Synopsis:

Wealth, power, and an easy life. Vaz had it all, but nothing could satisfy him. He always wanted more.

When one of his plans makes his boss finally decide he is a threat, Vaz finds himself with only two options: to roll over and die, or to roll the dice. Literally. Due to an ancient pact between his people and a god of chaos, Vaz, like all citizens of his country, has a special die that grants wishes… if you get a 20. Anything else results in a grisly death.

Vaz knew there would be a price to pay, but he didn’t expect that, instead of getting his wish right away, he’d have to work for his own safety. Worse: that he’d have to work for the sake of another person.

Now a fugitive forced to prevent a young woman’s death, Vaz is confronted not just by the ugliness of his world, but by his own part in it.

Review:

Unfortunate hits as hard as buckshot to the chest, and in only 166 pages! This urban fantasy with a magic system based around chance is as hard-hitting as it is action-packed, and it sure as hell doesn’t skimp on dropping some hard truths about apathetic people.

Skeezy banker Vaz devises a new rate scam that will definitely get him some perks at work, maybe a promotion. But after coming home all giddy, a dude with a shotgun awaits him. Using his Last Resort, he takes a chance on his life with Chance, the god of this world. What unfolds after is a masterclass of cat and mouse, harsh self-discovery, and some really great banter.

Firstly, let’s start with the magic system here. In this world, every person is born with a Last Resort, a twenty-sided die. And when things are at their lowest, people can cast their die and hope to turn their fortune around, but only if they roll a twenty. Anything else is gruesome death (here seen by a vicious cat and scorpions). But there is a catch, the god Chance sends an Emissary to said person and that person must perform a task/quest as part of a Compact between the god and humans. This was such an awesome magic system alone, but then Silva throws us a coin part and, again, people on their quest can flip the coin and try to guess it right, if they do, Luck helps them, if not… Seriously, this magic system packed so much fun into it, I could read so many stories with this as a basis!

Vaz is an interesting protagonist. He’s not likable but he’s also not unlikable, and I think that stems from the perfect encapsulation of apathy in our current world. Silva does a wonderful job of imbuing Vaz with a sense of ‘I think I’m a decent person but really I’m not’ and the following line sums it up succinctly:

‘But if you take a good person and remove the “good” part, the result winds up being the exact opposite.’

Vaz is selfish in that he wants to make a better life for himself but at the expense of others, even without truly thinking about the consequences of his plans. His growth over this short novella was just superb (as well as hilarious when it finally smacks him in the face). And his relationship with his Emissary was phenomenal. The banter, the anger, the annoyance, everything was just great.

Syren is the other main character, and she’s drawn into this plot for connections to Vaz in a fun way. Her character is also great but I won’t spoil why. But as with Emissary, her interactions with Vaz are spectacularly witty and funny, while also emotional. They were a great odd couple type pairing.

The prose is great and the pace is wonderful. It’s also surprisingly really funny, lots of great back and forths, as well as situational humor that isn’t outlandish. I thought the few ‘Before’ chapters leading up to why Vaz has a shotgun guy in his bathroom were perfect and didn’t overstay their welcome, in fact, they added greatly to the storyline. As mentioned, there was such great character growth in only a short page length, bravo. And the ending is the exact type of ending that would make any Sopranos fan ecstatic.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Unfortunate. I’ve had this book on my TBR since it came out almost a year ago now and I’m just mad I waited this long to read it. Seriously, this was such a fun story!

Synopsis:

Hi, I’m Caiden, I look nineteen, but I’m actually a two-hundred-year-old vampire… and I’ve just been kicked out of a plane and dropped into a walled-off prison city for the world’s fantasy creatures. Welcome to Vampire City! A sprawling metropolis of segregated boroughs, desperate poverty and tyrannical vampire overlords who feed upon their lowly subjects to lay claim to them.

In my time here, I’ll work with a courageous leader of rag-tag elves, an ambitious warrior vampire looking to climb the heirarchy, street-wise goblins only after a quick buck, a hapless halfling who has found themselves up a certain creek without a certain paddle, and finally a young and headstrong vampire girl called Alma, who doesn’t feel like a vampire, and who incredibly can’t be fed upon by those tyrannical vampire overlords I mentioned earlier.

