Demon Freed A Dark God Ascends Book #2
Occult Fiction, Occult Horror, Fantasy
Raven Tale Publishing
March 5, 2023
Kindle
290
Amazon
Kidnapped and taken far from his home by a rogue archaeologist, Semris, son of the Mayan God of Death, is shot while attempting escape. His mortal friend Tuck believes him dead.
Alone and wounded, Semris reaches out to the first human he encounters—who happens to be Tuck’s fiancée, Shannon—and sets in motion a chain of events that will change her life as well as those around her.
Tuck never expected to lose his girl to a demon, nor be given mortality. Semris never thought he’d experience mortal love, but when the contemporary world meets the ancient one, everything and everyone they know will be changed.
Review by Sherry Perkins
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
“Demons don’t fall in Love,” she repeated.—Demon Freed
Demons don’t fall in love. Reading that, I smile to myself, just like you will. Because we know this most certainly is not true. Demons do fall in love. When they do, it’s almost always a once-in-a-lifetime event, with a mere mortal, and it’s always messy. See, this is why I love paranormal romance. It may be wildly improbable but it’s something we all crave: someone who falls for you as if they’ve never loved before AND who is willing to do anything to protect you.
Demon Freed is Book 2 in the A Dark God Ascends series, of which Book 1, Captive Demon, was the introduction to the Mayan pantheon of gods and demons. In it, Semris is the son of the Mayan God of Death—think something vampirish and much more ancient than Dracula, plus feathers and scales when in demon form—but that doesn’t protect immortal Semris from the machinations of a non principled archaeologist named Lane Wescott who discovers the demon during an archeological dig. Dr. Wescott imprisons Semris, then performs horrible experiments on him. Fortunately, Wescott’s assistant, James Tucker “Tuck” Upchurch, is principled. Besides, he’s formed a friendship with Semris that transcends the ages. It’s also a friendship which changes Tuck’s life in ways he could never imagine.
This brings us up to the Demon Freed adventure. TBH though, you could read Demon Freed without having read Captive Demon first since de Vissage does a good job of exposition before getting into Semris’ life after escaping Wescott’s clutches, with Tuck’s help. Once freed, Semris finds himself in a modern world for which he has little context. His plan is to settle the score with Wescott. Then he can return to his Mayan home deep in the jungles of Mexico, where unbeknownst to him, his people are experiencing disaster without his council. On his homeward journey, he meets Tuck’s finance. Her name is Shannon. Naturally, their attraction is instantaneous, so…
What I enjoy about the paranormal romance genre is the juxtaposition of something otherworldly or ancient, dropped into a fresh setting with humans who awaken an emotion never before experienced by our supernatural hero. The resultant confusion, passion, and humor are both entertaining and satisfying. Plus, you can insert yourself into the characters to explore the “What would I do in the same situation?” scenario. Tony Paul de Vissage is quite skilled at this kind of storytelling, especially when vampires and vampire-like creatures are the focus. Their world building is immersive, and often recognizable as is found in contemporary urban fantasy.
Therefore, when previously reviewing Captive Demon, which was not a paranormal romance but a straightforward occult horror, I’d concluded I wished there would have been a paranormal romance sub-plot included. Tony Paul de Vissage has done exactly that in Demon Freed with more expansive and relatable characters—right down to everyone getting perhaps what they most deserved as bloody as it might be.
A five-star review about what it is to be a living Mayan god, even if it is the god of death, and what the cost of loving him will be.