Review: DEMON'S FALL

By Karalynn Lee

Blurb: 

When Kenan, an incubus, finds a caged angel for sale in the Hellsgate marketplace, he sees her as a challenge. Certain that his skills in seduction will work as well on a heavenly creature as they do on mortal women, he buys Jahel, intent on having her soul as a novelty in his collection.  Knowing he must gain Jahel's trust if she is to come to his bed willingly, Kenan treats her more as his guest than as his slave. When she reveals what brought her to the mouth of Hell in the first place—retrieving the soul of a young girl she was guarding—he even offers to help her complete her mission.  Though he has promised Jahel freedom, Kenan soon realizes she has captured his heart instead. And as their passion for one another grows, they find themselves caught in a struggle between Heaven and Hell, one that will lead them to the very edge of the apocalypse...

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In Demon's Fall, Karalynn Lee has cleverly woven together a classic fairy tale and sexy paranormal romance.  Jahel is the guardian angel of a young princess.  The girl's vain stepmother is told by her demon-mirror that the princess is far more beautiful than she is.  The evil queen orders a huntsman to kill the girl, but before that happens her soul is stolen by a hellhound.  We find out early that Jahel is not the most reliable guardian angel, but she is determined to find the girl's soul.  Jahel travels to Hellsgate, the town just outside of Hell proper and a place where angels are obviously unwelcome.  She finds herself locked in a merchant's cage at the Hellsgate marketplace.  An incubus demon named Kenan buys her from the merchant in hopes of adding a priceless angel's soul to his collection.  After hearing her story about the princess, Kenan decides to help her in her quest, and Kenan realizes it is her love he wants, not her soul.  Their happiness is short-lived when they discover that Jahel is not the only angel loose in Hellsgate, and the other has his mind set on bringing about the apocalypse.

What I loved most about Demon's Fall was the well-crafted story using parts of the Snow White fairy tale and solid world-building.  We're told about several realms: Heaven, Heavensgate, the Mortal Realm, Hellsgate, and Hell.  There's even another place forbidden to both demons and angels, a place mortals can choose if they don't to go to Heaven or Hell in their afterlife.  I really enjoyed the cast of characters living in Hellsgate, from a demon steed of the Four Horsemen to an evil demon-mirror causing mischief in the mortal realm.  There were parts of the book I felt could have been better.  The dialogue between the characters was a bit flat at times, and the chemistry between Jahel and Kenan lacked the emotional "fire" that I would expect between an angel and a demon.  I was quite pleased with the ending because I wasn't sure what the compromise between an angel and demon would be.  The last scene was a fitting end to Jahel and Kenan's story, and it even gave me a few chills.  I hope the author has plans to revisit her world of angels and demons in the future.

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley.