The Devil's Intern by Donna Hosie

"How did you die?" It's the most popular question in Hell, and Mitchell Johnson has been answering it ever since he was hit by a bus and ended up in the Underworld.

"I  just love books about guy's who are working in the accounting department of Hell as the Devil's intern and then over hears about a way to get out and get their life back by using time travel..." said no one ever! However, that is only because nothing like this has ever been written. The Devil's Intern was a really great surprise. 

When I first heard about this book I only knew that it was full of dry humor (my fave) and about a boy who was working as, yes you guessed it, the Devil's intern. I had no idea about all the other little nuggets that would be thrown into it.

First the characters were amazing. Each one so different than the next. First we have our main man Mitchell Johnson. The witty, nerdy, funny, hungry, guy who got hit by a greyhound and is now interning in Hell. Then you get the side characters: Medusa, Mitchell's best friend. Alfarin the surprisingly sweet Viking Prince. Then the 17th Century peasant Elinor. The banter between these characters is so much snarky goodness. Their relationship is so bizarre that it makes it work in the most perfect way. This is all before you throw in the element of the Devil himself... who happens to be a total drama queen who doodles black hearts around evil plans and hates Vegans. 

“Can we go back and sit down? Dancing is for girls.”

“I am a girl, Mitchell,” replies Medusa, “and try telling The Devil that.” We both look over at the master of Hell, who has cleared the dance floor with his moshing.”

Reading the four of these characters together would be reason enough to pick up this book, but I haven't even mentioned the plot. 

The plot falls just below "fast paced" and hit a new level that I don't even know if there's a word invented for it... I'll just say perfect for now. The pace is perfect. From the moment we are introduced too not only Mitchell's character, but to the world itself, is just non-stop. There is always something happening. The fact that she has it so Hell is kind of like the real world will have you cracking up. Hell sounds a lot like living in the south. It's insanely hot, traffic jams are never ending, and everyone's just working for the weekend. The big thing I need to mention is the clear elephant in the room.. The time traveling aspect. When I was reading and this started coming into play, I will not lie I became super nervous. Thank the dark lords that I kept reading. It was the biggest and best surprise. It starts happening and I was still so/so about it, then the closer it came to the end of the story the more impressed I became with it. The more time travel we got the more all these hidden treasures come out. It didn't hurt that with a lot of these scenes the author managed to nail her comic timing. There's one scene when they go to like a KFC and send Alfari the Viking to order their food and he pulls a total Thor and it had me in stitches.
 

Even when the plot calls for things too get a little heavier and more serious, Hoise makes the story flow and work. At one point in time I was getting teary eyed and was floored by the emotional turn the book took.  From start to finish The Devil's Intern was one surprise after another. A genius idea for a book, a well played out story line, characters you will fall in love with, and twist you wont see coming. All in all when I picked this book up I wasn't excepting anything more than a quick quirky read, but what I got was a well thought out, warm, hilarious, and fun read. The Devil's Intern had me laughing, crying, and on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in this series.... Yeah another surprise right? Sounds like a total standalone, it's not! And lets just say with how it ends I can't wait to see where she takes this story.


10/10 Stars 
-Angela 

Lovely Vicious Series by Sara Wolf

Seventeen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and after what happened last time, she intends to keep it that way. Since then she’s lost eighty-five pounds,changed her wardrobe/hair, and moved to the nowhere Ohio to help her mom escape a bad relationship. All the girls in her new school want one thing and that's Jack Hunter. The only thing Isis fells for him is her fist against his face... and now it's game on.

I fell upon this book after seeing the reviews and I knew it would be a book I'd read in the near future... Seeing the cover had me move it too the top of my list... I Cover Lusted hard for books one and two. Oddly, even though this isn't a perfect book series, I'm pretty sure it's the one that just got me out of my reading slump.

The Lovely Vicious Series was surprisingly good! The lack of polish is actually what won me over with this read. The story follows two main characters. Isis and Jack. When I first started this series I thought, "Jack is a great character and all... Like Jack you're cool, BUT DAMN! Isis stole the show!", She is amazing! I haven't laughed that loud while reading in so long. Isis is the "ex-fat girl" who has recently moved to a new town. She winds up at one of the parties the popular girl from school throws. While at this party she ends up sticking up for a girl that our leading male, Jack, is making fun of. By sticking up for I mean she punches him in the face. AND IT IS AMAZING! From then on out Isis and Jack are in a prank war. Isis though a little insecure, due to being burned in the past, is still a strong leading protagonist. Doesn't hurt that everything she says is hilarious!

“Did you have fun? How many boys did you make out with?” She asks. “Seventy. At least.” “How many shots did you take?” “Fourteen. I let go of the wheel halfway home and Jesus drove me the rest of the way.” 

For the most part she oozes confidence. I absolutely love that she doesn't take bullying laying down. She stands up for herself and doesn't let the haters get her down. I love that she says everything she's thinking, and every time she thinks out loud I died... Just so funny. I liked that even through all that witty banter she finds ways to slip really quotable beautiful lines in. Jack is your typical Ya hottie. He is the Ice Prince that leaves a trail of broken hearts all while looking like an Abercrombie model. Their relationship was something I would usually complain about because there is a lot of build too it, but I really enjoyed their banter and overall loath for one another. The sub characters like Wren, Kayla, Sophia, and Avery I personally didn't care for. Kayla is Isis' only friend, Avery is her enemy, Sophia is Jacks kind of gf, and Wren is the nerd. That's all you really need to know about them. Sophia does become a little more important in book two but I still stand behind not caring about any of them. I will admit that as the series went on my point of view on the leading characters changed. Books one and two I was in love with Isis, but by book three I was over her. Jack however I loved by the end. Book three really made him stand out. I didn't think he was swoon worthy till the second half of Brutal Precious (book 3). He stole my heart in that last novel.

“Living is really weird. You never get used to it. But it happens anyway. And sometimes you find things that make it a little more comfortable, and you try to hold on to those things, and the tighter you hold, the faster they slip away.”

As far as the plot went I thought it was enjoyable. It stayed constant. I will say that if it wasn't for Isis in Lovely Vicious and in Savage Delight and Jack's development in Brutal Precious I would have had a laundry list of complaints about it. The bullying aspect was a little much. Some parts of the story

become a little too convenient. Any and everything involving the principal got on my nerves. Along with any part about Isis' ex, Will... And the story for the most part is rather predictable. Even with all that I still enjoyed reading it. For the most part I knew what the big secrets were, and I saw most of the endings events coming... I did not see that last few sentences in book one or two occurring however.

I mean seriously when everything starts happening at the end of Savage Delight I was like "WTF?! NO SARA NO! YOU CAN'T DO WHAT I THINK YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO! NO! WAIT NO!!!!!!" The ending of book two, of all three, was my favorite. It got really deep and ended wonderfully. I do think that book one and two were way stronger than book three, and I wanted more out of the last book. With how the first two ended I was hoping to be wowed by the finale. Sadly, I got an ending I saw coming and was a little underwhelmed. I do think the great thing about this series was it left me wanting more and had me wanting to finish the series. Again I wish they would have gotten stronger as it continued, there were a lot of predictable moments, but the way Sara Wolf writes will have me reading her writing in the future. Overall I was pleased with this book and it gave me the push I need to rock out April.

8/10 Stars 
-Angela