Title The Complete Guide to Being Evil Series --- Author Laura Stephenson Cover Art Jake Probelski Publisher 2013 First Printing 2013 Category Fantasy Warnings None Main Characters Kalara, Whitcomb, Evander Main Elements Wizards, demons

What can evil do for you today?

Youth, magic, and a luxurious Manhattan apartment, Kalara has it all. She's an evoker - hurling fire, ice and electricity is her speciality. As her father always said, the classics are important.

Meet Whitcomb, a powerful necromancer who doesn't want anyone discovering he's selling the souls of the dead who go through his funeral home. He tries to telleport Kalara into the Hudson to keep her from snooping around.

Kalara elicits the help of a devil who's bad at being bad, and together they attempt to use evil to achieve their goals...

I enjoyed this book. It had an interesting premise and a magic system that made sense. If that last comment might seem out of place, you'd be surprised how often an author just tosses magic in and doesn't lay down the rules as to how it works. Fortunately not a problem here. Sure Kalara has powers the rest of us can only dream of, but when up against a greater foe, she has to turn to others for help.

It was also filled with funny moments and I really enjoyed the glimpses into the world of the devils (and you thought your job had a lot of paperwork!)

However I couldn't give the book five stars because, well, I wasn't exactly sucked into the world, both the plot and characters lacked some depth and the ending doesn't come as a surprise.

What it was though was a perfect summer read. Light, fun, and one little awkward devil one just can't help rooting for. And gotta say the footnotes were great, not every book can pull that off but the asides were perfect here. There is definite potential for the author to return to this world with a sequel, lots of things that can be explored.

...but what was with that rat?