Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow

Anita is a necromancer, Dante is a necromance. Worse than that, she was just a cheap Anita Blake knockoff. She was a predictable, kind of boring bitch. Which is ok, but she had absolutely no dimension, or anything really relateable about her. Perhaps the biggest failing of this book was that there was nothing really to LIKE in Dante Valentine. That probably doesn’t make sense to you if you haven’t read the book, but those that have know what I’m talking about. Growl! Chillfreaks I hate Chillfreaks!…slicboard…gene splicing…Growl!…sparkling magic…Anubis! Anubis et’her ka!…I was being rude! He was being rude!.f-bomb…chillfreak…Growl! My initial impression of the first 200 pgs of the book goes something like this: I was excited to get into this new leading lady. The Dante allusion, working for Lucifer, it’s just…cool. I love our heroine’s name: Dante Valentine (Danny for short). It’s kinda pulp-y, in a good cheese kind of way. I actually really like the cover art (which is exceedingly rare for me in this genre–usually the covers look like crap and I just can’t like them).

Dante, who has a history with said demon (he murdered her old lover), takes the job, and is assigned Japhrimel as her familiar. A demon has stolen an egg from Hell, which could unleash some nasty shiz on earth. Jaf drags her to Hell with him, and the Devil forces Dante into a job. A big, hulking demon named Japhrimel lands on her doorstep, points a gun in her face, and lets her know that Lucifer himself demands an audience with her. Dante Valentine is a freelance necromance, and is at home watching her soaps on a slow weekend. I’m a fan of the genre, and of badass heroines in general. This book taps into the Anita Blake, badass paranormal heroine genre–which is totally cool. This is exactly how I feel about Working for the Devil. You know sometimes when you read a book, and you get that choked feeling of frustration at wasted potential? The I-wanna-tear-my-hair-out kind of frustration? Why did I read this book: I’m getting into the paranormal genre, and heard some good things about this series online. How do you kill something that can’t die?

The Devil hires Dante to eliminate a renegade demon: Vardimal Santino. But one rainy Monday morning, everything goes straight to Hell. Hot-tempered and with nerves of steel, she can raise the dead like nobody’s business. Necromance-for-hire Dante Valentine is choosy about her jobs. Stand alone or series: First in the Dante Valentine series Genre: Paranormal Fiction, Urban Fantasy, pseudo pulp-noir/futuristic?

Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow