Mind Games by Jana Oliver

Riley Blackthorne's life as a Demon Trapper is about to hit the wall. Knowing she will always be a target for those who want to exploit her "connections" with Hell, she's learning defensive magic. It seems the only way to ensure she and her fiancé, Denver Beck, have a future together. But not everyone in Atlanta, or at the Vatican, is pleased by this news. In fact, some want to ban the use of all magic, and Riley would make the perfect scapegoat.

As a new demonic enemy stalks her, Guild politics roil the city, throwing the trappers into chaos. To protect herself and the man she loves, Riley will be forced to choose: continue in her legendary father's footsteps, or carve her own path. A path that may well lead to her losing everything she so desperately seeks to protect.

Yay, Riley and the gang are all back! I was so excited to read that Oliver was releasing a 5th book, it really is one of my favourite series and I've recommended it to a few friends. The first in the series is Forsaken, 2nd is Forbidden, 3rd is Forgiven, 4th is Foretold, 4.5 is Grave Matters. Although Grave Matters is really only a wee novella, I included it in the list since the story is relevant to Riley's future and therefore this book.

This time we see Riley having to deal with a long distance relationship with Beck as well as training her own apprentice demon trappers and having to deal with prejudices from other trappers about her learning magic.

Riley's really matured since the start of this series, which I believe is less than a year in the timeline. She's been through a lot in her wee life and had to deal with some serious shit so it's easy to see why she's matured so much. This world just gets scarier as we learn more about hell and the demons it spawns - and I have a feeling we still have a lot more to learn. At least I'm hoping that's the case since I'm hoping Oliver writes more, the story definitely didn't seem finished. In fact, it did seem like more story threads have been opened in this.

I can't say anything bad about this series, I adore it. The world that's been created, the characters in it and the writing style are all fantastic and I'll continue to recommend this series to anyone that I think will enjoy it - which should be anyone that likes to read.

Jana Oliver self-published this so make sure to support her (and hopefully gain more books) by buying it from a legit seller - I've tried to list as many as I could find below.



Amazon UK: Mind Games
Amazon US: Mind Games
Amazon Canada: Mind Games
Amazon Australia: Mind Games
Nook UK: Mind Games
Kobo: Mind Games
iTunes US: Mind Games

Country vs Country REBOOTED - Demon Trappers

So I thought I'd reboot my country vs country posts but with a difference. I've asked my friend, Danielle, to help me with the post and we're going to discuss each cover for a specific series and decided what we like and/or dislike about each one as well as which covers we prefer.

For our first dual post we're going for the Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver.

DANIELLE: I honestly prefer the UK covers to the North American ones.  I do like the colours, and the picture itself for the NA cover.
JULIE-ANNE: I've always liked the pattern on the UK cover and I like the flame decal at the bottom. On the US cover, I like the red and I also like that she has a sphere in her hand - I don't like that it looks so obviously photoshopped.
Why the different titles though?

D: Again, here I like the UK better.  It's darker and I like that it has a little tag line on it.  I also like the titles better for the first two.  The NA titles are good, but I think the UK are more effective.
J: I think the US cover has too much empty space on it for my liking.  I like that the UK has an image at the bottom of it as well as the smoke decals, there's a definite theme there.
And again with the different titles.

D: With these two, I prefer the face on the UK, even if it isn't how I pictured Riley, but I prefer the flames on the NA cover.  I wish it was tombstones behind them instead of the city though.
J: Both covers for this book seem to be vaguely similar this time. Like Dani, I prefer the UK cover all over, I feel it the different parts mix better. I do like the US cover but the flames just don't really fit in with the rest of the cover.

D: These two are another set I wish I could combine.  I think I like that “Riley” is facing away better.  I also like the blues.  But, I prefer the landscape in the UK to the boat in the NA.
J: Again they seem to have similar looks. I prefer the colouring in the US cover but I prefer the backdrop image at the bottom of the UK cover as well as the font and layout of the title.


DANIELLE: This is a series I really enjoyed.  I hadn't ever read Jana Oliver before this series, and I was glad I did.  It's upper YA, which I enjoyed.  I read a lot of YA because I love angsty stories, but this series also has enough adult situations to feed my love of romance and sexy scenes too.  Though this series doesn’t have very descriptive sex, it does contain some.  It's a great series.  I highly recommend it.

All in all, I think the UK cover of Forbidden is my favourite of them all.  I like the colours, I like the font, and I like the title.  I think it has a catchier title than “Soul Thief”, and I like the little tagline on it as well.

