Demon Driven

I likde it, but at the same time I think the author fell into a huge trap that a lot of new authors fall into.

As a rule, a main protagonist that is so powerful that nothing can stand in his way…is boring. Where is the tension if all of his enemies fall with a sweep of his hand? There should be a gradual increase in not only the power of the protagonist but the threat posed by his enemies as the series moves forward. The key being that at any point in time the main character only possesses the bare minimum of power necessary to deal with the threat posed in that particular book. Anymore and there’s no tension. And that was ultimately what this book was missing, tension. I’m still interested in seeing where this is going but I’m disappointed to see that the author fell into a trap that a lot of new authors fall into.

I mean really, he can alter matter on a molecular level, allowing him to render guns useless. BORING!

On a side note: Mother of God man, learn how to use an exclamation point more sparingly.

Note: This is book 2 and it mostly works as a stand alone novel but is definitely better if youve read book 1.

Book 1 was just OK for me, not great. Book 2 doesnt wow me either. In this book, Chriss powers have grown exponentially. This made the plot predictable and boring. Nothing and no one can really stand up to Chris and he hasnt even tested the full limits of his powers. Its too much in too short a time. I never really worried about Chris getting hurt or his friends and family being slain.

The ladies are still in the backseat for this story. They dont really affect the plot other than Chris worries about his girlfriend Tanya. We do finally get to see the lady vampires fight a bit but Chris is still the main focus. In general, the story refers to the adult females as girls and that always bugs me. If it was just Chris doing it, I would say its part of his personality. Alas, its all the male characters, giving the story a sexist feel. I do appreciate that Gina Velasquez doesnt fawn over Chris like all the other female characters. However, her role in this story is pretty small.

Theres also this Native American aspect to the story. We were introduced to Okwali, the spirit bear that follows Chris around, in book 1. Okwali gets a bigger role in this story and he is a fun character. Chriss physical appearance has changed from book 1, which is explained as his powers have grown. So hes gone from a Caucasian man of Irish heritage to looking Native American with his darker skin. Im not sure what to make of this. So far, Chris is not aware of any Native American heritage in his family. Is this melanin envy? Cultural appropriation? Im not sure but I hope the series explains it better.

The action scenes are written well though I wish there were more of them. This book is definitely more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. A lot of time is spent on the main romance and on Chris going on and on about his looks and why he doesnt like his body. 3/5 stars.

The Narration: James Patrick Cronin continues to do a good job of narrating image-obsessed Chris. I still like his Russian accent for the vampires. He also has some harsher voices for the Loki werewolves and the government agents. His female voices sound like ladies. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

Other reviewers complained that the Chris, the MC, was overpowered, but I can tolerate a bit of that so I did not think it would be a problem. I was wrong. The MC is overpowered to a level that makes the action scenes tedious and irrelevant. The limitations on his power are that he has the maturity of a 13-yer old and is dumb as a rock. He does not use his power with wisdom or cleverness, and when he gets into trouble he pulls out another miraculous power. He has an *unbelievably* hot girlfriend; they wander around with no obvious relationship but deeply in love. When the sh%t hits the fan, he has his bear buddy to bail him out. It seems like this is just a bad second book that more or less kills any suspense for the series. However, later books get better reviews, so perhaps the author gets a handle on it moving forward, and the MC gets a clue. I might skip a few books and see if the later ones are interesting.

I was looking for something similar to Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files” series and ended up reading the first 4 books of this series => I will post this same review for all 4 of them.

I enjoyed a lot the first 3 books – a steady pace, some romance but never overdoing it, a lot of action and some interesting concepts & names & informations => 5 stars and I think I might read them again in the future.
For my taste they’re not as detailed and funny and creative as Jim Butcher’s series, but still, they were quite light (although I get crazy when the 2 main characters are separated) and enjoyable.

I quite liked the first half of the 4th book (mainly when the main chars were doing their job as “rovers” in the wilderness), but then things started going downhill: some of the vampires were quite stupid, the main character still had his personality problems, there were a lot of open questions and the book itself was open-ended.

Therefore, 5 stars for the first 3 books (you could read only those ones and then stop), but only 3 stars to the fourth mostly because of the bad 2nd half and the bad & open-ended ending.
For the time being I’m taking a break from these series.

Demon Driven
The Demon Accords, Book 2
By: John Conroe
Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
This continues the wonderful and exciting series. I really can’t get enough of it. I am hooked on the vamps, the weres, the great plot and twists, the excellent fighting, the special bond between the main characters, where and how Chris’s powers are growing, his new invisible friend, and so much more! This is a powerful series and it sucked me in and I am letting it!
The narrator is the same so that is helpful and he is perfect. He makes it like a movie in my head. No mistakes, perfect voices, and great emotions at the right times. LOVE IT!!!
Bought the book then added the audible because it was so cheap…so worth it!!!

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