Review: Demons of the Sun by Cindi Madsen

Persephone didn’t ask to be the guardian of Hades Dagger, an artifact Hades forged to turn demons into daywalkers. She didn’t ask for the demon blood running through her veins that allows her to touch the thing, either.And she definitely didn’t ask for Jax, a cocky Warrior, to barge into her life and proclaim himself her bodyguard now that Hades wants his dagger back.

Forced to deal with this reality, along with an increase in demon attacks, and the fact members of the Order of Zeus keep turning up dead, Persephone finds her hands full.

When demons tell Persephone that she’s one of them she’s appalled... And a little intoxicated by the power she feels when they call her their queen. Telling Jax about her demon side might turn him away from her forever...
Something bad is brewing, and if Persephone doesn’t figure out a solution, and soon she’ll be responsible for unleashing Hell on Earth. ~ Goodreads

Review:Demons of the Sun was an interesting spin on demon lore and Greek mythology with a very authentic New Orleans setting. Since I just visited NOLA, it was kind of cool being able to visualize several of the settings.

Persephone is the last of her kind, a Sentry, entrusted to guard the Hades Dagger and prevent demons from walking the earth in daylight.  She also has demon blood running through her veins, constantly tempting her to give into the lure of power and Hades. If that's not difficult enough for her, she has to navigate high school and stay off everyone's radar since she is living without a parental guardian.

She has struggled with this alone since the death of her entire family. Persephone has her best friends, Danielle and Dean, and gets most of her aggression out playing soccer but of course she can't reveal her true self to anyone. She keeps everyone at a distance to protect them and her secret.

Enter Jax. A super sexy, cocky warrior from the Order of Zeus. He can "sense" demons and is guided right to Persephone's doorstep by his instincts to protect her. While they do notice & are attracted to each other physically,this is no love at first sight couple. Jax comes on way too strong, trying to take over protecting the dagger and Persephone. Persephone, for her part, doesn't trust anyone including the Order since her family was betrayed.

Jax and Persephone kind of have this dance where they fight, yet, let their walls gradually down and begin to trust each other. We have the alternating POV's of both Persephone and Jax which is great because otherwise Jax would come off as yet another YA alpha a**hole but he's not. At all. He's a trained warrior, confident in his abilities and that's not the same as thinking he's God's gift to women. He appreciates Persephone's strength while still feeling a bone deep need to protect her. He just lacks the social skills at time to express that to her in the right way lol He’s a great guy.

They need to figure out a way to work together soon with the increase in demon attacks and the ultimate show down between good and evil right around the corner. There are quite a few steamy scenes and a wonderful blossoming romance but it's always balanced out nicely with the action.
There is a bit of a triangle. Persephone is already in love with a man who she is able to share herself with in a way she hasn't with anyone else, so she's troubled with her growing attraction to Jax. I really love how Madsen deals with this. Persephone's not one to be unfaithful and once she makes up her mind she sticks to it despite the powerful lure that either man has over her. I can't say much more about that - you'll just have to read it for yourself but I did like the way it was done.

I have only one complaint that I have to sort of dance around because it's a tad spoilery. I can see why Persephone wouldn't question a certain something (yeah - sorry that's really vague) but I couldn't understand why her friend, a voo-doo priestess, and Jax with all his training wouldn't look into that certain something a little more. Very minor complaint though and it was dealt with soon enough.....

Otherwise this was a fun book with plenty of high stakes action, romance, twist and turns with a very satisfying conclusion. It seems like this could be a series but this particular installment had a concrete ending for which I am forever grateful.

Rating 3.5 out of 4:   Demons of the Sun reminded me of a really good Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. Kick ass chick, forbidden romance and a potential Scooby gang in the making.

*I wanted to mention one more thing that really stuck out to me while reading this book. Something I don't think is handled well in a lot of paranormal stories but was here. Persephone is fighting with demons and training with Jax. She gets beaten and bruised a lot. Jax all of a sudden appears at school, protective and seemingly possessive of her. This raises all sorts of red flags to one of the teachers at school who repeatedly tries to intervene and help Persephone. We as the reader know what's really going on and that Jax is a good guy but it was so refreshing to me to see an adult not look the other way at a potentially serious case of abuse with one of her students. Yes, these are fantasy stories and we are aware the brooding guy is the hero but it always rankles me to see people look the other way when the children they should be protecting are in harms way. *jumps off soap box*

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Source: Provided by the author for my honest review
Buy the book! Demons of the Sun