An escaped demon and a snarky cat face off against the seven deadly sins. Escaping from Hell was just the beginning of Phoebe’s problems. In Hell, she had a position of legend. A marquis of torture. But on the human plane, she is just another New York City destitute. Before she has a chance to get her bearings on the unforgiving streets, Fate steps in and offers her a chance at redemption, but it … redemption, but it doesn’t come cheap.
She must bring in the demons that escaped alongside her while making sure no humans are harmed in the process. In order to do that, she needs to learn to live in the human world with the help of another one of Fate’s parolees, a snarky cat named Smoke.
If it means never seeing the halls of Hell again, Phoebe will do anything, even battle the seven deadly sins single-handed.
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Battered, hurt and aching in every place Phoebe had a mission to fulfill because the other choice was one she feared more than anything. As ever, things were not as planned and with a ‘really not a cat’ for partner, she had to face a nightmare that had she bargaining for something more than herself. Dark, skilled, hard to kill and resourceful Phoebe had me intrigued all the time. She had a chance for redemption but at a great cost. What’s her story? And the cat! He too had his own and very hidden. Liked the mystery, the suspense and the emotions that after so many years were waking up in Phoebe. This was the first book, so we have to buckle up for the ride with Phoebe and her ‘no demon’ cry. An exciting and suspenseful story that had me enjoying the characters and their dire situation.
Received ARC. Like the book. Phoebe needs a break. Takes one by escaping hell. She is in on twisted situation after another. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with this character the next book should be great.
OMG, what an amazing book. Once I started reading I could not put it down. It moved along nicely at a comfortable reading , has characters that you will fall in love with and a story that keeps you glued to the book until the very last word has been read. This needs to be on your TBR list, no doubt about it.
The Bumpy Road to Redemption!
A wonderful and hilarious start to this new series. Phoebe (aka Phenex, the Marquis of Hell) escapes and Fate offers her the chance to redeem her soul by completing 7 tasks. Phoebe hasn’t been on earth for thousands of years and her reactions to life in modern day NYC had me in stitches. Fate gave her a helper in the form of a snarky, streetwise cat and their interaction is superbly funny. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I received a complimentary copy and am happy to leave my honest review. Enjoy!
Phoebe has spent many years in Hell climbing up the ladder in rank torturing other demons. Phoebe made a deal trying to save someone she loved and ended up in Hell. An opening for escape opened up for Phoebe she snatched it up quickly and walked through the portal to the other side.
Phoebe’s escape takes her to the human plane where she once again runs into Fate and has to make a deal to save her soul. The question for some is does Phoebe actually have a soul anymore? Fate offers Phoebe a chance at redemption. In order to claim her redemption Phoebe must bring in the demons that escaped when she did without hurting humans in the process.
Yeah well this may be a little problem for Phoebe as no one has explained all the rules to her. Phoebe is assigned a helper, a cat named Smoke. Smoke helps Phoebe find a place to live. When she is injured trying to bring in one of the demons and breaking some of the rules in the process Smoke enlist the help of a veterinary to take care of Phoebe’s injures. The veterinary Adam gives Phoebe a job working at his clinic with all the cute and cuddly little animals.
All of Phoebe’s problems started with her trying to do a good thing by saving someone she loved. Phoebe’s good deed turned out not to be such a good thing for her. Her good deed cast her into Hell, a bad evil place where she is given the job of torturing demons. Phoebe’s job brought out her dark side but I don’t think it took over completely.
Phoebe has a long hard journey ahead of her with facing her demons and reaching for the redemption she seeks. Phoebe has a lot to learn and a lot of battles to face on her road to redemption. It is a long curvy road filled with lots of action from all the battles and fighting and so unpredictable with all the twists that fate throws at her. Phoebe is faced with temptations and trials on this long road she must travel down to reach her redemption.
Beneath is a great start to great new series. I can’t wait to dive into the next book to see where Phoebe and Smoke take us next and what other sins they will face.
I highly recommend Beneath to all fans of the paranormal, fantasy, demons and a little magic. One click your copy today to begin this wonderful new journey into a new world!
Looking forward to reading the next book.
Fairly entertaining, but not enough to get me to continue the series. It was one of those YA stories written in the first person where the heroine is troubled but beautiful and resourceful, and every good guy falls in love with her and wants to help her despite her awkwardness and snark. Yadda yadda, you know the drill.
First let me state that I received an Advance Reader Copy, (ARC), but this in no way influences my review. I always leave an honest review.
Holy shiznet!!! This story is gr8. Phoebe is being given a chance to redeem herself but it’s not easy. Chasing a djinn and a demon isn’t easy. I recommend this read. 5 Thumbs up
Even with the serious undertones like torture and death this was an easygoing read. Phoebe who is the number one ranking dealer of said torture seems emotionally undamaged and softhearted even. She is assigned the help of Smoke and his entertaining personality. This is book one of the series so there is more to come as Phoebe works to get her soul back.
