I purchased a copy of A Devious Descent from the author, A.A. Powers.

When light fades and shadows play, the realm eater comes to take you away.

Frankie Hart thought she was as human as they come—until her brother vanishes, and she unravels a truth that shatters her world. Not only is she half-demon, but she is also the key to a prophecy that could either save or obliterate the human realm.

Zarreth, a demon from the Dark Realm, takes it upon himself to hunt Frankie and prevent the prophecy from unfolding. However, the longer he watches her, the more he becomes drawn to her in ways he can’t understand. His obsession grows when Frankie’s search comes to a dead-end, and she turns to Zarreth for help. Could she be his fated mate?

Together, Frankie and Zarreth must navigate a world where allegiances shift, and enemies lurk at every corner. Will Frankie succumb to the darkness inside her and become the instrument of destruction foretold? Or will their bond be enough to keep the darkness at bay?

This was pretty lackluster. I mean it was fine, just kinda milquetoast. Despite my copy being over 350 pages, not very much actually happened. (I say my copy because it’s double-spaced—who does that—and I’m assuming not all are.) I liked the characters well enough. The world seems like it could be interesting. There’s some humor in there and some easy LGBT representation. I appreciate the cross-gender platonic friendships, even if the author seemed to feel obligated to make the friend gay in order to see it as a possibility. But the story itself? Meh. It’s inconsistent. There are plot holes. The emotional elements are conveyed with the subtlety of a hammer. I didn’t feel the love (or even the lust) develop, so it felt unsupported. Characters do stupid things for plot progression when perfectly logical alternatives that make a lot more sense are available to them. The end is predictable, etc. I’ve certainly read a lot worse. But…yeah, meh.

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