Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I was drawn to the book by the title and the inclusion of The Book of Revelations prophecies. I found some of the character descriptions a bit uncouth. The story builds quickly and features a lot of action. There are some parts that are really fun and others may leave the reader a bit confused.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was overwhelmingly Christian and I didn’t sign up for that. The writing wasn’t very good and it didn’t draw me in at all.

I would not recommend this book overall.

Funny in parts but I did struggle.
And is completely different to what I've read before. I felt like there was something missing.. It does have potential but…..

Anyway… 2.3 out of 5.

Not for me… but you might enjoy it!

Annabeth, Theodora and Harriet are three half humans given the task to save humanity as the Seven Seals holding back the apocalypse are being pried opened. Their day job is working for the Daemonium by revoking demons back to hell. The demons who do not follow the rules set by the Daemonium. Now there is a new player in town who frightens both the demons and the angels. A new player who Annabeth, Theodora and Harriet must stop. 

Frost gives us her attempt at a thrilling “the world is going to end” blockbuster that unfortunately is weighted down by forgettable characters, a foreseeable plot twist and questionable character descriptors. Annabeth, Theodora and Harriet are all one dimensional characters who I could not attach any of my emotions to in the slightest. I did not know them so I did not care about them. Sad but true. 

Some of the descriptions of the characters stopped me in my tracks. Frost makes some questionable generalizations for two of her characters. Harriet is Thai and Theodora is Indian.  ‘It was amazing how small she (Harriet) could make herself, even in her wool coat. That was her Thai heritage. She was thin as a rice noodle. Theodora, despite her Indian roots, was much bigger boned.“ 

What I do enjoy is the plot concept. It is a very imaginative idea which I would normally enjoy. Alas, due to the construct, The Demons Guide is just not for me.

I received an advance review copy  from Bella Books through NetGalley.  I am leaving this

I felt like this book had potential but didn't quite get there.

The story was interesting, there was a lot happening but at points it felt a bit too fast paced. There wasn't really time to digest what was happening before the book had moved onto the next thing.

I feel like the characters were slightly two dimensional. I feel like there wasn't a lot of background information provided and it prevented me from gaining a deeper understanding of them .

Overall it is an enjoyable read and I would read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bella Books for providing me with this ARC.

An easy fun read and I found it to be enjoyable. I thought the characters were not discreet, but this didn't impact the story negatively.


Thank you, Bella Books, and NetGalley.

An adventurous apocalyptic romp filled with angels, demons, and action. It follows three women who get sucked into having to avert the apocalypse when they’d rather be doing their day job of sending misbehaving demons back to hell—think Good Omens meets the Stephanie Plum series. All three women were fun, but Harriet was my favorite. There were plenty of clever twists and turns (some of which I guessed, others I definitely didn’t).

There was more waiting and seeing from the protagonists early on than I would have liked, and I’m a little confused as to why Pestilence’s arrows don’t infect those who are shot with illness. But all in all this was a very entertaining book that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys kickass women saving the world.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

I read the notes from the author about the MCs being women of color though the author is white (I assume). It wasn't an issue for me since it didn't play too heavily into this book's plot and themes. Same with the one lesbian. I just thought it was cool to read an urban fiction book with non-white MCs. I was also excited that they weren't all barely twenty and lusting after hot morally ambiguous male villains.
I went back and forth with the plot. At first, I had a difficult time getting into it because it seemed too much like a "mystery" to me. Once that part was taken care of and the action started, I enjoyed it much more.
Looking forward to more from the author.
#NetGalley

