(The Demon Trappers #1)Author: Jana Oliver
Format: paperback
Pages: 448
Genre: Urban fantasy, young adult
Published: 7th February 2011 (Macmillan)
Riley has always wanted to be a Demon Trapper like her father, and she's already following in his footsteps as one of the best. But it's tough being the only girl in an all-guy world, especially when three of those guys start making her life more complicated: Simon, the angelic apprentice who has heaven on his side; Beck, the tough trapper who thinks he's God's gift, and Ori, the strikingly sexy stranger who keeps turning up to save her ass. One thing's for sure - if she doesn't keep her wits about her there'll be hell to pay...
Forsaken is set in the near future, the world is suffering from economic crisis as well as dealing with an onslaught of demons. Riley is an apprentice Demon Trapper, working along side her father to capture demons.
When I started reading this book, I was expecting a run-of-the-mill Young Adult paranormal story. Forsaken turned out to be so much more. I really liked the character of Riley. She had just the right mix of toughness and vulnerability. She didn't let being a girl hold her back in the predominantly male environment of Demon Trapping but she still acted appropriately for a sixteen year old in a scary world.
As with most books of this kind there's the potential love interest and in the case of Forsaken, there was three boys to chose from! First is Beck, the slightly older guy who trapped with Riley's father. He clearly cares for Riley as he watches out for her but it doesn't usually come across in the best way. Riley generally thinks of him as a bossy big brother. Second is Simon, another apprentice and all round good guy. Simon's a good Catholic boy and is the voice of reason to Riley's more irrational character. The third guy is the mysterious Ori who randomly shows up and helps Riley out when she gets in trouble.
One of the things that, for me, set Forsaken above a lot of other books of this type was there was a whole lot more action and there was a lot of detail behind the world and the demons that were in it. The plot was really interesting and kept me hooked throughout and there was always something new happening with a few twists and turns along the way.
It's important to remember that this is the first book of a series and therefore in some places it was a little heavy on the explanations to set things up for future books. Often that makes a book a little slow in places but I never really got that in Forsaken as I just wanted to know more about the Demon Trappers Guild and the world they lived in.
