I really enjoyed this read! Recently, I've read more books that were plot driven and I didn't have a connection with the characters. This book pulled me out of that rut. I enjoyed the dialogue and relationships of the characters. The plot was secondary to me. I enjoyed the travel and adventure more than anything. The descriptions of Iceland really felt like I could imagine being there. I've seen the Northern Lights once and thought the description in the book was absolutely spot on. This book is really well-written.

Spoiler Warning
I found myself not really caring about the supernatural elements. I wish there was more lead up to the big reveal about our main character. Easily figured that out but it still felt like it came out of nowhere. I would have liked to see more of the demon lore and peppering more of the demon possession throughout the story. I almost could even leave the demon elements behind and just enjoy the adventure story. It read like a National Treasure-esque adventure and I was hooked from the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book has an incredible premise - demons and metal bands? Yes, sign me up. And I did enjoy those elements of the book - the plot is cool and the second half of the book is fast-paced. It's a quick, easy read. The setting is also really fun. I do think that younger teens would enjoy this.

Unfortunately, part of what contributed to that 'easy read' is that, while I appreciate that this is YA, this book's writing style is very immature. It read at a level lower than the last middle grade book I read. Even for a younger reader, I feel that this would have the same problems as it did for me - everything is told to you directly in a 'I did this, I did that' fashion and it prevents you from being immersed properly. This was entirely my jam, but I don't really feel much about this book after reading it. I don't feel particularly compelled to read the sequel, which is a shame considering how interesting the premise is.

I also think it lets itself down by focusing on a rather bland, insta-love, and frankly a little cringey romance between the main female and main male lead. The relationship between Rory and her grandmother would have been much more interesting to explore. I honestly just don't think that YA books need a shoe-horned in romance just to keep the target audience engaged; the premise of this book alone would do that, let alone if themes like found family, etc, were more adequately explored.

Despite this book's awesome premise, I could not get past how bored I was while reading this. It has a very slow start, which I normally don't mind as long as the exposition and characters keep me interested, but they didn't. I just found everyone to be so flat; the romantic interactions specifically had me cringing and wishing the book centered more on Rory and Gram's relationship than her and the pretty Iclantic boy.

Hellfinder by Paula Stokes
Rating: 2.5/5 🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Fitzroy Books for providing me with this ARC. The cover art and intriguing blurb made me instantly curious about this YA novel.

The story takes us on a thrilling adventure to Iceland with Rory Quinn and her treasure-hunting grandmother as they try to locate an enchanted, blood-infused stone. The catch? The stone supposedly leads to a door to hell, and they only have three days to retrieve it before a heavy metal band unleashes unimaginable evil in an over-the-top publicity stunt.

A premise like that had a lot of promise. But I have to admit that I struggled with the book. The writing felt too simplistic, even for a YA novel, and there was a constant info-dumping about Iceland that interrupted the flow of the narrative.

The pacing was decent for the most part, although there were moments when it went into overdrive, jumping from one place to the next place and then again to the next place. My main gripe, however, was with the character development. I wish the characters were more fleshed out, more real.

In conclusion, while the premise was compelling and the cover art amazing, the book itself fell a little short. If you're a YA enthusiast, you might still want to give it a try. But for me, it was an adventure that could have been more immersive and engaging with a little more attention to writing style and character development.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Fitzroy Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

The premise of this book had me hooked. A girl and her treasure-hunting grandmother set off on an adventure to Iceland, because they have been commissioned to hunt down members of a black metal band on their way to a volcano with an ancient artefact that could open a portal to hell… METAL!

My one reservation going into this book is that this was a YA story, and whilst I am not the audience for this book, the premise was too good for me to turn away from. I have to say that at times this book reads more like a middle-grade story that delves into YA topics (we have to include our Icelandic love interest, Gunnar). However, towards the end of the story, it does show the reader more heavier themes such as death, both off page and on page.

This was a quick and entertaining read, I found the plot went along fast and the conversations between the characters to be fun and realistic. However, that was all the conversations were most of the time. Most characters seemed one dimensional and easygoing. Even in times of high stress and chaos, things were resolved quickly and the characters’ shock quickly turned into nonchalant banter. I get it, it’s funny sometimes, but I want some trauma to stick to them. All the characters had very minimal to no backstories, everyone is just an incredibly skilled hiker, climber, shooting survivalist. I was especially interested to see more of Gram’s character, but she was just used as the excuse to get to Iceland and to go on this quest. Rory, our main character, tells us continuously how much she loves spending time with her grandmother and how much she respects her, but never goes into detail or conversation about her life.

