Absolutely brilliant take on the idea of Hell and its residents.
When Zoe and her little brother, Joshua, find themselves in trouble, a mysterious stranger with weird powers, comes to the rescue. He is a marvel to behold and is welcomed into the family home to recover.
The setting is bleak and cold but Zoe's family is warm and loving, having suffered a terrible trauma. They have normal, everyday struggles of money and childcare; the mother is a broad-minded new-age believer and I absolutely adored her little brother. While the author was not shy about giving his characters flaws, it did not make you love them any less, it merely served to enhance their humanity.
Despite being 'saved' by the stranger, whom Zoe will name X, Zoe is not without her own strengths.
The romance was believably gentle and innocent, yet heart-wrenchingly brief in contact time. I cannot wait to read the next book.
I will warn you that there our heroine goes caving and, as a sufferer of claustrophobia, I was nervous about reading the scenes dealing with her caving trip and I was right. They were nerve-wracking, but done quite wonderfully. My fingers were frozen from start to finish.

This book was sent to me by the publisher, Bloomsbury, at no cost. It's being published in February 2017; RRP $16.99.

I have to say first off that I think the title is naff. It doesn't tell you anything and it also doesn't relate to anything in the story. So that's my whinge.

The promo material for this book suggests 12+. I would say 14+, personally; I can't think of a 12 year old I would deliberately give this. Some 12 year olds would take it for themselves and cope quite nicely, I suspect, but that's a different issue.

Zoe's father died a few months ago; her brother goes out in a snowstorm and she has to rescue him; she meets a stranger with tattoos and apparently some sort of extraordinary power. He has no name; she calls him X. He's a bounty hunter; things of course do not go well for him or for Zoe and her family.

It's not the most original-sounding narrative, but there are some remarkable aspects to the book. Slight spoiler: X is from what would be best described as hell, but the Lowlands are quite different from any other incarnation of hell that I've come across in fiction. It's an intriguing vision of the place and of how it might be used. There's no explanation of the Lowlands and how it operates; instead the focus of the narrative is on relationships, and the work of bounty hunters... it's all about the vibe of the thing. And overall that worked. Certainly there are a myriad of unanswered questions about the mechanics, but they don't really matter for the story itself.

The human world and especially Zoe's family are beautifully realised. The different expressions of grief are portrayed sensitively and realistically. Jonah, Zoe's brother, has ADHD; it's just a fact of life and oh my goodness he's a cute terror, as little brothers usually are. Mum is vegan and a bit nuts and fierce and has always struggled to hold the family together: I adored her so much. Zoe's friends Val and Dallas are a delight (Val made a Tumblr of her girlfriend's feet) and although I thought it was going to veer into dodgy love triangle territory Giles avoids that neatly. Dad... well, he was a struggler, and the way mum slowly revealed a bit more about what he was like to Zoe over the course of the book was heart-breaking and, again, intensely realistic.

Into this human world comes X, quite accidentally, and in some ways - although a third or more of the book is from his perspective - he's the most opaque of all of them I think. Partly this is because he almost has no personality, thanks to how he has grown up; he really only starts to live after meeting Zoe. I was reminded of those suggestions of how Matt Smith's Doctor 'imprinted' on young Amelia Pond, as I watched X and Zoe together. I was initially a bit squeaked by their budding romance because I thought he was much older than her; turns out he's maybe 20 to her 16 (which is still a bit squick for me). The intensity of their attitude towards one another, especially his for her, was the main eye-rolly bit for me. It all seemed a bit too intense too fast.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing is that this is the start of a series. It felt to me like the sort of intense story and relationship that ought to be encapsulated in just one, say 450-page, book. I don't know how it could have been resolved but I definitely would have preferred that.

Overall this is a well-paced and intense book that I read in the course of one day. I enjoyed most of the relationships and I was genuinely surprised by a couple of the revelations. I'm not sure whether I want the sequel because I'm afraid it will lose the intensity, but that's a problem I'll just have to deal with.

I liked the characters and tone of this book but it had some aspects that didn't sit well with me. Giles seemed to be trying too hard to write cool, teenage, girl. He was fine writing X and Dallas, even the Jonah bits. The teenage girl aspects seemed a bit, forced.

I did like the book and story...just not the "voice" of the female characters in it.

This was cooler than I anticipated. I wish the summary for this book didn't start with "What would you do for the one true love?" kinda thing. Made it seem like more of a romance than it actually was. I enjoyed the parts that were not a romance the best, of course, though the romance wasn't awful. A little too easy and too fast...echoes of Twilight...and I do not say that in a complimentary fashion. However, I dug the other relationships quite a lot. Jonah and Zoe. Jonah and Rufus. Zoe and Dallas. Zoe and Val. Val and Gloria. It was cool to have all of those be such well-realized parts of the story. ♥

Very nearly DNF'd the book before 50 pages due to animal cruelty but decided to persist on unless I saw any more. Luckily, that scene was the only scene containing it and I was able to finish the book. Overall the book was just okay and I'd give it 2.5 stars. The main character was rather annoying at first, but grew on me later in the book. There was a lackluster "inta-love" and the story had two main storylines that did converge nicely. Was not at all surprised at the "twist." Story ended in a way that I am satisfied with the ending without picking up any subsequent books.

I overall really enjoyed this! I thought the characters were really nicely fleshed out. The paranormal aspects were really well balanced with the real things. My biggest issue was actually the writing itself. It felt (I’m struggling to find the right word) corny? Pretentious? Juvenile! That’s the word. It felt juvenile at times. I think it could have been a little bit more mature and poetic. I liked the authors, albeit imperfect, use of modern technology and social media. I’m really felt like the author put in the effort to connect with the audience, something I feel is often lacking on ya. My other main issue was the insta love. So much insta love. I feel like it very much could have been phrased as not “in love”. The good thing is I wasn’t really reading for the romance so I let it slide.

Things I loved: the mystery and suspense! The author nailed the suspense aspect and really managed to let out secrets at just the right time. He kept the pages turning.
I loved the characters. They have so much depth and I can see development occurring throughout the series.
The description of the Lowlands. I found the whole underworld to be so fascinating.


Definitely will be continuing with the series.

3,5/5 stars

This book is a weird mix between contemporary and urban fantasy. I did enjoy this book and I might continue the series.

Pros: unique mix of fantasy and contemporary, great family dynamics, absolutely great side characters, a bounty hunter from hell (= a character I haven't seen in other books before)

Cons: the romance didn't really interest me all that much, partially predictable plot twists