I must confess that I don’t typically read paranormal romance. But Demon King’s Desire by J.L. Sheppard was so enthralling with dynamic characters and an action-packed storyline that I couldn’t put it down.

Jenna is a wonderful heroine. She’s emotionally strong, independent, and determined to find her sisters. They were separated as children when their mother died. Jenna knows that she has special powers but even she is surprised to discover that she is part of a new breed that has been prophesied to change the outcome of a war between immortal creatures.

Lucas has been dreaming about his mate forever. He never expected her to be human and was even more shocked to discover that she was part of the new breed. Lucas is charming and old-fashioned. He will do anything to keep Jenna happy and safe even from himself and his demon ways.

The sparks fly between these two from the start. I appreciated that each had their insecurities – Jenna never thought of herself as anything special so she couldn’t understand how Lucas could be interested in her and Lucas was afraid that once Jenna knew he was a demon she would leave him. But these insecurities did not rule their lives or their relationships and through open communication, these insecurities were easily laid to rest.

I loved that Demon King’s Desire had so many different supernatural creatures. There were demons, vampires, faeries, angels, and werewolves. I enjoyed how they all worked together against the villains. In this universe, it’s not that one breed is evil and another is good. Instead, like with humans, there are good and evil in each breed.

The secondary characters in Demon King’s Desire were just as interesting as the leads. Cain, Lucas’ adopted brother, is a sweet, caring guy who always has his brother’s back. Jacob, another guardian demon, did not accept Jenna as easily as the others did.  This distrust was quite reasonable and provided another facet to the story. Too often in paranormal romances, the hero’s mate is blindly accepted, but I can more easily accept a member’s hesitation than blind allegiance.

Be aware that Demon King’s Desire starts off with a lot of information thrown at you. There are names, titles, physical descriptions that seem overwhelming. You will want to read this part carefully so that you have all the information you need about the assorted characters. Your efforts will pay off as the story progresses and the details specified in the beginning become important. The storyline moves at a nice pace and the mystery of who the villain is keeps the tension high. When the villain was slyly revealed to the reader, it was truly a “No way!” moment.

Demon King’s Desire is obviously the first in Ms. Sheppard’s Elemental Sisters series and it is a great start. I look forward to learning more about Jenna’s sisters and the other guardians.