Early Book Review: Blood of the Demon by Rosalie Lario

Blood of the Demon by Rosalie Lario begins a new series of paranormal romance novels and is set to be released on August 2 2011. Keegan is a demon from another plane on a mission to stop the destruction of the multiverse. He is working with his brothers to find the woman that could hold the key to one evil demon’s plan, and kill her if all else fails. Brynn is that woman, and she turns out to be more than Keegan bargained for. She is strong and has some gifts of her own, thanks to the heritage that involved her in this mess to begin with. To add to the problems they face, Keegan and Brynn feel an attraction for each other that they cannot fight no matter how hard they try.

The action of Blood of the Demon takes place in our world, but in a version in which there are many alternate planes. While this is not a new concept, it is handled well here. Earth mythology has reshaped the unexplained things we have seen from other planes and shaped our version of demons and angel, while the reality of these creatures is different. Like any other group of people, some are good and some are bad. So far nothing new, but here it feels more comfortable than cliché. The attraction and love story between Keegan and Brynn is well done, and rife with conflict and angst. My only complaint is that the characters seemed a little shallow. There was plenty of history lined up for both, tragedy and conflict that could have fueled further exploration, but only basic discussions were had. There was enough given for each of the main characters to have me like them, but I felt that there just could have been so much more. Brynn was smart, resilient and brave while Keegan was an alpha make with a tormented soul. This combination makes for an entertaining paranormal romance. The brother's powerful relationship and family dynamics add even more entertainment to the story.

Overall, I do recommend Blood of the Demon to fans of the paranormal romance genre. The story and characters were enjoyable. While there could have been more done with the characters, they still offered enough to drive the story. The world building was very well done, and the character interactions were splendid. Readers that have enjoyed Karen Moning, Karen Chance or Angela Knight will particularly like Lario’s work. I will be checking out the next book in the series, which I suspect will continue the story arc begun in Blood of the Demon while offering romance to one of Keegan’s brothers.