An engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed! Highly recommend and will purchase several physical and digital copies for library collections. Thank you!!

In Practical Demonology by Clare Rees a plague is sweeping the land and our main character is sent away by her father to where he thinks she will be safer

I absolutely loved the fantasy and horror elements in the story and found the atmosphere to be greatly enhanced by the more simplistic writing style the writer chose for this the novel's voice. The only negative thing I could potentially say about the book is that the characters and their decision making skills often read much younger than they are presented as.

This work is an incredibly quick read that has a vibe perfect for fans of YA fantasy wanting to dip their toes into suspense and horror works.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, ABRAMS Kids and Amulet Books, for the chance to read and review this book in exchange of an honest opinion.

Non had planned a career in medicine, to please her doctor father and to be safe inside the protective walls of her citadel, protected from demons and monsters. But when a plague strikes the citadel, all the teenagers are forced to live in the Cirtop Castle, a ruined place, where Non has a lifetime opportunity: to study the demons she has always feared. Will she take it?

In a world invaded by plague and demons, a group of teenagers are doing everything they can to survive and Non is a brilliant main character, whose mother was infected by the demons living in the woods.
It's a story of survival and chances, fighting back and learning new things to survive, in a intriguing world created by Clare Rees. I liked reading this book. I liked the author's voice and characterization and I've found the story pretty intriguing, but I couldn't totally loved it. I've found some things predictable and the pacing a bit too erratic, but, overall, Pratical Demonology is a nice read.

DNF. I love the cover art so much! Sadly, the writing style of this book did not work for me and I struggled to maintain interest in the plot. It is marked as YA but it seemed more middle grade to me, which typically isn't my preferred reading level. I do hope other readers who are interested will read some more positive reviews and give it a chance. Not the book for me, but definitely not a bad book.

I enjoyed the story overall. It was interesting and different. The demons didn't really come off as demons though, they seemed more like zombies.

What an interesting adventure this book was! Practical Demonology was one of the most unique books I’ve read in a while. Right from the beginning, you’re dropped into a world of plague and demon attacks and quarantine. The danger is so prevalent in their lives that kids are taught from a young age how to defend themselves against demons with crossbows and spears. I found the entire setting well crafted; three castles/villages set in a valley that have to send their teens off to a long abandoned castle to quarantine until the plague is under control.

Look, I really don’t want to give too much away, but I think this entire story was so well crafted and the world building was expertly done. The teens from each castle came from different cultures that felt rich and different and like they fit into the world. Their entire experience in quarantine felt palpable and dangerous and mysterious. There were moments of weirdness, connection, trauma, confusion, revelation, and so much more. The demons were absolutely a point of strong curiosity for me, right along with our main character Non. I enjoyed the unique take on these monsters, from their origins to their life cycle to their fighting style. Certainly, aspects were drawn from other creatures in fiction, but I really love the way this combination came together create something that felt very fresh and new and intriguing. I would absolutely love to read another book set in this world. Give it to me!!!

Where did I stop? 20% in

Why? This is a case where the blurb is so far off the book that I feel cheated. The tone of the blurb is one of creepy vibes, struggle, and darkness. What I got when I started reading was a boy-crazy pseudo-boarding school story that read nothing like the blurb. From the language to the tone, it was just a complete mismatch. Not to mention, 20% in and the catalyst still hasn't happened. What's mentioned in the blurb about her getting a chance to study demons? Still hadn't happened. Too much time was spent on asinine details and too many adjectives. And there's something about demon zombie eggs or something. I have no idea what that was. PRACTICAL DEMONOLOGY was not at all what I was expected, and not in a single good way.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. While this wasn't my type of book, I can see fantasy fans enjoying Practical Demonology. Nor is a strong female character who wants to study her books, but gets shunted off to quarantine and ends up studying demons and makes many important discoveries. She makes new friends and realizes the importance of her old ones too. These themes hold true across all genres and in real life.

The very interesting premise and gorgeous cover had me thinking this would be an atmospheric fantasy horror. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with the execution.

This story takes place in a fictional world that is suffering from a plague that has a high kill rate, and they have no idea how it spreads. CW for pandemic and plague dialogue and lots of commentary on quarantine and medicine development. As this book touches on our reality of a pandemic it may not be a book some may want to read right now.

What I did enjoy was the demons and the mystery of how these creatures are created. I enjoyed the creation of a military-esque school to learn how to survive and kill the demons. I also enjoyed the horror elements throughout the story.