For a supernatural themed adventure, the supernatural element only comes in towards the 60% mark of the book, and the details the reader gets are vague and not all that scary. The demons that people fear so much aren’t truly visible, being described as black smoke figures when outside of a person’s body. And the portal to hell itself is just a floating tear oozing black fog, not very metal in my opinion.

Additionally, even though there was a lot of info-dumping on facts about Iceland, the setting was never clear to me. The characters just went from town to town, and whilst much information was given to Rory and the reader about the towns, there were no vivid descriptions to separate them nor to give us a feel of what an Icelandic village looks like or feels to be in. In one town, its outstanding feature was a church. Ok, what else? We didn’t even get a description of what the church looked like!

The underlying theme that stuck out to me in this book is the depiction of good and evil, no one person or one thing is a hundred percent good nor evil. There is nuance to everything and nothing is black and white. Whether this be in relation to demon-possessed people and their actions, or the additional Riftwatchers cult that appears that make questionable decisions for the greater good of the world. Things just aren’t that simple in the balance of good and evil, which I think Stokes represented very well.

Overall, Hellfinder was a quick and fun read to dive into for a few hours, and I am intrigued to see where the plot goes, but I hope future books will elaborate more on characters and settings.

Hellfinder is a short, but fast-paced and action-packed Icelandic adventure about our main characters trying to stop a doorway to hell from opening. Setting the story in Iceland was fun, as Rory, our 17-year-old protagonist, traveled and experienced what Iceland had to offer even while chasing after the potential hell door openers. The first few chapters started a little slow, but once it picked up, the story went very quickly, like the dog sleds that Rory rides (the dogs were adorable).

I was not a huge fan of the writing style, which seemed a bit juvenile even for YA? Once I got used to it and the story picked up, it didn’t irk me as much. All of the characters could use some more fleshing out. It didn’t seem like any of them had much personality, except for Rory, but even she confused me a little because I’m being told she’s impulsive and rebellious but I don’t think I’m shown much of that. Both Gunnar and Gram were also just too generally pleasant. Any type of character conflict was resolved too quickly and painlessly.

Also, for a book involving demons and preventing a doorway to hell from opening, I felt like there was not much about the demons and their lore in this world. Even the doorway to hell was kind of underwhelming.

Overall, an okay read. If you’re looking for something quick and fun that doesn’t need emotional investment, this might be for you.

I liked how fast-paced it was! I didn't get bored and wanted to continue reading. The underlying themes are also good for YA audiences, especially the one about loneliness.

It was interesting to read something with an Icelandic setting! Never have before, so this was a first!

Fast paced YA thriller set in Paris and Iceland about a 17 year old and her treasure hunter grandmother.

I wish the grandma’s character was more fleshed out. It would have been amazing to see what created the grandmother's passion for treasure hunting/finding lost things. Also wasn’t a big fan of the teenage romance but that’s just a personal opinion.

The underlying them (to me) seemed to emphasize that we all have good and bad within us and the "bad" we don't have to necessarily use for "bad/evil" and we can also choose to override the bad to do better. I really liked that outlook.

I did enjoy the plot twist at the end as well as the descriptions of the Icelandic scenery.

“Sometimes there are no easy answers. When all of your options are bad, you just pick the best of the worst and deal with it.”

Thanks to Netgalley and Fitzroy Books/Regal House Publishing for providing a review copy of Hellfinder!

Hellfinder is a book about a girl finding herself while traveling with her grandmother around the world. This story takes place in Iceland and has a richly described setting. It is a short book, but a lot happens as the characters also undergo realistic developments.

Based on the cover, I was expecting a book that leaned more towards the middle grade side of YA. This wasn't necessarily the case. The book explores quite heavy themes, but does so with great care and thoughtfulness.

The book follows Rory (Aurora) as she discovers Iceland with her grandmother, gradually falls in love with Gunnar, and learns about herself. However, this is not a story solely about the love between Rory and Gunnar. Although it is clearly portrayed, it is written in a calm enough manner to be believable. While love may be prominent, the story as a whole focuses on Rory finding herself.

My only critique of the book is that too much happens. One disaster follows another, and our characters always come out unscathed. Perhaps one of these disasters was unnecessary, and it would have been nice to give our characters some breathing space.