JULIE-ANNE: Overall I prefer the UK covers and titles to the US, they both follow the same theme from the beginning whereas the US covers change theme halfway through along with the titles which I'd be unhappy with is I had these covers.

I'd like to thank Danielle for helping me on this one and I hope to continue posting these.

I have done a few already and have some lined up as well but please leave any series suggestions in the comments if you'd like to see the differences in the covers for different countries.

Grave Matters by Jana Oliver

A legendary Demon Trapper, Riley Blackthorne frequently battles with Hell's minions. So when she travels to Scotland to meet up with her hunky boyfriend, and celebrate her eighteenth birthday, she's thrilled at the chance to leave Atlanta and its troubles behind.

Denver Beck, who has been studying for months to become a Grand Master – a rare and highly dangerous job - is just as eager to see his girl. He's anticipating a romantic reunion, keen to take their relationship to the next level.

But Riley's twisted history with Hell has garnered unwelcome interest by people willing to use her for their own purposes. Trouble is brewing in the land of the heather, the kind that will drive a wedge between her and Beck, and prove the ultimate test of their love ... and their survival skills.

Riley goes to Scotland for her 18th birthday to meet up with Beck mid-training. As soon as she gets off the plane, she's in danger and then when she meets up with Beck - she's paranoid. They figure out what's wrong and aim to fix it - along with their relationship.

I was so upset when this series ended - especially as it came as a bit of a surprise to me, I never knew it was the last book until I was reading it! I love Riley and I love Beck. I love the world that Jana Oliver has built here and vaguely post-apocalyptic view on the world. So I was excited to get another wee (too wee) look at the world.

Also love that this is set in my homeland! Don't ask me why but I love reading a story with street names and places that I can actually picture, everything set elsewhere is a total blindside for me. Although as much as I love these books, this series and this author - I always hate reading Scottish characters written by non-Scots authors. The words don't read right for me, all the "ya" and "ta", I can't say that in my head - it sounds wrong. Of course, that may just be me - I am unaware of how other Scots feel on this manner but I feel this way about most Scottish characters I read. Our language is hard to write, especially if you don't speak it - considering the main differences in our language are all to do with pronunciation, it is hard to make it come across purely in the written word.

If you've read the other books in the series, read this. If you haven't read the rest of the books in the series they go Forsaken, Forbidden, Forgiven & Foretold - go buy them and you're welcome in advance.


Amazon UK: Grave Matters

Foretold: The Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver

The end is most definitely nigh ...

Riley Blackthorne has always known that fellow Demon Trapper Denver Beck had a chequered history, but she's not prepared for what it means to be in love with a guy with this many dark secrets. Now that he's finally admitted to himself that he's in love with her too, there's no more hiding the truth about his past. And as it turns out, fending off a demon apocalypse is nothing compared with what's to come ...

Riley still doesn't know what happened to make Beck so cold toward her but she's about to find out because Stewart sends the 2 of them off to Beck's hometown - where Beck's darkest secret resides. Turns out everyone in Beck's town blame him for the death of 2 boys and after Riley convinces him to get the case reopened, Beck gets kidnapped by the real killer and Riley has to find him. After finding him, she finally admits her feelings to him and leaves him to deal with his own feelings for her - FINALLY!!! Of course on the tails of them finally getting together, there's a big showdown between the big bad and the slightly smaller bad that wants to replace him - and Riley is a key player in the fight.

This is the final book - the bloody FINAL book - in the Demon Trappers series and I usually know that before I read a book and gear myself up to it, especially with one of my favourite series so the revelation that this is the end was a HUGE shocker to me. I really don't get how I missed that this was the final book.

Well at least everything was all tied off nicely - Riley and Beck are finally together, things with Riley and Ori are sorted out as well as things with Lucifer. Again I feel I'm at a stand still with the review because I don't want to give too much away for the book but there's not a lot to say without revealing my favourite parts.

I will say this though: anyone who hasn't read this series - get it done. Seriously this is one of my favourite YA series out there, the lead is a strong woman who deal with sexism and all the problems that come with demon trapping - what more could a reader ask for.

Start with Forsaken, then Forbidden and Forgiven before ending this fab series with Foretold.


Book Depository: Foretold
Amazon UK: Foretold

Forgiven: The Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver

The stakes are high when you bet on your soul ...

