Member Reviews
Omg omg omg .......... this book was amazing I could not put it down I read every word on the edge of my seat I loved the story line, i loved the way the story just kept us guessing all the way threw I loved all the twists and turns and would defiantly recommend this book it was so believable and kept the reader engaged I love it
The title alone is enticing. There's No Place Like Hell is well written and one I would recommend.
Description
Stephanie Anders, Protector of Souls, has met her hardest task yet: saving the soul of someone she hates —her ex-husband’s best friend. After having accidentally sold his own soul Stephanie must now journey to Hell to recover it. There’s just two problems: how does she get there, and then how does she get out again before she becomes a demon?
I’ve gotten this as an ARC from NetGalley way back since last year, and I’m terribly sorry I’ve only gotten the time to review it now.
Theres No Place Like Hell” is a dark-themed paranormal fantasy narrated in a fairly light hearted manner.
First part of the book was confusing with the introduction of Trishna and also Stephanie’s sister, without actually having solid backstories to them. Felt like I was reading book 2 of a series and that book 1 contained what happened to those two. Many a times I wanted to just give up reading, especially with the incredible amount of times Stephenie had to repeat her title- Protector of Souls- and strutting it about like she owns the world. She has a very cringe worthy tongue-in-cheek inner dialogue.
The mid part became much better, where the story was peppered with the introduction of otherworldly creatures. The author did a great job in illustrating them. This scores points because I do love a good imagination, especially the one I’ve seen in Vincent Bobbe’s Immortal’s Requeim.
Towards the ending of the book, you will find a few disastrous situations Stephenie Anders managed to put herself into, yet they were mostly easily rectified without much effort on her part. She sure is one incredibly lucky lady. The narration of the strength of her powers was not convincing, and prompted a lot of eyebrow raising moments.
Nevertheless, despite the frequent cringe worthy write up of Stephenie’s inner dialogue, the author’s prose was engaging. Characters also had depth to them. Overall a 3 for me.
I would like to thank Hague Publishing and the Netgalley website for this partnership.
I was immediately attracted by the cover of this book, it shows the main character of the story Stephanie walking in a lighted tunnel in the distance and a shadow appears above the tunnel.
We learn that Stephanie protects souls and that the hardest mission she had had until then was to save the soul of Simon, her ex-husband's friend who had put her through hell. Simon managed to sell his soul and he needs Stephanie to get it back. She's gonna have to go all the way to hell to find her. There are two problems: how to get in and how to get out without turning into a demon?
A book read in one go, so much so that I hooked on the story so captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns with endearing characters. I love the author's writing.
I received this via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved it guys. This book was just what I wanted It to be. The world building was fun and a bit dark. Right up my ally. The characters were very well flushed out. I loved the plot of this. I can not wait to read more by this author. I highly recommend this book.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. The premise is great, Stephanie is a snarky and strong lead woman, and there are lots of demons. The world building is good. But for me something didn’t click. I didn’t feel connected to the story at all and actually it took me around a month to read what should have taken a couple hours. I do think that the book got A LOT better at around the 45% mark, and I found myself enjoying the back half of the story a lot more. So to clarify, the beginning of the book was more of a 2 star and the back half was closer to four, so I split it.
Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Stephanie Anders is a Protector of Souls. Stephanie has been asked by her ex-husband’s best friend, Simon to get his soul back. He sold it by accident and now his soul is in hell. Stephanie can’t believe he had the nerve to ask her! She decides to do it but doesn’t know how she will get into hell. What does she need to do to get Simon’s soul in hell? Will she be able to do it? Who will she see? Does she know how to get out of hell?
The novel is fast pace and fun to read. You never know what is going to know what will happen next. There is humor that may make you laugh as it did me. I hope the author will continue to write more novels about Stephanie Anders.
This is book 2 of the series and now that I finished this one I definitely need to read the first book of the series. I thought that this book was entertaining and fun to read. I love, love the main character and the interaction that she Stephanie has with her ex husbands friend and the other characters. I am so excited to read the next one. Thank you NetGalley.
I will start with praise: "One of a kind Paranormal fantasy with a protagonist that accidentally stumbled into her fate and is making the best of it."
That being said, I love Stephanie and her sassy mouth, grumpy mornings and uncanny ability to make deals with demons. She is not your average good girl. No! She is just someone who likes and dislikes people like we all do. Despite that she takes in the douche (saying it nicely) of her husband's best friend and try to save his soul, even if that means going to hell.
The problem is: Simon doesn't deserve it, her inability to be moved by pain indicates a darkness in her and me as a reader was always afraid that she might give in or simply go astray by mistake. After all, Stephanie can sometimes take it a little too far before she realizes what she was doing.
The comical factor in this story is so deeply rooted that it will never give you the creeps even in the dead of the night.
I have more than enough praise for the book but there was a certain element in the beginning that made it hard for me to keep going. Once I got past her routine, her repetitive 'walk in the light' monologues and comical bickering with her reincarnated friend to the good part where she (spoiler alert):
- Slightly tortures a demon, or
- Argues with one over Simon's soul
I found myself unable to put it down. I was always hungry for Stephanie to get in trouble and then get out.
I love the world that Janis has built up within this novel, it grabbed my interest from the first page and pulled me out of a reading slump that I have been in recently.
Stephanie Anders is the Protector Of Souls, a title bestowed on her by the goddess Isis, and it is down to her to protect humans souls at risk of being turned to the path of Darkness. Unfortunately for her, the latest soul in need of protection is that of Simon, her ex-husbands best friend and not exactly Stephanies favourite person in the world.
Time is of the essence as Stephanie struggles to put her personal grudges aside to help save Simons soul, doing everything in her power to get it back whilst still staying on the right side of good vs evil. Navigating the minefield of the Other World with deals with demons, blood magic, and her foul-mouther ghostly sidekick stumbling back into her life with a new flesh-and-blood body, can Stephanie save the day without straying too far from the path of Light?
I love Stephanie; she may be dubbed the Protector Of Souls, but the dealings of the Other World are all so new to her, she’s always learning as she goes, and making things up when she doesn’t know the answer. Never able to recognise a dangerous situation quick enough, her fail safe is to fall back on sarcasm and insults, usually resulting in her digging herself into an even deeper hole of trouble with whichever demon she is currently trifling with. Her voice of reason comes in the form of Trishna – Her ghostly companion who now walks the earth in a new human body, though much to his chagrin she doesn’t always heed his advice, or at least not until the last minute! Trishna is definitely my favourite character, he provides a bit of comic relief and comes out with some incredibly colourful insults, whilst managing to nicely balance out Stephanies more reckless nature.
This is book two of series, and I am so excited to see what mischief Stephanie manages to get herself into when book three comes out!
I'm always ready to read a paranormal adventure by a new author, or should I say new to me. The story line is unique, even a hero has someone they'd rather not risk their life for, but, being heroes, they really have no choice. The author does a great job of setting up the surprises throughout the book so you'll keep reading. The interactions of the characters is good enough that you'll visualize their arguments. Take the time to read the book and you'll see what I mean.