Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Format: eBook egalley (PDF)
Pages: 400
Source: Publisher via Edelwiess
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: October 2, 2012
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Book Synopsis: They say justice is blind. But Justine isn’t.Justine (Tina) Clancy is just an ordinary law student with a faulty arrest record, a part-time job in Baltimore’s radioactive Zone, and a family secret so bizarre even she doesn’t believe it.That is, until in a fit of fury she damns her boyfriend to hell—and it’s exactly where he ends up.
Much to her surprise, Tina is apparently one of Saturn’s daughters, with the power to wield vigilante justice. But poor Max didn’t deserve to go up in flames, even if he did almost run her over with her own car. Tina’s convinced someone cut the brakes—and now a relentless nemesis is stalking her through the Zone’s back alleys, where buildings glow, statues move, and chemical waste exposure comes with interesting consequences. Tina’s usually a loner, but now she needs a posse like no other: a shape-shifting kitten, an invisible thief, a biker gang, a snake-charming private detective, a well-meaning cop, and her sleazy, sexy boss. But in between freeing Max from hell, saving her own neck, and solving a mystery that threatens the Zone and her newfound friends, how is she ever going to study for finals?
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Format: eBook egalley (PDF)
Pages: 400
Source: Publisher via Edelwiess
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Date: October 2, 2012
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Book Synopsis: They say justice is blind. But Justine isn’t.Justine (Tina) Clancy is just an ordinary law student with a faulty arrest record, a part-time job in Baltimore’s radioactive Zone, and a family secret so bizarre even she doesn’t believe it.That is, until in a fit of fury she damns her boyfriend to hell—and it’s exactly where he ends up.
Much to her surprise, Tina is apparently one of Saturn’s daughters, with the power to wield vigilante justice. But poor Max didn’t deserve to go up in flames, even if he did almost run her over with her own car. Tina’s convinced someone cut the brakes—and now a relentless nemesis is stalking her through the Zone’s back alleys, where buildings glow, statues move, and chemical waste exposure comes with interesting consequences. Tina’s usually a loner, but now she needs a posse like no other: a shape-shifting kitten, an invisible thief, a biker gang, a snake-charming private detective, a well-meaning cop, and her sleazy, sexy boss. But in between freeing Max from hell, saving her own neck, and solving a mystery that threatens the Zone and her newfound friends, how is she ever going to study for finals?
I finished the Boyfriend from Hell four days ago, but I didn't want to write the review right away. This is one of those books that has to settle and marinate in my mind for a moment so that I wouldn't give a knee jerk reaction...In this case, that knee jerk reaction would have been not so good review... This book starts oddly and slowly. The story was able maintain my attention, but I was starting to lose hope when about page 60 or so, things started to get more interesting.
I don't speak on cover art often, but in the case, the cover art caught my attention. Between the cover and the synopsis, I thought that the book would be edgy and sexy. Not so much, on either account. Don't get me wrong, overall, this book was good. I just expected more everything. More action, more sex, more romance, more bad ass-ness (if that's even a word, lol). The book includes several paranormal themes that I haven't read about before, which I liked. But on the flip side, I felt that it was sort of vague and lacked details in several areas. I wish we got some more information on Saturn's daughters, that topic particularly was very vague. Maybe we'll get more in book two. Maybe we'll even learn more about how Tina's mother and grandmother play into the history of Tina becoming one of Saturn's Daughters.
The story takes place in Baltimore, more specifically the Zone area. Which is full of people who have been genetically altered due to the toxicity of the area caused by a chemical spill. In addition to those people, then there seem to be genuine paranormal beings mixed in there. In addition, there are moving and talking objects, like statues, money, glowing buildings. All intriguing stuff.
The characters were interesting and have tons of potential, but again, I felt they were somewhat lacking. Tina, our heroine, is a law student with morals and wants to do the right thing for the little people. She develops the ability to send people to hell, which initially leads her to believe that she's gone crazy. Between seeing her dead ex Max in mirrors and talking to him she had convinced herself that she was on track for the loony bin.
The main two secondary characters were Max and Andre, so I'll just touch on them. Max, the ex that Tina sent to hell. He's got a past that he has hidden from Tina, which all comes pouring out as the story progresses. Andre Legrange, Tina's boss, whose handsome, clearly abnormal, controlling and seems to own many business in the Zone and has tons of mob like tendencies and connections. I like him, but I wish we'd seen a little more of him and Tina. Andre's still a mystery. We don't learn much about him at all.
I also felt that it was seriously lacking in the romance area. We could tell that Tina clearly had a romantic interest toward Andre, but this relationship was PG at best. I'm used to a little more heat than that in my adult Urban Fantasy/Paranormal books.
Lastly, the ending...I really didn't feel like we got a strong cliffhanger. In my personal opinion, that is mandatory when doing a series. You have to keep us readers hooked. A great cliffhanger has us all on the edges of our seats anxiously waiting for the next installment.
I really wanted to love this book, but I had to settle for liking it instead. The story has tons of potential and hopefully will deliver more in the follow up book.
The story takes place in Baltimore, more specifically the Zone area. Which is full of people who have been genetically altered due to the toxicity of the area caused by a chemical spill. In addition to those people, then there seem to be genuine paranormal beings mixed in there. In addition, there are moving and talking objects, like statues, money, glowing buildings. All intriguing stuff.
The characters were interesting and have tons of potential, but again, I felt they were somewhat lacking. Tina, our heroine, is a law student with morals and wants to do the right thing for the little people. She develops the ability to send people to hell, which initially leads her to believe that she's gone crazy. Between seeing her dead ex Max in mirrors and talking to him she had convinced herself that she was on track for the loony bin.
The main two secondary characters were Max and Andre, so I'll just touch on them. Max, the ex that Tina sent to hell. He's got a past that he has hidden from Tina, which all comes pouring out as the story progresses. Andre Legrange, Tina's boss, whose handsome, clearly abnormal, controlling and seems to own many business in the Zone and has tons of mob like tendencies and connections. I like him, but I wish we'd seen a little more of him and Tina. Andre's still a mystery. We don't learn much about him at all.
I also felt that it was seriously lacking in the romance area. We could tell that Tina clearly had a romantic interest toward Andre, but this relationship was PG at best. I'm used to a little more heat than that in my adult Urban Fantasy/Paranormal books.
Lastly, the ending...I really didn't feel like we got a strong cliffhanger. In my personal opinion, that is mandatory when doing a series. You have to keep us readers hooked. A great cliffhanger has us all on the edges of our seats anxiously waiting for the next installment.
I really wanted to love this book, but I had to settle for liking it instead. The story has tons of potential and hopefully will deliver more in the follow up book.
