The magic apocalypse came and went, leaving magic all but
completely useless... except to a few. Those few, called
Soul
Complements, can still "break magic", casting the kind of
powerful magic that is now impossible for so many others.
Shame and Terric are Soul Complements, where Shame wields
Death magic and Terric wields the counterpart, Life magic.
Shame has been letting Terric bear their supposedly shared
burden as Head of the Authority in Portland but
circumstances have changed now that someone is actively
seeking out Soul Complements. Will Shame and Terric find the
necessary balance between their magics in order to save both
themselves and their friends?
I love the magical world that Devon Monk has created! In
fact, HELL BENT is the first in a new series that spins off
of the Allie Beckstrom series and is based on the
aftereffects of the conclusion of that series. HELL BENT is
meant to stand on its own merits and overall does a very
good job of doing so. However, there were repeated
references to events and people from the other series that
made me wish I had read that series first. Needless to say,
that series is now on my to-be-read pile as I want to see
what the magical world was like before the magic apocalypse!
Shame is an odd but likable choice for a hero. His
stubbornness is both a charm and an asset and I like how he
and Terric play off of one another, with Terric being the
responsible one and Shame bound and determined to be the
irresponsible one. Shame consistently whines, drinks, and
dumps off responsibility for a good part of HELL BENT... and
yet I like him and his sardonic sense of humor! Devon Monk
does a great job at showing how much he cares for his
friends beneath that blasé façade.
HELL BENT leaves several loose ends, making me excited to
see the second book should be out soon. HELL BENT is dark,
gritty, and sarcastic- what a great new urban fantasy series
and easily recommended!
Instead of the deadly force it once was, magic is now a
useless novelty. But not for Shame Flynn and Terric Conley,
“breakers” who have the gift for reverting magic back to its
full-throttle power. In the magic-dense city of Portland,
Oregon, keeping a low profile means keeping their gifts
quiet. After three years of dealing with disgruntled magic
users, Shame and Terric have had enough of politics, petty
magic, and, frankly, each other. It’s time to call it
quits.
When the government discovers the
breakers’ secret—and its potential as a weapon—Shame and
Terric suddenly become wanted men, the only ones who can
stop the deadly gift from landing in the wrong hands. If
only a pair of those wrong hands didn’t belong to a
drop-dead-gorgeous assassin Shame is falling for as if it
were the end of the world. And if he gets too close to her,
it very well could be....