Review: Daemons in the Mist by Alicia Kat Vancil

Posted September 2, 2015 by Lola in Fantasy, Review, Romance / 10 Comments

LolaReview

Daemons in the Mist Daemons in the Mist (The Marked Ones Trilogy #1)
by Alicia Kat Vancil

Blurb:
Accidentally marrying a beautiful stranger—what’s the worst that could happen?

We all have that one thing—that one thing we wish for on every first star of the night. Wealth. Fame. Love. For geeky artist Patrick Connolly, it is the attention of his beautiful and seemingly unattainable classmate Nualla Galathea. However, when he accepts her invitation for a spur-of-the-moment weekend trip to Vegas, the last thing he expects is to wake up married to her. Or to find out she’s not even human.

Patrick may think his wish has just come true. However, this gentle boy is about to find out that it will take more than artistic talent to combat the deadly secrets lurking behind the clever construct of illusions and supertech that conceal the world of the daemons from human eyes. Because when it comes to these gazelle-horned creatures, one false step might just get you killed.

In her mesmerizing debut series, up and coming author Alicia Kat Vancil leads you on an unforgettable thrill ride through the swirling fog of San Francisco that will leave your heart pounding.

My Review:
I first heard about this author when I was attending a facebook release day party for another author. Alicia Kat Vancil mentioned you could get a free copy of her first book by joining her mailing list, I thought the book sounded good, so thought why not and signed-up. Having just finished this book I think it’s a good thing I signed-up for that mailing list as I want to read more books by this author.

Daemons in the Mist takes the cliché plot line from normal human meets supernatural and fall in love and manages to twist it into a great story. While there are some cliché parts and the book is a bit predictable at times, I had a lot of fun reading this. It was exactly the type of book I was in the mood for and I like this author her writing style, the pace flowed really well and there was enough happening to keep my attention. There is some foreshadowing about events that take place later in the book and I thought it was well done. There was a small twist with a lie and a birthday I wasn’t a fan of around halfway the book, but that was only a minor issue. Towards the 70% the pace really picks up and I couldn’t put the book down, twist after twist surprised me. There are some really well done twists towards the end of the book and I feel like it sets things up for the second book. The ending wraps things up nicely, while still making me wish I had a copy of the second book to read already.

I thought it was interesting that this book was told form both point of views, Nualla the female Daemon and Patrick the normal human male. I also liked how it was the female who was the supernatural instead of the male. Both are great characters. Patrick has a bad home situation, only a few friends and is often a bit self deprecation. He always had his eye on Nualla and then one day he comes to her aid and she finally notices him and he was a chance. Nualla looks perfect, but actually her life is more complicated than it seems from the outside. I thought Nualla and Patrick made a nice couple. Beside these two there are some interesting side characters like Nualla her family, Travis and Patrick his best friend Connor. They all had enough personality to get a feel for their character. I thought it was a bit weird how Connor was so accepting of all the secrets Patrick kept, but he seemed like a great friend.

While the romance stars with them meeting and pretty soon marrying each other, it still builds nicely. They don’t declare their love for each other until later and the whole marriage thing is sort of a joke that turns into an marriage as they are both drunk and after that they start to really get to know each other. I liked how this was handled. I was afraid it would go a bit too fast when they got married so early in the book, but strangely enough it worked. They get closer to each other and I liked them together.

The focus isn’t on the world building, but the author did a great job of weaving world building into the story. I am not a fan of angel and demon stories, but here they treat daemons more as just another supernatural creature. And there are good and evil daemons, but it doesn’t get elaborated on until later in the book. I usually don’t like classifying different species as good or evil, so I am curious how that issue will be handled in later books as the evil daemons don’t play a big part in this book until the end. Beside that we learn a bit of daemon culture, how they have their own language how they hide in the city and how their society works. I liked how we got to know a bit about the daemons, but still hoped for more and I am hoping for more answers in the next book.

To conclude: this was a great book, it was fun and enjoyable and exactly what I was in the mood for when I picked it up. It was a bit cliché at times, but I thought the author handled the story very well and there were enough surprises and twists. The pace was done well, although the pace did increase towards the end of the book. The characters were likeable and even the side characters had enough depth to get a feel for their personality. The romance took some time to develop even though they get married early in the book and I liked them together. There’s some world building woven into the story, but a lot of questions still remain. The ending was well done and makes me curious about the next book!

4-star

Links:
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Would you rather read a well done cliché book or a badly done original book?

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10 responses to “Review: Daemons in the Mist by Alicia Kat Vancil

    • I am now reading the last book in this series and I really enjoy this series, so glad I discovered this author. I really like her writing style and also bought the first book in her new series, even though it’s a fairytale retelling and I usualy don’t read those.
      I hope you’ll give this series a try!
      Lola recently posted…Review: Daemons in the Mist by Alicia Kat VancilMy Profile

  1. I think its fun that you found a new book at the party and were able to get the first book through the newsletter. And even better, it was a really good read. 😉

    Sometimes the Vegas marriage deal can be fun and believable if written right. It’s humorous that he not only woke up married, but to a female who isn’t even human.

    I don’t mind cliches if done well so I would definitely prefer that book to the badly done original.
    Sophia Rose recently posted…Boots on the Ground by Rebecca Crowley #ReviewMy Profile

    • I agree as long as clichés are written well and the author still brings something original to the plot or how the story is written, I prefer that over a badly written original story as those often disapoint me because they had so much potential, but it fell flat.

      It was such a weird coincidence how I got to read this book and then I was deciding what to read and picking this up and I am so happy I did. The Vegas Marriage trope was done well especially with the paranormal elements thrown in.
      Lola recently posted…Review: Daemons in the Mist by Alicia Kat VancilMy Profile

    • I think this is one of the first authors where I gave it a try to subscribe to their newsletter for a free book and I have to say I really like it. If I wouldn’t have liked it I porbably would unsubscribe later, but now I am happy to be part of the newsletter as I definitely want to read more of her books. And it’s nice to be able to get the first book in a series a try for free and then buy the rest of the series if you like it.

    • Yes I know what you mean, here the main idea and plot was a bit predictable, but the way the author writes it still made it stand out form other books in the genre. I am now reading the third book and it’s such a great series, really enjoying it and I like the author her writing style. And if you don’t like the book you can always unsubscribe from the newsletter again.
      Lola recently posted…Review: Daemons in the Mist by Alicia Kat VancilMy Profile

    • The world building is doen well, but the focus isn’t reall on it. i would’ve liked a bit mroe, luckily the story and characters make more than up for it and it’s not like there are glaring holes or anything, it’s more that I personally prefer a bit more world building in this book. In this series it’s very subtle woven into the book, but it is well done.

      This book is more a paranormal romance, the paranormal aspect is very important, but it does take place in this world. The focus is more on the romance and the characters and what they go through and it has a strong story and plot.

      With the marriage at the start I was afraid it would be too insta-love like, but while there was an instant connection they still took the time to get to know each other as well.
      Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: Does it matter in which language you read a book?My Profile

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