She might just be the key to changing this modern, run-down, unjust and cruel metropolis into a better place for everyone. Or she might not. Depends on what I do next, I suppose.

Review:

Vampire Metropolis is an urban fantasy with a ton of humor and even more heart (which is kinda surprising since vampire’s don’t really have hearts). There’s something very human in this tale, something we all strive for: finding one’s place, even if it’s in the worst place possible.

In a page ripped exclusively out of Escape from New York, humanity has finally created a way to get rid of all those pesky magical creatures that have been hiding among us. Elves, faeries, orcs, goblins, banshees, and of course vampires have all been rounded up by humans and shoved into a sprawling city, lovingly referred to as Vampire City, and kept under lock and key. Our protagonist, vampy Caiden, is tossed in the city and it isn’t until a newly made vamper, Alma, is thrown in, does Caiden realize his worth and find his place amongst his brethren. A strange coming of age tale almost, even though Caiden is over two hundred years old.

Told exclusively via Caiden’s POV, we get to experience life in Vampire City, as well as dig through his very depressing sense of self. The dude has some serious baggage. Caiden is a loner, doesn’t like to follow the rules set by the vampire lords, and he really doesn’t like to be around anyone or anything. He’s a very melancholy character and can be very whiny at times. But he does have an excellent narrative voice and is quite witty, so it’s easy to like him. Alma is the other main character and she’s such a good foil for Caiden, and the other vampires as well. She’s verrrrrry fresh as a vampire, so she doesn’t even want to admit it, even though she has fangs and cannot die (more on that below). Alma just wants to go home to her mom and the entirety of the plot revolves around her trying to change the way VC is run so she can try to get out. There’s a couple of other characters Caiden regularly interacts with who are also fun in their own way.

One neat bit of vampire lore that I’ve never seen before is that these bloodsuckers cannot die, ever. Once bitten, they exist FORRRRR-EVVVV-ERRRR. And believe me, Caiden tells us this and every other damn character quite often. Vampires can be decapitated, quartered, smashed to bloody pulp, lit on fire, hell, the humans throw vampires into VC from airplanes and they just go splat, and no matter what, vampires will always regenerate over time. A lot of the tension of this story revolves around this bit of lore.

If you couldn’t tell from the blurb, this story is laced with humor, and even though I don’t always veer toward these sorts of books, I thought almost all of the jokes landed. Caiden’s narrative voice was very strong and most of the humor comes from his perceptions, not just banter (but the banter was good too).

The prose is quite strong and the pace even. And while we did get a very deep dive into the politics of Vampire City with its vampire lords with their blood tithes and boroughs, I do think more description of the actual city and how the humans keep it controlled was needed. Because we do learn there are walls, but not really much else. My biggest gripe about the story is that this is told in Parts, not Chapters. Sure there are scene breaks often enough that act in a very similar manner to Chapters, but it felt odd at times. The biggest offender is a 5 year time jump right after Caiden gets into the swing of things. It was odd that it just sort of happened before we truly got to see more of VC, and even odder that it happened mid Part.

And I’d be remiss to not mention the climax and how it all played out. While I had no issue with how this story ended, I can see how some readers might question if the whole thing was even necessary. For me, this story was more about Caiden’s inner growth, not so much the physical plot.

If you are looking for a funny urban fantasy with vampires and other fae creatures, def give Vampire Metropolis a try! It’s a fun read with lots of uniqueness to it. Now if you would kindly piss off!

Synopsis:

“You can never go home again,” the saying goes—but Hal, Athena, and Erin have to. In high school, the three were students of the eccentric Professor Marsh, trained in a secret system of magic known as the Dissonance, which is built around harnessing negative emotions: alienation, anger, pain. Then, twenty years ago, something happened that shattered their coven, scattering them across the country, stuck in mundane lives, alone.

