Demon Restrained (The Demonkind Chronicles Book 1)

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Demon Restrained, and WOW! Am I glad I did. I absolutely ADORED Evie, and Bas is the kind of demon who knows how to be wicked in alllllllll the good ways. The sexytimes between these two was some of the hottest stuff that Ive read in a long time, but it wasnt just SEX. The emotion and depth of caring that went into it made the intimacy between the two protagonists genuine acts of love, rather than a basic how-to manual. It was LOVE, yall. LOVE. The intrigue that brings these two together in the first place--Evies diabolical werewolf father--is just as captivating. Evies father trapped the demonic Bas in order to harness the demons power, and the menace that radiated off this Alpha-hole kept me on the edge of my seat. Even when Evies dad wasnt physically present, I was aware of him in the same way one is aware of Freddy Krueger just waiting for the unwary to nod off. The ominous force of this villain is spectacularly toxic *shivers*. Evie, a classic case of an abuse victim, is one of my favorite literary heroines. Despite a lifetime of torment from her father, and almost buried under a sense of low self-worth, she is a genius at survival (which underscores her true strength of character). When Bas does all he can to protect and ultimately save Evie, you begin to sense that she is finally able to believe she might be worthy of love after all. In the midst of a violent and bloody conclusion, this dawning realization is so very satisfying to experience. Yay, Evie! Fair warning--the intrigue that brought Bas and Evie together isnt tied up in the end, but thats a GOOD THING. This means the world gets more Bas and Evie, and maybe even more wonderful characters in the world that Kelly Apple has built. Demon Restrained is an absolute winner, and I cant recommend it enough to people who love their PNR fast-paced, thrill-packed and hotter than the surface of the sun.

I received Demon Restrained in exchange for a fair and honest review. If you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t be able to guess that Demon Restrained is not only the premier book in this author’s Demonkind Collective series, but it’s also her premier book period. The characters were great, the bad guys were scary, the story was intriguing and the smexy level was off the charts. Yeah, I’d say that Kelly Apple pretty much nailed it. So, where do I begin? Well, since most of the story was told from Bas’ POV, I guess we’ll start with him. I loved Bas’ inner dialogue. And there was a lot of inner dialogue. His feelings and attraction toward Evie took him totally by surprise and he came to quite a few surprising revelations. He expected to use her for sustenance and escape. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized that she meant much more to him than that. Evie saw herself as weak and damaged. Bas saw her for what she actually was – strong, determined and caring. Bas wasn’t used to seeing those traits in beings that inhabited her plane. Especially shifters. Her simple act of caring and the strength it took to provide it changed Bas’ entire perspective – not to mention his feelings toward Evie. The story may have been short, but the emotion, heat and suspense wasn’t lacking. There were no wasted words or actions in this one, but nothing was rushed either. This was the perfect start and I’m looking forward to more. Readers were given a sneak peek at the next installment at the end of Demon Restrained and I can’t wait to see what Kelly Apple has in store for us next. Looks like things might get just a little interesting.

Woman is being captive her whole life and sees a opportunity to escape with the terrible demon that is held in de basement. The book is perfect, characters and world building, the best. Even the romantic elements are scoring hot. So why just end it with we made it to a save place..the end?? The ending was to fast and to street to the point. One you see coming from the first10 pages with no element of surprise. Why. The restof the ook is amazing!

He’s a demon imprisoned. She’s a wolf imprisoned. Together they form a bond that they will use to break their imprisonment. So good. Need more of Evie & Bas. I also read the Series Shorts on Kelly Apple’s website. Wonderful additions to the storylines.

My Review: I know that this is supposed to be Kelly Apples debut novel, but theres no way. Kelly Apple has to be a cover pseudonym for a writer whos been doing this for thirty books already because this book was amazing. Ive been in the middle of editing which usually makes it impossible to read other books because I see all the flaws, BUT I saw only one teeny, tiny flaw in the entire book. She used a single instance of passive voice...once...gasp. This is unheard of for a newbie writer and makes me feel so unworthy to even call myself a writer. And thats before we even get to the story...OMG, this book was so good. Bas is a demon whos been caught by an werewolf Alpha whos taking great joy in torturing him and he and plans to harness Bass power. So far, Bas has not been able to break through the magic of his prison and as he becomes weaker, the odds of him dying are becoming much higher. He needs fresh blood to escape. Then Evie begins to visit him. Shes different. He cant sense her the way that he can others. Shes meek and quiet and simply a mouse of a werewolf, but she continues to visit him and bring him food and water. And its food and water that she really needs for herself as shes obviously been abused and neglected. Over the weeks, they form a bond...a weak one, but its a bond nonetheless. And this is saying a lot because Bas is a demon...he doesnt bond/care about others. He uses them, but finds that he just cant do that to Evie. The book is so good as you watch the friendship between Evie and Bas develop. Its so gorgeous and tenuous and beautiful in the fact that theres no way there can be a future between them. And though neither of them should have the hope of that, Bas does...a glimmer of a hope. It worked so well for this book. Evie is this tiny slip of a girl whos learned how to hide in the shadows of the world and she manages to completely emotionally blindside this big, fierce demon. The book was hot and romantic and so utterly heartwarming. I loved it and am in true awe of Kellys writing skill. Read it...you wont regret it. And, even better, its the start of a new series and book #2 sounds to be just as good, if not better, than the first was, but this time we get to visit into the demon realm. I cannot wait!!!

Its clear from Kelly Apples debut novel that shes had a lot of practice writing. The language is crisp, clear, and easy to follow, which is something that sounds much easier to achieve than it really is. Now, I just had to get that out of the way. It really isnt easy to write simple well -- and so many authors drown their narrative with unnecessary, wordy weight. Kelly Apple did not. As to the story, Demon Restrained is definitely a book Ill be reading again, partly because its one of the few times Ive read a shifter novel, and partly because, well, I simply want to read it again. Between the insanely well-written hot times, and the complexity and passion of Evie and Bas burning through the pages, its quite simply put a page-turner, in the best way possible. This is also a hard thing to achieve, and makes me wonder if Kelly Apple has actually been writing for years under a different pseudonym! I was left wanting more at the end, and I dont expect that Kelly Apple has stopped writing.