View source for The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan

{{infobox1
|title=The Demon's Covenant
|sort= Demon's Covenant
|author=Sarah Rees Brennan
|reviewer=Loralei Haylock
|genre=Teens
|summary=Brennan doesn't disappoint the high expectations set by her first book. Likeable characters, lots of action and a plot that will keep you guessing until the last page. Really good stuff.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=448
|publisher=Simon & Schuster Children's Books
|date=May 2010
|isbn=978-1847382900
|cover=1847382908
|aznuk=1847382908
|aznus=1847382908
}}

A few weeks after the events of [[The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan|The Demon's Lexicon]] and Mae is finally ungrounded. Determined to get on with 'normal' life and forget the magic she's lost since brothers Nick and Alan Ryves left, Mae is only interested in hitting the town and meeting up with Seb. Nice, normal Seb.
Then Mae learns her brother Jamie has been secretly meeting up with Gerald, the new leader of the Obsidian Circle. Afraid that Jamie is getting involved in dangerous things, Mae does the only thing she can and calls Alan. 

But Nick and Alan have problems of their own. Something terrible has happened between them since Mae saw them last, something that's driving them apart. And when Gerald's Circle comes up with a plot to bring Nick down, Mae is horrified to learn Alan is considering it. 

With loyalties divided, Mae knows she has to do something to save everyone, Jamie from Gerald, Nick from the Circle and Alan from doing something Mae knows he'll regret. But if she's to succeed she'll have to go to the dangerous, magical Goblin Market alone… 

I really enjoyed Sarah Rees Brennan's debut novel, [[The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan|The Demon's Lexicon]]. It was fast paced, exciting and packed a killer final twist at the end. As such, my expectations for ''The Demon's Covenant'' were very high. Gladly, Brennan does not disappoint. 

Some of the shock value is gone – nothing could really beat the twist in the last book – but the characters remain likeable, complex and engaging, the plot exciting and the action well written and tense. There are a couple of characters that weren't really given the space to develop as fully as they could have, or deserved to, but it's a minor issue in what is otherwise an excellent book. Even Mae's love life doesn't become a bore, as is so often the issue with this sort of book. 

The pace of the writing starts a tad on the slow side (because none of us are particularly concerned with Mae's attempts to get back to a normal life) but it soon picks up when Alan and Nick return, leading to a whirlwind of an adventure, where, once again, you are left guessing how everything will turn out right to the final page. 

While I didn't want to pick it up and read it again immediately after finishing, as with the first book, ''The Demon's Covenant'' is still an excellent addition to what promises to be an incredible trilogy. I'm thoroughly looking forwards to the final instalment. 

My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy. 

Fans of Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance should check out Lili St. Crow's series [[Strange Angels by Lili St Crow|Strange Angels]], and Rachel Caine's [[Glass Houses: The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine|Morganville Vampires]] series.

[[Sarah Rees Brennan's Demon's Lexicon Books in Chronological Order]]

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[[Category:Paranormal]]