Book Review: Hell Fire

Hell Fire

By:  Ann Aguirre

Publisher:  ROC books

Publish Date:  April 2010

Format:  Paperback, 315pgs - pocketbook size

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  2nd book in Corine Solomon Novels; 1st book Blue Diablo ~ Review HERE

Recommendation:  Yes! If you enjoyed the first book and enjoy stories with ghosts and demons.  This Urban Fantasy Mystery will be a wonderful read!

Book Synopsis:
As a handler, Corine Solomon can touch an object and know its history.  It's too bad she can't seem to forget her own.  With her ex-boyfriend Chance in tow lending his particularly supernatural brand of luck, Corine journeys back home to Kilmer, Georgia, in order to discover the truth behind her mother's death and the origins of her "gift."

But while trying to uncover the secrets of her past, Corine and Chance find that something is rotten in the state of Georgia.  Just a few miles away, no one seems to know Kilmer exists.  And inside the town borders, there are signs of a dark curse affecting the town and all its residents - and it can be satisfied only by death.

First Sentence:
I'm still a redhead.

My Review and Summary:
Where are we with Corine, Chance, and Jesse?

We pick up where we left off from Blue Diablo.  As promised Chance is heading with Corine to her home town to look into her mothers death.  Kilmer.  The town of Kilmer has a spooky Gothic feel to it, and there are many magic symbols through out the town, even on trees.  Kilmer has many dark hidden secrets of its own along with the towns people who live here.  Corine and Chance work hard to find out what happened to Corine's mother and get tied up in the towns dark secrets, with lots of dead ends.

I enjoyed this book as Kilmer had many scary secrets all of its own.  I wanted to know more about this town, which seems to be stuck in the past, as the story went on.  With this town and the dead ends that Corine and Chance come to kept me wanting more and wondering what was going on.  Ann Aguirre has a great way of writing an action-packed urban fantasy mystery book, and I love it.  The suspense of ghosts and/or magic just kept me coming back for more.  Every time I though we would get an answer we would get a touch but there would be another question to follow.  Ann kept me guessing until the very end.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book as well.  Both the men are back in full form, and fighting over Corine.  I love these men as they both a great possibility to be Corine's significant other.  You are just going to have to read the book to see if Corine picks one.  Corine grows in some ways in this book.  Her powers come to a new level and she pushes herself to use them.  It was interesting to see the develop.  However, Corine gave me pause at times with her reactions to each man when she is alone with them.  But, I quickly moved on from that as I do enjoy both these men.  And there's a great new character we meet here, Shannon.  I am hoping we get to see more of Shannon in future books and hope she helps Corine mature in her relationship and setting roots ways.

The ghost part of the book was always neat for me.  It's not a spooky way, but a different touch, and I enjoyed it.  Once again Ann has written another book I could so easily see made into a wonderful action-packed fast-paced urban fantasy mystery movie. 



I purchased this book for my own enjoyment.

This book qualifies for my Speculative Fiction Challenge, hosted by Book Chick City.