Summoning

A prickly werewolf and a dud demon join forces to save Los Angeles in this humdrum series opener. The World Snake is coming, and Los Angeles is on her menu. Before the Snake destroys the land, the Eater of Souls plans to harvest the living, and Richard, a demon, is determined to stop them both. All he needs is a master—and protector—and Amber, a young runaway shape-shifter, reluctantly steps into that role and into adventure. Inevitably (and genuinely on Amber’s part), romance sparks between the two, distracting Amber from the danger of being a demon’s master and the potential doom of her city. Populated with a host of interesting magic users (including cookie-cutter evil wizard Ibrahim al Hassan), Amber’s Los Angeles is a diverse and fantastic place. Both protagonists are hard to like, but Wolf’s world-building has a lot of potential, particularly if some of the secondary characters get attention in future books. (Apr.)