The Road to Hell - Jackie Kessler

WARNING - this review contains spoilers for Hell's Belles.

The Road to Hell by Jackie Kessler. Published November 2007

Darn it I thought TBR Wednesday was next week. I was being all clever and organized. :sigh: So apologies for any typos and YAY you get two reviews today instead of one.

Reason for this being in the TBR pile - I'm not sure really. It's just one of those books that never quite made it to the top of the pile.

The Road to Hell continues Jesse Harris's story begun in Hell's Belles (see review below). Although Jesse is no longer a succubus, she won the right to have a soul at the end of the previous book. Now mortal she is trying to enjoy the life she has with Paul, her boyfriend. Unfortunately Hell doesn't want to let her go that easily. And they're willing to use Paul's immortal soul to get her back.

I enjoyed this slightly more than Hell's Belles. Maybe I've settled into the characters more, but I really enjoyed Jesse's voice here, she's even more sarcastic, sardonic and wickedly witty than she was in the previous book. I'm sure her mental note count has increased.

Mental note: Finish planning the rescue before executing it.

This series is still being marketed as Parnormal Romance - so wrong. Jesse is a great heroine, one of my favourites in UF, but I just don't see her as PNR material, and I think this is why the book has so many problem reviews on Amazon. Jesse seduces a female angel (not her girlfriend), has sex with an incubus (not her boyfriend) and and the book starts with her doing a lap dance. Definitely not your typical PNR heroine, she's rude, crude and probably socially unacceptable - and I absolutely love her.

The beginning of the book is absolutely full of stuff that I want to quote here. I think I got to page 23 and realized I wanted to quote most of it because it was so funny. But I'll have to restrict myself.

"You can't claim me for Hell. My soul's clean." Benefit of being only thirty days old in mortal years: that's not a lot of time to wreak havoc.

I love that even when everything in her life is going down the toilet she can still pull out a fast one liner.

One of my favourite things about Jesse is that she doesn't try to be anything other than what she is. Though admittedly she is trying to do her best with the whole human having a soul thing. But even though she has all the tact of a brick in the face, she still manages to pick up friends and seduce angels.

If I had to sum up what The Road to Hell was for me - it's a kind of Urban Fantasy Orpheus and Eurydice tale but with demons, sex and a reversal of gender roles. The book is in two halves - the first part dealing with Hell doing its utmost to get Jesse back, and the second part as Jesse descends back into Hell having been left with no other choice but to return. It has to be said there are a lot less jokes in the second half of the book, but the stakes are a lot higher, so there's less to be witty about.

Even so Jesse proves to be handy with the smart comment

I pressed the staple gun against his mouth and pulled the trigger. SNIKT!...
"I warned you, you little fuck."

and the staple gun. Okay, maybe it's not the wittiest remark ever but it's direct and to the point.

The second half didn't work quite as well for me. Maybe because I'm not completely sure where the story is going, so I'm finding the whole Angels take over Hell thing a little bit difficult to get my head round. At the end it feels like Jesse's story is complete - if only for the moment. But the overall arc of what's happening between Heaven, Hell and Earth is still unresolved. I'm hoping we get more answers in Book 3 Hotter than Hell (Daun's story)which fingers crossed I'll get hold of soon. Amazon UK don't have it as available but I'm hoping that's a temporary problem.

Also available.
Book 1 - Hell's Belles (First part of Jesse's story)
Book 3 - Hotter than Hell (Daun's story)

Hell's Belles by Jackie Kessler

As I'm going to be reviewing The Road to Hell (Hell on Earth Book 2) next Wednesday as my TBR review of the month, I thought I'd finally add this review to the blog.

Jezebel the succubus has run away from hell. Taking a job as an exotic dancer, she thinks she's made a fresh start. However, shedding her demon skin and hiding out as a human comes with complications of its own - like friends and falling in love and responsibility. But it's not that easy to put her past behind her, especially when it doesn't want to let her go.

It's so refreshing to read about a heroine who is completely comfortable in her own skin. Jezebel/Jesse has a sharp wit and a deliciously wicked sense of humour. She's an incredibly sexual creature and revels in being a succubus, so her new career choice of stripping is a natural one for her to make.

The cover story promised to teach me "ten tantalizing tips" guaranteed to drive my partner wild. I had no idea what passed for "tantalizing" these days. I was willing to bet it didn't include snakes and honey.

Initially it's hard to work out how we can have sympathy for her, she's such a selfish creature of instinct and need. However, once she takes human form, her newfound mortality begins to change her and she begins a slow almost unnoticeable transition from amoral demon to something else. The first experiences that Jesse has as a human are incredibly well written and make you realise how strange it must be to see the world for the first time. And her almost orgasmic reaction to muffins and coffee will have you craving baked goods. :)

I also loved her mental notes. All the way through the story it's like she has to stop and specifically make these points to herself - I'm not a demon, I'm a human and this is what humans do. Alternatively she also uses them when she screws up.

Mental note: Watch more television.

and

Mental note: Don't do my legs and bikini area when I'm in a hurry.

Her none stop mental commentary on her experiences and the people she meets, makes for a fast paced and enjoyable read.

I did have a slight problem with the use of flashbacks in the story. There are really two stories being told here; the first is Jesse's flight from hell and how she copes with being a mortal; the second is about the events leading up to her decision to flee hell. Unfortunately the flashbacks (of which there are several) are intercut with the main story and aren't signposted that well (the first happens in Chapter 6). Leaving the reader confused about what it happening, until you get used to the style.

For people who like to know: - this is written in first person, and there is some strong swearing, but this is in context and (as I'm just about to point out in the paragraph below) this isn't PNR.

I'll end by saying I think it's misleading that this has been marketed as a romance, I believe it's urban fantasy. The romantic subplot definitely takes second place to Jesse's story. Jesse is/was a succubus, she's not ashamed of who or what she is. This is quite a few steps over from PNR. But this shouldn't put readers off - Jezebel is such a rare outspoken heroine, it's worth taking the time to get to know her.

Also available
The Road to Hell (Book 2)
Hotter than Hell (Book 3)