The Demon Trapper's Daughter - Jana Oliver

Holy moly! I spent my Saturday with Riley Blackthorne, heroine of The Demon Trapper's Daughter, the first book in Jana Oliver's Demon Trappers series. It was fantastic! I really loved this book!

Riley Blackthorne is an apprentice demon trapper. Her father, Paul Blackthorne, is well-known in the industry and Riley plans to follow in his footsteps. But when Paul is killed while trying to trap a Three, Riley finds herself suddenly alone and fending for herself. First thing she has to do is protect her father's body from the necros. Second is figure out how she's going to pay the rent. Third is how she's going to survive.

I was hooked on the very first page! 2018: Atlanta, Georgia. Really? A near-future teen read with demons? That's enough of a premise to spark my curiosity. And it only gets better. In the opening chapter, Riley, a stubborn seventeen year old, chases down a Biblio-fiend and wrecks a library. This book totally comes together in an incredible way. Everything -- from the setting and characters, to the plot and the writing -- everything worked for me!

And one of my biggest likes is that Oliver doesn't talk down to her audience. There's nothing overly kiddy about Riley or about the writing, something I think some authors struggle with in writing teen fiction. It seems to have come to Oliver naturally.

I can't wait to read the second in this series. In fact, I was tempted to begin Soul Thief immediately after finishing The Demon Trapper's Daughter. I think I'll save it for next weekend, but it's going to be hard to wait!