Personal Demons

I’ll open by saying I do really enjoy this series, to the point I’d call it one of my favorites even. I think Elliott Kay is both a talented writer, that is in sheer terms of writing ability, and a very great author, that is in terms of creativity, plotting, and characters. I’ve read all three of the main Good Intentions series books and am working through Life in Shadows now. I’ve got them in both digital format as well as on Audible, and highly do recommend the Audible versions if you’re interested as the narration is fantastic. I also will say that I’m not going to bother to avoid spoilers, but I don’t think this would affect enjoyment of the book much even if you haven’t read it yet.

That said, this is as much directed at the author as potential readers; I’m hoping he’s like a lot of indie writers (including, hopefully, myself once I stop being lazy and finish my first story) in that he checks reviews out. I considered leaving a message on the blog (and may some time,) but this is directly focused on the story here, and to a lesser degree the series as a whole, and some worries I have going forward.

Before that, I love these characters, though. I love the world he’s built, the urban fantasy is done very well, the story is great, the characters and relationships are fantastic, and the erotica is great. Alex and Lorelei most of all I absolutely love, and can’t wait to see more of. Which, incidentally, also leads into what I think made this book the weakest of the three. I’ve been mulling this over in the few days since I finished it, and at first I was going to say it was three mistakes that I think weakened this entry, but it really ties into one major thing: the book treats Alex as a side character, and splits him off from Lorelei.

The previous entries have been great because the heart of the series is the relationship between Alex and Lorelei. Even Rachel, as a co-equal partner, is not as much so in the driving force simply because she is less complicated, and less conflict-prone in terms of the story; the rules of the world and her own character make it so. The driving force in the first book is Lorelei and Alex figuring out the relationship, and their growth. There is conflict in the relationship, and the relationship invites outside conflict, thus driving the story. It’s extremely well done and I really need to go rate the first book five stars.

The second book, while not as good as the first, is still a fantastic one. I’d say four and half stars. It also starts, though, a trend that continues into this book, but does it far better, in that it focuses on one of his friends as a major secondary character, and their relationship with a new character as a major factor. It works fairly well because they’re both fairly good characters too, and its kept still as a side and parallel aspect to the driving force, which is still focused around Alex and Lorelei. Meanwhile, the internal drama of the relationship is still there, with Alex struggling to deal with his life and Lorelei’s wealth and also coming to deal with the balance in the relationship in terms of it being ‘open’ and the like, as well as coming to terms with the idea of being a ‘Master’ in small part, and so on. It’s done really well, even if I’m mixed on certain parts (but that’s probably more my own preferences rather than anything really wrong with the story itself.)

The third book, though, makes a mistake in that it entirely loses the central focus and core that makes the story work, which is Alex and Lorelei. While obviously their relationship and they are both driving factors, the issue is that it sets up Drew as a major character, while also bringing back Taylor and giving her a small arc tease, and ALSO focuses on Onyx and Molly. There are multiple major antagonists, and in the process of the story it more or less side-lines Alex. The absolute best part of the story for me was Alex coming in to Lorelei doing her thing and surrounded by a bunch of other guys and the verbal banter there, because it showed both growth and also focused on the best part of the series, which is their relationship.

And then it drifts off, because Alex gets sent across the world and Lorelei goes to hell and literally they do not interact again until the climax of the book. And truthfully, the worst part is that Alex and Lorelei and Rachel could have had a really fantastic set up here with Sammael, who adds a ton of potential dramatic tension and conflict points for all of them and the relationship, and it’s, I feel, woefully under utilized.

Further, the issue with the hell plot is that Lorelei, Alex, AND Rachel all had a part in Baal’s death, yet are left out of the plot entirely. This is also a wasted opportunity. I could see a whole nest of potential interesting plots that could have sprouted from that. Instead, we get an interesting but less fulfilling in some ways plot with just Lorelei (who I admit I love the new design with stripe and the like on. Hope that stays.) It’s honestly a shame, because Sammael was also underutilized as a character. Essentially, because it was so densely pack, very few characters felt like they had fulfilling arcs; Taylor gets sort of one but it never really has a lot of resolution that seems to matter, Drew kinda does but it’s still kind of just… there.

