Customer Reviews

Confessions of a Demon

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I picked up Confessions of a Demon wondering if it was going to be another paranormal/science fiction story much like every other one on the market. Plus the author shares my name, it was a total must buy just for that happy coincidence! I am definitely glad I took the risk and bought it!

The narrative of this book is incredibly strong; the storyline unique and compelling; the characters OFF THE CHART. I loved it. From the beginning of the story to the ending, you are taken on a journey through gritty New York streets, high rise luxary penthouses and the back rooms of influential cults. Each character is a study in good vs. evil, the demons who must ingest emotions to survive and the strictures of their existence is fascinating. Interacting with humans, needing humans, wanting humans, these demons lurk in the underbelly of our world, rising to feast on the unwitting souls that inhabit the City.

Allay, a human possed by a demon, is as unique as the rest of the world she inhabits. Struggling to maintain her humanity while her demon side fights for dominance, she is pulled into the demon dealings she strives so hard to escape. She is aided-and sometimes thwarted-by those around her: The egnimatic Ram, cunning Shock, devious Dread.

Get this book, you will not regret it. I can only hope that this is the first of a series, it will certainly be on my buy list!

Overall a very good book and first to a new series. The only things I could criticize are the 'twist' was apparent almost immediately after Theo was introduced as a character in the beginning of the book, so you find yourself wondering how Allay can be so slow by the time she realizes it -- and she only does because it becomes so obvious that even a child would have to make the connection at that point. Also, the way she debates a decision towards the end of the book make me want to tear my hair out.

But aside from those two things the book was very good. Unique new world and a page turner that makes you want to know what happens next. I'll purchase the sequel. My favorite character is Lash, I hope she is in the next book. :)

She does not eat or sleep, but tends a bar Den on C in Manhattan in order to dine off the emotions of human patrons who drink there. Allay is a one of a kind type of demon; as she is a human who ingested the life force of a demon. Her scent signature differs from demons who would all love to feed off her, but cannot because Vex, the ancient demon protects her as she is of his line.

Pique the demon enters Den on C and attacks Alley. He almost kills her, but as she is getting unconscious, human Theo Ram arrives at the bar and breaks up the fight. Allay and Theo feel an immediate attraction and he declares himself her bodyguard. Allay knows she must feel off a demon if she is to live another two hundred years, but rejects the concept because that would end her last vestiges of humanity. Allay learns that he plans to use her at his church the Fellowship of Truth to show the world she was once human so he can announce to the world that demons exist. She learns his end game is for demons to rule the world. Allay believes his domination plan is horrific and wants no part of subjecting humans. Theo watches out for her in the demon challenges and when it looks like a demon civil war will break out. However, she is still dying and needs a miracle to save her because she won't subsume a demon

This is a very enthralling, evocative and electrifying urban fantasy whose underlying premise is demons are just another sentient species and not angry at God or ordered by Lucifer. Like humans, demons have the good, the bad and the ugly unmentionables. S. L. Wright adds to the realism by the fascinating way they reproduce. Ally refuses to lose her humanity, but to keep it she will die soon, which she is okay with as that should save humans for now. Filled with awe and twists, CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON is a refreshing powerful Manhattan thriller.

Harriet Klausner

First in the "Allay" series. And it was bad. Really, really bad. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that the idea of demons feeding on emotions and birthing new demons when over-feeding was original. The rest, only negative things, unfortunately.

Not only was the book slow and terribly confusing, it's been also a long while since I came across as unlikable heroine as Allay. There were moments, I thought she had to be bipolar: she hated demons because they preyed on humans, but killing demons to stop them from hurting people was wrong. She ran around like a headless chicken, creating problems everywhere, getting her friends - and even people whom she didn't trust but didn't have any qualms to use - into trouble, still haughtily thinking she was the epitome of what was right in the world. A four thousand year old demon fell in love with her within one night because yeah, she was so awesome. Oh, and let's not forget the scene in the cell, where she was hugging a beaten up, bleeding, broken Theo and started feeling horny, because yeah, a guy who's dying of internal bleeding is irresistible - that actually sickened me.

The heroine made me so angry that I almost didn't finish the book. I'll be definitely NOT reading the next part!

Confessions of a Demon was up and down for me. There are things that I loved and thought were very unique. First, the connection between the emotions present when the demons were birthed and their favorite emotions. I thought that demons were very well explained and seemed pretty realistic. On the other hand, one of the demons in the story mentioned that demons don't really understand human emotions, and that the main character, Allay, is the only one that can truly fit in with humans because she is half human herself. I never felt like any of the other demons wouldn't be able to function in society. They all have jobs that they do well in, and none of them really shun humans. I guess I was expecting demons to be different than humans in some way other than eating habits, and that isn't really the case. The demon does mention that they don't have as good of a sense of right and wrong and don't mind killing other demons to feed. That is not enough for me to set them apart from humanity.