Hell's finest are ruling the streets and it seems that Armageddon might be even closer than Riley Blackthorne imagined. But with her soul and her heart in play it's all she can do to keep herself alive, let alone save the world. Riley's not afraid of kicking some major demon butt, but when it comes to a battle between Heaven and Hell, she might need a little help ...

I. FREAKING. LOVE. THIS. SERIES!!! I love Riley. I love Beck. I love the trappers. I love the little ninja klepto demon. There's only one thing I don't love about this series, and it's Stewart. That is purely because (as I've said in other reviews) I have major problems with how non-Scots write Scottish language. Even though I now know how difficult it is to write the Scottish language in a way that non-Scots will understand, it still bothers me when I read it. But that problem has absolutely nothing to do with this fab series and everything to do with my little irks.

This book, as with the last book, starts exactly where the last book left off. There's no 3 month gap or anything like that, which is great if the last book is still fresh in your mind and not so great if it's been a while since you read it.

Riley has to deal with the fallout of what happened with Ori and also with telling Beck about it, all while trying to keep out of the Hunters hands. Riley's had to grow up a lot since the first book but more so in this book, she realises a lot and has to deal with it. It's hard to talk about this book without squeeing over my favourite bit!

All I'll say is: It finally happens and then it goes all wrong. This leaves me HUNGERING for the next book!


Book Depository: Forgiven
Amazon UK: Forgiven

Forbidden: The Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver

Hell has a plan for Riley Blackthorne ...

Riley's beginning to think being a demon trapper isn't all it's cracked up to be. Her dad's been stolen by a necromancer, her boyfriend's gone all weird and she's getting warm and fuzzy feelings for someone who's got more secrets than the CIA. It's tempting to give it all up and try to be normal, but that's not an option with Hell watching her every move.

One mistake will cost her everything - and that's the one she's about to make ...

Read my review of the first book in this series, The Demon Trappers: Forsaken.

I absolutely love Riley Blackthorne and all the other main characters in this series. Despite the fact that she traps demons for a job, she's very down to earth. Beck is like the older brother Riley doesn't want but, of course they both have feelings for one another ~ I'm holding onto my hopes that they'll end up together.

The big fight at the end of the first book is the focus in this one, everyone's trying to figure out how it happened and what Riley's dad had to do with it. Meanwhile Riley has her own little investigation going with the holy water, and her boyfriend is injured and acting like a complete douche.

*****SPOILER***** I'm glad that things are over between Simon and Riley, I never liked him from the beginning. Too goody goody, Beck's much better suited for her.

One thing that irked me in this book was the simple little editing mistakes that were obviously missed. It's a small thing but it's something I always notice and it bugs me. Thankfully, in a book like Forsaken, the story and characters are strong enough to make me push the mistakes to the back of my mind so I can continue reading.

If you haven't read Forsaken, get out there and get it read. Then get back out there and get Forbidden 'cos it's a damn good sequel.


Book Depository: Forbidden
Amazon UK: The Demon Trappers: Forbidden

Forsaken: The Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver

Riley has always wanted to be a Demon Trapper like her father, and she's already following in his footsteps as one of the best. But it's tough being the only girl in an all-guy world, especially when three of those guys start making her life more complicated.

Simon, the angelic apprentice who has heaven on his side; Beck, the tough trapper who thinks he's God's gift, and Ori, the strikingly sexy stranger who keeps turning up to save her life.

One thing's for sure - if she doesn't keep her wits about her there'll be hell to pay...

Released as The Demon Trapper's Daughter in the US.

Riley is an apprentice Demon Trapper being trained by her father in how to trap demons, that is until her father is killed by one of them. Riley has to stop any necromancers from raising her dad from the grave to be used as an undead servant, unfortunately this means standing vigil over her dad's grave every night until the next full moon and putting up with the necromancers sales pitches. Along with this, Riley also has to attend classes, train with her new Master and handle a new relationship all at the same time.

I loved this book. It's set in 2018 in Atlanta - hell central. The demons are trying to take over and angels are few and far between so it's up to the Demon Trappers to even the score. I liked how the world was written and the storyline was exciting. Books where the main character's father dies always hit me hard and this one was no exception, especially as the scenes immediately following it are quite emotional.

Jana crafted a scary world with interesting characters, exciting action scenes and budding romances. A great read and I'm very much looking forward to the next one.


Book Depository: Forsaken
Amazon UK: The Demon Trappers: Forsaken