What I didn't enjoy was the writing. I found it very simplistic with surface level descriptions and exploration into the world. I also could not connect to any of the characters, they felt very one dimensional with no clear differences or personalities. For a book with such high stakes, I did not care if anything happened to the characters. I thought this book would be quite atmospheric and I'm disappointed that it wasn't I ended up not caring at all about this world and the story unfortunately.

This didn't work for me, but it may work for you if you enjoy a horror fantasy genre blend, not very descriptive writing and a fast read

This book has promise. I don't want to spend my review dumping on it. Right from the jump I'll say it get's two stars from me but if the author writes a second book, hopefully I can rate that one better.

The premise of this book was interesting. Quarantine, demons, plague. In a Covid world, some people may want to avoid this book because of that and that's absolutely okay.

I, unfortunately, will be avoiding it because it was boring. And I mean incredibly boring. The pacing is very slow. I got thirty percent in and thought about the most interesting thing that had happened and how there was a huge gap after where nothing interesting happened again.

Our characters are also uninteresting.

I do take issue with the worldbuilding.

So this is supposed to be some alternate world with demons that have no flesh and spread their disease by bites and scratches. Like a zombie. There's names of places that aren't real and yet Christianity is real. And called Christianity. If you want to have a religion in that alternate world I'm all for it but the second you use a real religion it skews the story for me into a weird area.

Not only that, but there were some issues with the writing itself. For one it reads more as a middle grade than young adult. It's not poorly written, it just doesn't fit the vibe of the book we're told the author is going for when we read the blurb. It also reads more contemporary than fantasy and definitely more contemporary than fantasy from the past. It reads as modern language which also took me out of the story.

It's the author's first book, I'd give her a chance on a second even though this one wasn't strong. The premise was interesting, hopefully next time, we get a strong premise and a book to match.

So, like I said, a two (2) star review for me.

I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher.

Given the cover and the title of this book, I think I went in with expectations of a certain level of story that the narrative ultimately didn't satisfy. The writing style was a bit too....simplistic? (for lack of a better word) I would have expected a bit more complicated and less generic narrative voice to encapsulate the quirkiness of the story. We are in a fantasy world, with demons and plagues and what not. We *aren't* in a YA contemporary, but that is what the language in this work felt like. The tone was just not congruent with the subject matter or genre. Don't get me wrong: I'm all for trying weird things that push the boundaries of genre, but if there's not payoff or motivation for doing so then I don't think it's a good idea. The plot was fine, but a bit convoluted; there was a lot going on but I just felt like I was on the outside looking in. It was a bit unbelievable, probably because I felt like I was watching everything from the outside of the fishbowl. Ultimately, I would love to check out more by this author or more in this world (second chances, and all that jazz). This installment was just a bit of a miss for me. I can see from the description that this is a debut novel, so maybe the author just needs more time to hammer out their narrative voice!

This was a very interesting read. While it wasn’t quite my cup of tea I still enjoyed the different aspects of the writing style. If you are looking for a chilling YA novel that involves demons then this is the book for you

3.5

Practical Demonology is a book with an intriguing premise and a stunningly horrifying cover. In a world filled with plague and demons, a group of teens is fighting to survive. They create a military school out of an old castle and learn to protect themselves and others.

These terrifying flesh demons are reminiscent of zombies but much faster and equipped deadly claws and sharp teeth. Our characters struggle to understand the origin of the demons, the nature of the plague afflicting the world, and how they are supposed to survive on their own. They set off on a chilling adventure of discovering their surroundings and learning more about their enemies.

Initially, I was really excited to read this book. A dark YA horror fantasy sounded like a great time. Unfortunately this book falls a little flat. Most of the story feels more like middle grade. I would have loved some more detailed writing and pushing further into the world building. The characters were a little one dimensional and behaved as if they were younger than they are. Overall this is a super easy read for anyone that is interested in YA horror.

If the word “quarantine” freaks you out, this book might make you nervous.

But I hope you push through because this was an enjoyable adventure!

Our MC, Non, is a content, studious, introvert with an equally extroverted best friend, Meg. Both girls are sent into quarantine when a plague breaks out in their homes. While in quarantine, Non becomes a leader by accident when she decides to start looking closer at the demons that have been attacking her people for centuries.

And yes- all of this happens in one book and all of the above in the first several chapters!

This book is well thought out and is definitely a good fit for the younger side of YA audiences. L

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the eARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.