Customer Reviews

The Accidental Demon Slayer

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Preschool teacher Lizzie Brown's life may never be the same when her long lost witch grandmother shows up driving a hot pink Harley and starts casting magic spells from Smucker's jars. Pirate, her Jack Russell terrier, starts talking! Lizzie discovers that she is the exalted Demon Slayer of Dalea and a demon, Xerxes, emerges from her toilet to cause even more havoc! As they head to Memphis to join the grandmother's just as strange coven to learn magic, Dimitri Kallinikos, a shape shifting griffin shows up as her mentor. Teaching her the three rules of demon slaying, he is both protector and teacher. Dimitri, however, needs her to slay a demon of his own and as their feelings for each other grow, Lizzie and Dimtri are forced to make tough choices when family loyalties come into play in a battle begun generations ago.

Told through Lizzie's eyes, THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER, follows the heroine on the journey of her maturation and self-discovery in a well-imagined world ever so kooky yet touched by wonderful dash of tenderness. Within 12 hours, Lizzie has lost her home, her job, her clothes, and her friends to follow her grandmother, accused of murder, to be trained in magic and face demons and her destiny as the new family demon slayer. Unaware of the extent of her powers or her family history, Lizzie struggles to make sense of the crazy world her grandmother opens before her. As she comes to face with The Witches of the Red Skull with its cantankerous witch Ant Eater, werewolves, and above all her own magical powers, Lizzie sees the humorous outrageousness of her situation with a unique sense of innocence and irreverent sass. Although her dog Pirate plays the tough guy, the reader sees the tenderness within Lizzie's heart through him. Dimitri, her protector and mentor, awakens the woman in Lizzie with his body and kiss. Dimitri helps Lizzie focus on her powers and concentrating her magic when her magic turns her familiar world topsy-turvy.

Oh my, THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER is a fun book! Angie Fox's world and adventures had me laughing as the vivid and hilarious scenarios got funnier and funnier. The grandmother and her group of witches were a total scream. Angie Fox mixes paranormal with a fun, bold smart tone but by the end, I felt myself immersed in Lizzie's whole world and the drama playing out in her family. Angie Fox's humor gives way to a suspenseful adventure that keeps the reader on the edge as Lizzie and Dimitri face the ominous dangers ahead. The final leg of the journey is spectacular ---.not a gradual let-down but an ever increasing delightful unveiling, not just once but in several gradual layers. Intricacies with wonderful twists and revelations of the paranormal world kept me riveted to this book. What an ending! With her debut book, Angie Fox has created a wonderful magical world that will have readers eager to re-enter and anxiously awaiting her next release!

I have to agree with Helen Hancox below. And frankly, I wish there'd been more readers like her who'd spoken up, because I would have saved myself some cash.

"I actually found it quite hard to get through this book as it felt very disjointed and the lack of flow and of coherent direction most of the time made it rather disappointing."
-- Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

If I had realized that when Reviewer: D. Merrimon Crawford mentioned "Told through Lizzie's eyes" meant told via 1st person as opposed to primarily focusing on Lizzie's point-of-view, that would have been my first clue that I would not enjoy this novel. There have been only a true select few authors (P.C. Cast among said few) who've been able to pull off the "first person narrative" and make it work for me, even forget that it *is* being told in the first person (which I usually find very distracting).

I also made the mistake of assuming (I know, I know) that Pirate the dog would be more like a "familiar" than whatever his purpose is in the story (I still don't know... if it was to provide comic relief, I didn't feel it).

But what I found to be most frustrating with this story, and what made it hard for me to get truly absorbed, was the fact that every single character outside of Lizzie and Pirate consistently acted as though Lizzie should know more, know better, be better, even though she had been raised with *no knowledge whatsoever* and *they all knew it*. It drove me crazy that Lizzie never really called them on that point to my satisfaction.

I also thought there'd be more "shape-shifting" and magic revealed with Dimitri the Griffin... I think he was a griffin only twice in the story, and that was it. No depth to what could have been a truly interesting character, based on his griffin half and what griffins represent in mythology. No expansion. He was flat, and their relationship felt forced to me. Rushed.

Actually, come to think of it, the entire story, all 292 pages of it, felt rushed. Perhaps it was the publisher, the editors who hacked and sliced at the depth of this story. Perhaps it never had it to begin with. All I know is that for me, multiple characters were tossed into the reader's direction with no rhyme or reason, little --if any-- development, and the story overall never got off the ground. It was all surface skimming throughout.

