Review: Black Widow Demon

Black Widow Demon by Paula Altenburg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To be fair, I haven’t read book 1 in this series, but was intrigued by the synopsis of this one. I’m a big fan of paranormal romance, so this seemed like that plus a cowboy twist. It is a lot more than just that. The world is almost a post-apocalyptic type, destroyed after some goddess/demon dispute that left a bunch of half demon “spawn”, a camp that is loyal to the now missing goddesses, a group of assassins and those in training, and those who are just trying to survive in this new environment.

This book read a bit like a high fantasy novel, but was set in a world very similar to the old Wild West. There is a big “quest” that involves a lot of hiking around, there are powers being discovered and explored, friends made along the way, and a reluctant love story (where the two characters are fighting to save the other from a horrible fate with them). In this world, women are treated as possessions, suspected spawn are burned at the stake, and there are miles and miles of desert to roam. The story begins with Raven, the stepdaughter of a goddess chosen loyalist, who is a spawn with the power to call men to her. After rejecting her stepfather’s advances, she is set to be burned at the stake. Blade, an ex-assassin (and presumably involved in book 1), wanders through the town, only to watch Raven escape from her punishment. Drawn to her, he takes her troubles upon himself and they end up setting off on this “quest” together.

There are oodles of characters and a very rich world that exists in this book. It almost felt like a few books stitched together because as soon as it feels like things are wrapping up, even more mayhem invades their lives. For the fantasy fans out there that want a very dense alternative, this might really suit their needs.




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