This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Taming Demons for Beginners

With the passing of Robin’s parents, she ends up living with her uncle until their wills are settled. Raised to avoid magic she didn’t expect to find a demon in the basement. A very illegal demon in the basement. Skirting around rude family members and illegal activities was not Robin’s plan. But if her uncle keeps dodging her questions about the will, she might as well poke around the demon. After all, it’s in a summoning circle, it can’t hurt her, right?

Having the chance to see Robin’s origins as a demon summoner was fantastic! She has a sad start having lost her parents before the story even begins. And she is such a timid character! While she tries to stand up for herself, she’s just learning how to do so. Unfortunately, this means people talk around her and verbally push her around. Such a vast difference from Tori in the Spellbound world of Guild Codex. I can’t wait to see the character development in store for Robin in future novels!

And Robin's baking treats to share and enjoy with others was so wholesome. It broke my heart when family members didn’t appreciate it. Yet Robin found an uncommon ally who loved her baked goods.

Zylas is an alluring morally gray character. He has his own plans and toys within the bounds of his contract. While he won’t hesitate to eliminate a threat, there are moments he seems to hold back. But it might just be that he does this for his own enjoyment. But no matter where Robin and Zylas go, there is sure to be entertaining chaos in their wake.

Taming Demons for Beginners is the start of The Guild Codex: Demonized series. Readers familiar with the world will see fun cameos from Crow and Hammer guild members, as this book lines up with a previous tale. Taking Robin’s timid character and pairing her up with a troublemaker is sure to create intense interactions. And I can’t wait to read about it. ( )

*happy sigh* that's pretty much all I can say about that book... oh, and I have a serious craving for cookies!

Worldbuilding:
Rewind the time from Demon Magic and a Martini and we see how events unfolded that led to the demon chase. We learned quite a bit of Demonica and the different demons, though much is still shrouded in mystery.

Character development:
I can honestly say, I relate soooo much with Robin (in her bookish ways that is, unfortunately, I don't have magic *sniff*). She's an introvert and painfully shy, though has a great sense of what is right and wrong. I cannot wait to read more about her and see her opening up more!
Zylas... I must admit I read his name the whole time like he told Robin how to pronounce it. Zuh-yee-las. My brain has a hard time with that for some reason, so I'm just gonna stick to Zylas thank you very much :D
He is still a delightful mystery, not only cause he's so different from his brethren but how he treats Robin. They were a pleasure to read about!

Pacing and flow:
Cookies, cookies, conversation, action and more cookies to tie it all together... mmm cookies...
*ahem*
This book started off a lot slower than we're used to, but it felt right. There were some overlapping scenes with Demon Magic and a Martini with made me so damn happy :D
I love how the series are intertwined!

The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is no sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 360 pages long, spread over 29 chapters and told from Robin's point of view.

Final thoughts:
I honestly, so freaking love these books! They have become my go-to when I need a good book, filled with action and that will entertain me and leave me with a big grin on my face. I cannot recommend this series enough... seriously, go read it! ;)
For me... The Alchemist and an Amaretto is next in line (yay) ( )

Full Review on my blog!

Annette Marie has been on my TBR list foreverrrr, and I was so happy to finally get my hands on one of her books for a blog tour!

Taming Demons for Beginners was EVERYTHING I'd hoped for and more. I absolutely loved it. The writing was amazing and I really got sucked into the plot! There was lots of action and was fast moving. I couldn't put it down.

Robin Page, accidental demon contractor. She finds herself living with her Uncle and his family, where she befriends a demon they have summoned and she accidentally becomes linked to the demon. The story really delves into their budding relationship and friendship. They are very different and don’t trust each other but bit a bit they’re willing to give each other a try. I don't want to give too much more away, you'll really have to give this a read, you won't be disappointed!

Overall, I loved Taming Demons for Beginners it was dark and creepy, yet fun and hopeful at the same time. The plot is interesting and I'm really looking forward to see how Robin and Zylas relationship develops in the next book!

I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book.

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Annette Marie has been on my TBR list for well over a year. I was so thankful to finally get my hands on one of her books after being taunted by rave reviews all of the place. The hype isn't wrong, Taming Demons for Beginners was everything I'd hoped for and more.

I love the flow of the book, Robins anxiety & frustrations are easy to relate to. It was so easy to be engulfed into her story while we follower journey in navigating a world she never thought she'd be apart of. I love her weak, unknowing start. There is no instant badass in this story, thank goodness. I look forward to watching her character arc grow over the coming books. The relationship between her and the demon is quirky yet terrifying.

This is a typical urban fantasy, where there are some aspects of the story that are kind of hand waved or set so the plot can move forward to keep things simple. I.E. Easy, fun read.

Two things that bothered me but I'm thinking probably shouldn't have were 1. how did her parents die. She is only 20, and her commentary made it feel like it was normal car accident death but the lack of reason makes me wonder if there was foul play, especially if her uncle knew they had what he wanted. I went back thinking I missed it, but idk, if someone knows this help me out ha. 2. Why was her uncle the executor over the will? I realize this is a must for the whole story to happen, but her parents knew what they had, and it is noted they are smart people, so wouldn't they have put fail safes for something like this? Maybe this will be answered in future books, but I kept circling back to why they weren't answered while I read. ( )

This novel was a delightful, short read. Robin's timidity did get a little irksome, as well as her tendency to make really bad decisions... but Zylar more than made up for it! The story and the action drew me in, and I can't wait to read more from Marie. ( )