The Demon's Covenant

Excellent book! So many things happened, both good and bad, and every character had to make a very difficult choice. ( )

You know what I like about these books? They are the perfect blend of "ahhh, oh my gosh!" action, "I want to quote ALL the things" and "that was not a tear, there was something in my eye." I can't describe them any better than that. ( )

I never realized I had a thing for teisted demons with no feelings whatsoever :/

Review to come. ( )

by Sarah Rees Brennan

Okay, I'm kind of taking a deep breath here, because I've got two different reactions going on. On the one hand, I am someone who's religious and pretty traditionally religious at that. Which is to say, if someone told me that they didn't want to read this series because of the demon thing, I would totally understand that. But, oh man, these books are good.

Demon's Covenant is a sequel, following The Demon's Lexicon, which I didn't tell you about. I enjoyed the first book, despite figuring out the twist about fifty pages in. Well, it's a little bit obvious. And then I read the second book. And there was much laughter and tears and confetti. And as a warning, there will be some spoilers for the first book in this review. So go read that first, if you're so inclined.

Opening line: "'Any minute now,' Rachel said, 'something terrible is going to happen to us.'"

The first line brings up one of the things that I loved: Mae has friends. Actual real friends who she does things with. This is nothing short of amazing. And I think it's fabulous.

So, we're a month or so after the end of the first book. Mae is in trouble with her mother. Jamie is hanging out with Gerald--yes, THAT Gerald. Alan and Nick have a mysterious issue that they can't seem to work through.

This book was told mostly from Mae's point of view and I loved that switch. Mae is honestly one of the most fabulous heroines I've come across in a long time. She's strong and scary at times, without having to prove that she's just as good as anyone else. She's just plain awesome as is. It was great to see Nick and Alan as she did. I almost wished that she could have narrated the first book as well, although actually it wouldn't have worked nearly as well. I do think that her emotional response helped me to feel this book more than I did the first. Which makes sense, given Nick and all.

So Nick. Nick is heartbreaking. Something about him, about his hopeless attempt to become more human, about his deepest fear just makes me want to cry. (In fact, this book did make me cry. Four times.) Brennan is walking a fine line here, trying to emphasize his alienness while at the same time keeping him sympathetic enough to care about. I think she manages it very well indeed.

The interactions between Jamie and Nick were amazing. Hilarious. I already knew that Brennan could be really funny* but the first book wasn't quite so amusing so I wasn't entirely prepared. This time I laughed out loud several times. But Jamie isn't just there to be the comic relief. In his own way he's as heartbreaking as Nick. And the end...oh the end.

I haven't said anything about Alan yet, which isn't because I don't like Alan. FAR FROM IT. Alan is awesomeness. Alan is swoonable. There is no argument. In fact, I've been trying to come up with something else to say to prove his awesomeness and can't.

And this book has so much to say about love and the stupid, wonderful things we do for it. I was really impressed by the fact that the most unconditional bonds in both books are between family members. Romantic bonds, at least so far, are more...fraught. (I have opinions about these romantic bonds. Strong ones.) It has a lot to say about the cost of decisions as well. Each character makes a difficult decision, one which is not without consequences. There are things which happen which are irreversible, which will not be solved with the wave of a wand or all the magic in the world. Brennan isn't pulling her punches here, and as much as it breaks my heart, I also totally respect her for it. So yes. These will be books that stay with me for awhile, for all the right reasons.

Book source: public library
Book information: Simon & Schuster, 2010


* She did write the best summary of the Attolia books EVER. (Scroll down a bit, although the rest are great too.)

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After waffling over reading the series for awhile, I read the first book and liked it, despite calling some of the twists. Then I read the second book and fell into a pile of mushy goo. Mae is wonderful. Jamie and Annabel are heartbreaking (I cannot think of the end of the book without choking up). Nick is infuriating. Alan is swoonable, if somewhat evil. And I actually kind of have a soft spot for Seb and Gerald too. I am fearful for my favorite characters, but I also am hyperventilating at the thought that there are still 5-6 months before the third book comes out. I think a re-read is in order SOON. [2010 in books] ( )

Okay, wow. I loved this book. I'm a bit knocked off my feet at how much I loved this book, because I liked the first in the series, but not any more than I like my average fun and well written urban fantasy YA novel. This one, though, is just ... wow. I don't think I know of any trilogies where the second installment is streets better than the first, but there you have it.

Maybe the way Sarah Rees Brennan has chosen to vary her POV character between books helps. Last time the narration stayed with Nick, who is awesome but not ... terribly sophisticated in his understanding of what's happening. Or vary varied in his emotional response, for that matter. Covenant has Mae as its POV character, and I love her so. I love that she is textually identified as a feminist character, and that she drives so much of the action. I love her tshirts, and her self confidence and bravery.

And I love that unlike most supernatural-fighting teen ensemble casts, the non-magical character with no special abilities and no weaponscraft is a woman, but one who is not a damsel, not ridiculously beautiful and not obsessed about that, and who insists on not being sidelined.

I'm excited for the next book, and for the narration character to be Sin. More awesome! ( )