Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: Higher Demon

SERIES: The Collective #1

AUTHOR: Louisa Masters

PUBLISHER: Self published

LENGTH: 246 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 11, 2024

BLURB:

No matter the demon, the hunter’s role is clear…

A thousand years ago, my great-something uncle founded the Collective, a secret organization dedicated to protecting humanity from demons. The hunter tradition has been passed down over the generations, from parent to child, secure in the knowledge that the Collective is a community of safety and knowledge.

But betrayal sucks, and six years ago, it turned my world—and the Collective—upside down. After generations of deception, the hunters left behind are picking up the pieces and trying something we’ve never done before—working side by side with our enemy.

Demons, just to be clear. They’re apparently “misunderstood,” but the jury is still out on that. And I—a twentysomething archivist with an addiction to hoodies—somehow ended up as liaison to the demon ambassador.

If it sounds like a nightmare, that’s because it is. The demon ambassador is a stuck-up, pretentious twat… not to mention he could kill me with a thought. Worst of all, he’s getting under my skin in ways I never expected. But I’m the only hunter who doesn’t actively want to kill him, so… tag, I’m it.

I’ve already been betrayed by those I should have been able to trust the most. How hard can hanging out with a higher demon be?

The author recommends reading the Ghostly Guardian series for full background on what happened six years ago, though it’s not essential.

REVIEW:

Just a housekeeping note on this new series from Louisa Masters.  If you are going to read this series, please read its predecessor, the Ghostly Guardian series.  Trust me when I say this book will make a whole lot more sense if you do.  I am so excited to get my hands on this new book.  Ian and Marc have a very rough road to their HEA.  With their history this book definitely fits into the enemies to lover’s genre.

Louisa’s worldbuilding skills are top notch in this story.  Which being the first book in a new series, can be overdone with too many information dumps.  But with this book, we have just the right amount, just when it’s needed.  We get to explore a bit of the demon world as well as a hunter compound.

Which leads us into meeting our main characters of Ian and Marc, but also a whole new batch of side characters, plus some old friends from the previous series.  It just happens to be six years later in this new series.  We get such intimate looks into all the characters lives, that we feel the struggle of the hunters and the demons.  Marc and Ian coming to terms with their new relationship and the impact new villains bring to a whole new level of problems to be dealt with.

I really enjoyed this story.  We get a fresh peek into the lives of the next generation of hunters and their interactions with demons.  The writing in this story was so well done.  It kept me glued to the pages, with all the action, witty banter, adventure, and sexy times.

I make myself relax into the chair—which is so much more comfortable than it looks—and put my hands behind my head. “So… how’s your day been?”

He narrows his eyes at me and then looks pointedly toward the door. “It was lovely and solitary.” The pointed emphasis on the last word isn’t lost on me, but I take it as a challenge. Now I have to stay a little longer, just to prove my point.

Whatever that might be.

“Oh yeah? What were you doing? Plotting to eat the livers of your enemies?”

A ghost of a smile teases his mouth, then is gone, but I saw it. He’s enjoying my company, no matter what he says. “That was yesterday. Today, I gave feedback to a human who thinks he’s an author.” I cringe.

“I’m guessing the feedback wasn’t ‘This book is amazing, can’t wait for the sequel’?”

I highly recommend this first book of this new spin off series.  You should drop everything and run to your favorite eBook purchasing site and snatch this book up as fast as possible. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in this series.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon