Customer Reviews

The Demon's Librarian

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have not been a big fan of Lilith's writing since after Working for the Devil. Everything after that first Dante Valentine book never seemed to measure up for me; however, this was a fantastic read. Chess is a librarian with a double life. She stumbled upon a secret room within her library with a hidden treasure of sorcery books. Taking advantage of her secret cache, Chess picks up wielding magic, which seems to be a natural talent for her. She's a smart book worm by day and a demon hunter by night. Unfortunately, her extracurricular activities have caught the attention of the Order and more than a few enemies. The Order is an organization that has existed secretly for hundreds of years, comprised of demons and humans and everything in-between. They protect society from the evil demonic entities who would rather use society as one big buffet. Ryan, who works for the Order and is half demon/half human, has been sent to investigate the death of an enemy who was killed without being sanctioned by the Order. When he finally figures out that Chess is the unsanctioned hunter, things start to get messy. Ryan senses a magic in Chess that hasn't existed in hundreds of years and realizes that Chess must be protected at all cost. Chess has been marked by the enemy for death. Unbeknownst to the Order, she is a valuable asset and would weaken them considerably if the enemy were to succeed. Ryan's demon has mated w/ Chess, even if she isn't aware of it. He becomes her protector from the dark forces that pursue Chess relentlessly. Chaos is rampant, war is brewing and lines have been drawn. Ryan is betrayed by the order but together he and Chess team up to defeat the enemy. This solid urban fantasy is loaded with preternaturals and is full of sexual tension with a hint of romance. The story flowed nicely and was very exciting with not a moment to waste. This is apparently a stand-alone book but it would be a great series about Chess and Ryan's part in the Demon wars. I highly recommend this book.

I also recommend:
The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows, Book 6)
In the Blood
Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1)
Hotter Than Hell (Hell on Earth, Book 3)
Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)

Ms. Saintcrow packs more complexity into a shorter span of words than any other writer in this field, and this novel is a clear example of her abilities. This is not a book you read once and hold all of the subtle twists of plot and characterization. I've finished the fourth reading and am still uncovering relationships that I'd passed previously.

For those (and I am certainly one) who really, really liked the Dante Valentine series, this world's learning curve is steeper and probably a bit disconcerting due to expectations about what demons should be, based on the prior story. Also, whereas that series dealt with the interrelationships of a very small group of characters, Chess and Ryan fit more comfortably into the larger context and have more tangible lines of experience that anchor them to the external world. That said, Ms. Saintcrow certainly doesn't shortchange the personal aspect: The romantic scenes are well executed and the relationship develops along a comprehensible and realistic path. (I can't stand books where the supposedly astute, intelligent and has-it-together heroine hates the hunk and then suddenly jumps into bed with him; the suspension of disbelief stretches into a suspension of sanity.)

If I had to pick a deficiency in the Dante series, it was that the story was pretty much Dante's alone; we weren't given opportunity to see why the other main characters behaved as they did or the motivations they ascribed to Dante's actions. In 'The Demon's Librarian', motivations are more clearly set out. We see the conflict of both central points of view and can observe how those viewpoints change as the characters relate to each other and how new information about the world affects Chess's attitudes and actions.

In sum, an excellent story that I hope is the foundation for a new series. Buy the book and read it two or three times and you'll agree.

This is the first book I've read from this author and I found it overall enjoyable, but a little odd. It took awhile to get used to the book being written in third person but with constant long thoughts from the characters written in italics. I also imagine this author had a bet with someone on how many times she could get away with using the term solar plexis in a single novel, as I've never seen this term in a novel before, and it must have been in this one 4-5 times.

Overall I really enjoyed the story. I related to the librarian finding herself in a situation that is far outside the usual scope of her duties. It would have been nice to see her a little earlier though, because I'd have liked to see her surprise and wonder as she first discovered the unusual cache in her library and first realized the demons were real.

Lastly, this was written like it was somewhere between a serious romance and a novel for teens. I was shocked at the amount of cuss words (because I initially thought I'd bought a young adult novel), then I kept expecting steamy sex scenes (based on the rest of the content it seemed inevitable), which never materialized.

I might try this authors other books. This one just left me scratching my head a bit.

This is my first written review; I couldn't help but write since I thought this was one of the best books I've read in recent months. This book caused me to read The Society books (hoping that it was the same world/style) and I will probably reread the Dante Valentine books I have -- I didn't even realize they were by the same author until I was putting this one in my library. I won't review the plot -- others have done so and the growing-strong heroine and plot twists are neat -- but I will recommend this for teens as well as adults as a great example of the genre and a good warm read. I hope that this world is continued in future stand-alone novels.

This book is an interesting take on the rogue civilian becoming magical and saving her city. Lilith Saintcrow introduces a new character to her demonic realm of books, Chess (Francesca) an over achieving librarian who finds a secret library within her library in the city of Jericho and unlocks her hidden magical talents to rid her city of demons. She meets her love interest Ryan who is a Drakul (half man/half demon) for the Order and is thrust into a fantasy world little known to humans. I won't ruin the plot, but she and Ryan must work together to save the city and unlock her internal power.

The plot premise is good, but I felt a lack in character development and explanations about the back story that Lilith is known for in her writings. I really felt that her action scenes did not flow well and jumped from character to character making them hard to follow within the story. All in all it is a good book but I would not recommend it as your first Lilith story. I would recommend you start with something from the Dante or Jill Kismet series.

I have to admit, the main reason I picked this book up was that it was about a librarian. Nine times out of ten, most books aren't about librarians & when they are, they're usually not the type of books I like to read. This is one of the few urban fiction books you'll see where the main character is a librarian.

