Make Me (Demon Underground, #4)

Make Me by Parker Blue

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Part demon, part human, we are secretly born.
Persecuted, violated, forsaken, forlorn.
For freedom, for privacy, we have all made a pact.
Three to serve: one to lead, one to protect, one to act.

It would seem that my favorite half succubus just can’t catch a break. Val Shapiro has been hunting bad vampires for as long as she can remember, but lately her life has been a bit harder than usual. Ever since she lost her Slayer powers along with her V card, she only has her succubus half, Lola, to rely on in fights. Speed and strength of a regular human aren’t nearly enough when you spend your days fighting vampires, not even with some training in martial arts.

Val’s new boss, leader of the ‘good’ vampires, has to go to Austin to take care of business and insists on bringing Val along. That would normally be fine, but her boyfriend Shade is complicating matters by being jealous of the vampire lieutenant Austin and wanting to come along. Besides, things aren’t running smoothly in the Demon Underground either. A none-too-small fraction of the Underground has turned against Micah, their incubus leader and Val’s cousin. They want things to go back to the old ways, when protecting half demons was far more important than blending in, but Micah wants to lead the organization the way his father did before him. Val isn’t quite sure what to think of the matter and would like to stay out of it if at all possible, but the new fraction is convinced that she would make a much better leader than Micah, so avoiding the problem isn’t really an option.

All these things, however, pale in comparison to the challenge of keeping the Encyclopedia Magicka safe. Torn between her job and her duty towards her own kind, Val is forced to use any means necessary, including her succubus half Lola and the rather unpredictable book, to save everyone and everything she loves.

Maybe six months ago, after a recommendation by a trusted friend, I picked up the first three books of the Demon Underground series and read them all in two days. They were incredibly entertaining, with great worldbuilding, likable characters, and interesting plots and I became an instant fan. Needless to say, my expectations for this book were sky high, and I’m sorry to say it didn’t quite live up to them. (A love triangle? Really, Parker Blue? Why would you do such a thing to a perfectly good series? *cries*)

Shade was my biggest disappointment by far. He was almost unrecognizable in Make Me. Without any warning, he and Val went from being a sweet new couple to having trust issues, balance issues, issues with unfounded jealousy and lack of communication. When exactly did their relationship become a power struggle? They were perfectly happy at the end of book three.
Val was also a bit too whiny for my taste. She had a right to be, all things considered, but I still didn’t appreciate the pity party. Even Fang, her loyal hellhound, wasn’t as funny as he usually is.

I’ll probably still read book five when it comes out, but my expectations will be a lot lower.