But now, terrifying signs and portents (not to mention a pointed Facebook invite) have summoned them back to Clegg, Texas. There, their paths will collide with that of Owen, a closeted teenager from Alabama whose aborted cemetery seance with his crush summoned something far worse: a murderous entity whose desperate, driving purpose includes kidnapping Owen to serve as its Renfield. As Owen tries to outwit his new master, and Hal, Athena, and Erin reckon with how the choices they made as teens might connect to the apocalyptic event unfurling over the Lone Star State, shocking alliances form, old and new romances brew, and three unsuccessful adults and one frightened teen are all that stand between reality and oblivion.

Review:

At its core, The Dissonance is a story about unlikely friends, with a hefty side of magic. As a standalone, there is a lot to unpack in this book, but it was a fantastic read. I’m not sure my review is going to do it justice, but I’ll try.

It’s set up in a dual-timeline format; the three main characters as teenagers in the late 1990s, and then as adults in 2019 (with the addition of Owen for the “present day” part of the story.) In the 1990s-era portion of the story, Hal, Athena, and Erin have known one another since childhood, but as they enter high school, they learn they can use the Dissonance, a form of magic. Along with their friend Peter, and his grandfather, they begin to study the Dissonance and attempt to unlock some of its secrets.

One of my favorite aspects of the teenage half of the storyline was the nostalgia it brought. The main characters would have been a year older than I was, so many of the music and video game references took me back to my own high school days.

In the present day part of the story, the main characters have scattered across the country and started new lives away from Clegg, Texas. They’re all still attached to the Dissonance in some way, but can no longer use it as they once did (why that happened isn’t revealed until much later in the book.) But weird things begin to happen, which pulls them back together 20 years after they initially split up. Part of this story is also Owen’s; he’s a teenager, and the victim of an internet necromancy ritual gone wrong. I didn’t immediately see the connection between his story and the other characters’, but it is revealed later in the book. Of the four present day characters, I liked Owen’s story best. I have a soft spot for characters who are thrown into impossible and horrible situations, but who never lose themselves along the way—and Owen was one of those.

The Dissonance itself was an interesting element of the story. The working theory of its scholars is that it resulted from a disconnect or disruption of cosmic forces, which is why it can only be accessed by those who harbor significant pain or negative emotions. Each of the main characters has a different aptitude with the Dissonance; for example, Peter is more attuned to plants and nature, while Athena is adept at the more theoretical aspects of it and can create new ways of using it, based on existing texts.

But it’s not all fun and games with magic. There’s a lot of darkness in the book, and some scenes that straddle the line between fantasy and horror. The villain of the story wasn’t who I initially suspected, but when they were finally revealed, it made complete sense (although my one complaint is that the villain’s motives weren’t always clear. There were a few things that were never answered, and I wish we could have learned more of why the villain did what they did. The desire for power alone didn’t quite seem to cover it in this case.) That aside, I thought the story was really well done. I definitely recommend it!

TL;DR Review: Urban fantasy murder mystery, but with a cozy twist and lovely insights into the wonders of being human.

Synopsis:

Adair Finch, the most powerful warlock in the world, is back in business!

But first he must complete his pact with a mischief spirit by finding her a human body. Seemingly no easy task, as the mischief spirit is beyond picky about her future body. But on his way to Oakland, Finch stumbles upon the dead body of a social media star—both a solution and a major problem.

Oakland is teeming with werewolves, full moon witches, vampires, and redwood elves, most of whom aren’t on good terms with Finch. Navigating the supernatural world to gather clues about the murder is hard enough, but now Finch must also dodge old enemies and rivals. And to make matters worse, the murderer just might be trailing Finch, now that he’s found the body.

Good thing Finch has a pact with Chronos. With time on his side, perhaps he can do the impossible…

Full Review:

It was such a delight to be back in Adair Finch’s world!

Time-Marked Warlock gave me a Dresden-esque adventure, but with such a cozy twist, thanks to the addition of twelve-year-old Bree. In Chronos Warlock, the Dresden flavor remains, but the tone takes a slight shift—less cozy, more insightful into human nature.

This time, Adair is investigating the murders of young women, including famous influencer Fox-Pistol. There’s just one problem: Fox-Pistol’s body has been taken over by Kull, the mischief spirit who helped him in the first book, and she wants to experience everything the world has to offer—while trying not to get murdered again.

