My Five Word TL:DR Review : A Great New Urban Fantasy

Hell for HIre is a great start to a promising new urban fantasy series -perhaps we need to come up with a new name for a series that has strong woodland vibes.  Woodland Fantasy just doesn’t really work though does it.  We have a found family of demons (and that’s not something you get to say every day), a new young witch trying to make it on his own and a whole passel of warlocks and other critters hot on his tail.

Okay, let’s start from the beginning.

Adrian Blackwood is a young witch, raised in the Blackwood Forest by a long line of witches he should have been apprenticed to warlocks from a certain age but he didn’t want to become a warlock and he basically ran away.  His family have protected him ever since, the Blackwood magic is strong, however, his little rebellion has certainly called down trouble onto his family and he has now decided to leave and start his own forest.  However, growing your own magic forest doesn’t happen overnight and in the meantime Adrian needs protection.  Hence, he hires himself some demon protection.

Enter the scene our hellish mercenaries led by Bex.  There’s a lust demon (that is exactly as it sounds), a beefed up wrath demon, and a void demon.  They have a few tricks up their sleeves and they live in a camper van that has ideas about being a tardis.

I won’t elaborate on the plot further.  Be assured that the warlocks will be looking for Adrian and they will be using plenty of force.  They don’t bargain for what they’ll find when they come across his little protection unit though, or the magic that he’s already created in his forest.  And, let’s not forget Adrian’s familiar, his cat Boston – who has plenty to say about everything..

What I really liked about this.

It really draws you in immediately.  The writing is good, the dialogue is spot on.  I liked the characters and more than that I loved all the magic and the backstory and it just feels so wonderfully unique.

Bex and Adrian are the two central characters and they soon find themselves trusting each other.  Bex is hiding secrets though and, whilst I’m not going to spill them here, she’s actually going to need Adrian’s help eventually.

I really liked the pacing for this one, it’s not trying to cram in so much action that you feel dizzy, instead there’s a fine balance and obviously the finale cranks the action up a notch or three, but the author takes the time to let us spend some quality time with her characters and to develop feelings for them.

We get a good feel for the world, things are explained in a satisfying way without being over the top or too descriptive.  More than that this is one of those stories that makes you smile.  It’s not trying to be funny, but it is fun, creative and it has heart aplenty.

Overall, I had a thoroughly good time with this and can’t wait to read more.  It’s a fantastic start to a new series.  So, hopefully not too long a wait for number two.

I received a copy courtesy of the author, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4.5 of 5 stars