Review: Demon's Consort by Lori-Anne Cohen

Demon's Consort by Lori-Anne Cohen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Richly Imaginative Paranormal Romance

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is definitely set up to be the first book of a series, however, the story comes to a good strong HFN conclusion, which always makes me happy whilst I wait for the next book.

This book is a little different as it is about demons, who aren’t the traditional evil creatures who delight in torment, but absorb the darker energies of humans. Anya is a human who was raised with the knowledge of demons as her long-ago ancestor is consort to a demon who is on the ruling council, and was loosely involved in her life.

Anya is in her early 40s and a professor at a university in Paris, where she has lived for many years. She has no contact with her family other than her uncle occasionally by phone as he is still in Russia where she spent her childhood, in the family-run circus. When Natalia, her ancestor, tells her she is part of a prophecy and she is destined to meet her demon mate. She wants to brush her off. Eventually she gives in to the demands and goes to the club she has been told the demon owns, with her best friend Gwen, who is a witch.

Declan has been a demon for 800 years and is destined to serve on the council. In order to do that he has to find his consort because when he mates his powers will increase. The council have been pestering him to seek out his consort and he’s been reluctant. Then when Anya walks into his club his whole life feels turned upside down.

This book starts out as a traditional paranormal romance with fated mates and all that entails but gradually becomes something much more interesting. Their set up is actually much more complex than appears on the surface and there is a lot of danger for them to face. As well as Anya and Declan, this story introduces us to lots of really interesting people. Declan has several demons in his household who help him manage France and Belgium, the areas under his control for the council. These demons all have their own stories to tell, some of which get touched on in this book, but many stories are hinted at to intrigue you for future revelations. They are all really interesting characters and feel well thought out and fully realised.

Anya brings her friend Gwen into the family and also a young demon who is a student of hers, Luc. There are other characters surrounding the story and they all interact with each other as well as the main characters, which I love, because it makes them more real to me.

I love Anya so much. She’s such a complex character. She’s strong, assertive and bold. At the same time she shares her vulnerabilities with her closest friend, and later with her mate. She’s been lonely most of her life and has still hidden much of her past from Gwen, because she is scared to lose her. She is intelligent and physically capable. Growing up in a circus meant she got to indulge her passion for knife throwing from an early age. She also taught herself to fight with them. Basically, she’s amazingly competent. Competent female characters are like catnip to me. We so rarely see them, so when I do, I beam with happiness.

Declan is interesting in that he is a ruthless leader who doesn’t hesitate to punish transgressors, but at the same time cares for his people and the humans under his protection. He isn’t ambitious but accepts what he has been given to look after because he knows he can do the job right. He is mentally flexible, despite being 800 years old, who started life as a farmer. However, he was ahead of his time when he was a human and even taught both his son and daughter to read, an unusual thing that long ago. He is very protective of Anya, but he tries not to suffocate her. This is another trait in a male character I like, one who fights his alpha instincts to let his mate make her own choices.

The world-building in this story is well done and gradually revealed over the course of the book. It is solely focused on the world of the demons with the human world being on the periphery, though it is still important because some of the characters have their roots there.

The plot is very twisty. It took me a little while to get into it. The first chapter was a little obscure in places, but once I had that under my belt the plot just got better and better. This author has a great imagination and I can’t wait to see where this story goes next. Anya has already proved herself to be a bit of a closet matchmaker, so I’m sure the other’s relationship situations may get tackled in future books. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this author produces next.

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