The plotline follows a librarian (Chess) as she discovers a hidden room in the back of her library filled with occult books. Curious, she experiments with many of the spells & discovers that she has a bit of a talent for it. Meanwhile Orion (Ryan), a supernatural hybrid, is bent on discovering who is killing the city's monsters... only to discover that Chess is the unlikely fighter. Swearing to protect her, Ryan soon finds that protecting Chess is easier said than done- especially when she's showing signs of having a power thought gone forever.

I really enjoyed this book. It sort of makes me think of those pulp fictions or penny dreadfuls from the past. This book isn't the slickest & most sophisticated thing out there, but it is pretty darn good. Fans of Kim Harrison & Armstrong will enjoy this book, especially since the main character is a pretty strong person considering the situation. She's not as kick butt as Elena (Armstrong) or Rachel Morgan (Harrison), but you've got to remember that the character in this book is just starting out in her demon hunting career. I'd really like to see a short story or a sequel to this book- the universe is pretty promising.

This is one of the best jobs of world building that I have encountered so far. The author doesn't stop for dissertations about reality but gives you a picture as the story unfolds. There are only two plots so that the two main characters are well developed: the heroine and her counterpart and love interest. The plots are OK if somewhat linear but totally consistent; overall there simply isn't room or need for a convoluted plot. The author abstains from trying to write erotic scenes and that's a nice relief from those who try and don't succeed that well. I enjoy good erotica but don't see the need for it unless it is part of a story and well done: Jaid Black (although some what weird sense of humor), Angela Knight, Laura Antoniou are authors who do very well. There are some minor bobbles my favorite is "...observing a low profile..." but they aren't obtrusive. Overall an excellent example of the Urban Paranormal Fantasy and one of the better done. Luckily the author avoids becoming bogged down in Christian Mythos as she did in some earlier works. It is already so messed up that it simply isn't terribly useful.

A truly excellent read.

Demon's Librarian was absolutely riveting to me. I finished it in record time; I can't believe I'm on here looking for more from Lili at this hour. Who would think a librarian would have such a double life?? Chess discovers a hidden library inside her ancient, moldering one, only this one is filled with books on how to fight demons. Who knew? After Chess witnesses a demon taking a 9 year old child, she is determined to use her find to stop it. When Chess successfully kills the gross uber-demon, it is noted by all the local demons and all hell breaks lose. If Ryan, Drakul (part-demon fighter extraordinaire), hadn't run into her and recognized her talent, she'd be dead for sure. Since Chess is new to the demon world, she doesn't realize that Drakulein are viewed casually as rather disposable by the Malik (demon killers) they protect. Ryan is absolutely devoted to Chess, and being only human, she responds accordingly. Luckily for Chess, she has something very, very precious that the Malik have been hunting for years, giving her some massive clout ...........

Demon's Librarian starts out with a great premise, librarian "Chess" Franchesca discovers that demons are eating children in her town at just about the same time that she discovers a stash of archane books which allow her to turn herself into a demon hunter. The story picks up right after her first kill, which attracts the intention of both the demons and the Order, a collection of hunters who all have a little bit of demon kick to them as well. Soon Chess connects with a tall handsome dangerous hunter, Ryan. Ryan is part demon, and Chess calls to his protective and possessive instincts even as he discovers that Chess herself is more that human - demon hunting has awakened Chess' potential to become a powerful entity called a Golden, her kind is a prize to both demons and the Order.

This one starts out promising but Chess quickly looses her kick butt potential and spends a lot of time in fear of the demons - understandable research is one thing, reality another - and of Ryan in whom she senses his hidden dark dangerous side. Though she does eventually rally and become more than just stubborn, a stubborness that leads her into danger in the first place, and finally rises to her more than human potential.

Demon's Librarian ends up feeling very much like Saintcrow's Watchers series, with Ryan there is the same I'm-not-worthy-but-she's-mine self talk and the whole protector-even-unto-death-and disgrace - I'll admit it, for some reason I am a sucker for this, so I loved him. But like several books in the Watchers series, Saintcrow keeps this pretty much PG - for a few inuendos - and there is no consumation of their bond. This is one of her more heavy on the self-talk books, though not as angsty as some (the latter Danny Valentines for example), and I would have liked to have seen just a bit more communication between the pair to build their relationship.

I like Saintcrow's style overall, so I enjoyed this one even though it is not going to replace any of my previous favorites by her from my keeper shelf. If you are a fan and are looking from something else to read by her, you may want to check out her website and her free serial novel Selene.

Four and a half stars. I got this book for my sister (who really liked it too) after having read Saintcrow's YA book, Strange Angels. I liked the world that Saintcrow created, with the Malik and the Drakul protecting the unsuspecting human population from demons, though the relationship between the two groups isn't exactly rosy.

Chess was, for the most part, a kick butt librarian (Except when she was stupid and went off with just her sister...Hello!). I liked that we jumped into her story months after she found the library within the library and was honing her demon killing skills, but that we had the blanks between then and the present filled in some, without dragging it out. I also liked that, even though she'd accepted what her life had become, it still freaked her out at times. She wasn't unrealistically okay with everything; dead (human) bodies bothered her and demon bits splattered about grossed her out.

I think the thing that bothered me most was the cover (didn't get it before or after I read the book) and the self-published look, with too many typos. I'm not sure if there's going to be a sequel, but I hope that there is. It'd be interesting to learn more about the history of the Drakul, Malik and Inkani and see what happens with Ryan, Chess and her sister.