Review: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper’s Daughter (Demon Trapper #1)
Jana Oliver
Published: Feb. 1, 2011 (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 3 stars

Riley Blackthorne is training to be a demon trapper. Just like her dad. It’s a tough gig capturing hellspawn. As if being the kid of a famous master trapper wasn’t pressure enough, Riley is the first girl to be allowed into the Trappers’ Guild. And not all the guys are happy about it.

But for reasons unknown, the demons are particularly interested in Riley. She’s sent to capture a level one demon, the kind that are more nuisance than malevolent force, and a top-level demon is on site who knows her by name. All the demons know her by name. And when tragedy strikes, she’s at a loss with grief while the demon’s continue to strike out more viciously throughout the city.

Most of the novel is written in Riley’s point-of-view, but we also get to shift over to Beck. He’s also in training to be a trapper, though much further along. He’s not too much older than Riley, but as he’s technically an adult and close with her dad, he sees it his role to protect her. This means she thinks he’s kind of a jerk, albeit a hot jerk.

Jana Oliver captivated me with her refreshingly new demons and the Guild members who hunt them. It’s easy to step in the shows of main character Riley Blackthorne. Her choices, while frustrating at times, feel so very right and she’s just generally likable.

However, I spent the first half of the book constantly thinking of how much The Demon Trapper’s Daughter reminded me of Lili St. Crow’s Strange Angels. The unique world was great, but for the first half the plot didn’t have me wanting to stay up all hours to read on.

Luckily, a little over halfway through The Demon Trapper’s Daughter things kicked into gear. The shifting all the focus away from standing vigil at a grave site (and its implications) to character interplay — especially the romance angle — made The Demon Trapper’s Daughter pick up the pace and things finally became so good I couldn’t put the novel down. Oddly, I didn’t fall for the boy Riley ends up dating. (No spoilers!) I’m hoping she’ll end up doing a little smooching in the next novel with a certain trapper. Fingers crossed.

Bottom line: Between the unique world and the super strong finish in The Demon Trapper’s Daugther, I’m definitely up for reading more of the Demon Trapper’s series.

Sexual content: Kissing.