Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Genre:
Speculative Fiction/Fantasy/Occult/Supernatural/Urban Fantasy
Approximate
word count: 100-105,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Authors:
Hope
Schenk-de Michele and Paul Marquez:
“Hope
Schenk-de Michele and Paul Marquez have been best friends for more
than four decades. They both grew up in Los Angeles, California, and
share a passion for mystery and science fiction. This passion led
them to create the forever young and beautiful daughter of darkness,
Lucinda… To assist in bringing Lucinda's story into the literary
world, Hope and Paul enlisted the help of Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff as a
collaborator… All three authors reside in California: Marquez in
West Hollywood, Schenk-de Michele in Toluca Lake with her husband of
twenty-two years, and Bohnhoff with her family in San Jose.”
To
learn more about Hope Schenk-de Michele and Paul Marquez check out
Lucinda’s Pawnshop website.
Or, if
you dare, check-out Lucinda’s Pawn Shop on Facebook. *Mwahahahaha*
Collaborating
Author:
Maya
Kaathryn Bohnhoff:
Maya
Kaathryn Bohnhoff: “Maya became addicted to science fiction when
her dad let her stay up late to watch The
Day the Earth Stood Still.
Mom was horrified. Dad was unrepentant. Maya slept with a night-light
in her room until she was 15… Maya lives in San Jose where she
writes, performs, and records original and parody ) music with her
husband and awesome musician and music producer, Chef Jeff Vader,
All-Powerful God of Biscuits… To top it off, they've also produced
three musical children: Alex, Avery, and Amanda.”
To
learn more about Ms. Bohnoff and her many works be sure to check outher website.
Description:
“Lucinda
is as old as humanity itself, yet perpetually young, beautiful, and
endowed with supernatural powers. She lives a double life—human and
immortal. In her human guise, she manages Lucinda’s Pawnshop &
Antiquary, the doors of which can open to any street anywhere in the
world at any time. Mortals who have arrived at a moral or spiritual
crossroads are drawn into the mysterious shop. If they acquire one of
its cursed artifacts, they may find themselves drafted into Lucifer’s
service.
Born
out of a betrayal of trust between the first woman, Eve, and father
Lucifer, Lucinda has worked covertly and subtly for millennia to be
true to her mother’s love by subverting her father’s schemes. She
wins freedom for some; Lucifer keeps those who fail for eternity. She
has to be careful, for Lucifer has placed her under the watchful eye
of the fallen angel Nathaniel, whose real intentions are a mystery to
her.”
Appraisal:
You
can get the jest of the story from the blurb. That is the tip of the
iceberg. There are at least six story arcs going on in this book. I
want to count Nathaniel as a story arc also though, he intrigues me
the most of the fallen angels, and adding his would make seven. So,
we have the basic good versus evil plot with the twist of Lucinda
(Lucifer and Eve’s daughter) thrown in the middle. Lucifer
kidnapped Mariel when she was five-years-old and brought her into his
realm of the Between, renamed her Lucinda, raised her with his
influences and watched her grow into her powers. The struggle within
her is real and she must be careful subverting Lucifer’s goal to
start the end of times, Armageddon.
Lucinda
must also try to piece together how all the story elements fit
together. Lucifer does not reveal his game, and it is a game to him.
We have lawyers dealing with insider trading and funding terrorist
groups in the Middle East. Covert military missions manipulating
religious factions, precious antiquities that affect their owners
thinking processes. A handsome and devout journalist who is handed
the story of a lifetime. Witches, demons, fallen angels, religious
cult fanatics, and a love story. All of these components are expertly
woven into Lucifer’s grand scheme.
With
all of this going on around her, Lucinda experiences a human emotion
she has never felt in all the millennia she has been alive. The
awakening passions concern the human journalist, Dominic Amado. She
knows she should walk away for his own souls safety, peace, sanity...
She just can’t. I couldn’t help but love Lucinda. She has a
strong spirit, and she’s level-headed, intelligent, and can be as
devious as her father. It’s going to be interesting to see how she
tries to make this relationship work with Dominic, who also has a
strong character and a bit of darkness in his own soul. However, he
is working hard to redeem himself.
The
plot has a nice pace considering all the elements incorporated into
the story. It also takes place all over the globe. Distance is not a
problem for Lucifer and his ilk, they just pass through the between
to be anywhere or anytime they wish to be in the blink of an eye.
However, not all demons have this ability. This turned out to be a
unique read and I hope to continue the series. I have great hopes for
Lucinda and Dominic if she can keep him alive. Lucifer is not a
threat to him, but there are a couple other factors that may be.
Also, as I said at the beginning, I look forward to learning more
about Nathaniel, I think his role will become more involved as the
story develops.
FYI:
There
were no F-bombs dropped, and sex was behind closed doors, which
really disappointed me but didn’t warrant dropping a star for.
Devil's
Daughter: Lucinda's Pawnshop is
book 1 of a series. This first book does not end in a cliff-hanger
but some story arcs are unfinished, in a not too suspenseful way, to
hopefully continue in the next book.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Practically
perfect.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
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