Can you escape Hell? For centuries Phoebe has been forced to do a horrible job in Hell. When she has a chance to escape and gain redemption she takes it. But she has to work for Fate, not use magic and not accidentally injure humans, as she completes her seven assignments. And these assignments are not easy. She has to stop demons from hurting humans. But she has a hard time getting around in the modern world, and she can’t read. To assist her she has a cat named Smoke who is also looking for redemption, and a veterinarian who has befriended her and given her a job. On her first assignment she almost breaks all of the rules she is forbidden to break. Can she ever get redemption? I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Exciting and Very Tense
I commented that this book is exciting and tense and it is all of that wrapped up in the pages of this book. I mean how can it not be when you take and escape woman from hell, a snarky cat, and a vet trying to defeat demons from hell.
Every flip of a page brings you excitement and you find yourself biting your nails because you are not sure what the next turn of the page will bring. Will our leading lady find what she needs to appease the people upstairs? Or will she end up back in hell being the tortured instead of the torturer?
Until Next Time…. Tabi
Katie Salidas is one of my favorite Urban Fantasy author who teamed up with J.T Taylor to write this new series. I am not familiar with Taylor’s writing but it’s interesting to see the subtle differences in style the two authors bring to the series. It did take me a little while to get into the story. For me much of the first part of the book was spent on establishing Phoebe’s past and seemed a tad slow, it wasn’t until Adam showed up that It started to pick up. I did enjoy the section when she enters the shelter and the compassion that was shown her. The drama, near death misses, being dropped in a foreign environment with so many obstacles would be enough to stop anyone but the empathy and help does not go unnoticed. Phoebe’s desire to make things work out is a huge plus and makes this a really uplifting story. Raising yourself up from Hell is not easy but with help and a desire to win what’s not to like about this book. I highly recommend this book.
I was given a free copy of the book from Story Origin in exchange for an honest review.
Love the unique elements in this story! Entertaining and interesting ideas throughout the whole book. I really enjoy the whole redemption aspect of Phenex aka Phoebe’s journey to regain her soul, and despite her penchant for acting without much thought; I really enjoyed Phoebe as a character. She has a big heart and I feel that’s ultimately what gets her in trouble; her selfless acts cause her strife. Phoebe sold her soul for reasons that aren’t completely clear; she’s been serving in Hell as a torturer for thousands of years because of whatever happened. When a mysterious portal opens in Hell, many take the chance to escape; Phoebe being one of them. Fate ends up offering Phoebe the opportunity to gain her soul back by completing tasks. There’s a dangerous Djinn aka genie on the loose and stealing souls, so Phoebe and her only ally, Smoke, the talking “cat” set out to take the Djinn down. Phoebe is also dealing with being in a place and time she know very little about; she’s really starting from scratch and she has a lot working against her, but she keeps striving to succeed. Loved her tenacity. There’s still a lot of story to be told; this one ends satisfactorily, but things aren’t completely done for Phoebe. She’s still got a lot of work to do. I’m looking forward to the next book!
I really enjoyed this entertaining urban fantasy about the fight for redemption by a fallen one. A past mistake lost Phenex (Phoebe) her soul and condemned her to the pits of hell. When she gets a chance to escape Lucifer’s grasp, she takes it and ends up on earth. Phoebe makes a deal to try to earn her soul back by working for Fate and completing seven evil capturing assignments.
This is a fast paced, exciting read, with soul sucking Djinn, demonic old hags, a sarcastic cat and tasks that seem impossible to achieve. In this first book we learn some of Phoebe’s history, but not fully what the mistake she made was that caused her fall from grace. I really enjoyed Phoebe’s character, she is determined, strong willed and you really want her to succeed. I loved her affinity to animals and her relationship with Smoke. Smoke was my favourite character in the book, a sassy, sarcastic, alley cat that is exceedingly resourceful and has more that a few hidden surprises up his sleeves. I also enjoyed the kindheartedness of Adam and really hope that his relationship with Phoebe develops into more than just friendship. I will look forward to seeing what other tasks fate has in store for Phoebe and gang in the next book in the series.
I feel an overwhelming urge to use lots of Smoke’s rather blue language right now. I was not in any way prepared for this story. And I was even less prepared to be a weeping mess for so much of it. I’m at a complete loss for words. I don’t even know how much I could say even if I could without giving away the best parts of the book, because the whole blessed thing is fantastic. I adored the funhouse-mirror view of our society we get through Phoebe’s eyes. And, having been owned by a feline before, there’s just something so “authentic” feeling about a cat that can communicate but only does so through snark and sarcasm. I’m dying to get my hands on the next book already.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book from the authors through StoryOrigin.