after a minute, she got around to saying what she’d come up here for.

“Look, I’m not sure what you’re…I mean…” She raised her eyes to the sky and gave her foot a frustrated little stomp before pulling it together, a steely glint in her eye when she met his gaze again. “It’s not a good idea.”

Phenex pretended to consider that. “You’re right,” he said, then smirked at her. “It’s an excellent idea.”

She didn’t crack even a hint of a smile in return. “Okay, let me put it another way. It’s not a good idea for me. I’ve had two vampires try to kill me in the last week. I don’t think that hooking up with a fallen angel is going to do a lot for either my sanity or my health. We need to keep this platonic.”

Phenex watched her, noting the stubborn little tilt of her chin as his fingers skipped quickly over the strings. The emotions that surfaced puzzled him for a moment until he could sort them through, considering how unfamiliar they were. Finally, he understood—he was actually offended. That was a switch. Then again, being turned down was a new one, too.

“You think I’ll hurt you.” A statement, not a question.

And she had a point. He hurt a lot of people. But he thought he’d made it pretty clear that he was making an exception for her.

Sofia frowned and held herself more tightly as a cold breeze ruffled her hair. “Not exactly. The fangs and the growling just sort of drove home that we’re not coming from the same place. I’m not looking for a fling.”

It was some small comfort, Phenex guessed, that she was just as confused about what to do with him as he was about her. What was he supposed to say? He hadn’t been looking for a damned thing when he’d run into her, either. So what? He’d adapted. So should she. The scent of Sofia, warm and inviting, with a faint hint of arousal, wound around him and banished the chill.

Her common sense might be telling her one thing, but her body wasn’t going along with it. That was a relief.

“I’m not going to pretend that I don’t want you, Sofia,” Phenex finally said. “Since you want me, too, you might want to think about enjoying it instead of fighting it.”

TITLE: The Demon’s Song

AUTHOR: Kendra Leigh Castle

RATING: 4/out of 5 Stars

PUBLISHER: Covet an imprint of Entangled Publishing

ISBN139781622661817

Review by Lover Karen

The Demon’s Song by Kendra Leigh Castle is the first book of the new series Hearts of the Fallen, published by Covet an imprint of Entangled Publishing. The story centers around Phenex, a fallen angel and former lord of hell, who along with his brethren (other redeemed fallen) work for the white wings (heaven). He still has his wings, but they are ebony, like his attitude. Phenex has shut himself off from all emotions, and he prefers it like that. He doesn’t want to feel anything too deeply. He lives with his brothers in Terra Noctem, the City of Eternal Night, a magical safe haven for night dwellers, a place where the minions of hell can’t enter. All of the fallen have sworn a blood oath to protect the city that has given the refuge. In Castle’s world, just because you are a night dweller doesn’t make you bad. Phenex falls in this category; he might not be the most moral of guys, but he has left hell and fights as a mercenary on the side of good. When the story begins, he is just counting the days of his existence, killing demons, and singing in the local club above Terra Noctem.

What complicates Phenex’s existence is Sofia Riveria, a spicy Latina nurse who has stumbled into vampire trouble while helping a friend. Sofia isn’t the type of girl to sit by and wait to be rescued; she can rescue herself ‘thank you very much’. The new world she has been thrust into is a little more complicated than she can handle; therefore, Phenex enters into her life as her protector. They have a mutual attraction, and the heat is definitely an inferno when these two interact. The relationship between Phenex and Sophia that Castle writes is one full of energy, desire, and a good dose of angst. One major problem is that despite Phenex not wanting to feel, it’s kind of hard not to when Sophia is around.

I am excited to see where this series and the world that Castle is creating leads. She has built a paranormal world in the Hearts of the Fallen Series tthat is filled will fallen angels, angels, demons, vampires, fae and weres, so the storyline interaction between all the factions has enormous potential in future world building and stories. I am very excited to have a new Castle series to look forward to.

ABOUT COVET

If there’s one thing we know about paranormal romance at Entangled, it’s that it breaks rules. All kinds of rules. And that’s where the Covet imprint comes in. Covets are firmly grounded in the contemporary world, but each novel brings in supernatural twists, breaking the contemporary and paranormal rules alike.

Covets have all the sexiness, emotion, and happily ever after that readers have come to expect and love from Entangled. With our launch this month, we’re bringing five titles to the forefront of this rule-breaking imprint. Greek gods, witches, demons, shifters, vampires … there’s something for everyone.

To find out more about our launch titles, chat with authors, participate in special events, and to find out what books you’ll be coveting next, visit the Entangled website(entangledpublishing.com), follow us on Twitter (@CovetBooks), and LIKE our Facebook page. We have lots of exciting events coming up, and Round Two of our launch in May!

Take a look at the first Covets, and start making your TBR list.

About Kendra Leigh Castle

Kendra Leigh Castle was born and raised in the far and frozen reaches of Northern New York, where there was plenty of time to cultivate her love of reading thanks to the six-month-long winters.  Sneaking off with selections from her mother’s vast collection of romance novels came naturally and fairly early, and a lifelong love of the Happily Ever After was born.  After graduating from SUNY Oswego (where it also snowed a lot) with a teaching degree, Kendra ran off with a handsome young Navy fighter pilot and has somehow accumulated three children, three dogs, and one enormous cat during their many moves.

While stationed in a remote corner of the Nevada desert, Kendra penned her first romance, and a career often spent working in fuzzy slippers and pajamas was born.  Her work has garnered both critical praise and award nominations, but the best part has been connecting with readers who share her love of dark romance (not to mention heroes with sharp, pointed teeth).  Kendra currently lives in Maryland, and can usually be found curled up with her laptop and yet another cup of coffee working on her next book.  She loves to hear from her readers, and can be contacted via email or her Facebook page.
Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kendraleighcastle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KendraLCastle
Website: http://kendraleighcastle.com/
Blog: http://www.kendraleighcastle.blogspot.com/

The Demon’s Song Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Demons-Song-ebook/dp/B00CGFCF9Q”>http://www.amazon.com/The-Demons-Song-ebook/dp/B00CGFCF9Q
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-demons-song-kendra-leigh-castle/1115161564?ean=9781622661817

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