Minor Prophets by Jimmy Cajoleas

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I absolutely adored Jimmy Cajoleas' last book, The Good Demon, so I was really excited to discover he had another release coming out. Minor Prophets follows Lee and his sister Murphy after their mother dies, leaving them to defend themselves against their step-father and flee to their estranged grandmother's house.

To make matters worse in this tense and terrifying situation, Lee isn't a normal kid. He has visions, visions that tell the future that his mother has always discouraged him from sharing or acting on. But now that she's gone, his grandmother is encouraging the visions, pushing Lee to the destiny he never knew he had. And his sister Murphy doesn't know what to think, other than that something is seriously wrong with their grandmother, her farm, and the residents of the small town they now call home. 

Based on the fact that this story is full of things I typically love, like spooky atmospheres and creepy cults, you would think I would have really enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, I didn't. It was just entirely too much, and while the overall plot was good, the execution left much to be desired. I couldn't stand the main character Lee, or his sister and grandmother, and everything they did or said just made me angry.  Some parts were pretty disturbing and shocking for YA as well, and while that normally doesn't bother me, I don't think they added anything to this story.

The plot had a lot of American Horror Story vibes which I absolutely adore, but it just didn't work and I think the potential was wasted here.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Abrams for an ARC of this read! Minor Prophets by Jimmy Cajoleas is out now!

The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

If ever a book spoke to me, it was this one. Girl gets possessed by a demon, girl develops close friendship with the demon, girl gets an exorcism against her will and loses the demon, girl tries to get her demon back. That's the gist of The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas, and I enjoyed this read so much!

After Clare's demon, known simply as Her, is exercised against Clare's will, all she wants is to get her demon back. But it appears that her demon has left her three clues. Now Clare has to try to figure out these clues to be reunited with her demon once more. Making some unlikely friends in the process, and learning her town has more dark secrets than she realized, Clare is forced to make some tough decisions and risk it all to be reunited with Her.

I loved Clare's character! From her attitude, to the description of her room, to her musical tastes, I thought she was so unique and I was immediately drawn to her. I also really liked Roy and felt for his inner struggle to both rebel and stay true to his roots, faith, and father. I could picture everything in this story so vividly, and honestly think this would make a fantastic movie! 

At first, I didn't understand the cover at all, but after reading the book I now see why it is incredibly representative of the story. While the ending felt a little rushed, this did not at all deter from my love of this book. I wouldn't quite call this YA read a thriller, and I wouldn't really call it horror either, but whatever it was, it was fantastic!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Amulet for an advanced copy of this demonic read! The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas was released YESTERDAY, Sept. 18th, so be sure to pick up a copy of this fantastic story just in time for Halloween!