Love this book!. This is the first book in the Hades series, and honestly, it blew me away. Madison Kate series was okay, but this? This takes it to a whole new level. Hades is an absolute powerhouse of a heroine—fierce, intelligent, and unapologetically ruthless. I was obsessed with her from the very first page. Her backstory is intense, her leadership is badass, and her control of the Timberwolves is legendary.

Tate James delivers everything I want in a dark romance—gritty action, sharp dialogue, steamy tension, and plot twists that had me gasping. And if you’ve read MK, you’ll love the subtle crossovers and familiar faces that pop up.

The writing is fast-paced and addictive, and the world-building in 7th Circle feels even more immersive and dangerous than before. This is hands-down my favorite Tate James book so far. If you're into strong female leads and darker, layered storytelling, Hades will not disappoint.

This was a great first book and I'm enjoying all the characters! Hades is the badass leader of the Timberwolves and pretty much owns her city. We're mostly told about her character though so I'm hoping we'll get more background in the next books. Normally I don’t love reading such strong and fierce and dominant female main characters, but Hayden has a real femininity and humanity about her. She doesn’t feel like a one dimensional caricature like some strong females can come off the page as. Sweet, sweet Lucas. How he has my heart. I hate how oblivious Hayden is to his love, and for that matter, how Zed is obviously in love with her and probably Cass, too. Big fan of this possibly turning RH! Yes I will be absolutely continuing this series.

Ahhhhh Tate James is by far one of my fave authors and let’s just say I DEVOURED this WHOLE series after reading this book! So so so good and I couldn’t put it down. Deliciously dark!

Okay but I am OBSESSED with this book. Such a good start to this series by Tate James. She creates the best storylines with all of the suspense and hot tension. Hades is such a great character and I cannot wait to see where the rest of the books in the series takes us. I love all the guys but I lowkey am obsessed with Lukas the best!

This was a little uno reverse where she was the bad as* and I was living for it. I can not wait to start the rest of the series because this was everything that I did not realize that I needed.

This is a gang why chose story with a strong female lead that takes nothing, and has no problem dishes it.
Some things I appreciated:
Loyalty within friends, connections
Nurturing MFC with her younger sister
She's strong willed, does not NEED anyone but gladly accepts help
No miscommunication especially that could hinder or harm another
The female is HADES, not seen a female character called Hades but there ya go.

Cons:
The choices of the men annoyed me
Lack of chemistry between them
Not a lot of striking details of their operation, basically just shoved in your face that it's shady.

It had a nice spin on a cliffending and does make me want to read further to finish that conclusion.

You know when you’re about to start a new series with a “bada** heroine” and you hope desperately that they’re ACTUALLY a bada**, but they never end up being one? Yeah, that’s not what happens here.

Surprise, Hades is female! If you read the MK series, this might be a bit of a surprise for you (and make you side eye Madison’s reaction at the identity revelation, but whatev), but holy crap does she not disappoint. Suck it Madison, but Hades is everything you wish you could be and more.

I agree with the reviewer who said first time readers are probably going to be a little lost with the plot, because it does operate under the expectation that you’ve read and remember all the details from the MK series, which is kind of an unrealistic expectation to have. I also wasn’t a huge fan of plot points that seems to have been rinsed and reused from the MK series, but it is what it is.

Definitely good enough to keep with the series.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an ARC and allowing me to provide my honest review

Finally a "strong female" heroine who lives up to her reputation! Hades isn't all talk, like a lot of heroines I've seen lately. She has the skills and mental strength to actually carry out her threats and run her empire. The only slightly unrealistic part of her character is how young she is - 23. I'd have found it more believable (particularly with her multiple university level qualifications) if she were at least in her mid-late 20's. But that's me nit-picking.

I love seeing Cass back in action. He was one of the highlights in the Madison Kate series, and I'm really enjoying seeing a different side to him here. He's mine of acting like the asshole-character but he's nowhere near as bad as Archer was in MK which is a relief. Zed is one of my favourites, I adore his ride-or-die friendship with Hades. I feel like he's about to drop some feels soon, and I can't wait! Lucas is one I'm still unsure of. I feel like he should have seen the resemblance between Hades and her sister, since they're described as being so similar. He's also so innocent as Shadow Grove residents go, I'm worried for him.

Mostly, I'm glad that none of the guys seem to be keeping extreme secrets from Hades. I got so frustrated in the MK series at people keeping unnecessary secrets that affect other character's safety. But these guys seem to have their heads screwed on properly, hopefully they keep making good choices.

I also love the detail in Hades' empire. The day to day business and meetings with the gang leaders was written really well, it gave me J Bree vibes in her Mounts Bay universe. It has a similar feel with the multiple, secretive players on the board. I'm very intrigued as to the mystery surrounding who is after Hades. Bring on Anarchy!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7276754972Tate James has done it again! After binge-reading Madison Kate, I was desperately hunting for something to fill that void, and holy moly - 7th Circle hit the spot perfectly! The vibes in this are just immaculate.

Hades is just awesome. This girl runs an entire empire like a total boss and takes zero BS from anyone.

I love a good why choose, and this is one of them. I really enjoyed the way she connected with all of her love interests, this was probably the highlight of the book for me. I'm super pumped to see how all these dynamics play out in the next book.

Lucas, thought, has my heart - there's just something about him that makes me need more!