Kull’s enjoyment of the world is so naïve and genuine that you can’t help laughing and loving everything along with her. Whether it’s the taste of everybody’s favorite foods (pizza and hamburgers), her hunt for the perfect outfit, or her quest to find true love, her wide-eyed innocence is refreshing and such a great contrast to Adair’s brooding nature.

I loved being along for the ride as Kull bounced and tripped her way through the world that sees her as a high-powered, wealthy influencer. I found it a really enjoyable exploration of the reality behind the entire world of social media, how what we see portrayed on camera is so often far from the truth. But Kull using that influence and wealth to help Adair on his investigation helps him get into places he might never have otherwise, which makes everything flow more smoothly.

And about that investigation…

With Time-Marked Warlock, it felt like the hunt for the murderer took more center-stage, with the cozy moments with Bree fit in around them. In Chronos Warlock, the murder investigation kind of meandered, with Adair and Kull moving in a new direction nearly every time he rewinds time.

And I didn’t mind that at all, because it drove home the truth of this story: the murder of it all is just window dressing for the very human experience that the author is portraying through these stories. It adds just enough suspense and danger to keep things interesting, but as with Book 1, it’s the characters and their respective evolutions that really make this a story to love.

The addition of other characters promise fun and intriguing things for future installments, and I for one can’t wait to see who next drags Adair Finch off to some murder—and what new, human adventure he’ll go along on the way.

If you are looking for an urban fantasy murder mystery with a cozy twist and wonderful insights into the human experience, you’re going to love Chronos Warlock as much as I did.

Synopsis

LAGOS WILL NOT BE DESTROYED
The gods have fallen to earth in their thousands, and chaos reigns.
Though broken and leaderless, the city endures.
David Mogo, demigod and godhunter, has one task: capture two of the most powerful gods in the city and deliver them to the wizard gangster Lukmon Ajala.

No problem, right?

Review

I came into this novel with a determination to read something very different from my normal fair. I have a love of fantasy and scifi, with only a passing experience of urban fantasy. To that end, David Mogo Godhunter appealed because it has that broad hint of the urban and the fantasy, while the Nigerian setting, written by a Nigerian writer, would hopefully provide an insight into a pantheon of gods that will be fresh and new to me.

I was not disappointed.

Now there are lots of opinions on this book out there. So, I’ll strike mine in iron and fire before I continue. I loved it. Perfect? No. But damn, I enjoyed the ride, and a rollercoaster it certainly was.

This starts out in the vein of a noir-based, first person POV in the clearly self-deprecating world of David Mogo as he tries to make a living trapping godlings in a run-down and shattered Lagos. His step-parent is a wizard, and they live in a run-down house in what starts off as a quieter part of the city after the gods come crashing down. They, you see, have been expelled from their own realm and chose Lagos as their residence.

And this is where the book runs into the odd issue. It reads very much like a book in three parts as Mogo’s true family history is revealed and he evolves into something much more … powerful. But that I will leave there. The action comes thick and fast, and as is the way with urban fantasy, hope teeters on many a ledge and is often pushed back to safety by the side characters who deeply believe in Mogo.

I also enjoyed the structure of the human magic in the book, the way wizards had such varying powers and abilities, from the sham to the powerful, and the deep mistrust between them all. And ultimately, the very human characters that support Mogo on his fraught and painful journey towards the final confrontation. In the last third, the gods come quick and fast. Some good, some not ‒ but all are powerful.

Give it a read. Stick with it.

Loved it.

Synopsis

Scourge is an action-packed, paranormal fantasy novel that will take you on an intense, emotional, and nail-biting rollercoaster ride from start to finish.

Fear crawls the streets in New York as homeless are killed one by one. As police detectives Angela Benson and Joe Anderson begin to investigate the chain of murders, they soon realize these are not ordinary homicides, and it’s not only the less fortunate being impacted. As they dig deeper, they unravel a deeper, darker, more ancient mystery that may impact all of mankind.

