The Demon in Me by Michelle Rowen

The Demon in MeI was first introduced to Michelle Rowen through a blog contest. While not generally a fan of chick lit, when I won Bitten and Smitten, I found Rowen’s combination of chick lit, vampires, and comedy to be great fun. It’s not every day that I can read a paranormal romance aloud and have my two young boys rolling on the floor, but that’s what happened with several passages including ones about shoes…and throwing them if I remember correctly.

When I saw that she’d begun a new series, I was so determined to get it that I accidentally ended up with not one but two copies. Because of that, one of the commenters will receive my second copy based on a random draw. Now before you get the idea that getting rid of a copy says anything negative about my enjoyment, let me be clear: The Demon in Me is rather different than Rowen’s first series, but all in good ways. Unlike her chick lit main character, Eden Riley is not frivolous. She never once, that I recall, worried about her shoes. Instead, Rowen offers us a woman with a complex background who has had her life turned around for no good reason. Her job at a psychic network is ripped from beneath her not because she failed but because she succeeds all too well. Her boss has no interest in real psychics.

Poor Eden has no interest in real psychics either, but she does not have a choice. The last customer she helped was the wife of a police chief. Little does Eden suspect that the psychic consultations the police call her in on will lead to her almost murder and a demonic possession.

While there are many ways that a demon possession could be played, including comedic ones, instead, though the story unfolds with Eden distrusting and unwilling, Darrak quickly undermines her sense of black and white. Her relationship with the demon develops before our eyes. We go through the doubting, the questions, attempts to remove him, and desperate attempts to regain a normal life.

Eden makes for a good protagonist. She’s approachable, interesting, and has depth. The book doesn’t necessarily go the way I expected, and doesn’t maintain all the traditions of a romance novel, something that the paranormal lines often do not, but with all that said, I enjoyed the book and I enjoyed the relationship. The concepts of possession and of demons are interesting, and throughout the novel, things are both exactly what they seem, and not at all what they appear to be.

If the chick lit aspects of the Bitten and Smitten series turned you off, I’d recommend giving The Demon in Me a try. And if you liked Bitten and Smitten, Rowen is still a talented writer. With this new series, she stretches that talent in a different direction. This novel supports my intent to keep following Rowen as a writer and to keep enjoying the many ways she seeks to entertain.

Now don’t forget…leave a comment for a chance to benefit from my overeager purchasing. I apologize but because of shipping costs this will be limited to US and Canada. The contest will run until next Wednesday, the 25th of August.

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16 Responses to The Demon in Me by Michelle Rowen

  1. Dar says:

    Great review! You know I am not into paranormal or romance, but I am curious to read books by your featured author. So: Me, me, me?

    • MarFisk says:

      Well, she’s not exactly typical paranormal or romance or chicklit for that matter. But her books are fun to read, which is what’s important.

  2. Jessica Harwood says:

    This sounds like a rather interesting start to a series, as does Bitten and Smitten, even though I don’t normally like chic lit, or a lot of chic flicks. Thanks for the review, I’ve now got two new series to check out.

    • MarFisk says:

      Enjoy. She’s done a few others that are either standalones or mini-series. If you search for her on my blog, I’ve got other comments about her books too.

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  4. Deirdre says:

    Interestingly enough this leads me to want to read Bitten and Smitten more than Demon in Me, almost solely because of the “desperate attempts to regain a normal life.” line. I almost never like recovery books.

    I’m currently hip deep in Dresden, which I’m very much enjoying – not one to waste time in build-up. Each book throws you into the action immediately. Some of my images are a bit messed up since I saw the first few episodes of the TV show before I knew it was a series. C’est la vie.

    • MarFisk says:

      I have one of the Dresden ones on my TBR shelf. We watched the show, but I don’t have trouble with doing both.

      And I wouldn’t say it’s a recovery book. I mean, she tries, but… And that’s just a teaser for the beginning. But do try Bitten and Smitten. If you like her style, then you can try Demon in Me :).

  5. Scoot says:

    This book looks interesting. I do enjoy paranormal books, but have never read anything by Michelle Rowen. I will have to check it out. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

    • MarFisk says:

      Welcome, and I’m happy to spread the word. Besides, there’s something poetic about introducing new readers to her through a blog contest since that’s the way I originally started reading Michelle’s books :).

  6. Tanya Wires says:

    I read nothing but paranormal books…lots of romance. I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been reading really serious ones and it would be great to have some humor included. Thanks for the review and the heads up on the little extra humor. Count me in on the contest =)

    • MarFisk says:

      Nothing but paranormal? That’s quite a diet. The humor is more the Bitten and Smitten series than Demon in Me, but I’m sure there’s a lighter touch somewhere in it, since that’s characteristic of Michelle’s writing.

  7. Texanne says:

    It certainly sounds like a fun read. This is my first time here. Nice place you have. :)TX

  8. MarFisk says:

    Since there happened to be 6 of you and backgammon happens to be one of my favorite board games, I went and rolled the dark die to get a 2.

    Jessica Harwood, please email me at my site address (Click Home at the top of this page and there’s a link in the bottom right corner) to send me your postal address so I can ship the book off to you. I hope you enjoy it and would love you to come back and drop a comment here to tell us what you thought.

    As for the rest of you, thanks for playing :). You never know when I might find another duplicate in my collection and do this again.

  9. I finished reading the book a few days ago, and it was very, very good. Thanks again for the review, and especially for the book! I’ve got more thoughts about it on my blog for anyone interested.

    • MarFisk says:

      Wonderful. Great to hear that the book went to someone who appreciated it.

      Now off to see what else you thought about it :).

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