It's been a few years since I read the first book in this series, but I was able to return to the world relatively easily. In the absence of an open bookshop to purchase Seasons of War, I had to find my Landy fix somewhere! There are a lot of parallels here to the middle third of American Gods, and I loved the small town setting. The comparisons with Skulduggery Pleasant are inevitable, and this sadly doesn't hold up. It's in the books most awkward moments we see the distinction clearest. Where Skul and Val's wisecracks over a captured enemy are always funny, the increased level of violence and threat here make such moments distasteful and jarring. Overall this book felt slow, something that I've never found with Landy's work before, and the vast cast of characters were not always necessary. I like the idea of a Scooby Doo riff, but does it have to take up 100 pages?

Decent continuation of witty young adult horror series. It introduced a whole load of new characters, although unfortunately I didn't care about them anymore than the original characters and struggled to finish. This could just be me though, having enjoyed the first books I didn't make it past book 2 of Hunger Games, Divergent, Red Queen, Twilight or Throne of Glass...

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

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I liked this book. Probably not as much as the first one, granted, but I think it's probably one of the better sequels I've read.

The punchy, witty dialogue was as fantastic and hilarious as ever and even though at first I was unsure about the new group of characters that were introduced, I grew to love them just as much as Milo and Amber. The characters were fleshed out amazingly, so much so that I didn't even get confused with who was who which I find is a common problem when there is more than 5 main-ish characters. I think my favourites out of the new characters has to be Javier and Virgil; they were so funny when they constantly argued. I loved the dynamic between them as old co-stars with a long rivalry to match and it added a bit of diversity in the ages of the characters. But the ultimate thing I loved was the representation in this book. For one we have people of different races (not just demons) but we also get a lesbian character which just left me gushing. But this wasn't all. I can't express how much it gives me joy that Derek Landy not only had an LGBT character but that this development also allowed Amber to explore her sexuality more which I think is so important in her development as a character. I am a now a big shipper of Amber and Kelly to say the least.

I feel like the only downsides to the book was that it was largely set in one town. Don't get me wrong, I did like the creepy mystery of all the bizarre things happening but I definitely missed the road trip vibe from the first book. However this didn't detract much from my enjoyment of the book so I'd say it's minor in comparison to the things I loved.

It was also interesting to see how Amber was coping with all her demon urges and seeing her delving deeper into darkness as she kills more and more. I like the way this character development occurs as there is such a big difference from the first book where she would agonise over hurting others yet now it's becoming the norm. I can't wait to see what will happen in the next book and how far she will fall!

Overall I'd definitely recommend this book if you enjoyed the first one as it is just as entertaining and full of blood, guts and banter - all the things Derek Landy is best at.

I can take Derek Landy's humour and writing smile in small amounts, and for his first foray from Skulduggery Pleasant with the first book in this series I thought he did a fairly decent job, but this one, sadly, just wasn't for me. Landy puts his characters in so much constant danger that it means I worry just as little as if he never put them in any danger at all - there's just a bit too much going on and, for me, it ruins what could easily be a really interesting story.

I love Derek Landy’s writing – he’s got a great handle on all things supernatural, and his books have plenty of action, but he also has a brilliant turn of phrase and adds humour to what still are pretty gory books.

I first picked up Demon Road after seeing it advertised at YALC 2015, and as someone who loved the first few series of Supernatural, it was a welcome return to demons, witches and vampires. Amber is a great character – a sullen teen discovering the truth about her family and that she is an honest to goodness demon – and all the things that go along with it!

Desolation is just as good – Amber and her companion, Milo, are still travelling the back roads of the USA, trying to get to Desolation Hill, a place they can’t be tracked by the Hounds of Hell – but they walk right into another heap of Supernatural nastiness – just how will they get out of this one??

This book – and the first book – is compulsive reading. The action comes thick and fast, but there is that deft touch of humour and a caricature of a bad guy to keep it just on the right side of dark. It’s well worth picking up the trilogy (American Monsters, book 3, is out now), as you could read it all one after the other and not be bored.

There is a new Skullduggery Pleasant book due out in June, so I’ll definitely be getting hold of that and keeping an eager eye on what Derek Landy is doing next…

I really enjoyed Demon Road but was disappointed by this sequel.  I found it clumsy and rambling and many of the characters are just thinly drawn caricatures.  Sorry, not for me.

I read Demon Road such a long time ago that I felt I needed a 'previously in this series' intro to remind me what happened. There was no nice little précis at the start like you occasionally get, it jumped straight into the action (and why not!). 
Derek Landy's trademark humour is evident throughout this book, and I particularly enjoyed the relationship (and fight scene!) between Virgil and Javier, two senior gentlemen who really should've known better. 
Desolation is as fast-paced as Demon Road, with great dialogue and a lot of humour too, and a very enjoyable (and gruesome!) ride across the dark roads of America.

I'm afraid I didn't like this book very much, which was a shame, because I'd really enjoyed Demon Road. It all seemed a bit creepy in the wrong way and there were parts of the story that felt downright voyeuristic. This book wasn't for me unfortunately.