The Demon’s Daughter – Emma Holly
I get my recs for Fantasy Romance from a lot of places, and this particular book was rec’ed to me on r/RomanceBooks over a year ago as part of a request for well-written, adult Fantasy Romance books (not YA, not NA, no romantic subplots, etc.). It’s been sitting on my TBR since that time until I recently started the process of culling my TBR and searching for books that might fit my all Fantasy Romance r/fantasy Book Bingo card. I didn’t know anything about Emma Holly going into this book aside what I’d learned from some online book buddies – she is best known for Erotic Romance (Romance that is steamier than most, packing more explicit sex than your average Romance) as well as late 1990’s early 2000’s SFF Romances. So, I decided to give it a try.
I continue to marvel at the luck I have falling into books that seem to be made for me. This book screams Kat; it checks so many boxes for me, it’s almost scary. Look – I’m not going to say that what I like is close to being universal. This review is going to be more of a list of why this book works for me, and if you read it and you find that what works for me also works for you? Well, then I highly recommend reading The Demon’s Daughter by Emma Holly, because it was absolutely satisfying.
This review was originally written as part of a personal project to complete an all Fantasy Romance card for r/fantasy’s 2022 Book Bingo. You can read an introduction to my project here. All opinions are my own.
RELEASE DATE: 02/11/2004
STAR RATING: 5/5 ✶
I really enjoy the approach to world-building that fuses a quasi-historical settings with a completely different world. I’ve read this a couple of times, and this book solidified my love of this approach. The author took late Victorian era London and pieces of its history and plunked it down inside a secondary world and alternate history on another planet with a race of demons. She then deepens the immersion through the use of chapter epigraphs that are meant to be excerpts from various historical texts. The world-building was this amazingly creative fusion of ideas and histories, and I was totally diggin’ it.
The theming in this book draws on this world-building, focusing on both the human-demon interactions as well as the class structure within both races. Much of the conflict stems from racism between humans and demons, with both Adrian and Roxanne struggling given their unique ties to the demon race. Layer on top of that the classism that exists in both worlds, and you have a solid foundation for a plot rife with societal tension.
I loved Adrian and Roxanne, the main characters in this book; I felt very connected to them and wanted them to find happiness both for themselves and with each other. Like most modern Romance books, this book is dual-POV, and the development of each character is rich and engaging. I will admit that my preferences tend to older protagonists given my age and the point I am in in my life, and so it was a pleasant surprise to find that the MMC is in his early 40’s and the FMC around 30.
Adrian is not Alpha in any way, but an emotionally-connected man deseparate to find love after a failed marriage and a lonely life dedicated to his job as a Inspector (this book gives off a strong detective noir vibe). He wants the type of family he grew up with, and we get to see a glimpse of what that looks like when he visits his parents. His parents wanted a better life for him than they had, and his drive, the choices he makes with his first marriage, and his decision to take the demon implants all stem from these familial drives. The themes of race and class dynamics and family all tied together nicely to form Adrian’s character arc.
But the same is true for Roxanne. She is alone in this world, never knowing her father and losing her mother at a young age, but she creates a family for herself adopting two children and shapes a life around her art that is uniquely her own. This book has a tremendous message of women’s independence – Roxanne is a force to be reckoned with in an era where a woman’s worth was associated with her husband and her family. She stands apart, making her own living with her art and conducting her day-to-day life in the manner that suits her regardless of societal expectations.
By the end of the book, I realized that The Demon’s Daughter is very much a book about family. It’s a theme that is revisited and explored throughout the story, from Roxanne’s adopted children, to Adrian’s massive family, to the difficult relationship Roxanne has with both of her parents, and finally the formation of a family of their own.
The Demon’s Daughter is a deeply sensual book, and I didn’t realize how much I’d been craving that. Yes, this book does get steamy – Emma Holly is known for her Erotic Romance – but what stood out for me was the intense sensuality of the couple for much of the first half of the book in the form of simple touching, caresses, and foot massages, as an example. That being said, this book does pack a lot of steam, so if you like your explicit sex scenes on the thinner side, this might be a bit much for you.
Finally, the prose. I found this book extremely well-written. It didn’t feel basic, nor was it overwrought. Instead, is struck the perfect balance for me, reflecting the tone the author wanted to deliver with nary a hiccup.
I highly recommend this book. I adored it. I’m not sure if I will read the other two full-length entries in this series – I felt complete at the end of this book – but I am so pleasantly surprised and happy to have read The Demon’s Daughter.