A fact: I devour novels. A 292 pager normally reads for me in 5 hours or less. This one took me 3 days. Why? Because I was willing to put it down to do other things before picking it back up. When I finally finished it, instead of setting it down with my "keepers", I threw it across the room to land in my "library donation" pile.

I enjoyed this book, it lived up to what Katie Macalister's You Slay me didn't. But that's not saying this novel wasn't flawed.

It was pretty shallow and hollow. Something was lacking that didn't quite make the whole book seem real. Taking away from the world and the characters. I would be really getting into it then the book fall flat and I'd have to get into it all over again. For instance side characters would bash the main character for getting antsy and having questions about this new save the world role she was in. I can understand that these characters needed her, and some people can only focus on that. But the main character would be berating herself about it, she never thought sheesh your all jerks, but I only have this option any way. She was unrealistic functioning at times. Even though the book lacks its little extra something it was still a great read.

The characters where so fun in their variety. I was excited every time I met a new one. I love the biker names Aunt Eater just being my favorite. Even the evil villain of this novel was wickedly new and refreshing. A studly griffon who is the romance interest, is deep and not just a hunk of man flesh ready to please the main character (and readers.)

The humor was wonderful. It was hard not to laugh, and I enjoyed the wit gone in to it. Even if the novel would have fallen flat everywhere, I would have persevered just for the humor. Thankfully it has more then just wonderful humor.

The writing is pretty solid. Never having to make me go back and reread to see what happens. In fact it's pretty smooth sailing.

*** * Accidental Demon Slayer may have its flaws, but they don't hold it to far back. So anyone who was disappointed in You Slay Me, rejoice you can finally get that paranormal humor wonder right here! I look forward to seeing the next title, hopefully the second will nock my negative thoughts right out of the water.

It's Lizzie Brown's 30th birthday and she is really looking forward to spending the night with friends and a certain guy that is showing up. However, what she gets is an unknown grandmother, who's a biker, a demon in her toilet who is tossing poison at her and her dog is suddenly speaking to her. If that isn't enough to overload her, she meets Dimitri Kallinikos that night. He's a sexy and handsome shape-shifting griffin who says he's her protector.

Lizzie soon discovers that there is a whole lot about her family's past that she has to discover and learn to control in a hurry. On the run, Lizzie meets the rest of her grandmother's coven, yep a grandmother biker coven, and finds out that Dimitri has not been totally honest with her. Lizzie's only hope to make everything right is to go to the underworld and fight a demon - gulp.

The Accidental Demon Slayer is a humorist romp while Lizzie learns her heritage. Lizzie's life has suddenly becomes a beginner's guide into the paranormal and is funny and at times silly. There were many times that I felt as lost as Lizzie and other times when I wished Lizzie would just stand up for herself. In the end, however, Lizzie gets a handle on the world she is suddenly thrust into and shows just what she can do. I found The Accidental Demon Slayer to be a light hearted, fun and silly story that can help you escape during a long summer afternoon.

Jo
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

If you want a guidebook on how everything goes wrong due to lack of communication, stubborness, and noone letting anyone in on anything- please read.

after 5 chapters I realize I am skimming just to get to the end, so I stopped reading.

what is maybe meant to be action filled, is really stressing, characters hectically trying to get something done- including some superficial magical stuff that is not very sparkly- everyone is stubborn and most conversation go something like this "there a demon in there we gotta leave NOW"- " I am not leaving without my doggie" - "but we got to leave NOOOW" - "if you think I am leaving without my doggie- think again" - "but the demon...." or even better "tell me what is going on" - "not now" - but I need to know what is going OOON" - "we dont have time"....

read Haunted by Kelley Armstrong instead!

I bought this book because I was curious about the idea of geriatric biker witches, and while I liked those characters, what I liked most about The Accidental Demon Slayer is that it's different. So many of the paranormals these days all seem to read the same and this book is like a breath of fresh air. The writing style is fast-paced and quirky, the dog character is a crack up and I really enjoyed not knowing what was going to come next.

It was also fun to have the male lead be a shapeshifting griffin. I read a lot about vampires and werewolves and the like, but this is the first griffin I've run across. After this, I'll be looking for more. I don't know why more authors haven't done this because griffins are perfect male leads - they're intensely loyal, they're protective and they're smoking hot. Plus, griffins are known to mate for life, which is a neat angle in a paranormal romance.

So five stars, well done and I can't wait to recommend this to my book club.

