Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)

TITLE: Demon Familiar

SERIES: Wanted #1

AUTHOR: Bellora Quinn & Sadie Rose Bermingham

PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing

LENGTH: 244 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 19th, 2018

BLURB:

Sometimes when you don’t know what you want, life gives you what you need. 

When Neil Markovic witnesses the murder of his mother by Bone Men his world is thrown into turmoil. On the run from the assassins that killed her, his sorcerer father and the police, Neil finds help in the form of a tall half fae alchemist named Malachai. Mal seems more accepting than most of Neil’s demon bloodline, but curiously immune to his charms.

Malachai Valentine, disgraced scion of a noble Leprechaun clan, back in the Old Country, is happy living as an anonymous scrap dealer. Using his talent for alchemy to make fuel and potions, most days he doesn’t even think of his ruinous past. When a scared young man with a fancy car crashes into his life, at first, Mal thinks he can do without the hassle. But as Neil begins to get under his skin, Mal starts to reassess his hopes and ambitions.

Harassed by megalomaniac fae and stalked by sorcerous killers at every turn, Malachai and Neil must fight to be free, and to find what they both truly wanted.

Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, murder and non-consensual sex.

REVIEW:

Wow! What an exciting book! I love a good urban fantasy story, and add in a couple of good sex scenes, and I am sold.

Neil is on the run from whoever murdered his mother, the only asset he has is his mothers expensive car. He needs to turn it in to cash, and ends up meeting Malachai and Mercurio through another man, in hopes they will buy his car. Instead of finding financial help, Neil finds a friend, protector, and eventually lover in Mal, and after a bit of trust is built, a protector in Merc as well.

But before Neil and Mal get to the good parts, they have to go through some bad parts. Including a fight that ends with Neil being taken by Vargas, a nasty piece of work. Which leads to Neil and the non-consensual sexual contact warned about in the blurb. I will give a bit of a spoiler and say that section of the book walks the line of rape, but doesn’t quiiiiite go there. It was enough to make me uncomfortable though, so if that is something you are leery of reading, you might need to skip those chapters. Neil also gets caught up in some abuse as well, mostly off page, but he is beaten some in our “viewing”. But that section is not much in the overall story, luckily!

Anyway. So Neil has some issues, and drags Mal into his drama. Then Merc is drawn in, and Varga’s brother Felipe and his people, all are signed up to fight against Neil’s sorcerer father who would like to use Neil as a power source until he’s all burnt out. Basically this becomes a battle of the bunch of mismatched warriors fighting the bad guy, against all odds. You’ll have to read it to see how it goes!

I loved this book! I am a fan of urban fantasy, which may or may not have romance or sex, but this has both, making it even better. The slow building relationship between Mal and Neil is just perfect. They are in a tough situation, Neil is young and vulnerable, Mal is very much his protector, so there is the potential for an imbalance in power, but that never happens. Mal is too honorable for that. He doesn’t take advantage of Neil, either sexually or by selling his car and stealing his money. Or by turning him over to the police. Merc is of the opinion that he should be turned in, kicked out, or sold, Mal defends Neil even to the point of damaging his relationship with Merc, his father figure. But both Mal and Merc come to respect Neil as he proves himself worthy of their trust.

There’s a little left unsaid in this book, that I’m hoping will eventually be explained. I was left wanting to understand why Mal is ostracized by his family, and what exactly is going on with his wings…. A good amount of world-building is done, but more would not be amiss! I am hoping we see more of Neil and Mal and how they are getting along. I did love them together, they do start off on shaky ground, since Neil is so vulnerable, but eventually begin to work together well. Then move on to flirting, friendship, sex, and love. With a little rescuing thrown in for fun! There is also a fantastic cast of characters here, I actually had to look up what kind of fae Felipe was at one point. Merc as well… I want to know more about all of them!

Speaking of sex…. There isn’t a huge amount of sex in this book, just the right amount actually. The two are pretty innocent sexually, at least as far as male lovers on Mal’s part, none of the above on Neil’s part. So they go slow, and sneak into it. I felt the speed was just right considering their personalities and the issues they are dealing with. The sex scenes were very well done, sexy but not smutty, if that makes sense!

So yes! I loved this book. I have read co-written books that Bellora Quinn worked on, but I don’t think I’ve read anything by Sadie Rose Bermingham. I can imagine it’s challenging to collaborate on a book, and these two have figured out how to make it work. This is just a great book, and I can’t wait for more in this series!

If you are a fan of UF you need to read this one. If you haven’t read much, this would be a good one to try to see if it’s your cup of tea. I loved Mal and Neil, and other than a little discomfort at a few scenes with Neil, I totally enjoyed this book!

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Pride Publishing

Amazon