Blog Tour | Review ― Iniquity by Melody Winter (+ Giveaway)

I only made eight highlights in this book in total. They started from chapter 2 and stopped at chapter 8. So either I was really entranced by this book that I forgot to highlight when I read a quote I liked or something I wanted to note for potential future references, or there was nothing highlight-able.

!! potential spoilers below. read at your own risk !!

Iniquity
(Ascent #1)
by Melody Winter

Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publication Date: 25 October 2016

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Summary:
Athena Harrow is about to turn twenty-one, but there will be no celebration. What is there to celebrate when the world is ruled by demons?

She hates the darkness the demons brought with them and longs for the light to return to the world—a world she only vaguely remembers. The people in her forest village blindly accept the life the demons forced upon them, even tolerating the yearly ascension ceremony where all the girls who have turned twenty-one are either sent away to serve the Master Demon or left in the village and forced to procreate.

But Paymon, the assigned village demon, selects a different role for Athena, a role that pits her against the village. While she adapts to her new life, Erebus, a younger, more powerful demon, arrives, and Athena must play a dangerous game with his emotions in return for information about the demon’s reign of darkness.

As Athena’s dreams of restoring the light begin to fade, her life with Erebus takes an unexpected turn, and this time it’s her life being put to the test.

Set in the forest around Buttercrambe in North Yorkshire, England, INIQUITY explores the frightening, darker side of romance and the uncontrolled emotions it can unleash.

Thirteen years ago, demons ascended to Earth and drove the humans from their cities and into villages, taking away from them their current lifestyles, electricity, freedom and the light. Now, each village holds a yearly ascension ceremony where all the girls who have turned twenty-one are either sent away to serve the Master or remain in the village and forced to procreate. However, on Athena’s twenty-first birthday, she is given a different role by Paymon, the village demon, that makes the village turn their back on her. Just as she was adapting to her new life, tragedy befalls and with it comes the arrival of Erebus, a younger, stronger demon.

This book focuses mainly on establishing the relationship between Athena and Erebus. As like 65% of this book is set on the grounds of the house Paymon, and subsequently, Erebus, lives in, it may feel draggy due to the lack of action. I didn’t mind it much though as we got to see how she got over her prejudices of Erebus being a demon and finally loved him for who he is, despite what he is. Though her constant denial of her feelings was annoying at times. Understandable, but annoying.

I lifted my gaze and narrowed my eyes. Accept what he was?
Never.
He didn’t belong here, none of them did. This was our world, not theirs.

Athena is a lovable character due to her tough and rebellious nature. She constantly fights against the way she is treated while at the house, especially the compelment as it symbolises the loss of whatever little freedom she has left. Also, just like the Greek goddess who bears the same name as her, she is very clever (though albeit sly). Ever since the demons ascended to Earth, her one goal was to restore the light. Her belief was that if the light came back, it would be able to drive the demons back to wherever they came from. Soon after she left the village to live with Paymon, she saw it as an opportunity to learn more about the demons and find a way to bring back the light. She was basically, a woman on a mission, employing various tactics to draw the answers out of both Paymon and Erebus. However, I found her luck to be pretty unrealistic. The fact that both the demons she had to live with treated her pretty well in comparison to how other demons treated humans was a ship that sailed too smoothly. The kiss and *ahem* sex scenes were well-placed though.

I loved how the cast of characters included animals as well, especially the raven, Odin. Odin was originally a companion of Paymon’s but he quickly took a liking to Athena and there is certainly something special about the bond between them as it requires no words to convey yet they understand each other.

Overall, an enjoyable read despite the lack of action. The romance in this one also worked out for me, which is definitely a plus considering the huge focus on it.

Growing up, Melody showed a natural ability in art, a head for maths, and a tendency to write too long English essays. Difficult to place in the world when she graduated, she pursued a career in teaching, but ended up working in finance. Melody is convinced the methodical times she spends working with numbers fuel her desire to drift into dream worlds and write about the illusory characters in her head.

Melody Winter lives in York, North Yorkshire, England with her husband and two sons. When not dealing with football, rugby, and a whole plethora of ‘boy’ activities, she will be found scribbling notes for her stories, or preparing for another trip to the nearby beaches at Scarborough and Whitby. With an obsession for anything mythical, Melody revels in reading and writing about such creatures.

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This giveaway is open to USA and Canada residents only and ends on 23 November 2016. Enter here for a chance to win either a signed copy of Iniquity + swag or an e-book copy of one of the thirteen books offered.