Throne in the Dark

A demon falls in love with his human captive in this tepid romantasy series launch from Caggiano (Bound and Tide). Brooding Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne, son of Zagadoth the Tempestuous, “Demonic Lord of the Infernal Plane,” is sent to Eirengaard to fulfill the prophecy that he will kill Archibald Lumier, human king of the Eiren realm, and thereby free his father from captivity. He has created a powerful talisman that will serve as the murder weapon, but must steal an artifact to cloak its magic from the Ebon Sanctum Mallor, which houses “some of the most potent, accursed objects in existence.” Enter sunny thief Ammalie “Amma” Avington, who also aims to break into the Sanctum to steal the Scroll of the Army of the Undead for reasons that remain mysterious for much of the book. Damien thwarts Amma’s attempt and, in retaliation, she swipes his talisman, which unluckily embeds itself inside her body. As Damien drags her across the realm looking for ways to retrieve it, a slow-burn romance sparks. The trek to Eirengaard meanders, interspersed with unnecessary side quests that add little to the story, and the romantic tension feels scant until the very end. Caggiano mines some humor from juxtaposing elaborate high fantasy prose with more casual, slang-studded dialogue, but readers will wish for more substance. This disappoints. (Nov.)