This book has a part 1 and part 2 and they are an entirely different feel.

Part one felt like the Keanu Reeves movie Constantine. A little dark and gritty but ultimately, different than other things I've read lately. I really enjoyed this half. Jael's an exorcist in a world where demons can just hop in and out of people leaving mayhem in their way. She ends up winning over some unlikely allies and taking care of business. I would have given this part 4 stars.

Now, on to the reason why the review tanked. Part 2.

This brought out Watcher angels who I've read about in other books and I was excited to know a little bit walking in. That faded fast. This had one of the most gruesome scenes of violence toward a woman that I've ever read. It wasn't even close to the single instance of violence toward women in this book. I finished this book just so I would be able to provide a full review.

I'm not really a trigger warning reader, I don't usually pay attention to them or notice them as I go but I double checked and none were even listed with the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amy Kuivalainen made my list of favorite authors, along with Darcy Coates, Andy Peloquin, Anne Rice, and J.C. Kang among others, after reading a few chapters of the first book in her series, the Firebird Faerie Tales.
The Exorcist and the Demon Hunter brings us back some of the characters we met in the series. This new story comes to answer some questions that remained after reading the series, especially about Mychal's story.
The bad thing is that now I would really like to read more about Alessandro Abbadelli! And maybe a crossover of her series The Firebird Faerie Tales and The Magicians of Venice...
I recommend this and all of Amy Kuivalainen's books to readers who like stories interwoven with mythology, action, adventure, and romance who want to spend an afternoon, or several, reading a standalone that will make them want to read the original series.
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

"The Exorcist and the Demon Hunter" is an urban fantasy adult written by Amy Kuivalainen. The book is a standalone, spin-off of "The Firebird Faerie Tales" series, but can be read independently of the main series.

The story follows 32-year-old Jael Quinlan, a freelance exorcist in the city of Melbourne. Despised and opposed by local churches, in perpetual conflict with her father who considers her insane, Jael faces the terrible forces of evil every day. Recently, however, an ever-increasing darkness is spreading through the city, and her boss Uriel, the sternly handsome and badass Archangel of the North, expects her to investigate the matter. The situation is strange, made even more disturbing by the fact that the demons are unlike anything she has ever seen before and are all giddy about an impending apocalypse. To make matters worse, Jael starts having crazy visions about a demon hunter on the other side of the world named Mychal, a scary guy with serious depression problems. Soon Jael discovers that she has ended up on one of those special missions from a higher power and that she will need the help of Mychal and Uriel to stop two rampaging Watcher angels and Hel'el (the big bad Devil himself) from unleashing a new apocalypse.

I loved the premises of this book, but the development disappointed me so much. I started out intrigued and fascinated, only to find myself deeply dissatisfied. The story, the characters, and the writing conveyed nothing to me, preventing me from appreciating the whole thing.

The pace, probably, is the element I enjoyed most about the book. Quick, brisk, and extremely smooth, it allowed me to devour page after page without a moment of boredom or fatigue. I got to the end without almost realizing it, and I liked that a lot.

The style, at least for the first part of the book, convinced me. I was fascinated by the dark, mysterious and ominous tones present between the lines, by the shade of eeriness that envelops everything. Seriously, I thought they were well handled and effective! However, in the second half of the work, in my opinion these elements crumble into general chaos and unfortunately the writing loses its bite.

The plot had a lot of potential, but unfortunately, for me, it got lost along the way. The first half had given me high hopes, intriguing me quite a bit, however, the second half shattered everything. Sudden scene changes, frenzied and frenzied action, random povs and revelations thrown in and immediately dropped without a hint of elaboration, plunged everything into general chaos. Everything happens, too quickly, in the absence of explanation, with an ending that seemed terribly rushed to me. I admit I was very puzzled.

The characters did not convey anything to me. I don't know, they seemed very shallow. Even Jael, who with her story had all the potential to appeal to me, seemed flat. I could not connect with any of them, I did not feel an ounce of interest or concern for them, and that left me indifferent to their stories, romance included. The presence of several povs, inserted out of the blue and split between first person (Jael) and third person (the others) did not help.

All in all, I found it a book with a fascinating premises but disappointing development.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Good versus evil - angels versus demons versus other angels - looming angelic war - and yep, exorcists teaming with the archangels. Quite the adventure with action everywhere and of course Lucifer causing trouble where he can. Exciting to the end.

TW: Rape, violence, death, and favors a certain Christian narrative

This was my first time reading an urban fantasy set in Australia! I was drawn into how confidently the main character, Jael, is able to handle the terrifying situations of her duties as an exorcist. I really liked how Jael handles her view of religion and faith, praying directly to the Creator, and not any idols or intermediaries. However, the story shifts from the first-person point-of-view of Jael to the third-person POV, focusing on another character, Mychal, and alternating between first and third POVs.

