Product Description

Hope Adams, tabloid journalist and half-demon, inherited her Bollywood-princess looks from her mother. From her demon father, she inherited a hunger for chaos, and a talent for finding it. Like full demons, she gets an almost sexual rush from danger - in fact, she thrives on it. But she is determined to use her gifts for good. When the head of the powerful Cortez Cabal asks her to infiltrate a gang of bored, rich, troublemaking supernaturals in Miami, Hope can't resist the excitement. But trouble for Hope is intoxicating, and soon she's in way too deep. With a killer stalking the supernatural hot spots of Miami, Hope finds herself dangerously entangled, and has no choice but to turn to her crooked werewolf ex-boyfriend for help. What started as a simple investigation has spiralled into chaos. And Hope finds chaos irresistible ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3482 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Review
Praise for Kelley Armstrong's series: *'Exhibits the unique blend of dark horror, quick wit and flawless storytelling that is fast becoming Kelley Armstrong's trademark ... a gripping and enjoyable read' DREAMWATCH * 'Makes Buffy look fluffy' DAILY EXPRESS * 'A tasty confection of werewolves, sex and vendettas. Gory, sexy fun' SFX

About the Author
Kelley Armstrong lives in Ontario with her husband and two children.

Customer Reviews

Book 8 in the Otherworld Series
Hope Adams, a rare Expisco half-demon, has inherited a hunger for chaos from her demon father. When Benicio Cortez asks her to go undercover in a new supernatural gang, it's an opportunity to feed her addiction to chaos and to pay back the favour she owes the Cortez Cabal. But before long things are spiralling out of control and Hope is out of her depth. If she's to get out of this alive, she'll need more than her attraction for chaos. It will be up to Karl Marsten (werewolf) and Lucas Cortez (sorcerer) to help her survive.

I have to admit Hope is not my favourite Kelley Armstrong character and the author plays a tight line in this book. Too far one way and Hope loses all sympathy with the reader as it's incredibly easy for her to place her chaos addiction above the safety of her friends. Indeed one thing Hope proves over and over throughout the story is that she's not the best judge of anyone's character. She makes assumptions about Karl's feelings but is quick to accept other people (the gang members) at face value. So I find what I like most about Hope is how her relationship with Karl is explored.

I've liked Karl since his first appearance in Bitten, so love the expanded role he now has in the series. And he and Hope make a great pair, they are two flawed people who ultimately find a home in each other.

"I've never lived with anyone, Karl."
"Neither have I."
"I drool in my sleep."
"I know. It's cute."

Karl is much older than Hope, and it's his experience of having to deal with his werewolf side that allows him to help Hope with her chaos addiction, an addiction she can't get away from because it's genetic. In the same way that Karl can never get away from his werewolf.

Lucas Cortez is the second narrator of Personal Demon. This dual protagonist approach allows us to experience two different sides to the story. I'm always glad when we find out more about the Cabals, since reading Industrial Magic (Book 4) it's a part of this world that fascinates me. So one of the major things that lifted this story for me is the further insight into the workings of the Cabal. You can almost feel the tentacles of the Cabal structure pulling Lucas in. And it's also pretty obvious (to me anyway) that he would be a worthy successor to his father.

Although I think you could read this book and enjoy it if you've not read any of the other books in the series as Hope is a relatively new character and Karl has only played a small role in the other books. There is an awful lot here that picks up on events and characters from the previous seven books. There are references back to events in Books 2,3,4 and 7. There's also a very nice (but brief) update on Clay and Elena.

And once again I find myself counting down the days 'til the next Kelley Armstrong release.

Good but not quite there
After getting fed up with LKH books I looked for other similar books. I found The Women Of The Otherworld series and got stuck in. I couldn't put them down! The previous book I read in one sitting, so I moved onto this one hoping for more of the same. I never got it. Whilst I enjoyed the book I just never totally got into it. The plot seemed slow and contrived until it all heated up 3/4 of the way through. I don't know whether it was the double narrative or the fact I'm just not that into Hope as a lead character but this installment just left me unfulfilled. I'm quite unsure about the next book as it also features Hope again, but the reviews lead me to believe it is better than this one. Too many writers lose the very thing that made them great when writing a series. It seems once they've had success they think they can churn out any old rubbish as long as it ticks the right boxes. Kelley Armstrong isn't quite there yet but I'm scared she's on that road!

Great novel in the 'Women of the Otherworld' series
Hope Adams may seem like an ordinary tabloid reporter but she's something rather more than that, being a half-demon whose demon nature feeds on and revels in chaos. When she has to pay off a debt by carrying out a difficult and dangerous undercover mission amongst a gang of young supernaturals she jumps at the chance to prove herself, especially to Karl, her erstwhile lover. However Hope turns out to be rather good at her undercover job and infiltrates the gang deeply, soon realising that all is not well in the supernatural world. When becoming involved in murders and having to try to overcome her own attraction to the chaos of some of the gang's events she finds she has to rely on Karl as well as Lucas and his wife, people who might just see her as a young and silly girl. When the four of them start to investigate a string of murders Hope learns that things aren't always as they seem, despite her talent for seeing visions of events.

The book is told mostly from the perspective of Hope but there are some chapters from the viewpoint of Lucas Cortez. I wasn't entirely sure of the reason for this as I did feel it slightly interrupted the flow of the narrative and that this alternative point of view didn't add a great deal to the story; however it was interesting to read of Lucas's difficulties reconciling his situation as heir to his Father's Cabal (a supernatural business/cult) and his personal opposition to the Cabal system that operates almost like slavery for some.

Hope has appeared in previous books in this series which did mean that sometimes the reader felt like they had missed rather a lot of the plot of this book before it had started. This is particularly with regard to her relationship with Karl although their awkward discussions and embarrassment with each other following their former failed relationship were well written. The strong points of Kelley Armstrong's books are her characters, the supernatural world which they hide amongst the humans and her excellent pacing and timing. This book was always enjoyable to read, the various characters all felt very distinct and interesting and the world of the Cabals was a great setting to a story about a young woman growing up and growing into herself as well as finding someone who can understand and support her. Well worth a read, even for those who haven't read others in this series.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008