Review – Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized Book 1) by Annette Marie (5/5 Stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 296 pages
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
Release Date: September 13, 2019
ASIN: B07X2WZ819
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Guild Codex: Demonized series
Source: Borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Rule one: Don’t look at the demon.

When I arrived at my uncle’s house, I expected my relatives to be like me—outcast sorcerers who don’t practice magic. I was right about the sorcery, but wrong about everything else.

Rule two: Don’t listen to the demon.

My uncle chose a far deadlier power. He calls creatures of darkness into our world, binds them into service contracts, and sells them to the highest bidder. And I’m supposed to act like I don’t know how illegal and dangerous it is.

Rule three: Don’t talk to the demon.

All I had to do was keep my nose out of it. Pretend I didn’t find the summoning circle in the basement. Pretend I didn’t notice the shadowy being trapped inside it. Pretend I didn’t break the rules.

But I did, and now it’s too late.

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Guild Codex: Demonized series. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited. There is also a sister series to this called Guild Codex: Spellbound that weaves in and out of the Demonized timeline but features different characters. Previous to reading this I have read and enjoyed all of Annette Marie’s other series.

Story (5/5): This book was a great start to a new spinoff series in this world featuring Robin. I loved Robin even more than Tori and really enjoyed her struggles to get out from under her Uncle’s thumb and learn to forge a relationship with a demon of her own.

Characters (5/5): Like all of Marie’s series this is a very character driven one and I absolutely love all of the characters here. I love Robin and how she struggles to stand up for herself and overcome her mousiness. Zylas is the demon and he is awesome, I really enjoyed the deal he and Robin struck (it’s hilarious) and enjoyed their push and pull relationship for the whole story. I also really loved Amalia who ends up being Robin’s champion. It was also fascinating to see how our characters from Guild Codex: Spellbound look from the outside.

Setting (4/5): The setting of this book was fine but nothing too exciting. The story starts off in Robin’s uncle’s house and then moves into the city and between some different guilds. The setting wasn’t really the focus of the story.

Writing Style (5/5): I am a huge fan of Marie’s writing style and continue to enjoy it here. The story is fast-paced, very easy to read and engage with and impossible to put down. Marie does an amazing job with both characterization and fight scenes. I really loved learning more about demons in this book and how that type of magic works. Absolutely no complaints, I love it! I can never put these books down and whip right through them.

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing new story in this fun urban fantasy world. I loved these new characters and enjoy the focus on demonology. I can’t wait to read more about both Robin and Zylas. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy light urban fantasy with a lot of humor and action.