"The Grimrose Path," Rob Thurman

Pros: Wonderful characters, adventure, and world; love what she’s done with demons
Cons: …
Rating: 5 out of 5

Spoiler NOTE: If you haven’t yet read Trick of the Light, wait until you have to read this review. The first book is best if it unfolds without any foreknowledge on your part. And while I do my best to avoid spoilers for previous books, it can be tough when massive things changed over the course of the previous book.

Trixa is now only a little more than an average human, and that means she’s vulnerable. The least of that is discovering that she needs to exercise if she wants to keep her figure. Somehow she has to keep demons and angels alike from discovering just how vulnerable she is… for several years. But at this rate she’ll be lucky if she gets through a week. The high-powered demon Eligos is all too interested in her after she managed to successfully con him, something that doesn’t often happen to a demon. Unfortunately Eligos is the least of her worries right now. You’d think it would be good news to find out that something had killed more than 900 demons in six months, but instead it could mean the end of the world. And naturally, it falls to Trixa and her unlikely companions to save it. She might be human, after all, but she still has the soul of a trickster.

I love Rob Thurman’s take on demons in her Trickster series. Sure, they can be sexy—being pretty and charming makes it easier to lure people to them, after all. But the demons in The Grimrose Path, book two of the series, are murderous psychopaths who will eat you whole in a heartbeat if you fail to see past their charm—probably literally. And they aren’t even at the top of the food chain. Really, all of the characters have bite in their own personal ways. Leo with his dark past, dark enough to put any demon to shame. Trixa with her zest for punishment and chaos. Zeke with his black-and-white take on things. And Griffin, who feels that he has an awful lot to live down now that he knows what he used to be. None of them can go back to what they were, and they’re all in such terrible danger that it definitely keeps the pulse pounding along the ride. I loved watching Zeke and Griffin’s relationship in all its ups and downs as it develops.

The world is delightful. I’ve always loved the milieu Thurman created for her Leandros Brothers series, and now we get to see a whole different layer of it. This book is a great mix for fans of both series. I have to admit I wasn’t sad to see no sign of Eden House in this one—they didn’t live up to the other elements of the world.

Much like the last book, Trixa uses a wing and a prayer (although not the angelic kind) to stitch together a patchwork quilt of plots and plans and desperate gambles in her attempt to do the right thing. We’re left hanging on for the ride by our fingertips trying to stick with her and wondering how she’ll manage to weave it all together at the last minute. I found it as entertaining as Trick of the Light, and without the over-explaining that book occasionally suffered from. This is one series I’ll definitely follow for as long as Ms. Thurman keeps writing books!