When Life Gives You Demons
by Jennifer Honeybourn
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Demons
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Pages: 272
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Some people have school spirit.
Shelby Black has real ones.
Shelby Black has spent the past six months training to be an exorcist. Her great-uncle Roy―a Catholic priest―has put her through exorcist boot camp hell, hoping to develop her talent, but ohmygod, he still doesn’t trust her to do an exorcism on her own.
High school is hard enough without having to explain that you fight demons for a living, so Shelby keeps her extracurricular activity to herself. The last thing she wants is for her crush, Spencer, to find out what she does in her off time.
But Shelby knows how to keep a secret―even a big one. Like the fact that her mom left under mysterious circumstances and it’s all her fault. Shelby is hellbent on finding her mom, no matter what it costs her―even if what it ends up costing her is her soul AND a relationship with Spencer.
Review
I enjoyed When Life Gives You Demons (WLGYD). It’s a fun, easy-to-read story. The premise is interesting and Ms. Honeybourn throws in a few plot twists for good measure.
However, WLGYD suffers from Harry Potter syndrome (too much build up, not enough final battle). At about 75% of the way through the book (according to my Kindle app), there was still no sign of the final conflict happening soon. In fact, I assumed that this must be the first book in a series simply because there didn’t seem to be a final conflict coming.
But nope. We get the final conflict the entire book leads up to. Except it only lasts three pages — on my phone, no less — so maybe one and a half pages printed. It was a s much of a let-down as Harry’s final battle with Voldemort.
I’m also a bit confused about Shane. He’s introduced as though he’ll play a significant part in the story, but then doesn’t get even a mention until a cameo near the end of the book. It’s almost like his part got cut in final edits.
That said, those are really my only issues with WLGYD, so that’s not bad. And I have to award it a few extra “cool points” because Ms. Honeybourn specifically mentions that Uncle Roy uses fountain pens, and that’s awesome. If she’d mentioned which fountain pen he was using, it would be even better. 😉
Overall, it’s an interesting read, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes non-horror demon stories.
Giveaway!
About the Author
Jennifer Honeybourn works in corporate communications in Vancouver, British Columbia. She’s a fan of British accents, Broadway musicals, and epic, happily-ever-after love stories. If she could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, she’d have high tea with Walt Disney, JK Rowling, and her nana. She lives with her husband, daughter and cat in a house filled with books. Wesley James Ruined My Life is her first novel.
Author links: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter
Disclaimer: This review is based on a complimentary eBook I received from Xpresso Book Tours. The complimentary receipt of this book has in no way affected my review or rating.
Great review, Rachel! This sounds like a fun, quick beach read! 🙂