Vengeance of the Demon is the Seventh installment in author Diana Rowland's Kara Gillian series. This series has a modern urban fantasy feel and has all the elements readers want: supernatural danger, sex, a feisty heroine, and a familiar American setting (the outskirts of New Orleans). Each book in this series is a whole story with a beginning and an ending, however the plot of each book relies heavily on the prior books in the series. It is recommended that you read the books in the order they were published. I restarted reading this series knowing that the final book in this series will be releasing sometime early in 2020.

I would suggest not waiting as long as I did before reading books 6 and 7 or you will be discombobulated. Kara Gillian is a former police officer, former FBI consultant, and Demon summoner who finds herself in deep trouble as this book opens. This book takes place mostly in and around Kara's home and not in the Demon realm which is a huge plus. As I said, you really have to know what happened in Fury of the Demon to understand why she's in trouble. Kara is wanted by as an accessory after the fact, principal to murder in the 1st degree and a key witness to the execution style murder of a criminal.

Kara still has to decide who she really is, and what path she is willing to take in order to settle some old betrayals at the hands of demons and so called friends. If she isn't a cop any longer, what exactly is she? Is she just a demon's pawn to be used by anyone who comes along and offers her protection or maybe a bit of understanding? Is she a consultant to the FBI when they are given strange and unusual cases? Is she humanities savior against the demon lords who want to establish a permanent link between worlds, and take what they think they are entitled to? Is she Lord Mzatal's newest object of affection or just someone he can use as he feels the need?

With her best friend and very pregnant Jill Faciane ready to have her baby at any moment, Kara wonders if Zack will be around when it's time, or will he be off in the demon realm? Now that she's found Idris, will she tell him that they are related, or will she keep that secret bottled up? Kara's allies in this book are a curious bunch that includes Detective Vincent Pellini who she's never gotten along with, but who has some interesting abilities that come in handy. Pellini is actually a good guy who is finally being taken seriously. Idris is free of the demon world and trying to help Kara closing any demon valves that continue to open in the human realm thanks to Katashi and his minions.

Bryce Thatcher is a former hit man now an ally of Kara's. Bryce was the one who is responsible for Kara being wanted by the Police. This book has brief appearances with Ryan Kristoff and Zack Garner as well as Lord Mzatal who is fighting fires in the demon realm. Even though Rhyzkahl tried to bend Kara into becoming a new being named Rowan, Kara managed to escape but with a series complex and hideous scars on her body. She's had time to get used to some new powers, and yet in this installment, they kind of fizzle. I've learned over the past several books not to trust Rhyzkahl, so his continued connection and appearance kinds of makes me scream.

Kara and accompanying allies are pulled from one emergency to another. There are some horrible and puzzling revelations and a betrayal nobody saw coming. There's a lot of self introspection, heartbreak and high emotion but some of it fell flat. Perhaps it was because it's been several years since I read Fury of the Demon, but I have to wonder how the author is going to wrap up this series in a way that doesn't seem to be rushed for the sake of ensuring the readers haven't lost interest after so long of not having one of these books released.

Actual Rating: 3.5