Keys to the Coven

A witty urban-fantasy debut.

Demonic Enforcement Agent Max, along with his Personal Spiritual Assistant, Kate, works in the demonic-intervention industry: They find and destroy dangerous supernatural artifacts, for which they’re paid in karma. Kate is known as a demi—a half demon indentured to Max, a full demon, as punishment for her sins against him before she died. Luckily for Kate, Max is as ethical and kind as demons come, and after more than 300 years, he’s managed to adjust to their partnership. Max has been tasked with finding and destroying another important icon—the Minsk Homunculus—that for generations has bound the Woodsen witches to the evil archdemon Roxashael. Now that Roxashael’s consort, Rose Woodsen, has died, her legacy will pass on to her daughter, Felicity. But, as with all the Woodsen women before Felicity, Roxashael has been waiting for the day he can claim her and the Minsk Homunculus for himself. Now the only question is who will get there first. Despite the author’s straightforward writing style, a few of the plot twists are a bit too twisty, occasionally causing some confusion. Loebel’s reliance on dialogue can be distracting at times, and it can be difficult to keep track of the myriad of spells, curses, rules and double crossings as well as the complex demon hierarchy. Though Felicity Woodsen is at the novel’s center, the vile archdemon Roxashael shines brightest, especially when his villainy goes a bit overboard due to his abhorrent habit of having sex with toddlers. Despite Loebel’s tendency to hover too long in one place, which bogs down the plot’s tempo, she commendably weaves together an engaging urban fantasy.

The entertaining start of an epic supernatural series.