Quick Take - The Demontrapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

Following trends in Young Adult literature is like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands these days. The one solid thing is that paranormal romance is finding new ways to recreate itself in order to sell more books. The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver, at least, takes the genre in a new direction away from the now traditional vampires, werewolves, and angels. The otherworldly side of things is supplied by hell spawn, or demons as the title suggests. What doesn't quite come out in the title is that this book is a whole lot of fun, very readable and a nicely creative twist on what was fast becoming a tired sub genre.

While some of the characters are a bit one dimensional at times, the protagonist, Riley Blackthorne, is everything one would want in their heroine. She's smart, witty, and a pretty kick ass personality. She also has plenty of angst. She's the daughter of a demon trapper after all, a very perilous job at that. Paul Blackthorne gets in a little over his head and next thing Riley knows, her world is thrown upside down. Forced to make some difficult decisions, not to mention having to put up with the surly and almost reprehensible trapping partner of her father, Denver Beck, Riley shines. There's magic and angels and some pretty nasty demons to be dealt with. But there's also the super cutie Simon and the mysterious uber hunk Ori to brighten Riley's world. She soon finds, though, that even with these little graces, the real world is a lot more challenging and diverse than she could even have imagined. Apprenticed to the cruel Master Trapper Harper, she's faced with the constant threat of violence. Can she survive in this new world or will she crumble?

The Demon Trapper's Daughter is wildly imaginative and fresh with ideas. Jana Oliver's writing is easily readable and her characters are compelling. Add in some serious suspense, some super hotties, with a little magic and action, and this is a fantastic read for any fan of a well written book. By the time you finish, I guarantee you'll be wishing the next volume in the series was available. Highly Recommended Reading.

Work Cited.
Oliver, Jana. The Demon Trapper's Daughter. New York: St. Martin's, 2011.