Keys to the Coven Review

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Keys to the Coven by Vicky Loebel
Narrator: Emily Beresford, Nick Podehl
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on November 1st 2012
Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 360
Format: Audiobook
Source: Provided for review through Audiobook Blast/Boom
Goodreads

Welcome to "Keys to the Coven" a witty, tightly plotted, sometimes very dark, (adult) urban fantasy/romance set in an original universe where karma is power, sex is karma, and it's not who you know but whose soul you own that matters.

To become a demon, you must die in complete and utter despair. Three hundred years ago, Max passed that test with flying colors and joined the afterlife resolving never again to have innocent blood on his hands. Now a successful Demonic Intervention Agent, Max has been given the job of breaking Felicity Woodsen's family curse. But what she doesn't know, what Max can't bring himself to tell her, is that completing his mission almost certainly means her death.

When Felicity inherits her mother's coven, she learns each firstborn Woodsen daughter must become the consort of an evil-arch demon. Felicity's only hope is to ally with the mysteriously charming Max. But is saving her body from one demon worth the price of risking her soul with another?

Arch-Demon Roxashael landed in Hell when his Roman captors sent his family, one by one to be devoured by lions. The lesson was clear: power is good; lots of power is better. Two-thousand years later, Rocky has power. He's purchased hundreds of souls, and he's created the Minsk Homunculus, a magic artifact that, by binding a human witch as his consort, places him above the goody-two-shoes laws of karma.

But Rocky made a mistake. He fell in love with Felicity's mother and in a moment of weakness promised to give up his demon-consort charm. Now Felicity's mother is dead, the Minsk Homunculus is slated for destruction, and Rocky's power as an arch-demon is about to end.

No demon can break a promise. If Rocky refuses to give up the Minsk Homunculus, he'll become the lowest, most abject slave in Hell.

But then, why break promises when they're so easy to corrupt?

*Caution: This book contains violence, strong sexual themes, moderately explicit sex between consenting adults, (unfulfilled) threats against children, and one completely gratuitous reference to unicorns. Not intended for readers under 18.

 Julie’s Review:

This book, ugh. It just left me feeling underwhelmed, and while I was reading I kept wanting to speed it up and kept losing my focus. The audiobook was great – both narrators are good voice actors and are enjoyable to listen to. I actually couldn’t speed it up because the voices were already at a comfortably fast pace (which is how I like it). I also liked the “A Girl’s Guide to Demons” intros for each chapter – clever and fun. Another pro: I liked all the hellfire and dealing in Karma as currency. But as for the overall plot – it just wasn’t for me. The book was crude and I certainly didn’t enjoy all the parts about demonic rape of children heirs of this witch’s line. The characters were mostly irritating and obnoxious and I just didn’t care about them. Kill them, don’t kill them – just get on with it. But it took forever to “get on with it” and it felt like the plot was just going back and forth with over the top insanity but nothing got accomplished. I know we were supposed to be rooting for Max and Felicity (and family) but I felt like Max was just a whiny demon and Felicity was just nothing special. The book did have a great ending with some interesting twists, but at that point it was a bit too late to redeem it.

 

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