The Demon Lord of California is a slow burn, paranormal romance with lots of world building.
From the blurb:
Baker. Wizard. God of Space and Time. Cupcake enthusiast. How long will it take to fan the flames and enrage this gentle phoenix? Start counting.
What's a wounded and lonely little cinnamon roll to do? Stripped of his psychic powers, Calico Winghorse flees to 19th century earth via his inter-dimensional portal. As a mixed-blood phoenix trapped in human form, he opens a bakery in the San Francisco Bay Area and quietly nurses his wounds. But the unique method of his arrival has drawn the unwanted attention of Infinity Corporation.
Representing this angelic-run company is Agustin Chavez de la Cruz, the Demon Lord of California. Even though Agustin is IC's heir, he finds himself demoted from his duties to concentrate on his new assignment: take absolute control of the portal. But Calico refuses to sell for any price.
Before Agustin can formulate a more gracious avenue of acquiring Calico's gateway, the demanding head of IC interferes, further complicating matters. So as negotiations stumble along, Calico and Agustin realize they both wish to establish more than a mere business arrangement. In the mean time, Calico ensures that the good people of the city are getting their fill of baked goods.
However, due to Calico’s injuries, the portal remains vulnerable to the darker forces that want it at any cost. Agustin will have to push both his angelic heritage, as well as his own psychic power to the very limits to mend someone who not only bears celestial blood, but who is also the God of Space and Time.
Sheena's Review:
First of all, this is a LONG book. That's not a criticism in the slightest, it's just a fact. Even though I've read the whole thing, I'm still really not sure what it was I read. It's set in the early 1900s, and I'm still unclear on whether the supernatural/paranormal are a known thing or not. Calico and his brothers are identical triplets, and Calico is also the god of space and time, albeit without most of his powers, due to a curse. Agustin is the titular demon lord of California, although he's a hybrid demon/angel trying to juggle both parts of his heritage.
There was a lot going on in this book, a lot of jumping about in time for Calico, and I was more than a little lost at times. Lots of phoenixes and lots of explanations about bloodlines and forges and it was a little much at times. I did enjoy the story for the most part. I did like how naïve Calico was, although it seemed he'd flip quickly from naïve to wanton at the drop of a hat (although this was sort of explained). I'm not sure I'll stick with this for the whole series, but might have a look at the next and see if it intrigues me.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
The Demon Lord of California is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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