Review: Soul Thief

Soul Thief
Jana Oliver
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Pages: 339


Riley Blackthorne is beginning to learn that there are worse things than death by demon. And love is just one of them…

Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad.  With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.

But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever…

I liked The Demon Trapper's Daughter more than I thought I would. I enjoyed that one, and I couldn't wait to see more of Riley in this book. While I didn't find this one as charismatic as the first, I still enjoyed it. 

One thing that bothered me about this book was the romance. In the first one, there was a romance, but it took more of a backseat in the story. And I liked that. I mean, I like me my romance as much as the next person, but it was refreshing. But I felt that it took up a bigger part of the story in this book. Which would be fine. But I felt that it was more forced than it should have been. It introduced more characters liking Riley in this book, even if she doesn't know all of them do. At times it was a bit over the top, but it probably would have been a different story without it. And while I'm on the subject I must put out there that I'm team Beck all the way. 

This is one of the more creative and interesting worlds that I've read about in a while. I love the idea of it. And I feel that none of the demons seem too cheesy or overdone, which could have easily been done.

I really liked Riley. The thing about her and about this book is that we see more of the kind of person Riley is from other people, such as Beck. We still see plenty from her, but I think it adds to it. She is a very kick butt heroine. There were times in this book that the decisions she made annoyed me, but not too much. And while there are plenty of guys pining for her, her main focus is still getting her father back.

I cant' wait to see more from this world and its characters. The ending of this book left me dying for the next.