Review: Dance with the Devil

Title: Dance with the Devil
Author: Megan Derr
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: 13 July 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 126 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review: Chris is a half-ghost detective who takes on the paranormal cases no one else will. Between a demon lord lover, an imp partner, and everything else the world can throw at him, life is definitely never boring.

Dance with the Devil is actually a collection of ten short stories, a case at a shot, strung together out of chronological order. Although they don't fit a standard timeline, they're linked together in a logical progression, so it's not difficult to follow.

It's difficult to break down a character hierarchy. Although Chris is the main character and he and Sable comprise the main couple, there are also cases that focus on Doug (Chris's partner) and Phil (the agency's not!secretary), in which Chris plays a minor role. Doug has his own romance, too, as do two minor characters in the final case.

Chris is an interesting character, prickly and independent, but not above using his station to get results. He edges towards it but never quite reaches the point of being too prickly, which is lovely; he's a good balance of snark and gooey nougat center. He stands up for those he feels need it, whether they're friends or not, and has no patience for someone acting in the wrong.

Sable is smirking and superior, but charming about it. He knows what he wants and goes for it, and, though he doesn't really take 'no' for an answer, he never quite pushes the boundaries into something distasteful. He's quite clear about what he's passionate about.

Chris and Sable together push a lot of my happy buttons. They've got the good-natured snarking between them, they've got the hate-you-love-you vibe in their initial interactions (made even better with kissing), they've got the tender regard in their later interactions. There's a little bit of doubt in their relationship in the early stages, but it's never enough to drag--just enough to make the resolution sweet.

The cast outside of Chris and Sable is fun and fairly broad. Although some characters are case-specific, many carry over from case to case, even if it's only a mention, so there's a good sense of community. The personalities are varied enough to be memorable, though I do still mix up most of the Draculas and can't even begin to keep the few mentioned wolf packs straight. In the vein of Draculas and wolves, I did enjoy the way the different races were developed as a whole, rather than individually, with just enough similarities to stereotypes for recognition and just enough differences to make them appealing.

The story, as mentioned earlier, is a string of case histories. They hop around the timeline but follow prompts within each preceding chapter (and are helpfully numbered). Most cases are a single 'chapter', though there are a couple that stretch across two, and others that are intrinsically linked by a particular plot element. (For example, Doug's romance covers two cases, but each case is self-contained.) They're well-paced and engaging, though there could be a little less 'go away and never let me see you again' in the endings. Typos and grammatical errors were here and there, but nowhere near prevalent enough to be annoying.

These stories have definitely come a long way since the series started on the author's website. With entertaining characters and nicely bite-sized cases, they're a fun take on paranormal romances, with an interesting enough world that picking up the sequels will be a pleasure.