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Book Review: American Monsters

AMERICAN MONSTERS (Demon Road #3) by Derek Landy
5 Stars
Verdict: A brilliant end to the trilogy.
#1 - Demon Road
#2 - Desolation


Amber struggles between her confident but demonic skin, and her average-but-caring human side in her newly acquired position as the ‘Devils Lapdog’. Between her morally questionable tasks, she’s on the hunt for her parents who once tried to eat her, but learns that embracing her demonic instincts doesn’t always leave her feeling satisfied.

It’s an easy read, entertaining from start to finish, and always speeding forwards. A creepy house, then an old friend, and all of a sudden Amber finally gets to face her parent’s head on, and that’s only the first few chapters. What I love about the series is not having to trudge through a momentous build up for something exciting to happen – not to have to wait for the finale to feel a sense of danger or solving a mystery.

It starts off in a very strange place that I’m going to swiftly pretend never happened (teddy bears will never look the same), but that’s almost part of its charm. So much happens – ghost attacks, escapes, hostage dependent deadlines – it’s hard to predict how everything will work out. I couldn’t guess how all the pieces came together but found the ending satisfying, even if some stuff happened that I really hoped wouldn’t…

As much as I loved it, I can see its flaws. Some parts sounded rambly or dialogue heavy. I didn’t really feel the romantic connection, but I think that’s because I struggled to care about anyone who wasn’t Amber, Milo, or Glen. It also had the same issue as the previous books, where every character is full of personality but they’re only a slight variation on the last person they bumped into. I enjoyed reading it enough not to care about these things, but I couldn’t ignore them here.

Now for something I usually ignore: the cover. Ah, it’s just so bad to look at, and the name is a pants all round. The final product wouldn’t attract me to the series, but the actual story itself is exactly what I love, so there’s a real mismatch between audience and design that I do not hold against the author in any way. I just hope it doesn’t scare off too many potential readers, as I’d love to see this series really take off.

Source: Publisher via NetGalley.com
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