Personal Demon
Oooh, I loved this one. It's right up there with Haunted for me as the top two of all the books.
This book features Hope Adams (previously featured here and here, but for the rundown on what Hope is like, click the first link), tabloid reporter/chaos demon. In the backstory "Chaotic," she and Karl Marsden ended up owing a favor to the Cortez Cabal, and this is the book where CEO Benicio Cortez calls it in. He wants Hope to infiltrate a gang of 20something anti-Cabal supernaturals and fill him in on what's what. Hope takes the job and really gets off on the chaos of it all, and starts up a flirtation with gang member Jaz.
Hope and the aforementioned Karl have been having a friendship/slow flirtation for years, which finally led to them sleeping together and him ditching her. Naturally, she's ticked about this. But when he finds out that Benicio's set up this gang thing without contacting him, he storms in and recruits Lucas, Benicio's favorite son and heir, for help. (You may remember him from other books, mostly this one and this one) This is also Lucas's book, as he gets to narrate to some degree. (Yay for a "Man of the Underworld" getting narration duties!)
Lucas has always had an interesting conundrum: he's anti-Cabal and isn't in favor of an organization that puts hits out on its employees or anyone giving them trouble. He knows better than to think he can change things from the inside- odds are higher he'll just be corrupted. But his father has made NO secret that he prefers Lucas to his three older brothers, and insists on naming Lucas his heir anyway. (And from what you see of his brothers, you can't blame Benicio a bit.) That particular standoff ends up having some major wrenches thrown into it, which is worrying but interesting.
Anyway, I had a great time reading this one. I enjoyed seeing Hope and Karl together, enjoyed hearing Lucas's point of view (and even Benicio has some interesting moments toward the end that I enjoyed), and there's some real twists and turns in this one that will be hanging over the series from here on in. Whoa.
Four and a half stars from me.
