DNF @ 37%

This had such a fun premise and I was expecting a lighthearted read, despite the plot including demons. And, for the most part, it was. However, it couldn’t hold my interest for the first third of the book because there a lack of plot development. The writing felt stiff and awkward with cringey and cliche dialogue. There were inconsistencies in the characters and narrative that made everything a bit confusing. The characters all felt very stereotypical and suffering from surface level characterizations, so I felt no attachment to any of the characters and didn’t care what happened to them.

Thank you Netgalley and Burning Chair for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a surprise for me. I enjoyed it a good deal. The book started out differently than I expected. I enjoyed the world and characters the author created.

This is a fun quick read with an interesting premise. The main characters are rogues that grow hearts of gold, and the female lead develops a courage she didn't have. The creepy gothic husband and magick round up this enjoyable read.

This was my first read from Peter Oxley and it was genuinely amusing and humorous.

With a pair of not so intelligent gentlemen as the main characters with a touch of the supernatural from demons having invaded this alternate version of the real world it was a nice easy entertaining read.

How they eventually manage to solve a mystery and avoid being done in by their former bosses is a piece of literally dumb luck.

I would definitely read other books by this author after having read this.

Just a fun joyride of a book. The setting, the characters, and just about everything else is just lovely to read. Go into this world and just enjoy the trip.

This book was definitely fun. I mostly came for the Victorian vibes. However, I did crave more depth between the characters, as I’m heavily character driven. It did seem like you needed prior knowledge about the other books this author has written to understand some of the context. I felt like there might have been something I missed.

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency, well yeah that explains everything doesn’t it. We’re in Victorian London with demons that come from beyond the Aether (which I think is dealt with in the authors previous series) Spencer and Bart are two not particularly successful crooks and as it turns out upset some really quite good crooks and as a result they need some cash and they need it yesterday. These two genius’ think they spot a gap in the market and set up, you’ve got it, the Great Big Demon Hunting Agency is born. Naming the agency is the hardest part right? Soon Spencer and Bart find themselves getting sucked into something much more dangerous than they were expecting. This is a fun, quick read. There were some parts I missed because I hadn’t read the previous books but it stand up well on its own. Spencer and Bart are lovable rouges and perfectly charming in their own way. Good times had by all except the demons of course.

After trying to get into this for the last two weeks I am finally going to DNF this. I'm hoping to try to come back to it at a later time.

Thank you NetGalley and for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t really sure what was going on in this book as it is linked to the rest of the series, so if, like me, you’re reading this without having read any of the other books by this author in this world, you wouldn’t exactly know much of what was going on.

What I will say though is the opening page was really well written: it immediately captured the reader's attention. The suspense was very much present and you, the reader, also felt that there was some looming presence over you.

I think I would of really liked this if I had read the rest of the series.

👹BOOK REVIEW👹

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency - Peter Oxley
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

“London, 1868. The streets are haunted by thieves, murderers… and demons from beyond the Aether.
Spencer and Bart are the city’s most incompetent crooks, and they are in deep trouble. Hunted by both police and their fellow criminals, they are forced to consider the unthinkable —going straight.
Forming The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency, they thought their troubles were behind them, but they soon find themselves caught up in a web far more dangerous than they could ever imagine, pitched against demons, criminals and evil magicians.
Why are there so many demons roaming the London streets, and can Spencer and Bart stop them before it’s too late?
Who are the mysterious Tappers, and what are they doing with the women they abduct from the streets?
Can Spencer and Bart change the habits of a lifetime and not only stay on the right side of the law, but also save the day?”l

This was a quick, super fun read! I devoured this in a single day and was hooked from the first page. I enjoy comic fantasy/humorous magical realism (like Christopher Moore) so knew this would be right up my alley! Bart and Spencer were the perfect quirky characters - even though they were criminals being watched by the police, I was instantly drawn to their humanity and was rooting for them! I enjoyed all the descriptions of historical London and also the side story of Tessie becoming more herself and less an extension of her husband.

I wish the book would have explored the women going missing from the Tappers a bit more - it just would have made the rescue/reveal a bit more meaningful. I expected a bit more comedy mixed in but am definitely looking forward to more from Bart and Spencer!

👹If you could time travel, would you go to the past or future?
👹If you enjoy this genre, please send me your recs! I’d love to read more!

Thank you to @netgalley, @burning__chair and Peter Oxley for a copy! This book is ✨out now!✨

On paper, I should have loved this book; Victorian, gothic, mystery and fun - what more could you want? As a fan of the Rivers of London series, this ticks the same boxes for me. I found it quite a difficult read however as most of the characters felt underdeveloped, the plot slightly clunky and references to Jack the Ripper (even though the book is set at least a decade before 1888) really put me off.

If you want something lighthearted with demons, blood and two bumbling (and I mean that in the best way!) friends then this is for you. Unfortunately I don't think it was for me, or the History Belles audience.

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency, written by Peter Oxley, is a thrilling gothic adventure set in London in 1868. The story follows the misadventures of Spencer and Bart, two hapless criminals who form The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency to save themselves from their dire predicament. The streets of London are filled with not only thieves and murderers, but also demons from beyond the Aether, which makes the story even more intriguing.

The author's writing style is engaging and witty, and the narrative flows smoothly, making the book a page-turner from start to finish. The characters are well-developed and unique, and the story's setting is vividly described, creating a sense of immersion for the reader.

