Hell has come to collect… grey than she can count.
Who can she trust to help save the city as Baltimore burns to the ground and ghouls roam the streets?
With a white-hot attraction burning between them and secrets blocking their path, Gisele must face her past and venture into the twisted heart of the demon royal court.
But with no memory of her past…
…will she be able to save their future?
If you like Ilona Andrews, Kim Harrison, Nalini Singh, Karen Marie Moning, Michael Anderle, K. F. Breene, or Shayne Silvers, you’ll walk comfortably inside the pages of this paranormal fantasy world.
Get it now.
“Starks doesn’t waste a moment launching readers into the heady, paranormal world of her action-packed debut. The complex mythology and feisty characters will hold readers’ attention. An enjoyable fantasy from an author with a lot of promise.” – Publishers Weekly
What reviewers are saying:
★★★★★ “The relationship between the two main characters, Gisele and Shade, was by turns compelling, original, heartbreaking, and HOT–and the suspense was of the nail-biting variety.”
★★★★★ “A fun mix of action, romance, and demonic intrigue, full of memorable characters and sultry tension. Fans of urban fantasy: here’s your next binge read.”
★★★★★ “Packed with deliciously dark humor, steamy romance, and heart-stopping action, Gisele is a fierce heroine sure to appeal to fans of Nalini Singh and Sarah J Maas.”
★★★★★ “Shade and Gigi are my new UF power couple.”
★★★★★ “A thrill-ride adventure helmed by a badass, take-charge heroine and the hot-as-hell demon who loves her.”
more
From the cover and synopsis, I knew I was going to like this… and I was right. I **loved** this. And there is so much to love. The characters, the world building, the plot… Man, I am anxiously awaiting the next book (please, let it come out soon!). Let me elaborate…
Gigi is a half-blood, but her demon parts show up in her red eyes and ring of small horns on her head. Abandoned when she was young, she was raised by nuns who told her that she was unclean, that she needed her demon exercised. Her time with the nuns is all she remembers of her young life. At 14, she’s rescued by a bondsman and she grows up learning how to fight and how to bring in bail jumpers.
Gigi’s nemesis is Shade, a demon who her foster parents hired and who it seems like they’re grooming to take over the business. It bothers Gigi so much that she takes a job and signs a contract she shouldn’t, which is where the story begins, Gigi fighting for her life after trying to steal something that should have been left alone.
Shade always seems to rescue her when she needs it, and Gigi wants to trust him, but Gigi can tell he’s hiding something. He’s told her several times that he’s not a good guy. Man, from the very beginnings I was sucked in and had to see what happened next. I won’t spoil the goodness that is this book. I will say that the way the author unspools this world she’s created is wonderful. Gigi and Shade might know it, but we learn about things as we go along. It’s a fun ride.
Sometimes I wanted to shake Gigi, when she would take the hints her subconscious was giving her and brush them off. She kept missing things when she should have been paying attention. But it didn’t stop my enjoyment of things. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
House of Ash & Brimstone
Gatewalkers Series #1
Megan Starks
https://m.facebook.com/fictivate/
Release date 10/22/2019
Publisher City Owl Press
Blurb :
Hell has come to collect…
…but Gisele Walker has no plans to pay the debt.
As a half-demon paranormal bounty hunter, Gisele is used to flirting with death, but stealing a curio and opening a portal to Hell’s demon court is more than your average day job.
Now, she’s partnered with an infuriatingly handsome demon, Shade, who has more levels of grey than she can count.
Who can she trust to help save the city as Baltimore burns to the ground and ghouls roam the streets?
With a white-hot attraction burning between them and secrets blocking their path, Gisele must face her past and venture into the twisted heart of the demon royal court.
But with no memory of her past…
…will she be able to save their future?
My review :
When a past forgotten and a bewildering present collide, will she be able to navigate the murky waters between betrayals and truth …
If one thing is sure, I have been immediately sucked from the start as I landed in a fighting pit with the heroine fighting a minotaur.
This book took me longer to read, with so many different beings and demons, aplenty of battles and a main character playing hot and cold to the shadow always following her and saving her hide, I needed more pauses than usual.
This story is told from the heroine point of view, and I had at time problems with her distrust, she very quickly took in Beast but during the whole story she doubted Shade while he alway rescues her when she jumps in every trap set for her.
It is an impossible story to summarize as this is a quest for her identity and right place in the demons’ world, and one thing is sure she makes this journey even harder as she refuses to listen or believe. She more often turns a blind eye on the real truth because it unsettled her, and she prefers accepting the lies she was told as this way she does not have to question her life.
Sure the memories that come back are frightening but some are good but it is never enough for her to accept Shade.
He must fight again and again and even until the last battle, she is not sure of him.
Shade is a puzzle, he lurks in the dark to protect her, he can’t explain why but his acts are the proofs of his willingness to help her even against herself.
He is no master of his life nor his actions, but she is also too blind to see past the limitations he is subjected. She is so afraid of what she might discover she often choose the coward road and refuses to see the reality.
Hopefully with Beast, her Minotaur ally, his rather criptic words put her on the right path.
It is an epic read, with a bestiary of a wide range of creatures, a trip to the different levels of Hell.
While I have some problems with Gisele’s relationship with Shade, Mrs Megan Starks has launched with this first in a series a terrific new world I will for sure revisit.
4 stars
I was granted an advance copy through BookSirens, I ordered my own.
Here is my true and unbiased opinion.
https://www.facebook.com/429830134272830/posts/506653626590480?d=n&sfns=mo