And further still, breaking the bond between Alex and Lorelei (well, one of the bonds) actually has its own issues, because that had interesting potential story implications that now… simply don’t exist, without contriving a way to have it return. This, itself, could be used for drama, but I still feel its somewhat… well, less fulfilling.

Also, it does run into some issues in that there is little to no conflict inside the friend group. The ‘good guys’ all share the same moral vision in most ways, it seems, with little conflict between them. Indeed, the first book did this far better, as there WAS some conflict in places, it seemed. The second and third? Not so much. This makes them somewhat uninteresting in relation to each other, which would be fine if they were just side characters supporting Alex and Lorelei and Rachel, but they’re giving more prominent billing as an ensemble here, and it doesn’t carry.

Now, I’m going to have to touch on politics, in as much as I feel the books focusing more on certain aspects of it. I don’t entirely know where the author places on a political compass, though I can guess a few things. I know where he doesn’t, and ironically had a jab in the series (well, loosely) about my own views, but it was a. in character and b. funny. Which, incidentally, is largely I think accurate in general: the characters always seem in character, because the author does a good job of establishing them. I will admit some minor cringing at certain parts, but broadly it was well done.

The handling of the concept of the white savior and Syria in general were actually very well done, I enjoyed it because despite my obvious political differences with the author, I feel like that is a place we can somewhat agree and it was handled exceptionally well. Treating it as a dynamic and complicated situation where folks living their real lives have their own conflicting views without delving too much was good, but I can’t help but feel it felt… off, in a way, still? Like, the thing is, sending Alex to Iraq and Syria didn’t feel like it added much to the story, it just sidelines him, maybe setting up stuff for the future but at the cost of the story he was in at the moment. Of all parts, it felt the most like the author wanted to make a statement or talk about Syria, and so it happened… and I felt it hurt the story, even if I broadly agree with the way it was handled.

And I am looking forward to the future, I wanna be clear. I’ll be day one buying the sequel as I do crave to know what happens next with these characters. I still really enjoyed this book, but I was hoping for more. I still do hope for more too, though, so there is always that. I still have hope that things will continue. And, to be fair, even if they continued as they are now, I’d still be on board, cus I love the characters that much. I do, though, hope that we see a return more to form of the older books, rather than this one.

First one was good. Second book not as good. This one made me decide not to read any more by this author. I won’t spoil it for anyone, but I hate the direction the whole relationship with Lorelei is going. Also seems like Alex is becoming an extra for the majority of the time only to come on strong for brief periods. I’m done.

Been meaning to write a review before now, but have been busy. However after re-reading the series again I just have to comment that this book needs a volume 4 since it left us with the cliff hanger with both the secret organization and what’s been happening with our favorite R-Rated Version of “The Scooby Gang” we’ve all come to love reading about.

I’m glad Alex’s friends are being featured more and like the fact the succubus who tried to kill him in the first book escaped after Lorelei left Hell which leaves us wondering what she will do now that she’s back on earth.

Rather than go on about the cliff hanger I will suggest anyone who likes Angels, Demons, and an MC who goes from victim to total bad-ass should not just read this book, but get all three volumes of the “Good Intentions” series!

Again I hope Mr. Kay will give us a new volume in the near future which I for one will gladly purchase!!

Not as racy as the first one but there’s much character development and plot progression that happened here. It has more action now and more fun, not in the naughty way though.

Fans for the first book’s erotica nature might be a bit sad that the author cut down on those sex scenes a lot. However, those who followed through because of the plot, simple and weird as it is, might find this entry a bit more satisfactory. Big things happen over the course of the book and it closes off with a teaser that there’ll be a next book in the series.

I’m personally just not sold on the “triad” partnership the main characters have though. Although the entire series revolve around this relationship, I find the reason as justified in the plot and through dialogue between the characters flimsy.

If you haven’t read the first two books of this trilogy, I would strongly urge you to do so. Start with #1 – that will quickly tell you whether you are the type of reader that would enjoy these books. Personally, I loved it! As the title of this review indicated, #3 is not quite as strong or fun as #1 or #2, but it’s still a great way to spend a few hours! All three books are technically stand-alones (no cheap cliff-hangers to get you to buy the next book), but you will definitely get more out of #2 and #3 if you’ve read the one before. My recommendation would be to download a sample of them, read the author’s introduction (which is delightful in itself), and determine if you can enjoy the content without getting offended.

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