by Michelle Rowen
ages: 12+
First sentence: “‘That guy is staring at you.'”
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Review copy sent to me by the publisher.

To tell the truth, I was hoping this book would be really bad. It would be so easy to make fun of: Nikki just turned 16, and has discovered that her father — who left her mother soon after Nikki was born — is the demon king of the Shadowlands, the border lands between the human world and the Underworld. There’s a budding forbidden romance with one of the Shadow people as well. It’s the kind of hip, supernatural stuff that’s all the rage right now, no thanks to Stephenie Meyer, and I was primed to mock it.

Yet, it didn’t suck.

Sure, that’s not the same as saying it was really good, but still. The whole thing kept me entertained while I was on the elliptical for several days running. Granted, once I was done, I didn’t really think about it until I got back on again. But it did make the workouts fly by.

I think much of my problem with it — if you can call it a problem — was that it took itself too seriously. I think I would have liked it better if there more tongue-in-cheek humor, something to say that this is fun, this is not to be taken seriously. Which is kind of what the cover suggests. Except there’s issues, problems — like domestic abuse and almost date rape — as well as political overtones, and evil family members. I wanted it to be a romp, a laugh, and while it was entertaining, it wasn’t that.

Sigh.

At least it didn’t end in a cliffhanger.