Another up and down for me was the characters. I feel that Allay is well fleshed out and believable. I sympathize with her moral issues and feel that she is well developed as a half demon. The other characters were a bit unlikable. Many of them came off as indecisive and flaky. I really disliked the leading demon Vex and thought he was absolutely crazy. He and his underling came off as weak and unstable. I don't think they were very good villains at all. The romance between Theo and Allay was another iffy thing for me. I believed it in the beginning, but the events that unfolded towards the end were just not plausible.

In the end, I have to say that I read Confessions of a Demon in one sitting and I was never bothered enough to put it down. It's good, but the issues I had with it knocked it down to just ok. It's worth reading for the demon aspect alone, and the mystery and plot were good enough to keep me interested throughout.

I found this to be a nice addition to this genre. While I prefer more of a fine line between good and evil, the fact that this author has good and bad demons was still enjoyable for me. The main character, Allay, is well developed, and there is a simple to understand hierarchy for the demon world, that makes things easy to follow. I like the way that the demons are developed, and how they feed off of human energy ala psychic vampires in other tales.

The pace picks up as the book comes to the end, and the reader is taken on a twisty journey. There is a lot of emotion in the characters, and the author does a good job of bringing that out.

I was disapointed in some of the twists, that were all too obvious and should have been discovered by Allay sooner, but overall, this was a good book to read.

I gave it 3.5/5

CONFESSIONS OF A DEMON was a decent book. I found that it was pretty slow which is why it only got a 3.5 but the plot was nice and twisty making it a good read. Allay is a strong main character with great supporting characters to go along on her journey. I enjoyed the way demons were made in this story to feed off of human emotions, when they are made they go with the emotion of there makers last feelings so they end up being called what there fave emotions are, Allay, Revel, Shock, etc. The ending was much faster paced than the beginning was which helped make the story better for me. Interested to see what DEMON UNDERGROUND brings to the series.

This isn't your average fantasy romance where girl who happens to be something Other falls for another supernatural hottie. Allay was a human who stumbled upon a dying demon and was possessed. She is named Allay based on the emotion of the demon as it's life force entered her body.

All demons seemed to be named after an emotion or an action connected to an emotion. They eat emotions from other demons and humans. They can only be killed by being absorbed into another demon, but if they eat too much they fission - splitting to birth another demon already grown and full of memories of their demon line.They have to absorb the life force of another demon every 200 years or they fade away, thus cannibalism is rampant.

Allay needs to absorb a soul soon or she will fade but there's more drama going on around her. Someone's trying to eat Shock, her best friend. As she tries to protect her friend and out run a few demons who find her tasty, she meets a man who turns out to be more than she thinks, although I could see this coming pretty early on. The two of them fall victim to the schemes of Vex, the head of her line, but twist things to work in their favor.

It seemed like an introduction to the world of a series. I might pick up the next book as this book ended on a positive note, but it wouldn't be my first choice to pick up.

Intriguing main character, a half-demon girl who eats by feeding on emotions by running a bar. Her demon-life-force is running out, and she needs to eat another demon soon or die. First third of the book is excellent, mysterious, and offers exactly the right amount of information to trick a casual reader into buying it. And I do mean 'trick.' The character-plot interactions got so bad I put the book down at page 184. That was last month.

Because once Allay gets into demon society, what immediately struck me is she is in over her head. She's skittish, unsure where to turn, and the right approach should put her squarely on someone's side. This is extremely obvious. On one side we have a 1000 year old demon who want to have a demon 'affair' with her, and on the other hand we have a 1400 year old demon who wants to use her as the focal point (and messiah) for a demons-go-public movement by demonstrating miracles (like chopping offer head and having her grow it back). Both will protect her from the mysterious assassin Allay ran into demon society for aid against. The problem here is, both ancient demons, despite creating their own religion with millions of followers and simply surviving for centuries in the middle of hostile human society, have the psychological acumen of three year olds. I mean seriously, if you are relying on experienced and charismatic master manipulators as a cornerstone of your romance, plot, and characterization, write them well. (Like no threats, make the pigeon as comfortable as possible, forge a personal connection, etc.) Wright doesn't (lots of threats, heavy-handed 'do this or die' when she is dying anyway, character they 'need badly' is made to feel unimportant, etc.), and that's why I didn't like the book. My sense of disbelief snapped.

When I put it down, my impressions of Allay were 'all talk' and indecisive. Sorry, but I prefer heroines who do things, who aren't semi-suicidal and angsty.

Allay, a rare demon/human hybrid is torn between her human tendencies and the needs she develops as a demon. She had given up her human family to move to New York city and the protection of the oldest in her demon line. The action in the story centers around the plotting of Vex--the leader of her line and the mysterious shadow demon that has been snuffing out demons around the city. Also, Allay is conflicted about her inability to resolve her feelings towards the needs or her demon self and being able to trust others of the demon persuasion.

I thought the story line was intriguing, but I was constantly cringing at the weak and waffling behavior and thoughts of Ally. At some points in the book, I was saying to myself "Go ahead and keel over and die already then!" By the end of the book she does seem to make some decisions that might make a sequel worth reading.