The first few chapters started slow to me because I found it hard to get into the setting at first. Once I got past the initial set up and accepted the Icelandic setting (which IS really cool, I just hate when I have no clue how to pronounce real places while reading 🤷‍♀️), I fell in love with this book. At first I wished for a bit description of some of the Icelandic places mentioned because I hard time visualizing the setting since I knew nothing about Iceland, but as the book progresses I feel like I got just the right amount of story and description to place me in the action.

Rory is the main character and I really enjoyed her and the way she was written. She’s at the age where every thing is changing because high school is close to ending for her and she’s searching for what’s next in her life… all while helping her Gram (who raised her) on a search and recovery mission in Iceland.

There’s action, adventure, romance (hello Gunner 😍), and even some supernatural elements mixed in. It all works well together these different qualities and comes together to tell a story I did not want to end. Here’s hoping we get another book in this universe because I’d love to learn even more about the demons in this universe and see what Rory does next (ummm plus see how the slow burn romance with Gunner progresses or if it does)! A very solid 4star for me that I read courtesy of eARC from Netgalley.

Hellfinder is a fun YA book focused on Rory and her Grandma as they travel to Iceland to try and prevent a heavy metal band from literally opening a doorway to hell. I HAD to request a copy and give it a read just based on how whacky and fun the premise seemed and honestly I enjoyed it!

It's just a fun and easy to read book, it had an awkward but endearing romance plot along the way, lots of lovely descriptions of the Icelandic wilderness, some intriguing twists and turns, and even a dog sled full of good boys and girls!!

The book also has some nice underlying messages that are especially important for the YA audience, but are relevant to all. Stuff like how it's never too late to change who you are, it's okay to be different, and the fact that however alone you feel, there will always be somebody who sees you for who you are and likes you for that!

3.5 Stars

The book title and the description drew me into this book. I feel that it’s probably aimed at a younger audience than myself but I did find it a quick and fun read. I enjoyed the mystery and the action that the story had.
There was some romance but it was very light. I felt the book was well written and the words flowed nicely. I liked that the book was fast paced and the plot was easy to understand. The beautiful descriptions of Iceland was a bonus too.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

• 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜 •
Rory Quinn visits Iceland with her treasure-seeking grandmother in pursuit of a magical artefact. Their goal is to retrieve a blood-smeared stone, which according to mythology will bring its owner to the closest Hellish entrance. The suggestion to take the stone came from Einar's favourite heavy metal group. In just three days, the band intends to unlock the closest doorway, which is said to be hidden deep inside one of Iceland's numerous volcanoes, as part of a publicity stunt. Rory, Gramme, and Gunnar will have to go through volcanic tunnels, ice caverns, and glaciers in order to locate the missing artefact. Can the trio save the stone before the group lets loose something horrible in the wilds of Iceland?
Hellfinder by Paula Strokes is an adventurous fantasy read. The setting of the book is fantastic. Though it's a short read, the author provided enough attention on both plot and character development. I love how the author has an eye for detailing. I unique pace of the book keeps the thrilling vibes intact. I would have loved it more if the heroine would have been little bit more than an eye candy. It would have been more perfect if the author would have provided little bit information about the Grandma's past. Author describes the setting of Iceland so beautifully that one feels transported to it while reading this book. Overall, it's a fun read that is perfect as an afternoon read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

I must say, I am very impressed with Paula Stokes for being able to fit so much information, character development, and descriptions into such a short book. Without further ado, let’s dive into this review.
**I was provided an ebook by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own**

Plot: So the watered down plot of this book is Rory and her Grandmother are “treasure hunters” who go to Iceland at the request of an old friend of Grandmothers. They team up with a “ridiculously hot” boy who’s cheekbones could cut glass. The gang must find cheekbones’ brother and stop him from opening a portal to hell.
While the plot itself is simple, Stokes is able to craft an intriguing story that keeps you interested. So, gold star ⭐️
Character development: I’m really bummed we didn’t get more of a backstory to the Grandmother! She seemed so cool but she was often left behind in the story in favor of Rory going on and on about how beautiful Gunnar is. I get it girl, but move along! Gunnar didn’t deserve to be relegated to the eye candy. He has a whole arc that screams “WHERE DID YOU LEARN THIS?!”
Rory herself really wasn’t that bad. As far as YA heroines go, I’ve read much worse than Rory. She has a good arc overall and I’m interested to see if there will be more.

