Raising Hell: A Hellcat World novel by Sharon Hannaford

Raising Hell is an offshoot of the Hellcat series and lets us into werewolf Trish’s world.

Trish is seriously worried and losing sleeping with all the nightmares she is having. Considering she has a gorgeous Alpha Kyle, a foster daughter who is one of the twins of the prophecy and a lovable bundle of energy, as well as a caring young lady about to develop her Vodun priestess powers that she considers family, it seems strange. But something just doesn’t add up. There is danger lurking out there. The pack has been successful so far in maintaining peace, but the Decuria have not yet been vanquished. When a spy is caught at Haven with earth-shattering news Trish has some exceptionally hard decisions to make. Add to this the stress of Flora’s new love interest and an abandoned pup that has brought out some strange behaviour in Breanna as well as ghouls that have begun attacking in ways ghouls have never done before. So besides the day to day security of keeping the Veil intact and protecting friends and family from enemies that could be lurking anywhere, nothing crazy can happen, right? Wrong! This is Hellcat World after all; prepare yourself for a ride...

Another brilliant book by Ms Hannaford! It gave the series a new insight to be able to see events from a different point of view. We got to focus on Gabi and the vampires previously and to see the dynamics within the wolves makes for interesting reading. The pacing is comfortable with enough info to keep you engaged without there being an info dump which makes it difficult to keep up. At one stage one of the main characters goes through a life-changing ordeal, and all I can say is Ms Hannaford – why do you do that to my nerves?

I highly recommend this book in the Hellcat series that weaves in so well with the others and connects some of the remaining mysteries that still lie open.

PS – Don’t you ever do anything to Fergus! 

Flow like Water by Mark Burley

Flow like Water is the second in an adventure series that is aimed at YA and up.

Eric Bakker is still searching for his parents who disappeared after leaving him with a puzzling voicemail. They were working on a project with a team, whose members are now missing or turning up dead. Working with John, one of the People Under the Mountain, the twins, Tess and his brother Michael, he is about to meet Angel, the daughter of another team member. Together they will follow clues to go on journeys through many different parts of the world while being chased by the Vidi, the immortal Hunters. Time is running out and they will need to adapt in more ways than one. Flow just like water.

I loved the way the book started with a glimpse into Ada’s life under the Mountain, as it gave you a sense of how they lived and the rituals they followed. The moving around from country to country was very interesting, and a lot of work has gone into research about artefacts and architecture which is described in great detail. This has its good and bad moments in that while new information was appreciated, sometimes the sheer overwhelming amount was just too much and you wanted more of the story instead of another description of what they could see. I found myself skimming over parts when that happened. The book also has a focus on Eric’s growth as a person and how he handled relationships with others which contributed well to the interactions with other characters and the decisions he made.

The action felt a little different in this book – more cerebral and less physical. I did enjoy the story, however, and am looking forward to the conclusion and seeing how it will all tie together.

Thanks to Blue Moon Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.