After a childhood spent living on the road, in the back of a Volkswagon van, Dr. Amazon River “Amy” Sundowsky is a psychiatrist who strives for normalcy in her life, especially considering she does have one little secret idiosyncrasy. She can read her patient‘s minds — a rather helpful tool for a psychiatrist — but other than that, she’s pretty normal. Or so she thinks, until a psychotic nutcase chooses her one night a week in the ER to murder everybody in sight, except her. Taking a few minutes to settle her nerves amidst the trees and rose bushes outside only makes things worse when another unbalanced whacko snatches her into the bushes, snaps his fingers to make all the lights go out and tells her that her psychotic nutcase is really a blood demon who’s out to turn her into his blood slave.

Born a witch, James Skylar is a Protector of those who don’t know that monsters truly do inhabit the night. And sometimes days. Heinrich is one of those monsters, not the deranged psychotic Amy believes him to be. James has been after the cagey old demon for a long time. He knows more about Henrich than anyone else at the agency, and therefore he knows more about Amy than she knows about herself. She’s Heinrich’s descendant and one of the most powerful witches James has ever encountered. He fears that she might just be the one descendant Henrich is looking for, the one who can reinvigorate his blood, infusing it with unimagined power.  Killing her is an option, but not a choice James wants to make.  Akin to beating his head against a brick wall, he must convince her that she's in terrible danger, while keeping her safe from Heinrich and the two other factions out to kill Heinrich.  And therefore, Amy as well.

As the pair dodge bullets, demons and turncoat protectors, all Amy wants is her normal life back, not the dangerous reality that lies ahead of her. But does she have a choice? Will James be able to convince her to accept who she is before it’s too late? Or will Heinrich get to them before Amy can bring her power to bear? Either way, killing the old blood demon won’t be a snap.

Blood Demon Sacrifice is a promising beginning to Sara Thacker’s Protector series. Admittedly, it took me awhile to connect with the two leading characters and to get deeply involved in their predicament, but once I did, I couldn’t put this book down. At first, Amy and James, particularly the latter, both struck me as being rather odd individuals. I think that may have been a product of the story’s choppy beginning, particularly in regards to character dialogue. Gradually, as Ms. Thacker hit her stride, her writing smoothed out to produce a great urban fantasy.

James is the ultimate hero — complex, protective and resolute. Putting her safety above his, he’s willing to lay down his life for Amy, even before he begins to feel more for her than he should. Ms. Thacker hints at some emotional baggage he carries around with him, but we’ll have to wait for more books to find out more about this aspect to James. Amy has her own fair share of fears and insecurities, which makes it hard for her to accept her abilities, but for somebody who already possesses a paranormal ability, I thought she was a bit too thick-headed for too long when it came to believing that there’s more to the paranormal world than meets the human eye. However, I enjoyed watching her grow in spirit and courage as the story progressed and she discovers for herself how powerful she truly is.Amy is attracted to James early on, but

Ms. Thacker never really hits the mark in achieving the kind of sexual tension between these two that thoroughly grabs the reader. The journey Amy and James take in their vendetta against Heinrich is suspenseful and action-packed, but there is little angst in the final crisis that threatens to tear them apart. Although the ending is a bit less than satisfying, it promises much more to come for this dynamic pair of demon fighters.