Lizzie Brown had never met her grandmother, Gertie, before now. On Lizzie's thirtieth birthday all she wanted to do was put her job at Happy Hands Preschool out of her mind and meet up with her friends to celebrate. Instead her biker grandmother shows up, gives Lizzie her first hug, and promptly tosses (and locks) her in the bathroom. Gertie explains that she is a witch and that Lizzie is the Exalted Demon Slayer of Dalea. Lizzie believes the woman is insane until the very second she turns thirty-years-old. At that second, Lizzie believes that Gertie's insanity is contagious because something happens inside of her body. Then Lizzie is attached by a demon out of her toilet. From then on Lizzie is on the run. Gertie's biker coven performs a rite to protect Lizzie, but Lizzie only pretended to drink the foul smelling concoction. So Lizzie unprotected and untrained for the demon-slaying job that has been forced upon her.

Dimitri Kallinikos is a shape-shifting griffin and tells Lizzie that he is her protector. Truth is that he needs a demon-slayer to help him rescue his sisters from (ahem) Hades. When Gertie disappears, Lizzie must rescue the grandmother that she has only recently met and has already come to care for.

*** I found this to be a great beginning to a series with a lot of fabulous potential. The story is very fast paced and witty, but not believable to me. I had a grandmother who rode motorcycles, raced cars (even personally knew many pro racers), and did wild things for fun, yet still the character of Gertie never seemed realistic to me. Do not let my opinion stop you from picking up a copy of this crazy and humorous story though. This really is a great beginning to the Lizzie Brown series and I am looking forward to the second novel. ***

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This novel while action-filled, needs a little more kick to it.

We meet Lizzie Brown in the midst of leaving her peaceful life as a preschool teacher behind her to join her long-lost witch family. There is a great deal of mayhem. The storyline was adequate, but with a couple of loose ends, such as who Lizzie's real father is and if her mother is bad or just irresponsible. The senior citizen biker-witches was just not plausible nor even pictureable.

The book was okay (as in bearable) up until the hastily written ending which seems like a lead-in for a series. The book is from Dorchester Publishing, the publisher of Katie Macalister's books. Her choppy endings and never tied strings made me choose another author after several tries. I had trouble connecting with the heroine and the book just never really hooked me.

The book also reminds me of Julie Kenner's Confessions of a Demon Hunting Soccer Mom with the style and humor. It is definitely not a Kim Harrison novel.

I purchased this because my amazon recommended it- and I'm glad I did! For a 290 (or so) page book it has a lot of action packed in. Definitely an enjoyable and at times humerous read, and I look forward to seeing where the author takes this next (sequel to release 4/09).

My negative comments about the book are this-
> How is genetics an accident? She's a slayer by birthright. That doesn't scream accident to me.
> due to the shorter nature of this book the author doesn't have (or doesn't make) time to really paint clear images. I feel that when dealing with mythical creatures/demons/witch craft, and other such subjects that aren't in our every day lives more description is preferable. A longer book would have allowed more room for that and made it a smoother read for me.
> we are thrust right into action, given ZERO entry into our heroine, her state of mind, how she was raised, why she's just totally ok with the whole demon slayer stuff, etc... it seems crazy that she is just "ok, let's get the baddies" awful quick with no freaking out or anything.

Those points aside, Angie Fox wove an interesting tale unlike any of the supernatural/paranormal books I've read before. Perhaps it's just her style to not reveal too much detail? Only time will tell if this author works her way in (or out) of my must-read list. I liked this book enough to pre-order it just now. So yeah- I'm giving it my thumbs UP. :)

This is definately a page turner, and what I would classify as a LMAO-book. I will recommend this book to everyone I know, whether they like paranormal romance or not.

Written in first person POV, Ms. Fox cuts right into the action in the very first page, which did not stop until the very last page of the book. Lizzie's character was developed very well, and with the story written in first person, it was almost like you can feel her emotions and everything she went through as if you are going through it yourself. Although she makes some very stupid mistakes throughout the story, but there is never a time you'd thought her "dumb," because, in a situation like hers, anyone will make the same stupid choices.

In addition, Dimitri is also a very yummy character that I've grown to love throughout the book.

Ms. Fox really made every single scene in this book funny as hell. Although I rarely like the idea of "slayers," this book really did it for me. I can't wait for the sequel to this book, coming out next year, and if it's just as good, Ms. Fox is surely to become one of my favorite authors. But since this is her very first novel, I'll just have to settle with having this book as my favorite book.