Readers of urban fantasy; readers who love worlds of magic, danger, and adventure; readers that want multiple interesting, likable, and unique characters with complex storylines; readers that enjoy a plot that unfolds slowly and steadily with anticipation and twists the reader won’t see coming; and readers who love page-turning suspense that may keep them up at night will love this novel. Scourge is part of a saga that will not disappoint, and it won first place in the CLC Book Excellence Award for Paranormal and Urban Fantasy in 2023!

Review

Scourge by Rodney McWilliams follows two detectives as they investigate gruesome murders in New York City. These are not ordinary murders, spurred by crime or passion. They seem almost ritualistic, and there is more to them than can be understood by the human mind.

This book is written in the third person omniscient with a focus on Detectives Angela Benson and Joe Anderson. Joe is a kind-hearted man who has lost a great deal in life. Police work has become his way of giving his life meaning when he thought he had nothing left.

Against the wishes of her father, Angela answered the call to police work. She felt drawn to a career where she could maximize her impact on the immediate world around her. She is strong and determined, despite the strain it has put on her relationship with her parents.

Though Angela is a new partner to Joe, he becomes a mentor to her—a father figure. I enjoyed watching them bond. Not only did they support each other as partners but protected each other as friends.

McWilliams focuses on these two detectives, but the book offers us a view into every aspect of the murders. We get scenes of the medical examiners looking over the bodies. We get detailed accounts of victims before they meet their end. And McWilliams spares no detail to create an immersive story. The amount of research that went into every facet must have been vast. From police procedures to layouts of the business district of NY, McWilliams ensures the reader is right there with the characters experiencing every smell, the materials of which things are made, and precise descriptions of each area.

Not only are Angela and Joe’s backstories explained throughout, we get a lot of information on everyone we meet. I think I found Thomas’s story to be one of the saddest. Each character is unique and diverse and reacts to things differently depending on their station in life. McWilliam’s characters are another well-thought-out facet delivered to the reader in King style with a full backstory, allowing us to imagine each scene in as much detail as possible.

As we get deeper into the investigations of these murders, we also get scenes from the killers themselves although McWilliams does not offer us all the information at once. As we get little snippets, we start to realize that the killings are more than person-on-person violence and the entire balance of good and evil is at risk.

Once you discover who the killers are, there are still secrets to be unveiled and the story becomes a wild race to the end. A well-written story that kept me on my toes until the very end, Scourge will keep you up late at night scrounging for more answers.

Synopsis:

Wealth. Privilege. Superpowers. Valene has it all… including a target on her back.

Valene Blackwood hears everything, everywhere, always.

Her superhuman sonic abilities cause her so much pain she flees to a space station to find peace. When her father dies, she must return and take over the family business – selling superhuman protection for profit.

She inherits all her father’s power and all his problems, including challengers to the throne. Before her feet are on the ground, someone tries to kill her. Valene survives, thanks to Kit Baldwin, the woman who gives away her help as she steals Valene’s heart.

But the evidence points toward a sinister plot. It becomes impossible to tell friend from foe. The more Valene investigates, the more every clue hints at a vast conspiracy that threatens not only her life, but everything she believes about her father, his company, and her past.

Review:

Conspiracies. Heartbreak. Politics. Betrayal. This book has them all, and more.

The Judgment of Valene is the second book in the Eververse series, and while I loved the first installment, this one was even better. Every time I thought I had the plot figured out, I quickly found out I was wrong. The mystery and conspiracies went so much deeper than it appeared to at the beginning.

Valene is an interesting character all around. She has immense power with her sonic abilities (she can manipulate sound waves and hear any conversation pretty much anywhere on Earth), but her superpowers come with a cost. She never gets a reprieve from all the noise, until she finally learns how to control the onslaught.

She’s also the heir to one of the biggest corporations in the world, but not everyone on the board wants her to act as CEO. And that’s only where the conspiracies begin. There is so much at work here, and I don’t want to spoil it for readers, so just know it’s an excellent story with lots of twists and turns.

There was also plenty of action, especially toward the end, and more than Valene’s power was on display (although she played a major role.) The Interdictor had a more active role in this book, Kit Baldwin was back and fiery as ever, and then there was the Black Rider as one of the villains.

