I really enjoyed this paranormal thriller! It is a uniquely interesting and imaginative story that will have you mesmerized from page 1 right up until the end. The characters are well written and interesting.

The main character is Arrow and she’s driven to expose the government conspiracy of how her parents and thousands of others died in the War. To do so, Arrow has to align herself with dangerous criminals known as the Specials. “They are magic misfits and criminals, recruited and blackmailed to fill ordinary positions within the Sinistera Hotel.”

Arrow is a magically highly skilled person with some very important secrets. Her grandmother, one of the warriors that fought against the demons in the War, is now hidden away in a nursing home. Her mind was broken by government methods to strengthen her magical abilities and Arrow pays for her care and medication, which isn’t cheap.

Arrow finds herself framed for a couple of murders and finds herself in a situation where she takes a job at 'The Sinistera Hotel', a scary place where the majority of the inhabitants are menacing and dangerous criminals. She is given the position of head of security, a job she is not quite sure that she is capable of holding. However, The hotel is the only place where she might just have the chance to survive if the residents or the other Specials (people like her) don't take her out first.

This is an exciting and fast paced story. Arrow is an engaging and interesting character and I enjoyed her interaction with the other characters in this book.

I am looking forward to exploring the rest of this series as it has intrigued me. I love the author’s style of writing and I really enjoyed the excitement and intrigue of this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

'm a big fan of Urban Fantasy and especially those books that build strong worlds using interesting characters. 'Demon Leap' does just that using the character of Arrow to create a world where demons have been defeated several years before thanks to a particular group of people who worked for the government. It is a world where magic is monitored and certified.

Arrow has some very special skills and some very important secrets. One of this secrets is her grandmother who was one of the warriors who beat back the demons during the war and is now hidden away in a nursing home, her mind broken by the methods the government used to strengthen her magical abilities. Money is in short supply and supporting her grandmother is not cheap. Arrow finds herself in a situation where she takes a job at 'The Sinistera Hotel', a place where evil, menacing and perhaps not quite legal characters reside. She is now the new head of security, a job she is not quite sure she is skilled enough to take but one she cannot say no to as it appears (on the surface to the police) that she has been responsible for a couple of murders that have recently occurred. The hotel is the only place where she might just have the chance to survive if the residents or the other Specials (people like her) don't take her out first.

You have to take a deep breath and hit the pages running with this story. It is an absolute roller coaster of action and backstory. There are so many things going on that there were a couple of moments that I had to back track and double check that I had all the pieces together. I had no hesitation in doing this because the story was that good and this character, Arrow, is that engaging that you want to make sure you have it all in order before finding out how the story is going to keep going. It certainly intrigued me enough that I went straight to Amazon and got book two, 'Vertigo Vampire', while I'm now waiting impatiently for the next book in the series. Really pleased I discovered this series.

❝ The enemy of her enemy was her friend, and in the Sinistera, friends were as rare as gratuities.❞

Welcome to the Sinister Sinistera Hotel. Where you're never quite sure what may happen. You may check in, but you may never walk out.

In all honesty, I loved this book. It had a great writing style, and even though I found some things to be a little weird they were still funny enough to keep me reading. Owens really liked putting out metaphors and similes in her work--which was great--but once in a while, I'd run into one that was just weird enough for me to stop, picture it, and then just laugh because it was ridiculous. Intentional or not, it made me laugh.

I initially picked up the book because the premise seemed interesting, but after about a third of the book, I feel like I was reading more for the characters. I fell in love with a couple of them because they were all quirky in their own way.

Owens also did a fantastic job (thank you so much) of building up the world and its history bit by bit rather than just dumping piles of information on you as other authors tend to do. Seriously, that's one of the things that annoys me the most in books, so I was super happy that didn't happen here. It did, however, take me a little to get used to all the acronyms for the different magic users. One of the things about the world building that I liked the most was the detail that was put into considering the different specialties and jobs each magic user would likely go into. I liked being able to think about how these powers could be applied practically.

The story is told mainly from Arrow's point of view (with a few others here and there), and when it starts off she's in a pretty difficult situation. She's running out of time (and money) to take care of her grandmother, a woman who fought in the Drowning War against demons and whose mind is deteriorating.

❝ I was nothing but a girl powered by conspiracies and mistrust, locked in a small, paranoid world.❞

Arrow only trusts a handful of people, and the government is not one of them. She feels like they're lying and hiding things about the war. She especially doesn't trust them because of the program they put her grandmother in after the war, a program which has fractured her grandmother's mind. I liked her because of her resourceful and creative she could be when it came to using her powers.

I really started loving the story when Arrow began working at the Sinistera because of all the strange, creepy, and dangerous people that she ran into (both guests and employees). In a way, it gave me an American Horror Story vibe just because we had some eccentric (often violent) characters looming about.

It was also a really quick read. I read this in pretty much a day. Everything went by kinda quick because I was so pulled into the story. While some things were admittedly predictable, I still enjoyed the journey. I actually bought the second book and will definitely be reviewing it in the near future because I can't wait to get back to this well-crafted world.

DEMON LEAP was not what I expected, still, I found myself engulfed in Owens story-telling.

Arrow’s and her grandmother are the sole survivors in her family of a war against the demons. Her grandmother was a great warrior but has been institutionalized by government. To keep her grandmother alive, Arrow must find a way to make enough money to keep her hidden in secret facility. She would do just about anything to earn that money, which lands her a position at Sinistera Hotel. The Sinistera Hotel is where the menacing, magical and political enemies all reside.

What can I say, I was hooked right away and know I’ve found another must read series.

DEMON LEAP has a fast moving, action packed plot, with intriguing anti-hero characters and mysteries (aka plot twist and turns) my brain will keep trying to resolve while we patiently wait for the next installment in the THE SPECIALS series.

This was my first read by Tricia Owens but it won't be my last.

P.S. This is a book that can be judge by its cover, both are kick butt great!

Definitely amazeballs! Yup, you read that right - amazeballs! Finally, a book that lives up to its blurb with 150% accuracy! This paranormal thriller kept me turning page after page well after bedtime and I devoured this book! Great start!

Demon Leap by Tricia Owens.
Fifteen years ago the war demolished Arrow's family. Lied to and betrayed, she's driven to expose the conspiracy of how her parents and thousands of others died. But to go up against the powerful government she'll need to align herself with the strangest and most dangerous criminals in Victory City: the Specials.
This was a very enjoyable read with great characters. I loved Arrow. She was my favourite character. I loved the story. I love anything magic. Can't wait to read more of this series. 5*. Netgalley and weaponry co-op.

I enjoyed this story, It definitely has its mystery and it kept me intrigued not all is as it seems. It had a great intro start that got me hooked. It did have a different vibe then what I was thinking, I think that had to do with the way the hotel was described but those were the only parts that made it feel more fairy tale to me. Still overall a really great read!
I really want to know more about the architect hes really intriguing I want to know what history he has with a character. I will for sure be checking out the second I want to find out more there is still so much unknown