Setting: Iceland is a real place and you can tell the author has been there. Everything was clearly detailed to the point that I literally went on google earth to verify and it is spot on! Claps 👏🏼 and snaps 🫰

Writing Style: Stokes’ writing style flows beautifully. She leaves out no detail while also not wasting time contemplating a butterfly. I saw the scene perfectly in my head with none of the weird haze I get when I read other books.

Overall Opinion: Hellfinder is a quick read that delivers a full story that could spill into more novels or end here. The story is written beautifully and I enjoyed reading this immensely. I really don’t have any complaints, so 5 stars!

When I read the first chapter, I was hooked. The opening is both fast-paced and intriguing, but then it got a bit disappointing towards the second half of the book. I love the premise of the story but just wish that the second half of the story were different.

I liked this story but I do feel I would have liked this even more if I was younger. Rory, to me, I would have thought was between the ages of 13-15 years old if I didn’t know she was 17 years old. She felt like she was written younger especially when she says things like “lock lips” when mentioning kissing Gunnar. Furthermore, I think Rory’s is very overly focused on Gunnar. It seems to be all she can think about when they aren’t in a dangerous situation and it seems, to me, that it makes her blind to anything suspicious about him. However, when he starts reciprocating then all of sudden she thinks it's crazy to like him cause she barely knows him.
Although I do feel bad for Rory because no one really tells her anything when they are speaking Icelandic. Which makes her feel like an outsider because she doesn't know the language or much about culture / tradition. However that is not totally all her fault because her grandparents did bother teaching her along with the fact that Iceland is where her mother died and her father went crazy so she is probably less inclined to learn. Which is why it irked me every time Gunnar mentions her heritage and lack of knowledge.

This is a short enjoyable read with an amazing idea that I loved although I think I would've enjoyed it more if I was 13/14.

There's some stuff I really liked: the concept of the story, the setting, the banter between the characters.

At the same time I think the story was lacking some structure and I thought the reveal of the secrets and the ending was a bit underwhelming and kind of rushed. I felt a bit disappointed because I wanted to love this book and I think it could've been amazing.
Also the 1st person pov makes me cringe but that's a personal problem.

Overall I think it was a fun read that has chances of becoming a really good and entertaining saga.

This was a pretty good read that I did enjoy. I definitely liked the first half better than the latter and it feels like some revelations were a little rushed and could have been flushed out better.

The setting was fantastic and I loved the descriptions of the Icelandic backdrop and there are a lot of interesting bits of lore woven in. The characters were all okay but I would have liked a little more depth and for the romance to have been expanded on more.

Overall this was a fun YA adventure read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rory Quinn, an impulsive and free-spirited teen, wants to spend Christmas in Paris with her Gram following one of her Gram's treasure hunting jobs. Their holiday idyll is interrupted, though, by a call from Henning, an old friend of Gram's, asking her to come to Iceland. Henning wants her to retrieve a family heirloom used to find the nearest doorway to Hell, believing his grandson Einar has stolen it for his death metal band friends to open a gate to Hell. Joined by Einar's twin Gunnar, Rory and Gram head out into the near-Arctic winter night on this dangerous quest.

I wanted to read this book purely based on the Icelandic setting, and the vivid descriptions of the scenery along the Ring Road as well as the trek across and under the glacier did not disappoint. The plot intrigued me -- a group of death metal musicians who claim to be Satanists deciding to open a path to Hell in order to release demons on the world seems both really farfetched and yet just out-there enough for someone to claim to do -- and the pacing kept that plot moving along with plenty of thrills and mild suspense. I will say that the twist didn't really surprise me, but how it was used through the rest of the story after the reveal was a little hard to believe (a couple of plot points were wrapped up awfully neatly thanks to that reveal).

The characters, unfortunately, fell just a bit flat, and the family dynamic between Rory and Gram (and even between Henning and Gunnar) could have been explored much more. Despite Rory being described as 17 1/2, she read as a few years younger (and that may have been due to her relative isolation from other kids her age) -- which made the budding romance a bit cringey. The language used also made the book feel as if it were written for younger teens.

So while I enjoyed the story, I was disappointed that it didn't have a slightly more mature tone. Still, 3 stars for the enjoyment level.

Thank you, Fitzroy Books and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Quick, adventurous read. Perfect for younger readers (about 15-18) with reckless spirits. The romance felt a little rushed, but love the original idea and world building. Rory is a dependable lead, although she is a little too careless with her words sometimes lol. Love Gunnar and grandma!