The Good
I don't think anyone can deny how beautifully written this book was. It had a very poetic and lyrical vibe to it. As I read The Demon Lover, I felt like I was being lulled into a magical world where anything was possible. And the rich history and stories of mythical creatures was quite fascinating to read about.

Death by Sex, Not the Worst Way to Go...
Even as a child, Callie McFay can remember her shadow man and the wonderful fairy tales he told her during the difficult times of her life. But now that Callie is a grown woman, her shadow man has become much, much more. And his true identity as a demon lover leaves Callie unsure of what to do. But once she moves to Fairwick to teach at their college, she finds she has friends who not only know how to help her with the demon lover who is sucking the life out of her, but they too are mythical creatures. Callie never knew witches, fae, vampires, and other paranormal creatures really existed, but now that she does, her life starts to take very unexpected turns. Who can she trust? Will her life ever be the same? Can she love a demon, even if it kills her?

Callie has My Dream Job...No Fair!!!
Callie was an interesting character. Her field of study was pretty much the most awesome thing about her. She's made a career out of studying and writing about paranormal romance and gothic literature. Lucky wench. So reading about her knowledge and the many folklore stories that drenched this novel was pretty fun. I loved the references to modern novels and old literature/entertainment. We get mentions of Bella Lugosi, Dracula, Jane Eyre, Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse series, Victoria Holt, and the list goes on. I also liked Callie's independent attitude. She's not afraid of a little adventure and really doesn't need a man to make her happy. And her willingness to accept her new world of magic was admirable. I find it tiresome when main characters spend too much time whining when their perceptions of the world change. Callie is a tough gal though, she just accepted it and moved on.

The Phoenix...
All the side characters were very interesting as well. I loved how we slowly got to learn about them and their true identities. We get odd students and secretive faculty and staff that added great spice to this book. Liam was a great character that I wish we got to see more of. I LOVED Phoenix, another teacher at the college. I wasn't sure where her character was going but was pleasantly surprised to see how the author handled her. It made for some juicy drama.

Horridly Fascinating Tales...
Some parts of this book were downright enthralling. The writing was superb. I almost felt like I was reading a rhythmical poem that never ended. The lush description helped me feel like the pages were coming to life. The Demon Lover actually made me want to pick up some mythical folklore books so I could experience some more horridly fascinating tales.

The Bad
Let me start off by saying that the first 100 pages, maybe even 150 pages, were so sloooooow. It was very hard to get through, and I almost didn't finish it because it took me days to get to an exciting part of the story since I kept putting the book down.

A Day in the Life of...
The biggest problem with this book is that it wasn't what I expected. I pictured something quite different from the summary. The Demon Lover is pretty much a "history" lesson on mythical creatures, like the fae and demons, which is fun and all, but it became too much. I just wanted to get back to the story. Oh yeah, that's another problem. The story and plot. It was way too sporadic for my tastes. I also don't like books that read like "A Day in the Life of..." Callie was not interesting enough for me to enjoy reading about every part of her life. When she wakes up, how she gets to the college, what she taught in class, when she went to sleep. Come on!!! I don't care.

In Need of a Compass...
Then we have these most random events and stories told to us that just confused me more. This book was in sore need of direction. I had no idea where it was all going until the end. Wait, even at the end I still didn't know what the point was. Sure, some--and I stress the word some--things were wrapped up but most weren't. Then we have Callie working on this side project. She's trying to help this student with, well, I'm going to keep that secret so I won't ruin anything for those of you who still want to read this book, so let's just say she was helping this student out with some problems. We spend a good portion of the book leading up to how Callie can help this student. And in the end, the solution was so freakin' dull I wanted to roll my eyes, come to think of it, I did roll my eyes.

Also, if you don't like a lot of description, this book is not for you.

The Snuggly
We get a lot of sexual type situations but most of them are from excerpts that Callie is reading or dream sex. The actual real life sex is quite short or cut off. I didn't feel anything went too far and it was all tasteful. It matched the books theme.

The romance is another thing. I say this book was maybe only 25% romantic. It was all very odd. So much was going on in this book that the focus on the "main couple" was very minimal. It was hard to label this novel as paranormal romance because there wasn't much romance in my opinion, but I have no idea what else to categorize it as, so I went with its most common label.

Overall
It took me forever to get into this book. I like vivid description and fairytale mythology as much as the next person, but this does not make a novel. The Demon Lover really has no direction and the romance could have been so much more interesting. I did like a lot of the characters, which helped me get through the book. But I don't think I will be continuing the series. This book is recommended for those who don't mind an aimless plot and little direction, but love fairy tales, paranormal mythology, and a rich writing style.

Excerpt
"I don't see what despising commercial vampire dreck has to do with anything--"

"Dreck? What a snob! Have you ever heard of Anne Rice?

"No."

"Stephenie Meyer?"

"God, no!"

"Charlaine Harris?"

"Who?"

We continued arguing as he helped me bring up all my books and files. It took three trips, at the end of which we were both breathing hard and drenched with sweat.

"Sheesh, it's hot," he said, wiping the sweat off his brow with a red bandanna. "Would you like a beer?"

"At ten in the morning?' I asked.