The plot is well-crafted, with twists and turns that keep the reader on their toes. The mystery surrounding the Tappers, the women who are abducted from the streets of London, adds an extra layer of suspense and intrigue to the story. As Spencer and Bart find themselves caught up in a dangerous web of criminals, demons, and evil magicians, the reader is left wondering whether they will be able to save the day and stay on the right side of the law.

Overall, The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency is an excellent addition to the gothic adventure genre. It has a perfect balance of humor and darkness, making it an enjoyable read for those who appreciate a bit of levity in their darker stories. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good adventure story with a supernatural twist.

Great premise, but misses the mark a little. Fun with some great world-building, but even with a few swear words and a bit of gore, this felt less like an adult read and more as something aimed to younger audiences. Solid set-up for more to come, but not quite there for me personally.

What a fun read! I enjoyed following Bart and Spencer as they try and put themselves on the straight and narrow with their Demon Hunting Agency!

Enjoyable from start to finish Great characters even the villains had that extra step to them.
Tessie is a great character which you quickly love

Spencer and Bart are brilliant. Really hope for a sequel to find out about Mr Emerson

I had fun, I had a lot of fun. And want to read other books by this author as I discovered there's a series set in this world.
Good storytelling, interesting world building, quirky characters, humour and a fast paced plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I really enjoyed this one, if you are a fan of gothic & historical fiction I believe you will too. I thought this was a fairly unique take on this particular genre but at times they can be repetitive, boring, as well as being predictable but I throughly enjoyed Oxley’s fresh interpretation from the ‘lackey’s’ perspective.

Filled with mystery, suspense and humour this was a great read that I would definitely recommend and I just hope that Oxley has more cases lined up for Spencer and Bart in the future.

When I saw the cover of The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency I knew I had to give it a go. Because I am always all in for incompetent crooks who start an agency. Always ready for the underdog.

Unfortunately this book didn't live up to my expectations at all. I rated this book 3 stars because it was entertaining for what it was. And entertaining can be great but there was so much more that could have been achieved here with the ideas.

For one our two main characters are fairly flat. Bart and Spencer are incompetent. And not even in a funny way or because they actually have a good heart. It is just sad. Even the upstart of their business is sad. They are cardboard boxes of fun and inspiring characters. Not being able to spell right could have been done something with but it was just used by the side characters to make fun of them with.

And it just never really moves away from that. Our damsel in distress that reaches out to our two characters is not exactly better. She becomes some sort of main character but one without much of a personality.

The plot was okay but because not a lot was being done with the setting, it didn't really come very far. Demons came out and now live amongst them. You would think that would take a lot of changes to day to day life and that they have a bigger role to play then be somewhere in the shadows. Yet that is where they seem to be.

Having said that, there was a good pace and it was entertaining enough not to put down right away but to sit down for an afternoon. But if you have a large stack of books waiting for you I can't imagine you'd want to spend too much time with this.

In a parallel universe Victorian London has been invaded by demons. Two small-time, bumbling criminals Spencer and Bart are struggling to get by in life and decide that maybe it is time to stop being thieves and start an above the board business. They are shocked to learn that they are actually good at demon hunting and they end up coming to the aid of Tessie a woman whose husband appears to have shady plans for his wife.

This book was fun but I felt that it might be a better book if it was written more towards young adult readers. The story was good, the characters were likable but I found myself not quite drawn into the story as I hoped I would be.

Based on the synopsis The Great Big Demon Detective Agency by Peter Oxley looked like it had the potential to be an interesting read, unfortunately it ended up being a fun quick read and that was one of the few positives things I have to say about it. Normally I would have stopped reading a book like this, however, despite the warning signs the storyline seemed as though it was going somewhere promising. Instead of building up to something interesting, the conclusion was poorly executed and very unsatisfying.

The biggest issue I had with The Great Big Demon Detective Agency was the poor quality of characters. Other than one side character they were all badly written. The two main characters are written as stereotypes, although it’s evident that Oxley has done this on purpose and the satirical nature of them is one of the few redeemable qualities of this book. The villain’s identities were obvious from their first introduction, and I wasn’t impressed that Oxley used the particularly harmful stereotype of villains being identified by canes.

Then there’s the issue of the main female character, Tessie, who essentially is the stereotypical damsel in distress dressed up to be an intellectual woman of science. You know the type; the very clever woman who still needs saving by the big strong men because, well, all women need saving right? Tessie is also stuck in an emotionally and financially abusive relationship which of course, our two unconventional heroes have to save her from. As an abuse survivor the way the storyline was handled felt like a complete mockery as it was simply a plot hook to make the male characters look good. Getting an abuse victim out of a horrible situation was only a secondary consideration.

Other than the poor storyline and world-building, there are the mistakes and sloppy errors throughout the book. It’s off-putting to read a Victorian novel where the language is all over the place. Characters were using slang like “totally” and “really” as though they’ve just stepped out of the 1980s and 1990s not the 1860s. There’s also a whole chapter dedicated to Tessie sitting doing needlepoint with other noble women, which seems to have no point other than to introduce one character. I’m not quite sure why an entire chapter needed to be dedicated to that. Oxley’s writing style also grated on my nerves. He has an awful habit of trying to use overly descriptive analogies, such as describing houses as people.

If you’re bored and looking for something quick and fun to read, then The Great Big Demon Detective Agency will keep you busy for a bit. But if you’re looking for something with a bit of depth then I would give this one a pass. Personally for me, an entertaining and humorous read shouldn’t mean cutting the corners when it comes to good writing, and in that regard The Great Big Demon Detective Agency just didn’t work for me.