Review: Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie

Taming Demons for Beginners
(The Guild Codex: Demonized #1)
by Annette Marie
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy
Publication date: Sept. 11, 2019
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:

Rule one: Don’t look at the demon.

When I arrived at my uncle’s house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don’t practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.

Rule two: Don’t listen to the demon.

My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I’m supposed to act like I don’t know how illegal and dangerous it is.

Rule three: Don’t talk to the demon.

All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn’t find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn’t notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn’t break the rules.

But I did, and now it’s too late.

When Robin is stuck at her uncle’s house due to him withholding her inheritance, the last thing she expects is to find out that there’s magic. Let alone the fact that her family are summoners who contract demons. Basically, they call upon a demon from their realm, and then wear them down to the point that the demon will sign away their freedom and will to be the human’s slave. So, when Robin not only stumbles across the demon in her uncle’s basement, but befriends it, well…. let’s just say things get interesting really fast for Robin.

One thing that I really enjoyed about this story is that you never knew when the other shoe was going to drop. Is Zylas going to turn on her and kill her? Will anyone find out that Zylas isn’t an actual contracted demon and is still in full control of his mind and body? Who else will betray Robin in order to get their hands on Zylas? There was always just so much waiting in the background that it was hard to let your guard down as a reader.

Which brings me to what bothered me about the book… Robin. She is completely over her head. She doesn’t understand this world she’s in and yet she continues to do stupid things. Like chasing after a very powerful demon that your demon does not want to fight, only to push them into a fight. Maybe, I don’t know…. listen to your demon! She also puts her trust into people too easily for my liking. I just felt like a few of the situations she found herself in could have been completely avoided if she had just been more cautious.

This was a good intro into the world the author created. Considering that Robin is new to their world, it will be interesting to see her grow as a character. I’m also interested to see how the bond between her and Zylas grows since they are clearly partners at this point.