Review: Releasing the Demons

Releasing the Demons by L.D. Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Releasing the Demons is such a wonderful paranormal romance, one that has left me super excited about where the series is to go from here. In fact, I’m starting book two instantly and the fact book three has yet to be released leaves the already formed fangirl disappointed. After all, I’m a big lover of binge reading entire series. Patience is not my forte, and whilst I’ll happily wait for the next book to be released, I favour diving into each new book as soon as I finish the prior.

For me, Releasing the Demons is a very strong four star read. Initially, I gave it a four-point-five star rating. Five stars are extremely hard to pull out of me, and such a rating is wonderful. After sitting and thinking for a while, I realised it isn’t quite that full four-point-five stars, but it is still an overly easy strong four star read. It was a great read, one any fan of the genre should pick right up. Without a doubt, I recommend it to anyone looking for a refreshing paranormal romance.

We enter a world that mixes together so many different aspects: some kind of dystopian future, vampires, and a unique collection of hybrids. It’s a world that pulls you in right from the start, and I positively loved it.

As amazing as it is – which I will elaborate upon shortly – retrospect has me realising it wasn’t quite all it could have been. Mainly, we’re never quite given a full explanation of the world we’re living in. We get references to events, we know things have happened, but we do not have a complete understanding. Such is where I felt a bit let down by the story: I wanted a better understanding of the world. I wanted to better comprehend the dystopian-like world we’re introduced to, rather than it simply being.

Nevertheless, I was pulled so into the world that such a thing didn’t really register with me until I had finished reading and stopped to think prior to writing my review. Honestly, the world pulls you in from the get go. There is so much action, so much going on, that you jump from one scene to the next without being given a moment to stop and think. The story is constantly moving, allowing you to watch the events slowly unfold before your eyes.

Did I mention how wonderful the story is? Well, it is. Wonderful, I mean. It’s dark and twisted; it is filled with so many emotions. There isn’t much by way of mystery, there aren’t that many surprises, but you are given countless moments of suspense and endless thrill. As I’ve already stated, the story is constantly moving. There isn’t a moment in which we’re left asking for more as we’re unable to stop and catch a breath. Even in the moments when the action slows down somewhat, we’re kept in a tight ball due to the emotions being forced to the fore through the interactions of our characters.

That brings me nicely to my next point, actually. Our main characters.

I’ll start by saying our entire cast is wonderful. I came to enjoy everyone, both the good and the bad. Not to mention the in between, as we’re given quite a bit of the grey area. Everyone has a role in the story, and I found myself wanting to read more about the characters. I’m so glad such a thing is happening in the next book, and I hope it addresses some of the issues I had with the characters in this one. When I say issues, know it is nothing big. It is little things, such as not fully understanding the characters to the degree I had hoped to. We understand our main characters on such a deep level, but there are a number of question marks surrounding some of our side characters. I loved them, yet I feel as though there were some blanks I want filling in. I’m hoping these blanks exist so that their individual stories can be told and explore these aspects fully, but I still would have liked a wee bit more for some of the characters.

As I stated, however, we get to understand our main characters so well. I cannot begin to explain how much I loved them, how much I enjoyed their chemistry. There were a few things I disliked about the way their story developed, but I was so in love with them that these things were quickly pushed to the back of my mind.

I’ll deal with the issues, first just to get them out of the way. First up, is the speed of the romance. It seemed to happen far too quickly. It’s a common thing in paranormal romances, but it always bugs me. I prefer it when we watch things bloom over time, I like watching things slowly bloom. We’re without the tropes here – there’s no ‘mate’ aspect to this story – but the speed was still a bit more than I would have liked. Second, is the turnaround in emotions for one of our characters. It’s the typical paranormal romance story of one character belonging to a group of monsters that has messed up the life of the other character. For me, our female changed her view much quicker than I felt fit with her personality. These were the only things I disliked about our main characters, but as a whole I loved them.

They’re both extremely complex. Each has a dark past that was thoroughly enjoyable to learn more about. Each has unique traits, aspects of their personality that make them a lot of fun. Most of all, they work so well together. They’re both such strong characters underneath it all, and watching the way the chemistry built up was beautiful. I could honestly say so much, but I’ll sum it up with one simple statement: the duo in this story is one of my favourites within the genre. Honestly, I want more from them. I really do hope they appear in the future books, allowing me to see more of their beautiful chemistry.

Honestly, I could rant on and on, but I’ll stop now. Just know this is a wonderful introduction to what promises to be a glorious series. I cannot wait to pick up book two, and I’ll be eagerly anticipating book three as soon as I’m done with it.

As a final note, I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review. You’ve certainly gained a fan in me!

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