The Demon’s Surrender – Sarah Rees Brennan Review

Progress on Alternate: 27,153 words

Current Review: Okay, so this is the last book in the series, and I already reviewed the first two. Hooray, actually managing to review the whole series for once. My next step on my bookshelves is actually, as predicted last time, a classic, so it will be interesting to address that, rather than specifically review it, in my next post. And given that it’s Austen, I might have some fun things to say.

ANYWAY, for this novel…

Again, I found the romantic focus of this book more than my hardened heart could take, but beyond that the story was good. Sarah Rees Brennan managed to keep that sense of adventure, and otherworldliness about this novel.

I also didn’t mention in previous reviews of the other books in this series that I actually adore the Goblin Market. Those sorts of things, magical worlds, market stalls, the idea that there is a magical undercurrent to the world, will always be something that draws me in. Not to mention the dances and earlier on, references to the maenads. Yes! Bring me the Greek references!

I like that this book gave us a chance to see things through Sin’s eyes, and admired her as a character. And as much as my heart is hard, I did find myself rooting for all of the relationships in this book to succeed. So you know, maybe I’m not such a stubborn old thing after all.

Overall, I love the way Sarah Rees Brennan created her world here, what she did with it, and how she managed to use that to develop her characters. And I think she ended it here in just the right place. There was a very clear, very structured and logical plot that I honestly wish I could keep up in my own writing. Maybe I need to ask her for tips!

-K Hart

The Demon’s Covenant – Sarah Rees Brennan Review

Progress on Alternate: 24,065 words

Current book review:

Well, this book loses some of what the first had. There’s a lot more romance, for one, which usually puts me off a book in general. But it wasn’t too bad. I liked a lot of the premise, the adventure… could have done without the need for people taking their shirts off and such. So sue me. I have a cold, hard heart when it comes to my fantasy.

Anyway, it kept at least the snark and the tone that I loved, with some excellent one-liners throughout. Also, rather noticeably for me, we had the luck to have a badass mother character. In YA! That’s like seeing a polar bear on a beach. I always appreciate when children’s and teenagers’ books show parents as something other than ‘the enemy’ or ‘ridiculously oblivious and/or stupid’. I know it’s something we do to subvert the idea that the children are not capable of their own adventures… but I like seeing a parent who shows a very warm, very adventurous side of their own. Not all adults are terrible and boring. I should know, I am one.

Beyond that, I really liked the idea of Nick learning how to be more human in his responses. That really struck a chord in me somewhere personal, and it was very well done. And so much of this story was betrayal and love and complex understandings of other people that I found I really appreciated those moments.

So, overall I did enjoy it. As a personal point I could have done with less kissing and more doing stuff, but I also recognise that some people CAME for the kissing. And hey, Sarah Rees Brennan redeems herself by managing to address much of that problem, and keeping it sarcastic and dry rather than becoming super soppy or… even worse, descriptive… Good for her. But you know, I think I need to read some nice, non-romantic things after this series… (except I think the thing on my shelf after this series is very possibly an old classic, which may result in me reading several descriptions of swooning *sigh*… I suppose I can’t have everything).

-K Hart

The Demon’s Lexicon – Sarah Rees Brennan Review

Progress on Alternate: 19,181 words.

Current book review:

It took me a little time at first to remember why I kept this book. Or, indeed, the whole series. When I first started re-reading, it felt very much like a typical YA book. YA isn’t necessarily that familiar to me as far as I can recall – I read what was known as YA much later, but I’m discovering more and more of my book collection that would count as YA now, even if it didn’t then.

The Demon’s Lexicon is the first book in, if I remember correctly, a trilogy. It has the incredible bonus of being a YA that focuses on mostly a brotherly relationship rather than a romantic one, which sells it to me immediately. While romance is mentioned, it’s clearly not the focus of this book. Instead, the relationship between Alan and Nick takes forefront.

This story contains demons, magic, and a pretty interesting concept of magicianhood. While it gets off to an almost formulaic start for me, it quickly improves to the point where I am more than happy to announce it as part of my book collection. What concerns I had at the beginning about the odd brotherly relationship began to disappear as the story continued, and I found that once I had accepted this, I could fully appreciate a book full of snarky sarcasm and interesting characters.

I don’t want to mention too much for fear of spoilers, but there are some nicely-foreshadowed twists here, and it’s a pretty fun genre read for those who are looking for that. The only issue I did have was: ‘The Demon’s Lexicon’? I saw no lexicon. Give me lexicons, if it’s in the title, dammit!

I wouldn’t necessarily encourage that people see this book, and this relationship, as a blueprint for their own, but it’s certainly an entertaining read. Again, it’s been very quick, and I can definitely see how YA and books like this are growing as a genre among adults as well as their official target audience.

-K Hart