"Now who's the snob?" he asked, throwing his hands up and walking out of my office.
The Good
I don't think anyone can deny how beautifully written this book was. It had a very poetic and lyrical vibe to it. As I read The Demon Lover, I felt like I was being lulled into a magical world where anything was possible. And the rich history and stories of mythical creatures was quite fascinating to read about. Death by Sex, Not the Worst Way to Go... Even as a child, Callie McFay can remember her shadow man and the wonderful fairy tales he told her during the difficult times of her life. But now that Callie is a grown woman, her shadow man has become much, much more. And his true identity as a demon lover leaves Callie unsure of what to do. But once she moves to Fairwick to teach at their college, she finds she has friends who not only know how to help her with the demon lover who is sucking the life out of her, but they too are mythical creatures. Callie never knew witches, fae, vampires, and other paranormal creatures really existed, but now that she does, her life starts to take very unexpected turns. Who can she trust? Will her life ever be the same? Can she love a demon, even if it kills her? Callie has My Dream Job... No Fair!!! Callie was an interesting character. Her field of study was pretty much the most awesome thing about her. She's made a career out of studying and writing about paranormal romance and gothic literature. Lucky wench. So reading about her knowledge and the many folklore stories that drenched this novel was pretty fun. I loved the references to modern novels and old literature/entertainment. We get mentions of Bella Lugosi, Dracula, Jane Eyre, Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse series, Victoria Holt, and the list goes on. I also liked Callie's independent attitude. She's not afraid of a little adventure and really doesn't need a man to make her happy. And her willingness to accept her new world of magic was admirable. I find it tiresome when main characters spend too much time whining when their perceptions of the world change. Callie is a tough gal though, she just accepted it and moved on. The Phoenix... All the side characters were very interesting as well. I loved how we slowly got to learn about them and their true identities. We get odd students and secretive faculty and staff that added great spice to this book. Liam was a great character that I wish we got to see more of. I LOVED Phoenix, another teacher at the college. I wasn't sure where her character was going but was pleasantly surprised to see how the author handled her. It made for some juicy drama. Horridly Fascinating Tales... Some parts of this book were downright enthralling. The writing was superb. I almost felt like I was reading a rhythmical poem that never ended. The lush description helped me feel like the pages were coming to life. The Demon Lover actually made me want to pick up some mythical folklore books so I could experience some more horridly fascinating tales. The Bad
Let me start off by saying that the first 100 pages, maybe even 150 pages, were so sloooooow. It was very hard to get through, and I almost didn't finish it because it took me days to get to an exciting part of the story since I kept putting the book down. A Day in the Life of... The biggest problem with this book is that it wasn't what I expected. I pictured something quite different from the summary. The Demon Lover is pretty much a "history" lesson on mythical creatures, like the fae and demons, which is fun and all, but it became too much. I just wanted to get back to the story. Oh yeah, that's another problem. The story and plot. It was way too sporadic for my tastes. I also don't like books that read like "A Day in the Life of... " Callie was not interesting enough for me to enjoy reading about every part of her life. When she wakes up, how she gets to the college, what she taught in class, when she went to sleep. Come on!!! I don't care. In Need of a Compass... Then we have these most random events and stories told to us that just confused me more. This book was in sore need of direction. I had no idea where it was all going until the end. Wait, even at the end I still didn't know what the point was. Sure, some--and I stress the word some--things were wrapped up but most weren't. Then we have Callie working on this side project. She's trying to help this student with, well, I'm going to keep that secret so I won't ruin anything for those of you who still want to read this book, so let's just say she was helping this student out with some problems. We spend a good portion of the book leading up to how Callie can help this student. And in the end, the solution was so freakin' dull I wanted to roll my eyes, come to think of it, I did roll my eyes. Also, if you don't like a lot of description, this book is not for you. The Snuggly
We get a lot of sexual type situations but most of them are from excerpts that Callie is reading or dream sex. The actual real life sex is quite short or cut off. I didn't feel anything went too far and it was all tasteful. It matched the books theme. The romance is another thing. I say this book was maybe only 25% romantic. It was all very odd. So much was going on in this book that the focus on the "main couple" was very minimal. It was hard to label this novel as paranormal romance because there wasn't much romance in my opinion, but I have no idea what else to categorize it as, so I went with its most common label. Overall
It took me forever to get into this book. I like vivid description and fairytale mythology as much as the next person, but this does not make a novel. The Demon Lover really has no direction and the romance could have been so much more interesting. I did like a lot of the characters, which helped me get through the book. But I don't think I will be continuing the series. This book is recommended for those who don't mind an aimless plot and little direction, but love fairy tales, paranormal mythology, and a rich writing style. Excerpt
"I don't see what despising commercial vampire dreck has to do with anything--"

"Dreck? What a snob! Have you ever heard of Anne Rice? "No. "

"Stephenie Meyer? "

"God, no! "

"Charlaine Harris? "

"Who? "

We continued arguing as he helped me bring up all my books and files. It took three trips, at the end of which we were both breathing hard and drenched with sweat. "Sheesh, it's hot," he said, wiping the sweat off his brow with a red bandanna. "Would you like a beer? "

"At ten in the morning? ' I asked. "Now who's the snob? " he asked, throwing his hands up and walking out of my office.