arc review
I did not end up finishing this, mainly because I just didn’t think it was for me and also because my ARC expired, so take my review with a grain of salt. It maybe change drastically by the end, but I did read over 100 pages and think I got a good feel of the story, characters, and writing style.


Hell Followed with Us takes place after Armageddon and follows Benji who is slowly being transformed into a Seraph, a weapon for those who destroyed the world. The world and concept are incredibly unique, it takes many aspects of religion, particularly fundamentalist’s and uses them in way that feels realistic, given the world and what exists within it. The characters are teens from the ALC, an LGBTQ+ centre, and therefore, the story includes many characters of all different backgrounds and identities. The inclusion of many queer characters is done well, and it is clear it is written by an author who truly understands and is a part of the community.

From the beginning you are thrown right into the action in this apocalyptic world, and unfortunately I found it very difficult to discern what was happening. It took me awhile to understand really anything, and still by the end I didn’t completely understand the world and everything in it. While that didn’t ruin the book for me, it did make it more confusing than I would’ve liked. An addition of perhaps a map or a section that gives definitions to some of the terms would help. While the addition of lots of characters made it so that many people, particularly those that you do not really ever see represented in media, is great, I did find that there were a few too many characters to keep track of and there were some that I mixed up who was who. Unfortunately, the characters to me didn’t have very unique personalities, which only added to my inability to tell them apart. I found them to be a bit one dimensional, while I understand that the world for them is difficult and everyone is going through a very hard time, I think it would have been nice to see teens being teens more often. Making jokes and having fun despite the circumstances, would’ve added warmth to the cold appearance. Often they seemed overly serious, and in my opinion almost came off as edgy in the way that I was when I was in middle school. They are dealing with a lot of stuff, the current world and older issues, but some lighter moments would’ve helped to carry the story along, and help to make me care more about the characters.

Overall, the story and world is extremely unique and imaginative, but not without its flaws. I do think that many people would really enjoy this, and perhaps, while I still think my criticisms are valid, it might not entirely be the book for me.