Rating: 4.5⭐️
Deborah Wilde writes such wonderful books and great unusual main female characters that once I found her it’s been hard not to just binge her entire catalog.
Elements that Wilde includes into her storylines and universes as well as character designs are those of Jewish history, culture, and religious traditions. From the names of the characters to their stories and even the agencies they serve, what it is to be a Jewish person is part of their identity and this book.
And her stories are mostly urban fantasy. So how she continues to fold Jewish mythology, history and religious beliefs and traditions into her urban fantasy worlds and series is smooth, unique, and fascinating.
Aviva Fleischer is an agent for the Maccabees, a government agency that regulates and deals with otherworldly events and beings. This includes having a team of diverse individuals, including vampires.
What’s not so inclusive is anyone or being that’s identified as a demon. Or part demon. Which is what Aviva is hiding, she’s part demon. And the daughter of a high ranking official in the Maccabee organization.
Wilde excellently crafts both an alternative world where vampires and humans now exist, although not exactly in harmony. Otherworldly realms can be visited but it’s a dangerous place to go if you’re a human, and there’s hidden secrets and agendas everywhere waiting to be revealed.
Aviva is a complicated character, with mother issues. An ex-boyfriend who’s come into play again and a murder mystery that’s as complicated as she is.
Just a fabulous story and it lays the groundwork for the next story to come.
Highly recommended! As is this author.
Cover by: Covers By Christian.
Bedeviled:
Big Demon Energy #1
Demon on Deck #2
Better the Demon You Know #3
Demon in Disguise #4
The Demon’s Due #5 – Aug 18,2025
Buy link
Big Demon Energy: An Enemies-to-Lovers Urban Fantasy (Bedeviled Book 1)
Blurb
She’s just a demon, standing in front of a vampire, trying not to punch him.
Aviva Fleischer hides a dangerous secret. She’s carefully concealing her infernal heritage, a.k.a. Cherry Bomb. Maybe it’s weird naming her demon side and referring to her in the third person, but guys do the same with their junk, and unlike most of them, Avi isn’t deluded about Cherry’s prowess.
Avi’s been working her ass off, climbing the ranks of a supernatural policing organization to enact change and empower those like her forced to hide their true nature. Sure, she’s bent the rules now and then, but her arrest record speaks for itself. Her promotion is in the bag.
Instead, the director strikes a deal with Avi: spy on the operative sent in to work a rash of bizarre murders and prove she can be a team player, or kiss that new rank goodbye.
No problem.
Okay, maybe just one.
Her co-leader, Ezra Cardoso, is a charming, ruthless vampire with his own agenda, whom she fantasizes about: mostly staking him then vacuuming up his remains.
But when the killer sets Aviva’s team firmly in their sights, she’ll have to decide whether to keep playing by the rules or show everyone exactly what she—and Cherry Bomb—are capable of…
Featuring a smart, funny heroine and a banter-fueled vampire romance, this wickedly addictive urban fantasy will keep you reading way past bedtime.
Dive in now for a fiendishly good time!
- Publisher: Te Da Media Inc.
- Publication date: August 21, 2023
- Language: English
- Print length: 358 pages
- Book 1 of 5: Bedeviled
Urban Fantasy, vampire thrillers, humorous fantasy, paranormal suspense
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 