Gemma has finally returned to school after the accident –
the accident in which her twin brother and her two best friends died. The
accident that half the town and most of the school blames on her.
That’s a lot to deal with. Thankfully she has some
distractions with an after-school book club that comes with lessons on how to
summon demons
But summoning demons isn’t a mere amusement – with people
of the town being possessed by the shadowy Dybbuk in greater and greater
numbers, Gem’s ability to summon angels and demons may be the only thing to
save them all.
All of that is excellent. It’s fascinating. It’s
intriguing. It has elements I have rarely seen in any other book. It has an
amazing foundation. I could love this book. I could love this series. It could
very easily be one of my favourites. I love the idea of summoning angels and
demons and the tattoos they leave behind. I love the idea of channelling their
powers and creating debts and favours and working to discover exactly which
angel or demon you need for each job. I really like the way that the demons and
angels are portrayed – human but not with lots of edges.
The descriptions, especially of the alien realms, are
really vivid and powerful. Gem herself is well described and characterised and
makes for a solid protagonist
The idea behind the story is truly excellent and one I
really enjoyed. The demonic plotting and Gem’s slow learning as more and more
of the supernatural is revealed to her, the Dybbuk, lost souls possessing
people and slowly consuming the entire town adds a perfectly created sense of
urgency that really drives the plot and the decisions. Their actions both make
the story very personal as people Gem loves are affected while also being almost
apocalyptic in the damage it could unleash on the world, let alone the town.
But
Yes. But.
But there were elements that I thought were completely
unnecessary additions that served to confuse the story – such as the
headmistress of the school being a witch. She added nothing to the story, she
did very little, she achieved nothing but a distraction.
