Catching up with series books, part one

I'm a bit behind on reviews, and I've got several books I want to mention. Looking at my sidebar, I can't believe how long I've been in a paranormal mood. And it shows no signs of ending. Usually, as the days grow warmer, I start longing for something light and historical, you know, witty banter, aristocratic titles, house parties, walking gowns, ladies maids, compromising positions, that whole deal. But no, give me creatures of the night, and make it dark.

I recently finished The Demon You Know by Christine Warren. Ms. Warren has not updated her website in a looong time, despite my fangirly plea that she do so, if you want more info about the book than I'm going to give, click on the title for the Amazon link. This addition to "The Others" series takes place six weeks after "The Unveiling", during which the supernatural creatures have made themselves known to the unsuspecting, human public. Not surprisingly, the humans are having a bit of a rough time with this, and tensions are high. When a riot breaks out, shy, unassuming Abby Baker gets caught in the middle. Awkward, inexperienced and "plain" (a former Catholic School girl), the only remarkable thing about Abby is that she has one blue eye and one brown eye. Unfortunately, her mismatched eyes signify some sort of openness to the "Other" world, and in the thick of the riots a fiend named Lou takes the moment to make Abby his new residence. Abby soon finds herself in the thick of the supernatural world, and she doesn't think she likes it, espcially the tall, gorgeous, overbearing Demon named Rule, who wants the information that the fiend inside of her has.

This was another fun, fast paced romance, but I definitely found it to be weaker than the other two books I've read by Warren. I've noticed that this author likes her heroines strong and sassy, and I like the way she writes them, but in this case it didn't work so well. We are told how shy and mousy Abby is, but then she's all mouthy and confrontational with Rule. Now I can imagine that being possessed must really stink, and that it would have an effect on one's personality, but her words and actions sharply contrasted with her description. She also exhibited some TSTL behavior. The chemistry between Abby and Rule was good enough. But Rule didn't quite work either. He was the strong, silent, but somewhat overbearing type, but almost to the extent where he lacked personality. I would've also liked to see the world of the demons fleshed out a bit more. Another concern: once again, an immortal character was paired with a mortal one, but the implications were not addressed, which places a damper on the HEA.

But the pace was good, and the story was interesting, and I liked many of the secondary characters old and new (Abby's older brother was good). So I'll give this one a B-,and I hope there's going to be more. There was no sneak peek, and since the site has been updated, who knows?