That ending though?! Like, way to leave us hanging! 😭

Small confession - there was a bit in the middle where things dragged (just a little though) and I found myself checking doom scrolling (oops). But don't let that fool you - I'm 100% hooked on this series and really can’t wait to read more.

P.S. Tate James, will forever be one of my auto-buy authors!

I have had Tate James' "Madison Kate" series sitting on my shelf for a while now, yet somehow ended up starting with 7th Circle, which apparently comes after the happenings of Madison Kate chronologically. I did feel like there was some backstory missing here, but I don't know that the missing details are included in the Madison Kate books. I just felt a little bit like I was thrown into a story already in progress without ever getting the full details on what happened before I got there. I also found it amusing that FMC Hades/Hayden/Daria refers to Madison Kate multiple times in this book. Cross marketing for the win!

Anyway, "7th Circle" feels more like a set-up for later books in its series versus a full story on its own. Hades is a 23-year-old gang leader (definitely requires some suspension of disbelief), who achieved her role via mass murder five year earlier. She is responsible for a billion dollar business empire as well as its shady underbelly, while also caring for her 18-year-old sister. She has three apparent love interests - sweet and innocent Lucas, best friend Zed, and older gangster Cassian - but we really only see her with Lucas here. Driving the plot are drug-related murders in Hades' territory, murders which appear to tie back to her actions five years ago. The plot is interesting, and I do want to know more, especially given the cliffhanger ending of this book.

I am a little less sold on the love interests. I didn't really feel a ton of chemistry between Hades and Cass, or even Hades and Zed. And while Hades' interactions with Lucas are hot, they are also kind of icky once his (apparently?) true age is revealed. It was giving very much that episode of Friends, "The One with the Ick Factor." Especially when you contrast how Hades thinks about Lucas versus how she thinks about her sister. I will still keep reading, though.

3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

7th Circle is a wild, high-stakes romance with some serious spice. The chemistry between the characters is off the charts, and the story is packed with tension, danger, and steamy moments that will keep you hooked. The plot moves fast and is very dark and passionate.. I loved loved loved Lucas and Zed with all my heart. These men fit with Hayden perfectly! If you love a romance that’s intense, dangerous, and super hot, this book is for you!

This is my first Tate James book, and I immediately know I will be devouring the rest of this series as soon as I can get my hands on them, and that I will more than likely be searching for any of her back catalogue I can find too.
The writing – chef’s kiss.
The characters – chef’s kiss.
The plot – chef’s kiss.
The pacing – chef’s kiss.
The romance – chef’s kiss.
Straight off the bat I knew I’d love this book. Hades’ inner monologue was hilarious and I loved how independent and strong she was – and that was without throwing any punches. You knew not to fuck with her just from her presence in a room (and yeah, okay, the guns she brought with her were a good backup). I can’t wait to see the way the dynamic plays out between her and her boys (I have some sneaking suspicions about how this might play out) and how the characters will bounce off each other.
I'll definitely be recommending this book to anyone who loves insane sexual tension, kickass female MCs and mafia-vibes.

Thankyou to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

First must say a huge thank you and all the praise to Tate James and team as the audio books for MK, Hades, and Guild series are literal perfection!!! Gold Star standard on how I want and now need my audiobooks.

Ok now for 7th Circle - Hades/Hayden/Daria top tier badass heroine!! Now wonder she has three delicious and devious (besides our golden retriever Lucas) eating out of the palm of her hand. Leather clad girlie as bad, the villain and ex couldn't let her get away, Now that may be do more to psychopathy and narcissism, but still Hayden is just that bitch. ---- Random and apologies side tangent, after I typed leather clad girlie, now wanting an assless chaps spicy scene ----- Absolutely devoured this book and the entire Hades series and it is my favorite of the 3 series.

Hades' personality is exactly what Madison Kate's series needed. She's bad ass, takes no shit, and is actually an adult. Her balancing act of big sister/gang queen/normal human is a great blend that makes her spitfire personality shine well.

Lucas is a golden retriever, and all who harm him should be shot. Also, loving that Hayden/Hades said to hell with it upon finding out he's only 18 (almost 19).

Cass is back! Love him, hate him at the same time.

I don't trust Zed. I can't put my finger on it.

After enjoying the Madison Kate series, I was excited going into this, however I just couldn't connect with this one. There was mostly world building/ setting up for the rest of the story and not enough relationship building. Certain elements and characters kept me reading, but I'm not sure if I will continue with this series.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the author for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I will read anything this author writes. Hades was everything I wanted and more. I love her so much! She is just strong and BA. The tension and steam in this one was so so good. Lucas is the cinnamon roll she needs. I do love Cass. I cannot wait to see that follow through. I love the story and all the action. I have to start the next one right away. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did not know that this book was connected to the Madison Kate series, but it is not required to read that series first. I enjoyed being back in Shadow Grove and loved Hades because she is a total badass. I really enjoyed this book and was dying with that cliffhanger! I cannot wait to read the next book.

I am a HUGE fan of Tate James and the original Madison Kate series "Hate." I knew that when this was republished by bloom, I would be going back into her world. The author has an unnatural ability to write a bad-*** female main character, with just enough annoyance to make me love her. 23-year-old Hades is a vicious and feared gang leader who masterminded a massacre years ago that killed most of the other gangsters in the area. Lucas, just happens to be at the wrong place and the wrong time and falls victim to her hmm, urges?? The relationship development is a little fast paced and too insta love for me. But, all and all I absolutely loved this book. It's well-written, perfectly paced, intriguing, and full of mystery and sexual tension.