Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780425220542
ISBN: 0425220540
Label: Berkley Trade
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2008-04-01
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Studio: Berkley Trade

The thrilling new erotic paranormal romance from the USA Today bestselling author

Fleeing the routine life her family wanted for her, Beth joins an archaeological dig spearheaded by her cousin Charles. For such an adventurer, the desert city of Bhamjran is perfect for making unusual discoveries-especially when it comes to forbidden appetites. Like his own unnatural desire for a Yama demon. And as he and Beth are about to learn, some Yama find humans equally irresistible...

Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as deep as "Fairyville"
Comment: This book was pretty good, she wrote the lead character well, but for me the story didn't have the emotional depth that "Fairyville" did. Although the menage seemed to work well enough, I didn't feel Charles was truly as connected as the other two, and I felt that could cause problems down the road. I agree with another reviewer that Pahndir did take too much abuse, once again. He was a great character and I hated to see him mistreated. Oddly enough, the abuse didn't seem to even bother him.

Something was missing in this one, and I'm not sure what it was. It was hot enough and well-written enough, it just fell short of the mark for me.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Seductive Story
Comment: Emma Holly has once again created story as hot as it's desert setting. her Demon tales are set in an alternative Victorian age with a steam punk edge where the Yama are an advanced race called Demons by humans. This book is listed as the third Demon story, however it is directly linked to the short story "Queen of All She Surveys inBeyond the Dark. The Queen in Queen Tou, who's palace is the site of an archeological dig in Demon's Fire. I recommend reading Tou's story in addition to The Demon's Daughter (Tales of the Demon World, Book 1) and Prince of Ice (Tales of the Demon World, Book 2) before reading Demon's Fire.

This book centers around Prince Pahndir who we met in Prince of Ice. After leaving the Pillow House he establishes himself as a brothel owner in the exotic city of Bhamjran. There he meets Beth and Charles who are working on the Tou palace excavation.

I love the way Holly builds the tension between the three. The relationship builds and flows very naturally, even as Charles fights it. This story is the most sexually advenrturous of her demon tales, going beyond anything in the previous two novels, the three Yammish short stories or Queen Tou's tale.

Those who have read and enjoyed the prevous titles won't want to miss this one. In my opinion it's one of the best in the series.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Why Emma Why? * contains slight spoiler*
Comment: Emma Holly writes superb erotica laced with romance but her stories are carried by her wonderful characters. They are likable and human, flawed and imperfect, passionate and optimistic.

Prince Pahndir is one of those characters. Although he was secondary, he was my favorite character in Prince of Fire. Demon's Fire was an essential read in order to experience Pahndir's happy ending.

I gave this book 3 stars because Ms Holly did not disappoint in her trademark areas.

I took away 2 stars because I was very sorry to see that Pahndir is raped and abused AGAIN. Apparently the years of abuse that he suffered in Prince of Ice were not enough. (On a side note, there is a satisfying retribution scene following but it does not neutralize the damage, IMO.)

Since I have read many of her books and he is the only character that this has occurred to, I am left to conclude that either the Demon series is one to be avoided or she did not care for Pahndir as much as I did.

Only time will tell whether other Demon characters suffer this abuse or whether this is an isolated character incident but readers deserve to be warned.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Definite fire
Comment: Remember Prince Pahndir? The one captured in that room in the pillow house? You know, they would tie him up and let the future prostitutes practice on him? Well, he's back and he leaves no reason for anyone to feel sorry for him. The Prince now owns a very reputable pillow house of his own and he has got eyes on two lovelies that have come to town. Beth (younger sister from hero in the first book) and Charles (little Charles from the first book in the series--brought up on the street, but who likes to cook) are working at the local dig sight and even though they book have feelings for the other, each keep them hidden. The three end out in a very interesting relationship. Yea, I know I'm sounding a bit tawdry and the concept itself is tawdry, but Holly seems to pull if off without a hitch. There is just something about her writing where she can take a porno flick and turn it into a romance. It was all quite lovely and yet very stimulating. I love her writing.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Third in demon/Yama series
Comment: Emma Holly really can write! She's writing in a crowded genre, that of fantasy/paranormal/erotica, but her writing is way ahead of most of the other authors that I've read. She is particularly good at creating believable and engaging characters who grow and change in a way that the reader finds convincing. Her fantasy worlds have congruence and, although different than our world, show that people have the same problems and flaws and emotions.

The world of 'Demon's Fire' is her Yamish world, previously featured in the books 'The Demon's Daughter' and 'Prince of Ice' as well as in the short story 'Queen Of All She Surveys' in the anthology 'Beyond The Dark'. 'Demon's Fire' focuses on two characters who appeared in 'The Demon's Daughter', Charles the adopted son of Roxanne and Adrian Philips, and Beth, Adrian's younger sister, although ten years have passed since the end of the first story. The third major character in this story is Prince Pahndir who appeared in 'Prince of Ice' and was rescued by Xishi and Corum from his years of sexual slavery in the school for concubines. Pahndir was a very interesting character in that story, apparently rather weak and emasculated following the suicide of his wife, but with hints that there was more to him than a shell of a man.

In this story Pahndir comes out of that shell and begins to live again. He's had several years of freedom and is running an effective high-class brothel business in the desert city of Bhamjran. When he bumps into Beth and Charles, who are working with Lord Herrington at an archaeological dig, he finds himself drawn to both of them. Both Beth and Charles also find Pahndir intriguing, but for different reasons. Beth is more able to cope with her interest, Charles is afraid of some of the feelings that he has, especially as he also has feelings for Beth. When Pahndir decides to try to seduce both of them he unwittingly draws them into an attempt on his life and he may have to end up relying on them to rescue him from a return to slavery. But is it possible for the three of them to recover from past wounds and make a future together?

Although this story works well on its own I think readers would benefit from reading the previous two novels in the series to understand the underlying Yamish world. It was also good to learn more about some characters, such as Lord Herrington, and to reconnect with characters from previous books. Emma Holly's skill in this book is creating a happy ending for the three central characters, even if in a rather unusual manner, and showing the way that they grow throughout the book. The eroticism in her writing is to the fore in this book, much more so than 'The Demon's Daughter', and it might be too much for some readers, but her skill in storytelling makes this a very worthwhile read.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

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