There are two parts to the story, and the second part really brought me out of the story, and it was a struggle to read because it seemed like a completely different story from the first half. There are lots of info-dumps, the setting and worldbuilding aren't grounded, and there's too much dialogue, and dreams/visions to explain the backstory of Mychal. I also didn't like how immature Jael was for her age and thought it would be better if she was younger (in her twenties). I think it would've been better if the story was completely told in either first-person via Jael or in close third-person via Jael and Mychal.

It's in the shift that the story, which deals with an usual demon problem in Melbourne, drags into an "armageddon" story taking place in various places around the world. I also wanted more Melbourne worldbuilding. All urban fantasy isn't the same. New York City is different from Chicago, from London, from Sydney, so I wanted to see this as Jael went about her life.

Other aspects that could've been better handled:
-swearing (not necessary, especially when there are instances of "soft" swears or places where it just says "he swore", so these inconsistencies didn't feel natural in the dialogue
-religion: in the beginning, we get Jael as someone who doesn't see herself as tied to any church, so I really liked that she was searching for the truth, but then toward the second half of the story, we learn there's a reincarnation aspect. Not to spoil anything, but reincarnation defeats the purpose of living one life and then being judged for it. I also didn't like how the Trinity and Catholics were favored in this story, especially since Jael doesn't believe in their theology, yet the story makes it so she has to accept this form of Christianity (also Jesus peace be upon him didn't speak Hebrew at the time, and the earliest "bible" wasn't written in his language of Aramaic until centuries later, so it doesn't make sense for her to use the Hebrew words for God and other phrases (nor did he ever say he was the "son" of God; none of the prophets--peace upon him, ever did--they all preached one message which is to believe in ONE Creator and rely on Him for all things)
-rape scenes/violence: the second half of the story gets very dark and we get scenes from the villain's POV, which I think weren't necessary to prove how evil he is
-MC: we don't learn why Jael has these abilities, or why she was chosen, since the later half of the story, she's just brought along when it's clear that the angels are way more powerful than she is since she's human, nor does she even try to be a better person (FYI, no amount of alcohol is good for the body, and to be as spiritually and mentally clean, she'd be avoiding it, yet she doesn't go through this character change and her powers are just a convenience for the plot); also, the way she handles some situations doesn't fit her characterization
-did not like the romance (and how convenient it was for her to "end up" with the one she does at the end); preferably would've been better without it

Thanks to NetGalley.

The premise of the book was really interesting to me. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I wasn't able to finish this. The scene changes were often and a little abrupt. I personally couldn't relate to the main character and it took me out of the story. I suppose maybe this type of book just isn't my thing.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this arc.

4.5 stars / 5

I thought maybe I would feel lost understanding all aspects of the world building in this book as it’s the 5th in this series but I wasn’t.

Things I loved:
Engaging plot, loved the story.
Two halves story line
Love how the author implements all the myths, lore and history into her story.
Things I didn’t love:
Loved it all!!!

This book has made me want to read more books by this author.

Definitely a book of two halves which may or may not appeal to all. The first half concentrates on Jael a woman who is irreverent, sassy oh and an exorcist working for the Archangel Uriel ! I loved this half of the book with its mystery about Demons and people disappearing.
Now the second half is more a twist on heavenly battles being fought on Earth as the Archangel Mychal is now human but he's needed to help stop ancients from finally tearing through the world all whilst the evil that Jael encountered in Melbourne finds new hunting grounds !
I really enjoyed this and it certainly made me think about my early bible studies. I loved the twists that the author wrought all whilst giving us a new story to follow. Not exactly what I expected but very entertaining.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I hadn’t read this author before, but I went ahead and requested this because it said it was a standalone book in the world. I now can safely say this is the case. I was not lost at all. Now to the book. First off, this book is more like two books in one. We mostly see life from Jael’s point of view in the first half of the book, and then we see both Jael’s and Mychal’s point of view. It didn’t take me long to get immersed in this world, and the first half of the book just flew by. I loved the exorcisms, Jael’s friends, and how they all came together to help. It seemed like a great urban fantasy/horror book. Then came the second half. I don’t want to say I hated it because I didn’t, I quite enjoyed it, but it was a little more…religious than the first half. I think sometimes the plot gets dragged down, just a tiny bit, with glimpses of the past, but that is my own opinion. I think others would really enjoy it. The second half was less like an urban fantasy and more about good against evil. All in all, though, I really enjoyed this book and wouldn’t be opposed to reading the series this came from. Well-written, entertaining characters, and engaging plot. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Inventive, action packed and thought provoking new novel from the author. Fantasy demons, angels and time bending plots provided a very entertaining read. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Fast paced, action packed urban fantasy, with easy to follow world building, characters and plot. It reminded me of Supernatural and the Da Vinci Code/Angels and Demons - hunting to put an end to the darkness spreading.

