Official Review: Demon Heart by David Crane

mratdegraff91 · Post by **mratdegraff91** » 15 Oct 2017, 14:23

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Demon Heart" by David Crane.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Demon Heart by David Crane

David Crane, author of Demon Heart, takes each reader into a world where magic, demons, and other supernatural beings exist. His 278-page novel, published July 30, 2017, is an excellent Sci-fi novel for mature readers. The storyline features several scenes of blood and gore that may make some queasy while reading but significantly added to the history of the storyline. This is a novel that was difficult to put down and left me begging for more at the end.

The main storyline follows Naoko Kitamura in modern day Japan. Naoko is a cop for the city of Osaka working to maintain the balance between good and evil. She hides a family secret while retaining this precious balance in that she is a demon hybrid, a product of an ancient union between a pure demon and a noble samurai. This secret and everything that comes with it is only passed down through the women in her family. To protect their country and maintain the sacred balance between good and evil her mother sacrifices herself leaving Naoko to carry on the family secret alone as well as continue the family line of hybrids. Naoko swears to avenge her mother but discovers that there are more forces at play than she realized. She races against time to maintain the safety of her country and also the balance of good and evil.

This novel’s storyline was fast paced and easy to follow. Putting this book down was a struggle. Naoko is a loyal friend, daughter, and lover. She faces many challenging tasks and crisis throughout the story further strengthening her character. I quickly fell in love with her character and my heart would break when tragedy struck. I enjoyed following her as the story progressed and watching her character grow. The author also provides readers with a bit of her childhood and discovery of how to control her demon half toward the beginning.

There were several themes seen consistently in this novel. Family, loyalty, honor, honesty, and love were the most prevalent during the story. I felt the author portrayed the Japanese culture's attributes well within these themes. The main character stuck by these as well even when it came to sacrificing herself.

A few things I did not like about this novel were the occasional grammar errors and the formatting. In the copy provided for me to review, the writing frequently switched back and forth between bold and normal font at random. I sampled the online Kindle version through Amazon and noticed that the issue was not present there. This was the main thing that bothered me in my version, but it did not detract from the storyline itself which leads me to rate this novel a 4 out of 4 stars.

This novel was a delight to read, and I hope other readers enjoy it as much as I did. It is a look into a different world and for me, a different culture.

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Demon Heart
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Sarah Immanuel · Post by **Sarah Immanuel** » 17 Oct 2017, 04:42

Very interesting review. Naoko seems a good character. I honesty loved the story. Thanks. I give it 4 out of 4.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 17 Oct 2017, 07:31

Sounds interesting. You don't see a whole lot of books taking place in Japan. Thanks for the review.

Ashley Simon · Post by **Ashley Simon** » 17 Oct 2017, 13:55

Not sure that this one is my style, but I enjoyed your review!

Cloe101 · Post by **Cloe101** » 18 Oct 2017, 14:34

It sounds intriguing with the Japanese culture and the supernatural. Very nice review.

Little Bluestockings · Post by **Little Bluestockings** » 18 Oct 2017, 14:36

Great review!

MsTri · Post by **MsTri** » 18 Oct 2017, 19:21

I LOVE supernatural stories, especially the kind with demons and other such evil creatures,
so the title and cover had already grabbed my attention, but now your review has convinced me that I HAVE to read this book. I'm also interested in reading about the Japanese culture, as I'm fascinated with ways of living that differ from my own, so I'm glad the author did well in that aspect... Thanks so much for the novel introduction!

Kiagewinnie · Post by **Kiagewinnie** » 19 Oct 2017, 15:31

An interesting review would love to read the book

Kat Berg · Post by **Kat Berg** » 22 Oct 2017, 09:37

I love books that I cannot put down, and it has been too long since I read one. It sounds like at least some of the issues in your sample were taken care of in the kindle format, hopefully all of them were. I sometimes find books about another culture a chore to read if the author does not understand the culture, or equally as bad, fetishizes it. That thankfully does not seem to be the case in this book! Thanks for your review.