Based on how it ended, I really want to read book 3 soon. I need to know what else this series has in store next.

TL;DR Review: Spicy, steamy, dark and broody yet surprisingly colorful. An awesome prequel to the Gilded Blood series.

Synopsis:

Two years before Talia’s story ended, Zayn’s story began…

“I could smell her attraction for me, so potent I could almost taste it; somehow, I knew that if I ever let myself steal a sip of her nectar, I would never be able to satisfy my appetite with anything – or anyone – else ever again.”
***

I am the bastard prince of the summer court, the lone survivor of my mother’s slaughtered bloodline. Enslaved by her killer, I spend half my days as his emissary in the savage wilds of the Fae Realm, and the other half toiling away in a tattoo studio in the heart of Miami.

Because my curse forbids me from killing my family’s murderer – or myself – I have thusly persisted; a broken, half-elf, half-incubus abomination with the boot of a beast on my back and the thirst of a beast lurking within.

But when a needle-phobic art school dropout appears at my door begging for a job, her eyes glistening with golden tears, my entire existence is turned upside down. For in this strange and beautiful creature, I have found two things: a reason for living, and a path to salvation. 

Full Review:

What’s an incubus to do when he’s cursed to never fall in love, only for the perfect woman to blow into his life in a breathless hurricane of colorful hair and an overdose of adorable?

Zayn has spent the last faerie-gods-know-many-years of his life magically enslaved to the creepily evil Sol. Though Sol killed his entire family, the rune inked into Zayn’s flesh keeps him from not only rebelling or raising a hand against the bastard, but even thinking bad thoughts. Worse, it stops him from contemplating or finding a path to freedom.

Into the grim, darkness of his life comes Talia, ditzy and clueless yet supremely talented artist who applies for a job at his tattoo parlor. Zayn’s attraction to her is instant, but the real shock comes when he realizes that she has gold blood (Rh Null IRL, but in this world, MAGIC!).

Her gold blood is a power he can’t let Sol get his hands on, and one he hopes may be his salvation one day. So he accepts Talia on as his apprentice and…well, when handsome boy meets smoking hot girl who seems to wear only lacy bras, low-cut tank tops, and shorts and skirts, I don’t need to tell you where this story’s going.

Silver Blood is a high-steam, high-spice romantic urban fantasy that does a marvelous job of showing Zayn’s struggles with his inner urges (as an incubus, he needs to feed on the sexual energy of humans, at high cost) while falling irrevocably head over heels for Talia. He wants her but can’t have her, needs to protect her from harm even if that means pushing her away and sacrificing his own chance at happiness. He’s EVERY GUY who is trying his best to be the best he can in a terrible situation.

Does he always do the right thing? Of course not. But his heart’s in the right place and we, like Talia, can forgive him.

The story is set in the days leading up to Inked, the first book in Rachel Rener’s Gilded Blood series—a series set from Talia’s perspective, which I absolutely adored. It’s fascinating to see the world from Zayn’s perspective, to follow along with his struggles and efforts to break free of his curse while also protecting Talia. It adds greater insight into the character we know and come to love in Talia’s adventures.

It was a delight to be back in this world, dark though it may have been. I burned through this book in two days because, as with everything Rachel writes, the sparkling wit and colorful characters are just so much fun I couldn’t put it down.

If you’re looking for a “he falls first” urban fantasy adventure told from the brooding, too-handsome-for-his-own-good-yet-innately-decent man’s perspective, Silver Blood will be an absolute treat. 

Synopsis:

What happens when you don’t pay your superhero bill?

Kit Baldwin is just trying to get by.

Rent is due. Food would be nice. A girlfriend, maybe. When she stumbles upon a crashed alien spaceship’s power source, she gets more than she ever bargained for.

The alien artifact draws the attention of Valene, Kit’s crush, and the most powerful woman alive. Cosmic radiation from the ship gave some superhuman powers, but the Empowered sell them for a fee. Bankrupt, the city can’t afford any disasters.

Though Valene represents the company holding Kit’s city hostage, Kit can’t help but fall in love with her. It helps Valene lobbies for change, but disaster looms: her superhuman gifts are debilitating. Her deteriorating condition forces her to leave, depriving the city its champion and Kit newfound happiness.