It was one 'hell' of a ride!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily - thank you to NetGalley!

In this household we respect @amykuivalainen supremacy and she’s broken my brain yet again with the Exorcist and the Demon Hunter

We already know that I’m obsessed with this woman and her writing but I did not know what I was walking into with this one. Maybe a fun little jaunt around town? Nope, not that (we’ll actually there is some of that and it’s very fun) but this book quickly took off and had me thinking so hard and questioning everything including the characters’ behaviors and motives but also mine as well.

The depth and range of books she can write is truly insane from a fantastic romantasy series to a novel about demons that makes me think about my journey with faith and what religion and morality look like and still makes it a fun and entertaining read is crazy to me

Kuivalainen dives into the complex ideas of scripture, organized religion, and spirituality in a way that leaves room for interpretation while confronting the hypocrisy often seen in this space and she does it in a way that still provides an intriguing read that isn’t too heavy

I appreciate a complex and imperfect character and Jael definitely delivers on that. Jael has her flaws and a temper to boot but it adds to the depth of her character and makes you believe she is a rogue exorcist who follows her own moral compass and guiding ideology

Relationships play such an important role in this book and I love the one that develops between Jael and Alessandro

Uriel is my unattainable dream and I love the idea of a brusque angel teaching a teenager how to be an exorcist

Finally, Jael responding to an archangel’s question with “I got mad skills” will now and forever live rent free in my head

No goodies in this one because I don’t even really know how to summarize this book and I also think it’s best to just go in blind

TW: mentions of rape and violence against women


Sincerely,

Your friendly neighborhood raccoon

I don't even know what to say about this book. It grabbed me & held me in a chokehold until the end. If you're looking for spice or a quick read this is not your book. However, if you want something that challenges your ideas about spirituality, faith, and God while also delivering a top-notch story this is it.
Jael Quinlan is a unique heroine who isn't always sure she's doing the right thing. She hangs onto her faith though she questions what that means. Add in her own personal archangel, Uriel, and it's an adventure. Amy Kuivalainen's world is our world but heightened. Her dexterity in telling old tales in new ways is always compelling. Grab this immediately!

This book is set in the same world as "The Firebird Faerietales" but you can definitely read it as a stand alone as I did. I absolutely love this book! It gave me Supernatural TV series vibes but with exorcists. The world building <chefs kiss> and characters are amazing! My Favorite Quote: "Now remember, Quinlan; have a good night and no glovey, no lovey."

Oh my goddess! Book five in the Firebird Faerietales is also a stand alone, and I seriously could not get enough! The excoriates battle the demons with their giant personality . If you love Buffy this may be your next read!

The Exorcist and the Demon Hunter was absolutely fantastic in every aspect. After finishing the Firebird Faerie Tales trilogy, I was immediately ready to jump into this book. We still get all the suspense, all the mystery and all the action like Firebird, but in place of folklore, we get biblical history which was so incredibly well thought-out and expertly implemented into the plot. I love Amy’s writing because you can tell how much effort she puts into incorporating myth, lore and history into her stories. But the best part of this book is the sense of closure I needed after Firebird - I can’t say much more than that without spoiling the story, but it was exactly what my heart needed. This is quite possibly my favorite book that Amy has written and definitely one of my all time favorites overall.

This book was definitely different from what I usually read and that is not a bad thing. The story was good, action packed, and easy to follow. I found it really entertaining and the characters extremely likeable. It read like a really good episode of Supernatural.

3.75/5 stars! The title of this story pulled me in. I love me some angel-demon energy. The world-building was great and Jael was gritty and hilarious. The pacing was awesome and I appreciated that although this is part of a series, you don't have to read in any particular order. Would have liked a little more depth to Mychal.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
What a story !
We follow Jael and Mychal for the Firebird series, but this can be read as a standalone.
Think supernatural meets Fallen.
Angels, demons and the wrath of god and a little romance. What more could you ask for.
It’s fast paced ,rich in wordbuilding but not confusing , the writing was good. The characters are well developed.
So many emotions !
One of the best books i have read this year!

Thank you to NetGalley and BHC Press for this opportunity to read rage and review this arc which is available Sept 26,2023.

Exorcists in Aussie land. Angry angels. Determined demons. Love, death and self sacrifice. This is a spin off from another series and let me utterly Frank. Whilst I enjoyed the series I was lost as hell. No pun intended. But that is my bad. Despite me being lost I honestly enjoyed this book. It made me go and buy the series this is a spin off of