on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
- Get link
- Other Apps
Re-read.
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 400
Started: 1 October 2023
Finished: 3 October 2023
Summary:
Until a few decades ago, humans had no idea about the great battle between Demons escaped Hell and the Wardens who, in their gargoyle forms, were more than capable of sending the Demons back below the earth. Now, though humans are vaguely aware of the war playing out in front of their eyes, practically no-one knows about Layla--half Demon and half Warden, she's grown up in the Warden compound, but she's always known she could never really fit in. When she meets Roth, an upper-level Demon who has information about her Demon mother, Layla is forced to reassess everything she thinks she knows about the Wardens.
Thoughts:
This time through this book was very different from my first. I do still believe that JLA has a talent for writing chemistry, but I was much more critical this time about the misogyny in the novel. There was a whole lot of waiting-around-for-the-men-to-arrive while Layla ineffectively and femininely attempted to fight. There were also lots of off-hand sexist and fatphobic remarks that were both distinctly 2000s and distinctly unnecessary.
This book did achieve a very interesting combination of religious symbolism and flippancy, which I really appreciate; I love when demons and gods are integrated into fantasy, especially urban fantasy. JLA also did a good job combining expository with narrative (something I've been thinking a lot about lately), which is a good reminder that her writing can be deeply 2000s-YA and still have something to teach.
I don't regret reading this book, and I may go on to read the rest of the series this fall, but also I don't think I'll be recommending it to anyone in the near future.