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Unfortunately this book is marred by racism, poor character development, and the author's unconscious biases.
Harriet is described as small because she's Thai and that she's "thin like a rice noodle". This implies Thai people are all small because they're Thai. It is not okay to assign a physical characteristic to an entire ethnic group because they belong to that group. This reinforces racial stereotypes. It is also not okay to compare a person of colour's physical characteristics to that person's cultural foods, especially when it seems the food was chosen specifically for its cultural relevance to the character.
Theodora is bigger boned "despite her Indian roots". What is this supposed to mean? That all Indian people are skinny? Where are these physical stereotypes coming from? Theodora also calls Annabeth "coconut" because Annabeth is "brown on the outside, white on the inside". This is pretty racist and it feels like the author has written her own unconscious biases into the characters actions, words, and narratives. I want to note it is mentioned once that Annabeth is Latina in the first chapter, her background is not mentioned again until that moment, and then never again. No part of Annabeth's identity is ever explored beyond describing her as Latina once (which is NOT a physical descriptor and provides no information as to what she looks like. This reinforces racial stereotypes. What does the author think a Latina woman is supposed to look like?).
Regarding the concept of identity, the author in her acknowledgements mentions the story is about identity. I would say the author has failed to provide us this story. She's given us three women of colour MCs who at no point think about their identity as racialized women, except for one brief moment when they enter the bank, and then never again, but who think constantly about their internal conflict related to their demon heritage. Why one but not the other, or both? Frost had the opportunity to connect their internal conflict when it came to their racial identities to the internal conflict the women feel over being half human half celestial. One character at one point says she feels like she doesn't belong in either world, referring to the demon and human worlds, a sentiment that has been frequently echoed by biracial people. This thought could have been explored in a more powerful way if paired with her conflict on her racial identity. It feels lazy to have main characters of colour who never think about the way they move through the world or how they're perceived, or how their racial identities impact themselves, especially when they're getting in taxis and on public transit covered in blood and weapons. These characters don't even interact with or mention their culture, except for when Harriet has an internal monologue in a noodle shop. What I'm trying to say is it feels these are characters of colour where "colour" wasn't given any thought beyond physical characteristics, and where colour and culture occasionally exist only to further the plot, not provide a well rounded character.
I would like to add that "almond" is not a good term to describe a person's skin tone. Is it the inside of the almond or outside??
Also, I couldn't help but notice there were two Black characters and they were both villains, including the major villain of the book and likely the series. There was also this weird attitude of purity towards Summer, the only white girl in the story. Harriet constantly thinks about how Summer is too good for their dirty city and too sunshiney with her bright blue eyes and blonde hair. Even her name exudes this idea. When the only character who is portrayed as truly morally good throughout this entire story is a white woman, I think you need to reevaluate your plot.
The phrase about how they can talk about whatever in front of the taxi driver because "he probably doesn't even speak English" is well...racist. and uncomfortable!!!
Beyond what's outlined above, the character development was poor. A LOT of Theodora's scenes involved her thinking about her grief and devastation. A lot of effort went into creating a character who is tortured by the death of her father. Harriet also receives time to briefly lament on her half human half celestial identity. Annabeth is given no such opportunity. Annabeth is instead a mom who works at the messy desk while the kids sleep. Annabeth receives no further character development, no lengthy internal monologue. You don't even find out her kids names until after Jonathan has been not only kidnapped but also freed. A lot of time is dedicated to Theodora and the other two MCs are not given the same level of care and thought. Annabeth has a close relationship with the priest that I don't remember being explained, as well, and I reread the first 50 pages to see if I missed anything.
Plot twist was very easy to guess.
I read Frost's blog post about this book and at the end she says it's important to write stories about middle age women and women of colour "even if there's not a huge market for that". I would argue there is in fact a huge market for diverse books with racialized main characters and this take is dismissive of the many amazing BIWOC authors who have gotten popular over the last few years.
I believe Frost missed an opportunity to have a nuanced and complex discussion about identity, belonging, and community due to her unconscious biases. These characters instead feel like a checkmark for which she patted herself on the back without second thought.
I am voluntarily leaving this review. Karen, if you're reading this, please understand this is not an attack but instead an analysis of how your unconscious bias has influenced the stories you write. This is something you need to work on if you want to successfully write authentic characters who are from marginalized groups to which you don't belong. In your acknowledgements you ask for grace and to allow you time to grow, so please take this as a learning opportunity and know that it comes from a place of encouraging you to improve your storytelling skills.

I fun in reading this book as it's fast paced, there's humour, and the MCs are a group of women who kick ass.
I think it's not easy to write a book about the Apocalypse as Good Omens is the top dog but i think that the author did a good job
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This novel was unlike most action-packed books I’ve read before. The three main characters are a diverse group of older women who have been demon revoking for years already when we meet them and have built lives and reputations that aid them throughout the novel. The story was engaging, and there was a lot of depth to the situations the characters found themselves in.
Due to the age and experience of the women, the story is able to focus on the problem at hand and weave the intricacies that come with a battle between Heaven and Hell without having to build up the characters first. They exist as they are and we as readers are informed of their abilities as situations arise where those abilities are put to use. I loved that the story was built by referencing important aspects of their pasts while focusing mainly on the current problems they were facing. It allowed the author to put together an elaborate ongoing narrative to explain who these women were and we found out the intricacies of each side as they did.
My only complaint with this novel is that you’d think with how many years they’d been revoking demons back to Hell, they’d have learnt the art of subtlety well enough to be better at it. Taking public transport while covered in blood and fighting in places with CCTV cameras that they don’t do anything about is not the best tactic for not getting caught by police (something that they worry about but do little to prevent). Aside from that I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to seeing what comes next!

