Title: The Daemon Whisperer
Author: Candice Bundy
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Dark Urban Fantasy
Grade/Rating: 5 out of 5
Synopsis: Meriwether Storm discovered the grisly remains of her parents on their living room floor when she was only fourteen, the result of a failed daemon summoning. Meri immediately swore vengeance on the daemon who’d killed her parents, but there was only one problem–she had no idea which one had committed the atrocity.
Before their untimely deaths her parents had trained her intensively in the arts, and Meri used her skills to follow in their footsteps, ever seeking the daemon’s name. Now, despite her years of searching, she’s no closer to the truth and her time is running out. Will she accept a deal from a daemon if it means finally learning the truth?
When retribution is the only thing that drives you, how much are you willing to sacrifice before you lose yourself to the cause?
Please be aware there are a few spoilers with this review
May I bow to the Paranormal Romance genius that is Candice Bundy! She has swept me off my feet and I still feel the literary high after reading her book. I’ve lost sleep from reading it and yes I have even missed a meal, something that I don’t generally like to make a habit of doing because I can get really cranky. But even in my state of crankiness I still managed to keep my face plastered smack dab in front of my Nook. And there it stayed, off and on for two whole days. It would have been shorter, but I do have children that needed tending to every once and awhile.
Meriweather Storm has followed the path of her murdered parents by becoming a daeomon summoner and is one of the best there is. She takes on jobs because she hopes that one day she will be able to avenge her parents death, by finding their killer. She summons daemons and binds them to do what she asks of them. Once the daemon is bound, the daemon’s ink sets into the Summoner’s skin. The daemon then completes the task that the Summoner asks of it. It could be a simple task such as extracting information, or a more lethal one such as murder. Once completed the daemon returns to Sheol, the equivalent of Hell.
There is a war in Sheol that humans are not aware of. Meri has been approached by four daemons to assist them with an assassination of an infatuation Arch-daemon named Makrha. In order to bind the daemon to her, Makhra will need to become intimate with her. If she is successful in killing him then she will be given the name to her parent’s killer. Even under these extremely embarrassing circumstances how can she refuse their offer?
The binding proves difficult because in the beginning Meri is not enchanted with the daemon, even as handsome as he is. So Makhra takes an image from her mind, of the one that she has started to form a dangerous attraction to, the daemon Azimuth. Over six feet tall, lanky but muscular, with silvery blond hair and ice blue eyes; he is perfection. He is unlike any other daemon that she has met and she begins to form feelings for him. And so Makhra transforms into Azimuth’s image.
But what happens after this seductive binding will completely alter her life; and so a wonderfully, brilliant paranormal fantasy filled with romance and adventure begins. You will fall in love with these characters, especially the four daemons: Azimuth, Orias, Kobol and yes even that big blue guy with horns Belial (who has that distinctive voice of Tim Curry in my head). Meri is a strong and determined lead character, but we also see a vulnerable and fragile side to her. I don’t like my heroines completely gritty and hard. They have to have a balance and the author did a wonderful job with Meri’s character.
I fell in love with this exotic, dystopian society and the humans and daemons that lived in it. The pace of the story is fast and there is never a shortage of action. I found myself wanting to know more about the corporation and how the world turned out the way it did and how the history of the Summoners began. This exotic world was very captivating and I was curious to learn more about it.
There is certainly a good amount of heat in the sexual content of the story, but it wasn’t overly spicy, but it was certainly for the 18+ crowd. I think readers will be very pleased with the relationship that builds between the two main characters and the internal conflicts and obstacles that they must overcome.
Focusing on the concern etched around her brown eyes, it was all too tempting to pull her back into his arms and kiss away her fears. Could Meri’s heat withstand his icy touch?
The story is quite intricate and absorbing. But what happens if we forget what a Summoner is, or have questions regarding what a sigil may be? Well, no worries. Let’s just mosey on over to the back of the… GLOSSARY page! Have I said how much I love this book? Although convenient, one does not really need to utilize it as the book was very well explained in its entirety. In fact I hadn’t discovered it until I got to the very end. But it’s there if you need it.
So, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and number two can’t get here soon enough!
“I don’t want you feeling obligated to me, Azimuth. You’re free now.”
“I was free before.” *Sigh*
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