In love and running out of time, Kit unleashes the artifact’s full power, transforming herself forever, as well as the battle over what is owed, and to whom.

Review:

It has super heroes, extraordinary power, responsibility, corporate greed, alien technology… But above all, it’s about finding oneself in the midst of the chaos we call life. The short version: Ever the Hero is a great story.

But it isn’t your typical super hero tale. Kit doesn’t have powers. She’s just a woman trying to survive in a city that failed to pay its dues to the corporation responsible for Empowered (see super hero) protections. Unless the city pays, its residents are without emergency services (which are rendered by the Empowered.) Needless to say, things aren’t good in the city.

Things aren’t always great for the Empowered, either. Valene’s power utilized sonic waves, but it cripples her. She can hear everything, all the time. She only wants peace and quiet, for the sake of her own sanity, and Kit does all she can to help give Valene just that. But as with so many super hero stories, things don’t quite go as anyone plans.

What I liked most about Kit’s story was the element of self-discovery. She never lived for herself, but she learns to along the way. She doesn’t think herself a hero, but she is one. It’s her actions that define her, not the abilities she has, and I loved that about her. She was fearless when needed and fought for what she believed in.

And what she believed was right wasn’t always in line with the law—or her world’s politics. The government controls the Empowered response teams, and a single corporation (Great Power, or GP) is the entity that deploys them. Artifacts like the one Kit uncovers are illegal. Using powers without sanction is illegal, even if those powers are used to aid those in need. It was a tangled web of who controls what (as politics so often are), but configured really well for the story.

There’s a lot to love in this book, and it’s only the beginning of the series. I’ll be moving on to book 2 next.

Synopsis:

Hell is real. We’re all living it.

Nick Holleran learned that truth the hard way the day he took three bullets to the chest and bled out in an alleyway. Only death didn’t stick, and it’s been five long years working among the ghosts and monsters, demons and fallen angels, hoping that next time he’ll make it to heaven. But things are never that simple, are they?

After a night from Hell, private investigator Nick Holleran finds himself face to face with Diana, the mystery ghost from his office, and a job that he can’t say no to. With unseen evils on his heels, and a dead girl at his side, Nick uncovers horrific truths that put him at odds with the Haven Police Department, and even closer to death than ever before.

Nick will soon realize the Devil isn’t the only one that walks in blood.

Review:

The Devil Walks in Blood has a John Constantine sort of vibe, and I loved that. But in this world, Hell doesn’t occupy a separate plane. Earth is Hell, and humans are condemned from the start—and can only ascend if they prove themselves worthy in life. It was a neat twist on the usual tale that I really enjoyed.

The main character, Nick, is a private investigator. Since he died five years ago (and was subsequently resuscitated), he can see the truth of his world: that it’s Hell, filled with ghosts, demons, and whatever Charon is (more on him later.) Most humans aren’t aware of their situation or the supernatural beings that also inhabit their world, which makes Nick somewhat unique—and allows him to take on cases from living and dead clients alike.

I also loved that the two main sides aren’t as black and white as usual. Since Nick is on Earth (Hell), he doesn’t have any real contact with Heaven or its denizens, but he does run into a few demons. They’re portrayed in a very gray manner, just as the humans are. The supernatural monsters though? I wouldn’t want to come across some of them, the Wendigo especially. If any creature in this book could be considered innately evil, it was the Wendigo, but they seemed to be the exception. I liked that the sides weren’t clear-cut and the real history between Heaven and Hell was potentially different than what the humans had been taught.

But the one character who doesn’t align with a given side and who sparks more questions than answers is Charon. He’s the ferryman of souls, the grim reaper, Death, and he appears to Nick a few times. Charon is an enigma, and it’s alluded to that he’s older than the conflict between Heaven and Hell. He may even be older than the angels and demons involved, and he seems to follow his own agenda. Whatever his purpose is, I think it will probably be uncovered in later books.

On top of all the supernatural stuff, there’s a lot of action, some great mysteries, and really memorable characters. I had a fun time reading this one.