This book was fun to read but a little lacking overall. It was a good time reading but it was not a stand out.

I was eager to start this series for a few reasons: I enjoy stories with enforcers/cops/private detectives and strong main characters. This seems to meet that requirement. Fortunately, it does.

2,75 stars. This was overall quite a fun book. I loved the fact that the main characters were older, diverse women. The friendship between the three women was strong and beautiful, and it was obvious how much they loved each other.

The book reads like a superhero comic book: badass characters kicking some evil ass in an unnamed city. The fact that all the action (and the fact that the demon headquarters and all seals of the Apocalypse) is contained to this unnamed city makes it all hard to immerse oneself in the story, as it was too much for it to be believable.

I also had issues with the characters and their thoughtlessness (stupidity? their inability to be discreet?). Instead of driving their own cars, the main characters relied on taxis? It didn't matter that they were on their way to kill demons with shotguns, swords, knives etc. visible, or that they were injured with blood everywhere, or the fact that they needed to steal an ancient artifact. They always used taxis as transportation!! Like they have just killed a demon in an apartment building, been sprayed with blood, and cleaned up some body parts from some ritual… and they have to call a taxi to get home. They have just escaped an evil angle and have to hurry across the city to save humanity…. but first they have to call (and wait!!) for a taxi.

One of the characters explain the fact that they feel “safe” to take a taxi and talk about the secret world of demons and angels because “the taxi driver probably doesn't speak English”… Or that the pane of plastic is so thick that the taxi driver can't hear them (but they probably can see all of that blood you are dripping on the seats). Like come on, the city might be bad with a lot of crime but come on, how hard is it to get your own getaway car??

Wickedly fun, with a wonderful cast of characters and a fast-paced plot that keeps you on your toes. I thought our trio of protagonists was wonderful, they each felt unique and realized, a very convincing found family that each brought their own strengths and vulnerabilities to the relationship. The story was really well-paced, moving from one exciting action set piece to the next. There was a sense of paranoia that was reinforced by the story’s pacing, and added to the ambience, really making me not want to put this novel down (and, indeed, I tore through it in a day). The writing was convincing and confident, with satisfying dialogue and well-depicted action scenes, along with some intimacy and also hint of supernatural thriller/horror, all of which worked well together. There was some hand-waving away things, such as remarkably oblivious cab drivers, that could have maybe been better written around. But those are little details that didn’t affect the plot or characters, and while they made the world a little less believable it wasn’t enough to damper the overall vibe, which was a good one. There were enough twists and surprises to keep the book fun and exciting, but it wasn’t reinventing the wheel. Having angels and demons locked in world-ending stakes, with ideas of good and evil being more fluid than most Christian theologians would want to proclaim, isn’t ground-breaking… But if the story is fun and has something interesting to add to the genre, I don’t need every story to be revelatory. I am always hoping for stories that play on traditional Christian, monotheistic religious iconography to push the boundaries a little, poking the concepts of god(s) and spirituality and so forth instead of sticking with the solitary, omnipotent Creator mythology to stand untested even as angels and demons become complicated categories, and this novel doesn’t do that, sadly. But that is me projecting what I want, and what this novel does do it does well.

I had a blast reading every page of it, and I am more than ready to jump into future installments and see how the mythology and certain characters’ lives might continue to get messy and complicated.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Bella Books, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was excited to try this series for a couple of reasons: I love books about enforcers/cops/private detectives and very competent main characters. This seemed like it was going to fit that bill. Thankfully, it does. There are so many surprises in this book, and the MCs were kick-butt and vulnerable at the same time. I wish we had gotten to know them a little bit better than we did, but the non-stop action was very engaging. And that ending…I am wondering how that’s going to play out in the next book. This was an excellent urban fantasy with an interesting premise, and I’m eager for the next one. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

This was an irreverent and wickedly fun read. Fast paced, with a good array of diverse characters and a plot that encourages readers to question the difference between good and evil.

It kept me entertained throughout.