Review: Demon Soul by Christine Ashworth (Caine Brothers #1)

Publisher - Crescent Moon Press
Publication Date - April 2011
Genre - Paranormal Romance

Source - Received from author for review

Rating - 2.5 out of 5: I liked it

Book Info - Gabriel Caine stands on the edge of the abyss. A vampire has stolen his soul and if he doesn't get it back soon, his next step will be into Hell. Only the naïvely mysterious Rose can help him retrieve it. Without her, he really will become the devil himself.

Rose Walters has been sent back from the dead to complete one task-save Gabriel Caine. She's drawn to Gabriel on the most basic level, but restoring his soul may cost Rose her life.

Rose has touched the whole of Gabriel, making him yearn for a love he believes he can never have. Her willingness to put her human life on the line for him forces him to bring all three parts of himself—demon, human, and Feri bloodlines, and the strengths of each—into harmony and into the fight that decides their fate.

My Thoughts - What I really liked about this novel is that it brings some originality back into the paranormal genre. Gabriel and his brothers are tri-breeds - a mixture of demon, fae and human - and they have each inherited slightly different characteristics from their parents. Rose is also very different from any other characters I've read about. This meant that I became intrigued by these characters from the very start.

I think that the novel moves along at a good pace, with a nice balance between the romance and action elements. The author slowly unravels the story, meaning that the plot kept me hooked and I was always guessing at what would happen next. I also liked the way that Gabriel's relationship with his brothers is portrayed. Gabriel has been on his own for a decade and we see how each member of the family was affected by this absence and also how they have to work at building a new relationship once he comes home.

However, I found it quite difficult to like Gabriel very much. He experienced some bad things as he was growing up and as a result he goes into a self-imposed exile. And when he comes back home in Demon Soul, he continues to keep his distance from the people around him, especially Rose. I couldn't help but feel as though he was taking the easy way out rather than dealing with the issues of his past. Plus he does far too much brooding for my liking. Near the end, once he accepts his feelings for Rose, he does become more likeable but I wish that this could have started happening sooner in the novel.

Summary - A new twist in the paranormal genre that is well-written and gripping. However, my inability to click with the hero meant that I did not enjoy the story as much as I would have liked. I am still intrigued enough by the concepts introduced in Demon Soul to continue with the series and see what the author has in store for the other tri-breeds.

Other books in the series:
1. Demon Soul
2. Demon Hunt

Other reviews of this book:
Judging the Book By It's Pages / Reader Views

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #10 for 2012 Speculative Romance Reading Challenge
Book #14 for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge