The Demon's Covenant (Demon's Lexicon Trilogy Series #2) »

Sarah Rees Brennan was born and raised in Ireland by the sea, where her teachers valiantly tried to make her fluent in Irish (she wants you to know it's not called Gaelic), but she chose to read books under her desk in class instead. After living briefly in New York and doing a creative writing MA and library work in Surrey, England, she has returned to Dublin, Ireland, to write. Her Irish is still woeful, but she feels the books under the desk were worth it. This is Sarah's first novel. Visit her website at sarahreesbrennan.com.

Mae Crawford’s always thought of herself as in control, but in the last few weeks her life has changed. Her younger brother, Jamie, suddenly has magical powers, and she’s even more unsettled when she realizes that Gerald, the new leader of the Obsidian Circle, is trying to persuade Jamie to join the magicians. Even worse… Jamie hasn’t told Mae a thing about any of it. Mae turns to brothers Nick and Alan to help her rescue Jamie, but they are in danger from Gerald themselves because he wants to steal Nick's powers. Will Mae be able to find a way to save everyone she cares about from the power-hungry magician's carefully laid trap?

VOYA

This second entry in The Demon's Lexicon trilogy is as riveting as the first, in spite of middle-book syndrome. The focus has shifted to Mae, Jamie's sister, who needs demon-hunting brothers Nick and Alan's help again. The Obsidian Circle magicians, under Gerald's leadership, are trying to recruit Jamie. Also, since Mae knows Nick's true nature, she's looking for a human boyfriend. Unfortunately, Seb, Jamie's former tormenter, has the inside track before Alan speaks up. Still, ever present in her awareness is Nick, the demon brother who asks her to help him become more human. An aborted visit to Alan's family has caused a rift between the brothers, a rift Mae is determined to heal. She will not let Alan strip Nick of his powers, not when that will leave both brothers at the mercy of Gerald and his crew. Mae returns to the Goblin Market to dance again (great cover) and discovers she has powers she was unaware of before, for leadership and battle plans. The Aventurine Circle also makes its move, so there's lots of action and bloody battles with magicians, as well as clever repartee and the sturm and drang of the teen years. This is an excellent paranormal romance with an intriguing demon hero trying hard to make sense of the human world that most of his opponents feel he will destroy. Who needs vampires and zombies when there are sexy demons to contend with? This reviewer can't wait for the conclusion to the cliff-hanger ending. Reviewer: Bonnie Kunzel