Review of Getting Familiar With Your Demon by Jodi Redford

Publisher: Samhain
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Series: That Old Black Magic #4
Buying Links: Samhain     Amazon

Book Blurb from goodreads):


He should push her away…but he’d rather have his wicked way with her. 

That Old Black Magic, Book 4


After too many years learning death from the inside out as the familiar of a voodoo queen, soul collector Samael Gorasola betrayed his boss, which landed him on demon death row.  

  He should have known not even his punishment would come easy, but the deal he’s offered to escape his fate stinks. Become the indentured servant to his despised enemy? No thanks, he’d rather be six feet under. With that in mind, he picks a deadly fight with two demon hunters, only to be rescued by one misguided, deliciously innocent white witch. 

  Marabella hasn’t a clue what possessed her to help Sam, particularly since he’s not the least bit grateful. She blames it on her overwhelming attraction to the dark, dangerous demon, and her exasperating quest to rid herself of the stubborn curse that guards her virginity. If the guild finds out, though, she can kiss her white-witch status goodbye. 

  A kiss is exactly what she gets, followed by a consuming hunger that breaks down all heavenly and earthly barriers…and leaves Sam saddled with the one thing he never wanted, a conscience, and a connection to Marabella that puts her soul on the line.
 
Warning: This book contains torturous use of disco music, one sinfully sexy demon who revels in being bad, a virgin witch whose innocence runs more than skin deep, and plenty of wicked, forbidden sex with explosive side effects—literally.  

Teaser:

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he demanded.

 "Dude, you saved that cat. A freaking cat."

Her statement hammered into him like a two-by-four. Hell, she was right. If this didn't prove he was going batshit crazy, nothing would.

My Thoughts:

Although you can read this as a stand-alone, I recommend reading book 1 in the series, That Voodoo You Do. The actions in that book lead into this book and account for the circumstances in which Samael finds himself at the beginning of the story. While book 1 fills in some of the back story for this book, you can skip it. But why? It's fun and sexy and so is this one.

Sam is cranky, pissed off, rude, and very much interested in looking out for himself. Six months ago though he did something that landed him in a dungeon, and being tortured daily (Jodi, we have to talk. "It's Raining Men" is a perfectly good, fun song. What do you have against it? :D) Pricilla, the demon king's personal secretary gets him released but that doesn't improve his situation much.

Marabella, Bella for short, is a good witch, a white witch, who is hell-bent on losing her virginity. Thanks to a fortune teller, she believes that she's under a curse which scares men away. She encounters, Sam, a demon, a white witch's natural enemy, and she finds herself drawn to him. Despite their natural enmity, she saves him when he's attacked by two other demons. He's not pleased.

"Getting Familiar With Your Demon" is sexy, sassy, and laugh out loud funny. It expands upon Jodi's TOBM world while giving us more fun and interesting characters. I like Cass, Sam's cousin, a lot. I hope she'll be back. I didn't like Sam much at first - he was cranky, rude, snotty, and generally poorly behaved. But as I got to know him better, I liked him more and more. Bella I took to quicker though I admit I rolled my eyes at the whole "virgin with a curse" bit. I should have trusted Jodi, it wasn't what it seemed at first. Jodi sprinkled in a few twists and turns throughout the story. There is an HEA, and for a while I wasn't sure she could pull it off. Happily, she did and it makes sense, while staying true to the rules established in her world building.  Of course, the sex scenes are both fun and hot, but sadly there's a serious lack of both pufferfish sex (it's a joke that started with book 1) and her trademark menage scene. Still, it's a light fun paranormal with a love story that is a mix of sweet, spicy and "oh no he didn't!". :D

Warning: The book contains graphic sexual scenes.

Some favorite quotes:

For f***'s sake. Sam plowed a hand through his hair as his last shred of patience shuttled off to Hawaii. Without him, damn it.

Mr. Tall, Dark and Deadly stopped beside a scruffy-looking dude wearing denim coveralls and a battered baseball cap. The man took one look at the demon and quickly vacated his spot. Apparently used to strangers giving up seats to him, the demon straddled the stool and snapped his fingers at the stressed-out bartender.

"You're going to make me walk two blocks while I'm bleeding out?" He grunted. "And you witches have the balls to call us evil sadists."

Cass tossed up her arms. "Why are you being so negative?" "Hello? You're talking about Sam here. Pessimistic is his middle name." Nikki cocked her head to the side. "Or is it pissy? I always get the two confused."

I received a Kindle book from the author for review.